booktastic

Yesterday I got an exciting piece of mail: the Edward R. Hamilton’s Bargain Books Catalog. This may not seem all that exciting to you. But I will have you know: this catalog was the highlight of my life as a teenager. 

Yes, I probably was a pretty boring teenager. But the Edward R. Hamilton Bargain Books catalog isn’t! Hundreds of remainder books, priced to sell (usually between $3.95 and $7.95 with some exceptions), with a flat shipping rate of $3.50!!

(I think it was $2.50 when I was a teenager, but $1.00 isn’t that much of a hike when you consider how much postage costs have gone up in the past fifteen years…)

I haven’t really looked through one of these catalogs in years; I was distracted with school, getting married, having a job, not having money, and all those other great “grown up” things. However, like I said, I got one in the mail yesterday and it was Friday night (woo!) so I thought, “What better way to spend a Friday night than to spend it slowly paging through a Bargain Books catalog with a pen in hand?”

Bargain Books has changed a bit since I was a teen. For one thing, it’s an actual catalog now and has a color cover: when I used to receive it, it was in thick, B&W newspaper format. And as I mentioned, the flat shipping rate has gone up slightly. Plus, now they apparently sell DVDs too.

However, it’s still a delightful cross-section of former-bestsellers, never-was-bestsellers, never-heard-of-its and what-the-hell-somebody-actually-published-this-type selections. And now it has DVDs.

I would say that, in general, the prices are a bit higher than when I used to spend my afternoon sheafing through this thing. I saw more books above the $7.95 mark than before - but, honestly, what isn’t more expensive than it was ten years ago? All and all, these are still bargains and if you actually take the time to look through this catalog, you’re going to find some things that you want. Check out their website and request a catalog (there are extra shipping costs when you buy online for some reason, so getting the catalog is worth it). It’s free and fun and you’ll be glad you did. – Mrs. Hall

P.S. I’ve decided I’m not going back to “The Jane Austen Book Club” - the book simply wasn’t pulling me in, and it was an effort to read it, so I’m just going to put it on Bookmooch. So much for that one! Right now I’m working on that Joseph Campbell book and “The Cereal Murders” by Diane Mott Davidson…

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Well, on this day after the election, there are probably many things on your mind. I was going to discuss, in a post-election way, some thoughts by my favorite straight Sci-Fi author, Orson Scott Card, on the election and journalism…

However, something else has come to pass in the literature world. Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Congo and many others, has just died.

This is probably a bad point to mention that I’ve never actually read a Michael Crichton novel - but it’s very true. I’ve seen plenty of movies based on his novels (some of better quality than others) but I haven’t picked a book up. This is in spite of the fact I was actually recommended to the book Andromeda Strain by my Mother and Jurassic Park by my Father… and, indeed, in spite of the fact that I have owned copies of both of those books at different points in my life.

But regardless of my actual lack of experience of his written work, I’ve experienced film adaptations of his work (as have we all). It would not be exaggerating to say that Michael Crichton had a huge impact on Sci-Fi and fantasy during the past two decades.

In honor of this author’s passing, I’ve resolved to read one of his books. I haven’t decided which one yet, but there you have it. In the meantime, let’s all pause and take a moment to remember the guy who made Dinosaurs cool again. – Mrs. Hall 

As I said, this job gives me an excellent opportunity to catch up on my reading via audiobook. Today, since I’d exhausted what I could find on other free sites, I made use of a resource I recently discovered through the Chicago Public Library website…

Free Media Downloads!

Yes, the Chicago Public Library website allows you to search their site, locate downloadable media (audiobooks, videos, and PDF copies of books) and keep them, for a short time, on your computer. (I don’t know what happens after the 21 days you’re allowed to keep them… Maybe your computer blows up or something.) Actually, some items (randomly, it seems) you are actually allowed to download and copy to disk, which is pretty keen.

I think this is a fairly new program on behalf of the ChiPubLib, and I haven’t heard of any other Libraries doing it. But isn’t it nice? Unfortunately, you have to have a Chicago Public Library card in order to use the system (sorry, out-of-towners).

The first thing I downloaded (when I discovered this service last month while attempting to renew books online) was one of the Patrick Troughton Dr. Who episodes which is available only in audio form because the silly BBC destroyed the video copy of the episode. I was also able to copy this particular download to CD, so I have it to enjoy for all time. (I am very enthusiastic about this program right now.)

Today, since I’ve been needing things to listen to at work, I downloaded the audiobook of Garcia Marquez in 90 Minutes - which was actually about two freakin’ hours long. (Very misleading). Granted, I do know a lot more about the South American modernismo movement in literature than I did before - but come on. It said 90 minutes. — Mrs. Hall

I’ve tried book-swapping websites before. I don’t remember what the one I tried was called, but I recall that you could either earn points for swapping by actually swapping, or by purchasing them. I put books on the site to swap - and nobody ever asked for them, so eventually I got bored and took them down. (And then forgot the name of the website. That’s the end of that story.)

However, after I joined Librarything.com last year, I was exploring another member’s websites and discovered one that sounded interesting: BookMooch . No money involved: you add books and get points, if people trade you get points, and when you trade for other people’s books you get points. So really, the only expense is when people ask for you books and you have to send them off… but nobody complains if you send them parcel post (i.e. cheap as possible). So really, you’re probably not spending more than three dollars a book - which is a very inexpensive way to increase the size of your library.

Yes, the books are used, and sometimes a little worse for the wear, but for the most part “Moochers” are very good about giving condition notes on books. Only once out of forty-something trades have I not been notified when the book was in rough shape.

Plus - since these are used books - you can sometimes find things that are off the beaten path. I found an obscure Dr. Who book from the 1970’s, and an autographed (!) copy of Sean Astin’s autobiography .  BookMooch has also been a good place to pick up copies of books I always wanted to read and hadn’t, like The Great Gatsby.

So - in short - Bookmooch is well worth it. Very easy to use, and a good, inexpensive way to increase the size of your library. Any questions? – Mrs. Hall