Diane Plumley

The Black Paw. Best 100 Mysteries of All Time

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The Black Paw—Constance and Gwyneth Little-1941  Doubleday Crime Club-IP The sisters Little make this list not once, but twice. Why, because their books are that funny, that convoluted, and that smart–that makes them mandatory. LOL. If you’ve read my article on the screwball comedy novels the two sisters produced between the late 1930s to the … Read more

I Never Read a Book Twice!

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Do you? Life is too damn short! I need to move on to the next book, then the next, and on and on. To go back and reread something is almost against my religion, or  life force. Unfortunately, since creating my Best Mysteries of All Time list, I’ve had to re-read bits and pieces, and … Read more

Hypermodern and the Selling of a New Author

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One advantage of managing an independent bookstore, you meet many writers. Some established like Sara Paretsky, some real old timers like Dick Francis, some mid-list like Rhys Bowen, some best sellers, like James Patterson, and some brand spanking new faces on the scene. It was the new writers that at the time most occupied our … Read more

LOL

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I was just at ABE books looking for a particular old children’s book, and happened across this subject. I haven’t posted any of these for a long time, so I thought I’d just throw it up, for the heck of it. One novel that deserves to be on the list–Pest Control, one of the funniest … Read more

Where Do The Books You've Read Go?

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I’m asking, because I need new creative places to take them! I have long ago left behind the notion that I could keep all the books I’d read. As a teenager, it didn’t seem so difficult–stack them in a corner of the room, and let them be. By college, I didn’t want to lug them … Read more

The Customer is Always Right?

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I  don’t believe this adage holds true in this day and time. More and more retailers are responding to obnoxious customers with being obnoxious in return. That’s if you can find some one working the floor in a Walmart or other giant warehouse type place.  As  a bookseller in an independent store, how does one … Read more

Last Seen Wearing. Best Mysteries of All Time

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Last Seen Wearing  Hillary Waugh–1952–Doubleday Crime Club-used This book is on practically every best mystery list I’ve seen. So, naturally, I didn’t really want it on mine, lol. But, sometimes good is good is good, and can’t be denied. Last Seen Wearing is a police procedural that out does all other police procedurals. Taking place in … Read more

A Passionate Bookseller–On The Sidewalks Of Manhattan

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Sidewalk booksellers were a common sight in New York City when I lived there. And I frequently bought from them. At first I was surprised they were allowed to set up shop–I didn’t notice a merchant’s license, which vendors selling anything from berets to Falafel needed in order to stay in business. A friend of … Read more