We’ve got a new incarnation on facebook. There’s not much there yet, but I’m pleased to report that there is now a Ziesing Books fan group. Just search for “Ziesing Books” on facebook and be one of the first to make a comment or suggestion.

Okay, we’ll try loading a picture of our latest grandson, Bear. Meet Bear.

Photo of our new Grandson Bear

Okay, we’ll try loading a picture of our latest grandson, Bear. Meet Bear.

Just in from Perilous Press is COPPING SQUID a collection by Michael Shea. It’s reprints four classic mythos stories from Shea and includes four never-before-published mythos stories. The trade edition is limited to 750 copies and I REALLY feel it’s a sound investment. . . plus it’s just a cool book. I’m gonna ask Cindy to see if she can load pictures on this blog – this SQUID has great cover art too.

Okay, so my talent with my new blog is minimal. I can’t figure out how to load a picture. I will. And, when I do, you’ll find it here.

Okay, now I’m testing out my ability to insert pictures. I’m also, obviously, going for the cutsie-factor by making the pirst picture placed on my blog that of my youngest grandson’s first smile.

I’m still in the initial phases of figuring out this blog thing, but it’s my intention to post book news, random thoughts and important announcements here on a regular basis. Please check back in a few days and, hopefully, you’ll find new and interesting content.

Hi:

Here we are again. That’s right, it’s already been six or seven weeks since our last catalog. My plan is the usual one: To fill you in on the latest news in the office and around our kitchen table and then to whisk you off to the book listings where we hope to temp you with our humble literary offerings.

Me and the old lady at Glacier Park.

May the Great Spirit forgive me, I’ve always been a glass half-full kind of guy. Optimism isn’t a quality that seems to come to me naturally. If something good should happen to me, I wonder what the catch is or raise my shoulders and look for the other shoe to drop. I’m working on getting better. As part of my self-prescribed therapy I’ve decided to grope-around for a silver lining on the dark clouds that seem to be gathering over the country and over the world.

As far as the country goes, at least we can all look forward to a new set of loafers perched on the desk in the oval office. Status quo will be no more. Hopefully. From most everyone’s perspective, any movement would have to be upward movement.

Rising prices. Gas, food and alcohol (staples around here like everywhere else) prices are all on the rise. Except books. New books have remained relatively stable price-wise for quite some time. Books are still a good buy. When you consider that, unlike going to the movies or eating at a restaurant, you retain something of lasting value for your hard-earned dollars. Okay, you have your memories of the movie, but you can’t put that on the shelf. Further, you don’t have to burn any gas or buy outrageously-priced popcorn and candy to make the experience more enjoyable. Consider the book – the present you can give yourself or someone else that can be opened again and again.

Tom Zummer is our cover guy. Tom has regulas exhibitions of his work at major galleries all over the country and the world – yet he takes time out from his busy schedule to supply us with one striking cover after another. Thanks, Tom!

As I write these words, Cindy’s brother (Terry) and Cindy are talking quietly behind me. We haven’t seen Terry in almost two years. He lives in Costa Rica and doesn’t get stateside much. I’m not complaining, Cindy treats me right, but for the next few days I will eat like a king as Cindy prepares the best of her more recent gastronomical experiments for her brother. And, even though I don’t need a special reason to raise a glass, Terry’s arrival (and his own passion for local brews) is cause for daily celebration. Perhaps if Cindy and I confine most of our recreational activity to reading and skip burning fuel, we’ll be able to save enough dough to go see him in a few years.

MOM REPORT: At long last my mother seems to be nearly fully-recovered from her recent heart surgery. She’s got congestive heart failure, so she doesn’t have the stamina that she had a few years ago, but at least her heart is ticking-away like clockwork. She’s uncomfortable driving these days so Cindy and I oftentimes act as chauffeaur, but we rather enjoy that and it gives us some quality time with her.

Cindy’s mom is healthy as can be although her dementia seems to get more pronounced with each passing day. She knows she loves us and she enjoys seeing us, but she can’t quite remember who we are. We’re pleased that she’s lost her negative memories, but we sure wish we could restore some of the good ones. Life goes on.

As for me and the old lady, we feel pretty good. The bowels are moving regularly, all body parts seem to work with a reasonable amount of dependability and, most of the time anyway, we still enjoy each other’s company.

Still, it’s good to get away from each other once in a while. It sems that looking at my glorious visage and listening to my lilting voice day after day after endless day can become tedious. Alas, my bird must fly periodiocally. Cindy made a solo trip to see our daughter recently. They ran in the Bay to Breakers 7.5 mile race in San Francisco not long ago. That’s the feature on page three instead of the customer profile this time around. Have a look and see what you think. WE’RE STILLBUYING AND TRADING FOR QUALITY BOOKS OF ANY KIND. I find examining, describing and listing secondary market material every bit as enjoyable as looking over all the latest publishers’ offerings. Please remember that your cast-offs and gleaners are, more than likely, of interest to us and worth something in trade. As always, we encourage everyone to send us a list of potential swappers and we’ll see if we can’t strike a deal.

The dopey Celtic band that features the bald bookseller on percussion is quite busy this time of year. We’ve been busy enough to rationalize the acquisition of some very modest recording gear. We plan to lay down a few tracks over the next few months and to make the results of that effort available on an audio CD. Ultimately, those results will be made available in these pages. . . . . cheap.v Hey, we’ve had some family members go through some tough medical issues. We’ve seen some people who mean a great deal to us make the journey to the next life. We have some close friends suffer from medical problems as well as personal, financial and professional setbacks. Yes, that’s life. It ain’t always easy. A couple of these wonderful people took their leave without hearing directly from me just how very much they meant/mean to me. I’m determined that I should do everything I can to let the folks that I love, that support us psychologically, spiritually and financially know that I love them and care about them. So, fellow bibliophiles, long-time supporters, friends and patrons, please be advised that including us in your lives, directing good vibes in our direction, sharing the fruits of your labor with some screwy bookselling bozos out in the wilds of Northern California. . . that stuff doesn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated. We’re grateful. We’re just as grateful as we can be. After all, if we didn’t have our faithful and dedicated supporters. .. we. . . .we. . . . well, I don’t know what in the hell we’d do. We’d be screwed. We’d be broke. We’d be empty. Life is optional, eh? Thanks for making this life available to us and thanks for buying books from us too.

We love ya,

Mark & Cindy Ziesing