Neat idea, Theresa.

A writer's group I belong to used to make it a point that whenever we went into a bookstore displaying books by one of our members, we would give them a prominent place, face out on the shelf. Sneak marketing.

I love the idea of "guerrilla marketing" or "creative re-shelving" as a way for the little guy to circumvent the pay-for-placement system.

Theresa, one of my favorite bookstore sightings was finding the book "St. Paul and Epicurus" in a local Minnesota shop -- two copies, actually, one shelved in "Regional" and the other put in "Cooking."

The author was a specialist in Greek philosophy here at the University of Minnesota, and a brief glance at the contents suggested that the book was tracing the connections of the Greek philosopher to the thought or practice of the Christian apostle.

I bought the "cookbook" copy, only my third volume in that category, shelved right next to my ever-hopeful wife's gift to me years ago of "The Joy of Cooking."

Now you make me wonder whether the bookseller (or a guerrila customer?) was having fun. In my youthful arrogance I thought he simply didn't know any better.

Saint Paul in "regional" for Minnestota is really very funny, Philip. Maybe the book store was joking. But then again, maybe they weren't. Hard to say. When my book first came out Barnes and Noble's computer system had placed it in "art technique" -- I guess they thought "The Man Who Made Vermeers" was a how-to guide. Of course, if I knew how to make a Vermeer, I don't think I'd be spending my time writing books!

If anyone is in the Darien, CT vicinity, I'm going to be giving a book talk there on, appropriately enough, April Fool's Day! It's been fun meeting Goodreads friends at other events. Hope some of you can make it!
http://www.darienlibrary.org/events

Oops. 3000 miles away. :(

Ruth wrote: "Oops. 3000 miles away. :(

"

What's 3,000 miles between friends?

Seriously, though, I wish I could schedule a west coast event, but so far, although I've got the east coast covered from Florida to Rochester, I haven't been able to put together anything west of the Rockies. But I haven't given up hope!

Do you think you might be coming to the mountains of NC? There's a great independent bookstore in Asheville called Malaprop's. http://www.malaprops.com/NASApp/store/In...

Sherry wrote: "Do you think you might be coming to the mountains of NC? There's a great independent bookstore in Asheville called Malaprop's. http://www.malaprops.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp"

Thanks Sherry! I haven't made any contacts in NC, but I'll check out the independent bookstore that you mention. I appreciate the tip!

I've become quite the fan of "creative reshelving." (Like who's to say what makes a book "New and Noteworthy"?)

On the other hand, I live in fear of Inside the Apple A Streetwise History of New York City ending up in botany.

James wrote: "I've become quite the fan of "creative reshelving." (Like who's to say what makes a book "New and Noteworthy"?)

On the other hand, I live in fear of [b:Inside the Apple A Streetwise History of Ne..."

I thought it might be found in the cookbook section?

This new book caught my eye yesterday The Match King Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals. Part of the reason I bought it is that the story of Kreuger's swindles in the roaring 20s reminded me of how Van Meegeren manipulated the art market in that period. You have to wonder how many other stories like this are out there.

Back in the day, when we were all still on Prodigy, I used to maintain and periodically post a list of the books written by folks on the "Books and Writing" board. Our mission was to take the list with us into the book store and reshelf as many as possible without getting caught.

From my understanding, once one of the biggies (B and N, Borders) decide to categorize a book, there is no way to appeal it. At Borders, the The Gardner Heist The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft is in Law. Weird, I know, and apparently there is nothing we can do.

And I know that I'm late to the conversation, but I thought I'd point out this online museum devoted to forgery:

http://yin.arts.uci.edu/~mof/

While I'm sure you've seen it already, I thought it was pretty interesting.

I'm look forward to your book, Ulrich.

I remember that list, Peggy.

Thanks, Ulrich, for the link. Very nice.

Often I remark that CONSTANT READER is the oldest Book Club on the internet. I , too , have been connected since Prodigy. An amazing group.
Lee

Thanks, James. And the site does have some gems that I thought the group--or at least anyone who has read Jonathan's book--would appreciate. From the FAQ, for instance:

"Q: I'm doing an assignment on Van Meergren the forger. Can you tell me about him?

A: We are not oriented towards educating the public in the history of forgery. If you want to research famous forgers, try Wikipedia. Oh, and the name is Van Meegeren."

Ulrich, our Constant Reader group had one of our yearly conventions in Boston and went to see the Gardner Museum. It was the second time for me. Fascinating place.

Wow, what fun. The Gardner is a fascinating place and an incredible museum. I hope you enjoyed the visit. There are some forgeries of sorts at the Gardner as well. Indeed, the thieves stole a landscape painting that experts revealed as a Flinck--and not a Rembrandt as previously thought--just a few years before the heist.

I've just put your book on my TBR pile, Ulrich. I adore the Gardner. I've been there twice and would go again in a heartbeat if I weren't 3000 miles away. What other museum looks like your grandmother's attic if your grandmother were a gazillionaire? What a place.

Ulrich wrote: "From my understanding, once one of the biggies (B and N, Borders) decide to categorize a book, there is no way to appeal it."

Sorry to be chiming in late here, but I just wanted to say "never say never." One phone call actually solved the shelving problem with The Man Who Made Vermeers. So if your book has landed in some odd place, I recommend giving a ring to Barnes and Noble!

Yes, it is an incredible place, the soaring balconies, the dazzling courtyard. Even though Gardner's will states that nothing should change in the museum, I always feel like I find something new.

Thanks for the tip, Jonathan. I'll message you in a moment to find out more about how you managed to fix the shelving problem. Thanks again!

For everyone interested in art crimes, I just published a Q and A with RA Scotti about her new book the Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa. In the book, Scotti examines the 1911 heist of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre and declares the crime unsolved (even though the painting did eventually get returned).

I found Scotti's book a fascinating read, beautifully written. You can see my interview with her here: http://bit.ly/DQrpv

There is also another Mona Lisa theft book out. I have not read that one. Has anyone else?

Peggy, I remember those days. I still turn books face out in Border's if I particularly like them. I need to start doing that for the goodreads authors here again.

So the Edgar Awards were last night. Sadly, The Man Who Made Vermeers didn't win. The "best fact crime" award went to American Lightning Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century. But I was in good company -- lots of terrific books were also runners-up. And it was great fun to be part of an event where Sue Grafton was the Grand Master and Lee Child was the MC -- not my usual circuit!

I'm sorry Vermeer was a miss, Jonathan. But it's a real honor that out of all the books around, it was considered.

Ulrich, I've read a previous book about the Mona Lisa theft, but it was years ago and I don't even remember the name of it now. This new one is going to go on my TBR list.

Ruth wrote: "I'm sorry Vermeer was a miss, Jonathan. But it's a real honor that out of all the books around, it was considered.

Ulrich, I've read a previous book about the Mona Lisa theft, but it was years ag..."

Thanks Ruth! It was indeed an honor to be considered. I was absolutely flattered.

On the subject of the two new books on the theft of the Mona Lisa, I think they are: Vanished Smile The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa and
The Crimes of Paris A True Story of Murder, Theft, and Detection? I actually just wrote a review of both books, which is being edited as we speak. I'll be happy to post it once it's published if it would be of any interest.

I want to echo Ruth's point: You wrote a fantastic book; you were in esteemed company. And please do post your review of the Mona Lisa books. I have only read one book, the Vanished Smile. I'm eager to know what you think of the Crimes of Paris.

Jonathan, I wish you had won, but the event must've been exciting. When advertising your book, isn't it valuable to be able to say that it was nominated for an Edgar? Not as good as winning, I know, but still.

I've heard good things about Sue Grafton personally. I would love to hear her talk. My sister's friend was writing a mystery and went to a workshop conducted by her. Grafton took a personal interest in the friend's book, helped her find an agent and eventually it was published. I love hearing stories like that.

Thanks Barbara, Ulrich and Ruth! Yes, it was an honor to be nominated for the Edgar. And it was a lot of fun to go to the dinner.

Sue Grafton seemed quite lovely, Barbara. Very charming, down-to-earth, self-deprecating. She told a story about how when she first went to a mystery writers convention she didn't know anyone there and was too shy to speak to anyone. But then over the years she got to know a few other mystery writers, and she listed them all by name and offered anecdotes about how supportive they all were to each other.

I'll say, too, that the Mystery Writers have a sense of humor. Before Sue Grafton's talk they showed a video montage of her life to the tune of the Jackson 5's song "ABC." Pretty entertaining.

Wow, great to hear a little bit about The Edgar Awards. I must repeat my question from aa couple months ago...what did you wear...and more importantly...what did your wife wear!?

:)

Congrats and what a treat to meet fellow writers and that charmer Sue Grafton. I love that they played "ABC".

Candy wrote: "Wow, great to hear a little bit about The Edgar Awards. I must repeat my question from aa couple months ago...what did you wear...and more importantly...what did your wife wear!?"

Well, I'm afraid that neither of us is likely to appear on the cover of Vogue any time soon, but if you really want to know what we wore....I wore a tuxedo jacket with a faint print that my father had worn in 1959, and my wife wore a black dress and a teal sweater acquired at Loehmann's about 2 hours before the event began. So I guess that means we could have gotten married again, since we had things old, new, borrowed and blue.

Nice! What a riot!

Candy wrote: "Nice! What a riot!"

When they post photos on the Edgar website I'll post a link.

Hi Everyone,

Sorry to have been out of the loop for a bit. I've had nothing but deadlines on top of deadlines, and so have kept myself off-line as much as possible.

Anyway, as promised, I'm including here the link to the review that I wrote for the Boston Globe on the two recent books about the theft of the Mona Lisa. It appeared in Sunday's papers: http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/...

Thanks for your interest!
Jonathan

Really enjoyed the article Jonathan, thanks! This has to be a movie no? I hope so!

Candy wrote: "Really enjoyed the article Jonathan, thanks! This has to be a movie no? I hope so!"

That's a great question, Candy. It sure seems like it ought to be a movie!

Errol Morris! That's excellent, Jonathan. This first installment ends with his call to Dolnick. Did you get to talk to him too?

http://morris.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/...

Theresa

Just saw the article in today's NYTimes, congratulations!

Theresa wrote: http://morris.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/bamboozling-ourselves..."

Thanks Theresa and Hayes!

Yes, I've had the good fortune to speak with Errol Morris several times over the past months. In fact, we first got in touch on Goodreads, believe it or not! If I understand correctly I think his plan is to spend the first couple of days discussing the other book, and then the next couple of days discussing mine.

I'm looking forward to seeing how his story turns out!

Jonathan

What a fascinating series. Morris is really throwing himself into the topic. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

Hi Everyone,

I was just reminded of another book that might be of interest to anyone participating in our November conversation: The Expert versus the Object Judging Fakes and False Attributions in the Visual Arts. The author specializes in art law, and knows a tremendous amount about the topic.

I'll keep posting other links and suggestions as the November date approaches.

Hope all's well!
Jonathan

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to spread the news that I just received a copy of the book in paperback. It's just over $10 at Amazon, and a lot more convenient for summer beach reading than the hardcover was.

Happy summer!
Jonathan

Cool. Congrats, Jonathan!

By the way, if you're interested in more art forgery books, I just conducted a Q and A with Laney Salisbury for the Open Case. She just finished a book about perhaps the most outrageous art scam of the 20th century. The two mastersminds in the case created more than 200 forgeries, including those of famed painter Alberto Giacometti, and today many of the fakes still hang on the walls of museums and galleries around the world. The conman collector was the suave John Drewe. The forger was the talented John Myatt. It's a fascinating book titled Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art. See the full interview here:

http://bit.ly/x7ExT

And tell me what you think.

Ulrich wrote: "Cool. Congrats, Jonathan!

By the way, if you're interested in more art forgery books, I just conducted a Q and A with Laney Salisbury for the Open Case. She just finished a book about perhaps the..."

Thanks Ulrich! I know of John Myatt but didn't know about the book. Sounds like a great topic -- I'll look forward to reading your interview!

Jonathan,
Back in early June, I had pre-ordered your book in paperback. I got a message today that they are shipping it tomorrow.

Hey great news Jonathan, I hope lots of new readers find your charming work!

Thanks Jane and Candy! And sorry for the delayed reply. We were out of town for a week or so, and I'm just catching up on GR now. Hope you enjoy the read, Jane!