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Our very weekly email--let the holiday shopping begin edition

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Dear %%First Name%%,

Our Weekly Special: helping out a friend

Our Weekly Special is usually unidentified in the email since we want to lure you to the website to satisfy your curiosity. This week is different.

Our good friend Margaret Maron was in an automobile accident the other day. Fortunately, she was not seriously injured but it's played havoc with the launch of her new book, Christmas Mourning, and her plans to promote it. We thought we'd help out by making the book our Weekly Special with a 20% off deal and free shipping.

In fact, we'd like to ask you to consider buying two copies: one for yourself and one as a gift or for your local library.

We have the book in stock now and we're expecting signed copies next week. Let us know if you want to wait for a signed copy or take what we have. If you're buying a copy for a library we'd suggest unsigned.

You could pick up this week's Special for yourself or get a jump on holiday shopping and save 20% too.

Our Weekly Special for Kids: Hanukkah is coming

Hanukkah comes unusually early this year: first night is Dec. 1, so now is a good time to start thinking about something for those 8 nights. Our Weekly Special for Kids is but one of our Hanukkah ideas this year. Save 20% on This Week's Special for Kids.

Holiday Gift Guide ready for download

Our Holiday Gift Guide is availble on the website for download. Just like the regular MLB News, the Holiday Gift Guide is available in a PDF format which you can download and, if you like, print.

Please take a look at our Holiday Gift Guide to see the wonderful assortment of puzzles, games, mugs and other gift ideas (even books) that we've got for you. As always, we urge you to shop early to avoid the disappointment of out of stock items.

Staff Picks-another source of shopping ideas

Our November Staff Picks are up on the website and you might find something of interest for your own holiday reading or as a gift.

You'll find mystery, espionage, fiction, humor and non-fiction among our selections this month.

MLB Best Sellers for October

Our MLB Best Sellers for October are available on the website.

Hardcover sales were dominated by books sold at author events including local author Michael Ayoob's In Search of Mercy (a great Christmas gift for a local reader), Robert Greer's First of State, Stuart Neville's Collusion, Hilary Davidson's The Damage Done and Louise Penny's Bury Your Dead. Signed books make a nice gift--just sayin'.

In trade paperbacks our readers have a taste not only for books but those who steal them. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, a tale of a man responsible for the theft of hundreds of antiquarian books, made the list. In the Woods by Tana French made it back on the list along with Karen MacInerney's Berried to the Hilt and Deborah Crombie's Necessary As Blood.

Paperback sales start off with Elaine Viets and An Uplifting Murder followed by Fundraising the Dead, start of a new series by Sheila Connolly, and Dirty Rotten Tendrils by Kate Collins.

You'll find the complete list of our Best Sellers for October on the website.

Light Up Night in Oakmont November 20

Saturday, November 20 is Light Up Night in Oakmont. The Christmas Parade runs from about 5 pm to 6 pm and there will be activities up and down the Boulevard that night.

At MLB we'll be serving hot cider and showing off all the holiday gift goodies we have this year including fabulous new games, puzzles and books.

Check our Gift Guide for some ideas and then stop by that night to see for yourself.

Incidentally, the Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce has trademarked the term Light Up Night so anywhere in the preceeding paragraphs where you see the words L---- U- N---- you should mentally block them out and replace them with words of your own choosing. Thanks for your cooperation.

Anniversary mugs are back

Our beautiful MLB 20th Anniversary/Raven Award mug is back in stock. This 8 oz. beauty is spectacular in resplendent red with black and white imprinting on both sides. Side one features our regular logo and notice of our 20th Anniversary in October of 2010. On the other side, a special Raven version of our logo to mark our receiving the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

Important Note: We cannot offer free shipping on orders that include mugs. We must send these Priority Mail and will have to charge you $4.50 shipping regardless of these amount of your order.

Construction Alert: Allegheny River Boulevard

We've just been informed that construction on several blocks of Allegheny River Boulevard will commence at the end of October and continue through the end of November.

The Boulevard will remain open during almost all of that period but there may be restrictions on on-street parking during this time.

As you approach Washington Ave and Allegheny River Boulevard there is a Road Closed sign, local traffic only. At this time you can proceed down Allegheny River Boulevard and find plenty of parking near the store.

If you cannot park on our block you may want to try the following alternatives:

If you're coming to the store during this time please give us a call at 412-828-4877 and we'll give you the update as of that day.

New Arrivals

Tis the season for the Christmas Mystery and most of the new ones for this year are here.

Among other New Arrivals we've got Moonlight Mile from Dennis Lehane, his first new book Kenzie and Gennaro in several years. Also here, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the conclusion to Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy, in a UK paperback.

New books arrive every day. Check our New Arrivals page often for everything new at MLB.

Signed first editions

What's on the website now

Here's what you can find at www.mysterylovers.com:

Come meet us on Facebook

Come visit us at facebook.com/mysterylovers where you can join the 878 folks who are already our fans.

Upcoming Events

Nov. 20 - Oakmont Light Up Night (so sue me, Pittsburgh)

More events...

Fall evenings are coming--get your TBR pile ready
Richard, Mary Alice and the MLB Staff

Did we mention that we won a Raven Award?

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