Kylie's Literary Adventures in 2013

[Kylie]

Thanks Frankie and Poppyshake. I just read 20 pages (a lot for me to read in one go these days) - I find it hard to put down! 

[frankie]

A very good sign of a very good book

[Kylie]

I'm feeling quite excited. For years I have wanted Quentin Blake's lovely illustrated edition of A Christmas Carol. Today I finally decided that I should splurge and buy both this and The Annotated Christmas Carol. On the Book Depository's website, both books come to about $48, which is reasonably priced. But before I placed the order, I decided to just check if anywhere else had it cheaper.

 

Using a website that compares prices across many bookshops around the world, I found a price for The Annotated Christmas Carol for $14.95 (compared to the BD's $29.19). I thought that it couldn't possibly be right (especially because the cheaper price was for an Australian shop, where prices are traditionally about double the BD's prices!) but it was correct! Quentin Blake's edition was also cheaper from the same shop (Booktopia, in case Devi or other Aussies are interested).

 

So I have bought both books for $28 instead of $48! How awesome!! Annotated books are usually really expensive, so I must have chanced getting it on sale. I'm so pleased about finding such a good bargain!

[frankie]

Well done for checking if you could find a better deal somewhere else. And to think you did, at an Aussie shop, which usually has more expensive prices... Great!

[Janet]

Is it this one, Kylie?  I have that edition - it's utterly gorgeous! 

 

Can you link to the annotated one you bought?  

[Kylie]

Well done for checking if you could find a better deal somewhere else. And to think you did, at an Aussie shop, which usually has more expensive prices... Great!

 

I know! I still can't believe it's cheaper in Oz. I'm sooo happy!

 

Is it this one, Kylie?  I have that edition - it's utterly gorgeous! 

 

Can you link to the annotated one you bought?  

 

Yes, that's the one! And I think it might have been you who made me aware of this edition.

 

Yes, I should have thought to link to the books, sorry! Here's the annotated edition.

[Kylie]

I received a book in the mail today: iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon by Steve Wozniak with Gina Smith.

 

It's the autobiography of the co-founder of Apple. I became interested in reading this while I was reading Quiet. Susan Cain mentioned him quite a bit because he's an introverted person. It should be very interesting.

[Devi]

I received a book in the mail today: iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon by Steve Wozniak with Gina Smith.

 

It's the autobiography of the co-founder of Apple. I became interested in reading this while I was reading Quiet. Susan Cain mentioned him quite a bit because he's an introverted person. It should be very interesting.

Look forward to hearing what you think. I was thinking of reading it myself, but was concerned it might be full of fanboy stuff.

 

Also, love booktopia!

[Timstar]

Is it this one, Kylie?  I have that edition - it's utterly gorgeous! 

 

Can you link to the annotated one you bought?  

 

That looks amazing! I just bought an ex-library copy for £2.75 on e-bay, it says it's in very good condition but there were no pictures so we'll see, can't complain too much for that price!

Edited November 6, 2013 by Timstar

[Kylie]

What a bargain, Tim! Fingers crossed that it arrives in the condition they stated. I'm hoping I'll receive mine today (Thursday) or Friday at the latest.

[Kylie]

Look forward to hearing what you think. I was thinking of reading it myself, but was concerned it might be full of fanboy stuff.

 

Also, love booktopia!

 

I don't think it will be fanboy at well - or at least, it didn't come across that way when Susan Cain was talking about it. Part of the blurb says 'the mischievous genius with the low profile treats readers to a rollicking no-holds-barred account of his life'.

 

Have you noticed that Booktopia seems to have free shipping nearly all the time now? I frequently receive emails about it. It sweetens the deal even more when there is free shipping.

[Devi]

I don't think it will be fanboy at well - or at least, it didn't come across that way when Susan Cain was talking about it. Part of the blurb says 'the mischievous genius with the low profile treats readers to a rollicking no-holds-barred account of his life'.

 

Have you noticed that Booktopia seems to have free shipping nearly all the time now? I frequently receive emails about it. It sweetens the deal even more when there is free shipping.

If only allbooks4less offered it, it would make it worth buying books from them then.

[Athena]

Great deal you got, Kylie!! I hope you enjoy your books .

[Devi]

Hope you are feeling better Kylie.

[vodkafan]

Hi Kylie are you still a bit crook?  I took your advice and splashed out 1p on Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell . I am strangely excited about reading it and may drop everything else in favour of it....hope it does not disappoint. 

[Brian.]

I received a book in the mail today: iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon by Steve Wozniak with Gina Smith.

 

It's the autobiography of the co-founder of Apple. I became interested in reading this while I was reading Quiet. Susan Cain mentioned him quite a bit because he's an introverted person. It should be very interesting.

 

He's a really interesting person, he used to write all his coding by hand in a notebook and only then type it out on a computer. He is also very balanced when talking about technology, he loves a lot of what Android has to offer and isn't afraid of saying so. I read the book a few years ago and I found it to be a great read.

[Timstar]

What a bargain, Tim! Fingers crossed that it arrives in the condition they stated. I'm hoping I'll receive mine today (Thursday) or Friday at the latest.

 

 

Thanks, it came this morning, other then a sticker on the the plastic cover and a bit of writing on the inside page it's in near perfect condition. Really pleased with it.

[Kylie]

If only allbooks4less offered it, it would make it worth buying books from them then.

 

 Definitely. Unless they change to either free shipping or expanding their selection to what they had before, I doubt I'll ever buy anything from them again.

 

Great deal you got, Kylie!! I hope you enjoy your books .

 

Thanks Athena! I'm sure I'll enjoy them.

 

Hope you are feeling better Kylie.

 

Thanks Devi. Feeling marginally better, although I really have no right to complain about a cold when you have it much worse than me. 

 

Hi Kylie are you still a bit crook?  I took your advice and splashed out 1p on Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell . I am strangely excited about reading it and may drop everything else in favour of it....hope it does not disappoint. 

 

Yep, still crook, but getting there.

 

Excellent! I really hope it doesn't disappoint too, or I'll feel bad (but not too bad - at least you didn't splash out on a brand new copy!)

 

He's a really interesting person, he used to write all his coding by hand in a notebook and only then type it out on a computer. He is also very balanced when talking about technology, he loves a lot of what Android has to offer and isn't afraid of saying so. I read the book a few years ago and I found it to be a great read.

 

That's good to know, thanks Brian.  I have a few books on the go at the moment, but as soon as I finish one or two, I'm hoping to get to this one.

 

Thanks, it came this morning, other then a sticker on the the plastic cover and a bit of writing on the inside page it's in near perfect condition. Really pleased with it.

 

Excellent! I suppose the sticker could be removed pretty easily (eucalyptus oil is really good for getting sticky residue off books, as Frankie will attest).

[Athena]

Excellent! I suppose the sticker could be removed pretty easily (eucalyptus oil is really good for getting sticky residue off books, as Frankie will attest).

x

Eucalyptus oil? Is it the same one you'd put in a bath? I have some of that.. Not sure if that'd work though.

[Kylie]

I had a great week in terms of books. Two of the three books I ordered from the Book Depository arrived (iWoz and Death and the Penguin - just waiting on the Bonnie and Clyde book).

 

While I was laying around and feeling sick and sorry for myself during the week, the postie arrived early one morning with a book package. It was my deliciously early Christmas present from Poppyshake: a book called The Novel Cure: An A-Z of Literary Remedies by Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin. The book was perfect both because I needed a pick-me-up and because I was sick and miraculously received a book of remedies (I think Poppyshake has some strange mind powers, because I'm sure I hadn't previously mentioned that I was sick. ) Thank you, darling Poppyshake!

 

I also received the package of books I ordered from Booktopia, including two beautiful editions of Quentin Blake's A Christmas Carol and The Annotated Christmas Carol. I also bought Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex and Anthony Burgess' 1985. I scoured the Internet for 1985 several years ago and had trouble finding it because it was out of print - but I was so excited when I finally found a copy. Now it has been reprinted so I just had to get myself a lovely new copy. 

[Kylie]

x

Eucalyptus oil? Is it the same one you'd put in a bath? I have some of that.. Not sure if that'd work though.

 

It can be used for many things, so yes, probably in a bath as well. It's one of my favourite ever smells. Do you have concentrated eucalyptus oil, or is it mixed in with something else?

[Athena]

I think it's concentrated but I'm not sure. I'll have to go and look on the bottle. I love the smell of it too!

[Timstar]

I will give that a go thanks!

[Kylie]

Some lovely bookish activity in the past week:

 

Julie, I finally received my Bonnie and Clyde book, Go Down Together by Jeff Guinn.

 

I went into Sydney for a music gig on Friday night, so I went in earlier to visit a great secondhand bookshop called Elizabeth's. It's not the biggest bookshop around, but the selection is always great and I often find a few gems (there is a 'sister' shop in a nearby suburb, which is also great). I passed on buying a couple of books there because I didn't want to spend too much and figured I could buy them online for a cheaper price, but it turns out that I can't buy them cheaper online, so I might try to go back in the next couple of days and buy them. Anyway, I bought:

 

Jonathan Craig Case of the Nervous Nude

Yes, I was drawn to this book by the title, and then by the cover, which is deliciously 'pulpy' (but the woman is tastefully clad). I almost never buy books that I haven't heard of before (or if I haven't heard of the author), but I decided to live a little. I did read the blurb and the first page, and it reads like a Raymond Chandler-type novel, which bodes very well.

 

Matt Haig The Radleys

This one is brand new but had a bargain price, and I couldn't believe I found it so soon after reading good reviews about it here.

 

Patricia Highsmith The Boy Who Followed Ripley

This is the only book I have been missing from Highsmith's Ripley series. I was stoked to find it, and it's in perfect condition and exactly matches my other books in the series.

 

Vladimir Nabokov The Eye

I haven't head of this one before. I never pass up anything by Nabokov. This edition is rather old and has those red-edged pages (does that happen because of age?) but the cover is kind of retro cool (although it's the type that I could change my mind about and hate tomorrow).

 

On Saturday I went browsing in a local bookshop and couldn't help but buy:

 

Alexandre Dumas The Black Tulip

Veronica Roth Allegiant

 

My BF was over today and we played my Great Penguin Bookcase board game, which I've never had a chance to play before (because I didn't know anyone who was bookish enough). It's like Trivial Pursuit, but with book questions. I won the board game, and then we just took turns asking each other the questions and keeping a tally. I led for a while, but eventually lost by four points.

 

In actual reading news, I have about 40 pages left of Death and the Penguin.

[Athena]

Great haul, I hope you enjoy your books ! I always love it when the books in a series match each other.

 

The board game sounds awesome! I googled for pictures, it looks really nice too.