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Robin Agnew
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Goodbye, and a re-boot
Robin Agenew I'm one of the original bloggers on "Dead Guy", and I've enjoyed the ride. It's been a learning experience, good discipline, and a challenge every week to come up with something new to say. Well, I think the... Continue reading
Posted Dec 17, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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An Interview with Elly Griffiths
I’m such a big, geeky fan of Elly Griffiths - whose most recent book, The Janus Stone, was on our 2011 favorites list - that I was more than delighted when she agreed to an interview. Her latest Ruth Galloway... Continue reading
Posted Dec 10, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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What is a thriller, anyway?
Robin Agnew Recently a customer asked me for a list of both the 10 Greatest Mysteries and a seperate list of the 10 Greatest Thrillers. Then he asked if my husband, without looking at my list, would do the same.... Continue reading
Posted Dec 3, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Black Friday Report
Robin Agnew Yes, I am a retailer, the type of business that's vilified by all right thinking news outlets this time of year. Black Friday happens in our store, too, but it all goes down so differently from the reports... Continue reading
Posted Nov 26, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Favorite Reads of the Year
Now You See Me, S.J. Bolton. Bolton goes from strength to strength, delivering an original read every time. While her first three books were set in remote British locations, this one takes place in London, and is a straight up... Continue reading
Posted Nov 19, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Reading Rapture
Robin Agnew This time of year I have what I call "free reading time". Most of the year I'm reviewing several books a month for our newsletter and I am now reviewing books for the local paper as well. But... Continue reading
Posted Nov 12, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Do Men and Women Write Differently?
Robin Agnew I have asked this of several people, and all the writers I have asked, male or female, have denied that they do. But I, a mere reader, disagree. There are exceptions to every rule – Memoirs of a... Continue reading
Posted Nov 5, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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A Little Conversation
Robin Agnew On a rainy afternoon in Ann Arbor, a guy brought a box of books into the store. Not an unusual occurence, by any means, but this guy a) wanted no money; b) liked Lee Child but said "Does... Continue reading
Posted Oct 22, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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A Personal Fave
Robin Agnew Everyone has favorite books from their past, books that hold you in their thrall long after you've closed the covers. One of my favorite mysteries of all time is The Rembrandt Panel by Oliver Banks (1980). I had... Continue reading
Posted Oct 15, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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What's so magical about old Agatha?
Robin Agnew At Bouchercon last month I attended an early morning panel dicsussion of Agatha Christie - with fans on the panel as diverse as Val McDermid and Carolyn Hart, there's something magical going on. (Other authors over the years... Continue reading
Posted Oct 8, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Report from another Bookselling Front
Robin Agnew I'm a member of IMBA, the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. We're a loose association of the nearly 50 mystery specific bookstores sprinkled all over the country. We all benefit by our member list-serv, emma-l, where we can figure... Continue reading
Posted Oct 1, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Report from St. Louis
Bouchercon is always a blast and this year was no exception - reconnecting with old freinds and new ones, and hearing intelligent and thoughtful people discuss our favorite genre. My husband and I brought along our friend Aline and we... Continue reading
Posted Sep 24, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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A couple of working writers
Robin Agnew Rececntly we hosted a gathering of the midwest chapter of Mystery Writers of America - set up by the ever efficient Tony Perona, the event featured Kelly Nichols (one half of PJ Parrish) and Doug Allyn. They had... Continue reading
Posted Sep 10, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Event Anxiety
Robin Agnew I suffer from event anxiety. Not frequently, and much less than I did when we first opened, but still it occasionally it pops up. I imagine it's something like stage fright. When we first opened, my husband and... Continue reading
Posted Sep 3, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Whistling in the graveyard
Robin Agnew As some of you may know (I've blogged about it lots) I serve on the board of a local book festival, The Kerrytown BookFest, which celebrates it's 9th birthday this coming September 11. It's a day filled with... Continue reading
Posted Aug 20, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Changes
Robin Agnew As my daughter heads off to her junior year of college, I should be used to her leaving by now. We've even "replaced" her - another teen has moved in with us for the time being. But she... Continue reading
Posted Aug 13, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Bad bookseller!
Robin Agnew I was feeling like a bad, or at least inefficient, bookseller last night, though all turned out well. I had agreed to sell books at a library event, went on a short vacation, and promptly forgot all about... Continue reading
Posted Aug 6, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Some summer reading
Robin Agnew With a whole, hot month left in the summer, here's a few books to tote to the beach or the woods or wherever you might go in August to relax, read, and recharge. No fair ordering these titles... Continue reading
Posted Jul 30, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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So, Borders is gone
Robin Agnew A few years back I would have cheered the demise of Borders, a super store that viewed us as ant like detrius, ready to be quashed. We surely couldn't match the magnitude of their book orders, or the... Continue reading
Posted Jul 23, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Deep into Summer
It's deep into summer - days are hot, there's ice cream to be had - and the town feels like it's in a bit of the doldrums, but luckily here in Ann Arbor we get hit next week with one... Continue reading
Posted Jul 16, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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A Few Great New Characters
Robin Agnew There are numerous reasons to read - a sense of place, story, characters - all are important but I think one of the major reasons mystery readers love their books are the characters they find there. There are... Continue reading
Posted Jul 9, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Food for thought
Posted Jul 2, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Backstage at a book signing
Robin Agnew Recently, the New York Times ran a piece about book stores charging for author events to help meet their costs. I shared the link on my website and got quite a few comments, but one of them was... Continue reading
Posted Jun 25, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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A Little Contest
Robin Agnew I was thinking recently about how a good first line, while it doesn't determine the pleasure of a good book, still goes a long way toward drawing you into the story. A really pithy, memorable first line makes... Continue reading
Posted Jun 18, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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Steve Hamilton
Robin Agnew Steve Hamilton, our biggest draw of the year, was in the store Thursday night, his first event for his new Alex McKnight novel, Misery Bay. We've known Steve since A Cold Day in Paradise was published, and he... Continue reading
Posted Jun 11, 2011 at Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room
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