Bookseller: John Sandoe (Books) Ltd.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I love listening to The Book Show on my iPod. Romana Koval is an excellent interviewer who gives each author time to tell his/her story. But what I like most is exposure to authors who have not published in the U.S. Ironically, this is also what I like least. These books are expensive and difficult to locate.

First I discovered Andrey Kurkov, author of Death and the Penguin, which has been published in the U.S. and is available at Amazon.com.

Death and the Penguin is a gripping novel about a man named Victor and his adopted pet penguin Misha. Aspiring author Victor is hired by a post-soviet, mob-owned newspaper to write obituaries for the undead. Eventually, as each obituary nears publication, the subject of each obituary dies. Kurkov takes us on a wild chase of reality amidst absurdity. . . Or is it absurdity amidst reality?. . . Or are they one and the same? As I see it, this is the point of the novel--that with time people will embrace absurdity as normality.

I finished Death and the Penguin in record time, only to learn that Kurkov wrote a sequel, Penguin Lost, and that it is only available in the UK. I searched and searched. Eventually I found a copy through Froogle, bought it, read it, and loved it.

That's when I decided to read all Kurkov's books. I found Case of the General's Thumb without too much trouble. A Matter of Death and Life, however, proved difficult. Several U.S. booksellers carried it, but most charged upwards of $25.

Which brings us to the point of this long-winded message: my wonderful mother and sister, and John Sandoe (Books) Ltd. Immediately upon learning that my mother and sister planned to visit London, England, I scoured the internet for a bookseller within walking distance of their hotel. I found John Sandoe (Books) Ltd. http://www.johnsandoe.com/.


I was after two books: Andrey Kurkov's Novella "A Matter of Death and Life," and Samuel Shimon's "An Iraqi in Paris: An Autobiographical Novel."
Neither is published in the United States. Thanks to my mother, sister, and John Sandoe (Books) Ltd. both now happily reside on my bookshelf.

Book Event: Arlington Library Book Sale

Its that time again. . . the semi-annual Arlington Library Book Sale.

When: Friday, April 29, 2006, at 9:00 a.m. (arrive early)
Where: Arlington Central Library
Why? Cheap books, lots of cheap books.

http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/Libraries/Documents/46210406%20sale%20flyer.pdf

I learned of the Book Sale from a co-worker. He told me about it last fall, and kindly instructed me to arrive early and to bring bags for my books. He wasn't kidding. The book sale is organized and staffed by the friends of the arlington library. They close off an entire level of the parking garage and fill it with books, all kinds of books. Last year I bought cookbooks, contemporary fiction, non fiction, classic literature. Most books are $1 to $3. Some were $4 or $5.

At $1/book I can afford to dabble. Last year I bought expensive cookbooks for 1/10 their original cost. I bought books by unknown (to me) authors. I bought several classics, some in wonderful hardcover editions (Twain, London, Poe). I bought books for my dad, books for my mom. I drove home and picked up Katie, then we bought some more. We bought and bought and bought $100 in $1 to $3 books.

This year will not be as fun. I have received strict instructions from my wife: I can only buy books in equal amount to the number of books I eliminate from our shelves. Yikes!! This is a tough mandate for me. Who do I cut? What do I get rid of? I will let you know.

Book Website: Library Thing

Are you like me? Do you have stacks of books in all corners of your home? Have you ever wanted to catalog your books? Share them with others? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then Library Thing is for you (http://www.librarything.com/).

Library Thing is an online service that anyone can use to catalog their personal library. Because everyone catalogs together, you can also use LibraryThing to find people with similar libraries, get suggestions from people with your tastes and so forth.

I have started my catalog. You can view it here: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/guanarteme.

I really like the feature that tells you how many other people have a book you've listed. Sadly, the book I share with the fewest people (2) is the One Volume Bible Commentary by J. Dummelow. The book I share with the most people (2835) is Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. Suprising, I know.

Introduction

Littera Scripta Manet -- The Written Letter Abides.

Writing instructors teach you to "know your audience." I don't know mine, for this is my first foray into the world of weblogs. My simple hope is that my interests correspond to the interests of others--that I can identify the things I enjoy so that someone else can enjoy them too.

When thinking about the scope of this blog, I thought about my many interests: books, food, sports, gardening, religion. First I contemplated creating a separate blog for each of my interests. "No, I said, that would be unweildy." Then I considered limiting my blog to only one topic. But that would leave me with little to say. So, I decided to create one general blog for anything and everything that interests me. This blog will be eclectic. In it I hope to write about literature and food, among other things.

I will try to pattern my comments after other notable critics.

My favorite on books is Romona Koval. She hosts a daily Book Show for Radio National, Australia. I discovered her show on iTunes and have been listening via podcast ever since. Here is a link to The Book Show:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/

My favorites on food are Calvin Trillin, Jeffrey Steingarten, and Hollister Moore.

Calvin Trillin writes about local favorites, food that can only be found in its place of origin. These items he lists in a "Register of Frustration and Deprivation." I recommend starting with Trillin's latest food book "Feeding a Yen":

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375759964/sr=8-1/qid=1145283732/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-9526396-6752027?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Jeffrey Steingarten is a bit stuffier, but equally enjoyable. He is the Vogue food editor known as the "Simon Cowell of Food." You may recognize him from Food Network's Iron Chef America. He has written two books: The Man Who Ate Everything & It Must've Been Something I Ate: The Return of the Man Who Ate Everything. You can buy both at Amazon.com.

Moore I discovered online at http://www.hollyeats.com/. Moore uses a grease stain rating system. He rates restaurants according to a grease stain rating--3 to 5 grease stains ranging from "great" to "outstanding." Restaurants meriting less than three grease stains don't get reviewed on his site.

Basically, I hope to provide information about lesser-known foods, restaurants and books. I have a flair for the eclectic, so don't expect consistency. Just know that it will be good.

Whether you like or hate my blog, please find time to do the things you love with the people you love. Find time to play ball, read books, and eat good food.