Kylie

So very sad.

Ooh, you had me at Wodehouse. I've added Saki to my list of must-read authors. Thanks for the recommendation!

I came across this article that people who are doing this challenge might find interesting. A woman who read a book from every country around the world did a TED talk on her journey. The article includes maps, and if you click on the red pinpoint for each country, it shows which book she chose.

How awful, Janet! And he didn't even realise he'd spoiled it for you?! Grr. I tend to forget who recommended various books to me. Sari and Kay are responsible for many. And I'll always be thankful to Paula for introducing me to Captain Bluebear (and Walter Moers).

Just finished the newest episode of The Walking Dead. Brilliant!

Thanks Janet! I was very happy with my Agatha haul. I don't usually find that many! Although I've since realised that I already owned the complete Poirot short stories. Thanks Abby! My partner actually gave me his old copy of Cosmos a year or so ago, but it was literally falling apart and in very poor condition, and I knew I'd never be able to read it, so I was chuffed to find a copy that was practically brand new. Thanks Jessi! Thanks BB. I found Capital in the non-fiction section, but it's a fiction book, isn't it? Maybe the volunteers who put out the books were confusing it with that large book of the same name by Thomas Piketty. It's a good thing I tend to browse nearly all of the sections, otherwise I might not have found it!

Non-Fiction (28) Peter Ackroyd Chaucer Peter Ackroyd Dickens Peter Ackroyd London: The Biography Matthew Battles Library Les Carlyon The Great War David Crystal Dr Johnson’s Dictionary David Crystal The Story of English in 100 Words Richard Dawkins The Ancestor’s Tale Richard Dawkins Climbing Mount Improbable Norman Doidge The Brain’s Way of Healing Noel Riley Fitch Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation Simon Garfield Just My Type Christopher Hitchens Hitch-22 (n/a) Christopher Hitchens Mortality Howard Jacobson Whatever It Is, I Don’t Like It Jack Kerouac Selected Letters 1940–1956 Alberto Manguel The City of Words Jessica Mitford Hons and Rebels Jessica Mitford Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford (n/a) Drummond Moir Just My Typo Philip Nitschke Damned If I Do Michael Rosen Alphabetical Ann Rule Green River, Running Red Carl Sagan Cosmos Hunter S Thompson Kingdom of Fear (n/a) Shaun Usher (ed) Letters of Note Andrew Wilson Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith Tom Wolfe The Pump House Gang (n/a) Pic is a bit dark, sorry.

The bookfair went very well indeed! Mum and I left home at 5 am and made good time getting there. We got on the line about 40 minutes before it opened, but there were still loads of people in front of us. The book selection was as brilliant as ever (I've never been disappointed) and the prices actually seemed to be a little cheaper than usual, which was surprising, as the proceeds go to a charity that I love to support (a crisis hotline for depressed/suicidal people). Here's the list (and pics) of the fiction books I bought. Any that have '(n/a)' next to them are ones that I already own but bought new copies of (usually because they are nicer or better quality than the ones I already own—yes, I have a problem!) I avoided buying doubles of about half a dozen books after I checked my lists and realised I already owned them, but I still accidentally ended up with around three duplicates (and I actually bought the same book twice on one day! ) Fiction (61) Boris Akunin Pelagia #1: Pelagia and the White Bulldog Kate Atkinson Case Histories (n/a) Kate Atkinson Life After Life Paul Auster The Book of Illusions JG Ballard Rushing to Paradise JG Ballard The Unlimited Dream Company Julilan Barnes Arthur & George Anthony Burgess Little Wilson and Big God MR Carey The Girl with All the Gifts Angela Carter Burning Your Boats Agatha Christie The Complete Short Stories - Hercule Poirot Agatha Christie Death Comes at the End Agatha Christie Five Little Pigs Agatha Christie Hallowe’en Party Agatha Christie The Hollow Agatha Christie The Pale Horse Agatha Christie Poirot’s Early Cases Agatha Christie Sad Cypress Edmund Crispin The Moving Toyshop Patrick DeWitt Undermajordomo Minor Daphne du Maurier Don’t Look Now and Other Stories Daphne du Maurier Hungry Hill Daphne du Maurier Rebecca (n/a) Umberto Eco Foucault’s Pendulum Dave Eggers The Circle Sebastian Faulks Jeeves and the Wedding Bells Jasper Fforde Last Dragonslayer #3: The Eye of Zoltar Kerry Greenwood Phryne Fisher #6: Blood and Circuses Nick Harkaway The Gone-Away World Victor Hugo Les Miserables Jonas Jonasson The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared Jack Kerouac Big Sur Stephen King Misery John Lanchester Capital Vernon Lee The Virgin of the Seven Daggers HP Lovecraft The Call of Cthulu and Other Weird Stories (n/a) Isaac Marion Warm Bodies John Marsden South of Darkness Ann M Martin BSC #91: Claudia and the First Thanksgiving Ann M Martin BSC #109: Mary Anne to the Rescue Ann M Martin BSC #122: Kristy in Charge Eimear McBride A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing Walter M Miller A Canticle for Leibowitz (n/a) Nancy Mitford Christmas Pudding Haruki Murakami Norwegian Wood (n/a) Frederik Pohl Gateway Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged (n/a) Philip Roth The Plot Against America (n/a) Geoff Ryman The Child Garden Ian Sansom The Norfolk Mystery Dorothy L Sayers Hangman’s Holiday Dorothy L Sayers Have His Carcase Dorothy L Sayers The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club Diane Setterfield Bellman & Black John Steinbeck The Short Novels of John Steinbeck William Styron The Confessions of Nat Turner Jonathan Swift A Tale of a Tub, the Battle of the Books and Other Satires Jeff VanderMeer Annihilation Timur Vermes Look Who’s Back Connie Willis Time is the Fire: The Best of Connie Willis Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Prisoner of Heaven The first pic only shows about half of the non-fiction section and none of the fiction. I felt weird taking photos there, and I also just wanted to hurry on and start looking at the books. The photo doesn't do it justice at all.

Some emoticons had to be culled *sad face* Some places let you buy books and then return them for a credit or money. For example, you could buy a book for $5 and get $2 credit when you return. A bit like a paying library, I guess? (Which begs the question: why wouldn't you just go to the library?) A couple of places I've been to don't offer much at all, but the shop I went to is the best one I know of. Thanks Athena. Yep, I've had a great couple of days. Details to follow shortly! Thanks Kay! I did quite well on the Agatha front. It was the first section I went to, and there was already a guy there digging through them. I don't know if he got any of 'my' books, but I snagged eight, so I was very happy. I was a bit surprised someone was there already. We got on the line about 40 minutes before it opened, and there were probably at least 100 people in front of us, but the really early birds seem to go more for the rare books, academic textbooks and CDs. Ooh, I wish I had tried that! Thank goodness I don't receive flowers every show! I received some on the first show I did, but I think that was because the cast and crew all knew that my Dad had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer (we found out about his brain tumour the night before opening night, so I missed the first couple of shows, and just returned for the evening for the last few). I think they just felt sorry for me and wanted to express their support. I only found out about the presentation a few moments before I was called on stage, so I only had a few seconds to be utterly terrified! Usually during the curtain call the cast gestures towards the wings and claps to show their thanks to the SM. I'm happier with that. Thank you Janet! Your wish is my command...

I got back from the bookfair today. Pics and book list to follow in my thread once I finish typing them all up!

I love reading your Agatha Christie reviews, Janet. Coincidentally, of the many AC books on my TBR pile, The ABC Murders is one of only 3 I've added to my 'priority reading' list for this year.

So anyway, I've had some books sitting around for months that I've been wanting to get rid of (duplicates, books I've read but won't read again, books I no longer want to read). I took two big bagfuls to a secondhand bookshop that gives store credit (or sometimes cash) for books. I was hoping to get a bit of cash for the book fair, but they were only doing store credit, so I happily accepted that. The store owner took some time to go through my books. I'd only taken books in really good condition (which was nearly all of them) or that I thought would be easy for them to sell. It turns out that I chose well (I always knew I'd be a good bookseller!) because he took nearly all of them off my hands and gave me $75 store credit!! Holy heck! I was thinking I'd be happy with about $40, so you can imagine how pleased I was! So I browsed the shop and found some excellent books. I planned to use half of my store credit today and go back another time to spend the rest, but the book selection was so good that I spent it all in one go (and had to add nearly $10 on top of that ). The books averaged around $7–$8, and I tried not to buy any that I thought I might find cheaper (or in better condition) at the book fair: Agatha Christie N or M? Agatha Christie Ordeal by Innocence Agatha Christie They Do It with Mirrors Barbara Demick Nothing to Envy Anna Funder All That I Am Lauren Graham Someday, Someday, Maybe Kerry Greenwood Phryne Fisher #20: Murder and Mendelssohn (now only missing #6 from this series) Emma Healey Elizabeth is Missing Jeff Lindsay Dexter's Final Cut John Elder Robison Look Me in the Eye (Sari, you know who this is, right? I never thought I'd find one of his books!) I'm particularly happy about the Demick, Graham (as in Lorelei of Gilmore Girls fame!) and Robison books...Oh heck, I'm really happy about all of them! Oh, and I also bought a Trixie Belden quiz book. There were two quiz books published 'back in the day', and they're quite hard to come by. The one I bought is the second book. I already have one of the quiz books, but I couldn't remember which one it was, and I don't appear to have it catalogued anywhere, so I couldn't look it up. However, it was only $7 and it was in excellent condition. I'm sure the other one I have has some writing in it, so even if it turns out that I bought a double (which I'm pretty sure I did), the newer one will definitely be the better-quality book of the two. And I can tell you that it's worth a lot more than the $7 I paid for it! A quick eBay search shows the first quiz book selling for US$30, which is over A$40. What a find! Lastly, I went through a couple of boxes of books I had stashed away in a cupboard. I used to be absolutely obsessed with UFOs and all things paranormal, and in the late 1990s I had quite a big collection of books on these subjects. I think I donated some a while back, but I still have quite a few (more than I remembered), and I've decided that I should finally donate them. I also went through a new-age phase in the early 2000s and have quite a few books from that period of my life, so I'm going to donate those too. I ended up with a large boxful—probably 30+ books. It feels good to be getting rid of so much stuff that has just been hanging around for years, but I'm also a little sad. I couldn't even tell you when my obsession with UFOs stopped (I think it just faded away gradually—I don't even believe anymore ), but those books were a big part of my life for a long time (I once seriously wanted to become a UFOlogist for a living). I couldn't bear to part with all of them though. I kept about half a dozen of my favourite books on various alien abductions. I may not be a believer anymore, but they're good stories nonetheless! OK, my Mum will be coming to pick me up in less than 5 hours and I still have to pack, organise the books to be donated and clean the house a little. Wish me luck at the book fair!

Lots of exciting book news to share! I'll split it into two posts. Yesterday I went into the city to have lunch with an old work friend. I haven't really been back to my previous workplace since I left around 4 years ago (I worked there for around 12 years). It was so weird to go back! I didn't want to wait in the building's foyer for my friend because I was scared I'd see people I know/knew. Anyway, before I met my friend, I had time for a quick visit to a bookshop, where I found a copy of David Mitchell's Back Story! I wanted to go to the huge Dymocks store, but I'd already told Mum I'd go with her one day, and she made me promise I wouldn't go without her. I have $20 in rewards points to spend there, and the lovely folks at Dymocks put another $10 on my card for my birthday this month, so I have $30 to spend! Can't wait to spend it. The book fair starts in Canberra tomorrow and I'm beyond excited, as usual! Mum will be picking me up at 5 am, which is often the time I go to bed! The drive takes around 3 hours (plus a little extra for a quick rest stop) and the book fair opens at 9 am. It's a very popular event and people line up in advance, so I hope to be there by around 8.15 am so I can get a good spot in the line. I must admit that I get a little anxious about it because I hate the thought of all the people in front of me rushing in and getting 'my' books. But it's such a ridiculous thing to worry about. Every book fair I realise that all my worry is for nothing, because the people ahead of me are always interested in different books (usually the more academic stuff, like textbooks), whereas I head to other sections first. And even though there might be a couple of hundred people on the line in front of me, the huge warehouse space swallows them up quickly, and it looks empty by the time I get in there! To be continued...

Yay! Good work, Dad!! Maybe you should look for the rest of your books in other boxes with your sister's name on them! Was she hoping you'd forget about them so she could have them?

Thanks Claire! I haven't been back to another rehearsal yet. If you're going to be working with children here (either officially or as a volunteer), you have to get a 'Working with Children' check done (I guess this is probably done in many countries these days?) It's a bit of a bother. I had to fill in a form online and then go to a registry to submit it. They'll do a background check on me to make sure I'm a good person, and then I'll officially be right to go. It's terrible that we have to go through this, but totally understandable. Technically we shouldn't attend rehearsals until we're cleared, so I thought I'd try to do the right thing. That show sounds fun! Did you enjoy it? The next show we'll be doing (N and I) has many props that need to be moved on and off the stage by non-actors during the show. I'm not sure if I'll have to go onto the stage myself, but I'll do everything I can to avoid it! I'm sure I'll be able to find some willing people to do the running around while I oversee it all. It would be so much fun to work with you! We'd have an absolute ball!

I wrote instructions to remind myself of all the places (online sites, BCF, book cataloguing software, spreadsheets, challenge lists etc.), where I have to edit things when I buy a book or get rid of one. Unfortunately I never ever remember to refer back to the instructions. I don't think I have a single up-to-date list anywhere, except perhaps the forum!

Ooh, how exciting! It's definitely one of the most unique and interesting books I've ever read. Can't wait to hear what you think of it.

Timur Vermes' book, Look Who's Back, has been made into a TV show to air on Netflix from 9 April. Article.

I haven't read it yet, but hope to soon! Have you read iWoz by Steve Wozniak, the co-creator of Apple? It's a really good read (and much thinner than Isaacson's book ).

One comes to mind...I was reading my first Agatha Christie novel a few years ago (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd). I had chosen it because I'd heard it was excellent and had a brilliant twist at the end. Shortly after I started reading it, I happened to be browsing in a secondhand bookstore while on holiday, and I came across a book with Roger Ackroyd in the title. Figuring that it was about the book I was reading, I picked it up to read the blurb, which revealed the twist and ruined the story for me. I was so annoyed. In hindsight, I shouldn't have picked it up, but then again, why put a massive spoiler on the back cover? I've also stumbled across information regarding the title character of Anna Karenina multiple times. I guess it's supposed to be a popular culture thing that 'everyone' knows, but I didn't know it and I didn't want to know it until I had read the book!!

I always thought I was in the minority in not really enjoying it, but perhaps not! The story was OK, but keep in mind that it's a product of its time. I found it quite ridiculous, with the extreme coincidences and cliches. The stage show (which I'm producing this year) is much more entertaining, as it's a combination of the book and Hitchcock's movie (and kind of a homage to other Hitchcock movies). Highly recommended, if you get a chance to see it! We (myself and the director) just found out that two other theatre groups in and around Sydney are doing productions of the show at the end of the month, so we're going to go and check them out (and see what ideas we can steal ).

We love seeing new members bump up old topics for discussion! Feel free to do it more often. I watched most of the episodes and really enjoyed it, but I stopped reading the series at some point and gave the books away. They were lovely, light reads, but they were a bit samey, and I figured I should spend my time reading other books.

That's such a shame, welovebooks. Luckily I didn't know the ending when I read the book, so it had a huge effect. It's so annoying when a great twist gets ruined by careless people!

Aw, I really loved Freakonomics. I resisted reading it for a while because I thought it wouldn't be interesting (I used to work with many economists in a bank, and they wrote about dull stuff, which I then had to read), so I guess my low expectations helped in that regard.

I have a bit of a list...in my head! They have a small section dedicated to Agatha Christie (and then the rest of the crime/mysteries are thrown in together) so I'll be heading to her section first so I can pick up any I don't already have, but only if they're the particular editions that you and I have. From there I'll probably wing it!