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E-Friends and Fans,
Mystery Loves Company is now on Facebook. Just go to www.facebook.com sign up and search "Mystery Loves Company Booksellers - Oxford" and become a Fan! Or "Kathy Harig" and become a Friend. You'll receive all the new releases and updates to our web page. We will be unveiling a new web page soon and you'll be the first to know..about everything.

If you can't visit us at the store I've loaded some pictures taken in Oxford.

The Eastern shore is beautiful anytime of the year so come on over and see us.
BTW Go Ravens!
Kathy

www.mysterylovescompany.com

Best selling books of 2009 at MLC

Hi,
Notice I headed this Best Selling of 2009 in Oxford. Mostly hardbacks, and not all mysteries.
I'll count them down for you.
Drum roll please....
10. GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Steig Larsson
9. LANGUAGE OF BEES by Laurie King
8. SWAN FOR THE MONEY by Donna Andrews
7. LADIES OF LIBERTY by Cokie Roberts
6. WE ARE OUR MOTHERS DAUGHTERS by Cokie Roberts
5. RECIPES AND RECOLLECTIONS THE OXFORD COOKBOOK
4. THE LEAVING by Sue Ellen Thompson
3. THE EIGHT by Katherine Neville
4. PORT OF ENTRY OXFORD
2. MERLOT MURDERS by Ellen Crosby
1. LIFE SENTENCES by Laura Lippman
Hope you find some favorites and if you'd like copies just call 1-800-538-0042.
Look for our new improved web site in February 2010.
Best in 2010,
Kathy
Mystery Loves Company Booksellers in Oxford
http://www.mysterylovescompany.com/

Best of 2009

Dear readers,
Here are our recommendations for the best of 2009

1. BRUTAL TELLING, by Louise Penny
2. BRYANT AND MAY ON THE LOOSE, by Christopher Fowler
3. LANGUAGE OF BEES, Laurie King
4. THE FIRE, Katherine Neville
5. SWAN FOR THE MONEY, Donna Andrews

Look for our revamped new and improved web site in 2010.

Hope you have a very Happy New Year.

Happy Reading,
Kathy
http://www.mysterylovescompany.com/

Sherlock, Watson, Alice and Snow

Dear ones.
A poem for the season by Toni Kelner:

Sherlock and Dr. Watson by Toni Kelner
(To the tune of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer")
You know Sam Spade and Kinsey
And Archie and Nero
VI Warshawski,
And old Hercule Poirot.
But do you recall
The most famous detectives of all?
Sherlock and Dr. Watson
Rode around in hansom cabs
Looking for thefts and murders
Sherlock even had a lab
All of the London coppers
Used to laugh and call them names
They never let our sleuths
Solve a crime along the Thames
Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Lestrade came to say
"Sherlock, with your keen insight
Won't you solve a case tonight?"
Then all the coppers loved them
And they shouted out with glee
Sherlock and Dr. Watson
You'll go down in mystery!

Former Bengal player McInally sold a copy of Alice in Wonderland inscribed to the real Alice, Alice Liddell by Lewis Carroll for $125.00. You can read about it here.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/8416127.stm

Also I hope some of you saw the new version of "Alice" on the Sci Fi cable network last week. As an Alice lover, I really liked it.

Finally, if you are trying to reach us and can't over the weekend Dec 19-20th., we are probably snowed under. Please leave a message and if the phone gods are with us I'll get it or email me at mysterylovescompany at gmail.com
You can also place an order online at www.mysterylovescompany.com
This independent bookstore appreciates your support.
Hope you have a Merry Christmas,
Kathy
www.mysterylovescompany.com

BEST SELLERS THIS WEEK

Dear ones,

I thought you'd get some inspiration when making that list from what we have been selling in Oxford these days.

At number 5 IS EAT THIS NOT THAT : Restaurant Guide, my favorite pick for giving this year. This handsome book is a guide to healthful eating wherever you dine.

In at number 4 is BRYANT AND MAY ON THE LOOSE from that clever British author Christopher Fowler. The Peculiar Crimes Squad is no more, but eccentric and elderly Scotland Yard detectives Bryant and May don't know when to quit. You'll be charmed and very amused.

The number 3 book this week in Oxford is THE LINEUP essays by all your favorite mystery authors about their main characters.

THE MAN IN THE WOODEN HAT by Jane Gardem is our number 2 book this week. Love, childhood, home and exile in England's colonial past.

Finally at the top at number 1 is Easton's own Bill Shepard with THE SALADIN AFFAIR . Diplomat Robbie Cutler goes to Europe on his fourth adventure where he must defend the Secretary of State from terrorists and finds a fascinating antique desk with a secret document inside. We have signed copies.

Think of us as your own personal shopper this holiday season. We can advise you on that perfect gift for any age and order any in print book for you. Call us at 800-538-0042 to start making your life simpler. And don't forget our themed mystery book gift baskets starting at $25.00.

See our web site www.mysterylovescompany.com for more ideas.

Hope you holidays are merry and bright.

Kathy, Tom, Sammi, Nick and Nora.

Christmas on the Creek author signings

Dear ones,
Christmas on the Creek approaches. This weekend Dec 4-6 Oxford puts on its holiday garb and welcomes in the holiday season. Our special day at Mystery Loves Company Booksellers in Oxford is December 5th.

Sunday, Dec 5, 2009 (OXFORD) Christmas on the Creek old-fashioned Christmas celebration includes an author signing at Mystery Loves Company with Bill Shepard author of THE SALADIN AFFAIR, and J.M.E. Flowers, the Columbia MD author of SEARCHING FOR BLUE MERCURY.

There will also be events all over town including a house tour, an auction, caroling, events at the Fire House and the Oxford Community Center and special displays at the Oxford Museum. You can see a full schedule of Christmas on the Creek at www.portofoxford.com


Hope you can join us for this fun time.

Kathy
Mystery Loves Company
202 S. Morris St
Oxford MD 21654
800-538-0042

http://www.mysterylovescompany.com/

Price wars

Dear ones,
As you know, if you are not an ostrich, there is a price war going on for best-selling books.
John Grisham was on the Today Show and his interview with Matt Lauer is an interesting take on The War.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33603693/ns/today-today_books/

All of us suffer in the long run from these policies of 60% -70% discounts by the box stores and big online retailers (You know who they are). The printed word is cheapened and the royalties to authors and profits of publishers and booksellers will plummet. This is not good news for the book business in this economy.

The three retailers have limited the public to 2 or 3 copies, so bookstores can't even purchase the books from them instead of from publishers where they only receive 40- 45% wholesale.

If you don't think you make a difference, you are wrong.

Mr. Grisham believes that eventually publishers will stop publishing new authors, I believe this "censorship" resulting from this policy would be deadly.

Many purchases online are not charged sales tax. That is a loss to the local economy.

Think before you buy.

You can make a difference.

MYSTERY LOVES COMPANY WANTS TO THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR LOCAL AND INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE. WHEN YOU BUY LOCAL AND INDEPENDENT, YOUR MONEY STAYS RIGHT HERE IN THE ECONOMY AND WE ALL BENEFIT.

I welcome your comments.

Best,
Kathy
Mystery Loves Company Bookstore
202 S. Morris St
Oxford Md 21654
1-800-538-0042

Anthonys announced , Halloween is coming

Dear ones,
The Anthonys were announced @ Bouchercon 2009
Best Novel: The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly
Best First Novel: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Best Paperback Original: State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy
Best Short Story: "A Sleep Not Unlike Death" by Sean Chercover
Special Service Award: Jon and Ruth Jordan (CrimeSpree Magazine)
Best Critical Non-Fiction: Anthony Boucher: A Biography by Jeffrey Marks
Best Young Adult Novel: The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein
Best Cover Art: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Congrats to all the winners and nominees.

Halloween is coming and we are celebrating here in Oxford. We are one of the only towns in our area to have crowds of folks small and large trick and treat down our leafy streets. Our party starts at 5:30pm on October 31. Costumes are almost a requirement, so don your best and join us for some Halloween hot drinks and goodies sure to make you smile.

Happy Halloween,
Kathy

GHOSTHUNTING MARYLAND

Dear ones,
Coming up is a fun event at the store in Oxford.
Do you believe in Ghosts?? Do you have one in your house? Have you ever seen one? Well come to our store on Sunday, October 11 from 12-2pm, when author Michael Varhola will talk about and sign his new book Ghosthunting Maryland.
We'll have cider and donuts.
Other authors writing about ghosts have said they'd show up, so come along and talk ghosts with Michael and share your stories
That's Sunday October 10 at noon at 202 S. Morris St. in Oxford MD.
Call us at 800-538-0042 if you'd like more info or a signed copy and can't attend.
And don't forget our Halloween Trick or Treat evening October 31 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm.
Ghostly yours,
Kathy

Awards - Paul Auster and George Pelecanos

Hi,
I am just back from a one day trip to my old stomping ground, Baltimore, to attend the NAIBA meeting. The New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, to those of you who might not know.
Any way they gave two awards to two worthy authors.
Paul Auster received the NAIBA 2009 Legacy Award for Invisible . In a speech Paul praised independents and gave us pause when he noted all the bookstores that had closed.

"The point being: Thank you all for what you are doing. Writers depend on you, readers depend on you, and the intellectual life of our country depends on you. To browse. What a beautiful word. To wander among books, to make discoveries, to be changed forever by an unknown volume pulled by impulse off a shelf. You, the independent booksellers, are the ones who make this possible.
Thank you so much for giving me this award. Paul Auster

And long time friend and great crime author George Pelecanos was there. It was great to touch base with him. George is working with David Simon on a TV special on Music in New Orleans after Katrina. Can't wait. Later in the evening George's book The Turnaround was chosen for the Hammett Prize:
The North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers is pleased to announce that The Turnaround, by George Pelecanos (Little, Brown), has been named the winner of the organization's annual HAMMETT PRIZE for a work of literary excellence in the field of crime writing.
Congrats to these two fine authors.
Thanks for your support of independent local bookstores.
Kathy Harig
Mystery Loves Company
www.mysterylovescompany.com