Howard Dinin dba Bertha Books Proudly Presents
The first edition, now available
Same Difference / Life in France: Peter Mayle Got Some of It Right
by Howard Dinin
By turns touching, stand-offish, elegant, elegiac, sardonic and always somehow familiar, Howard writes in an authentic way about authentic experiences by an authentic American with the great good luck to fall in love with a country and then arrange to spend enough time there to write about it and its people in a refreshing, and, did I say, authentic manner. Everything else about him may be as phony as a three-dollar bill, but Howard delivers the goods in a way many great authors before him, with the exception of one other ex-advertising pitchman, whose name shall go unmentioned (except for the front cover), have delivered, once they recovered from the experience of merely being in this marvelous, yet marvelously ordinary part of the world. Real people live there, and it's mainly by way of examining their milieu that Howard works his verbal charms. And it doesn't take a year, but almost 20. Howard concentrates on the seven or eight most recent of these in this collection of essays.
If you don't like the original, Limited Edition cover, shown below, known as the "naughty cover," the official first edition shown above is now available, with the cute picture of all the cute French retirees...
Special Offer: signed and numbered limited edition of 100
From the authentic rounded and pink French tush on the front cover to the completely faux blurbs from historic figures (all dead) on the back, this book justifies the expenditure in paper and ink (and glue, and some other bits) and largely sustainable resources.
Exhaustive marketing analysis (I talked to a couple guys, and also three women flipped out at this cover, showing the blatantly distorted, fish-eye lens photo of a perfectly lovely Frenchwoman's perfectly lovely French derriére) demonstrates conclusively that the Special Limited Edition cover above, meant to attract attention, is not really in keeping with the actual character, charm, and flavor of the writing, or the subject matter. It does attract attention, but what I want to attract is genuine interest and, frankly, "ka-ching" (cash register sales). Hence the "official" first edition, registered with the U.S. Library of Congress and Copyright Office, is now available. See above, at the top of the page. And order accordingly.
Features of both editions
A number of original photographs, chosen for their apposite qualities to the text, to add some visual reference and render the book of greater interest.
A brief set of references for further reading of interest.
Printed in the United States.
Acid-free paper, perfect-bound, 184 pages, all photos in full color.
$17.95, plus tax, and any applicable shipping and handling costs.
ISBN: 978-0-9792636-0-6
Secure Shopping (A Statement from the Publisher)
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You may alternatively send me directly: cash, a personal check (if I know you), a teller or cashier's check (if I don't) or gold (minimum 18K). Contact me by email and we can arrange the details. However, dealing directly with me will only prolong the agony of waiting for the book.
Please note: Massachusetts residents will be charged 6.25% Massachusetts State Sales Tax, and you will pay, or I will get in big trouble.
I am sorry to say that, temporarily, international purchasers will have to write to me directly and arrange purchase and shipping by email: howard@bertha.com
Also, please note: this link, below, will take you to a secure Web site operated by PayPal. If the page with the order form address does not begin with "HTTPS://" I cannot guarantee the safety and security of this order. Nor can PayPal. Contact my by email to resolve the matter, or to place your order, by check or using your PayPal account. Type in the "S," if it is missing and reload the page. To further ensure your security, this page is arriving by secure means (look for the "HTTPS" protocol header), so even your request to go to a secure order page is encrypted.
The order page will allow you your choice of either edition. The Limited ("Rounded & Pink"), signed and numbered, Edition is in, as the designation suggests, limited supply and when the 100 copies are gone, there will be no more, and it will be withdrawn from being on offer.