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seandcOK, so I've been away from my "post entry" screen for a while, and saving the book stuff up as paragraphs here and there in my email for it's own entry since at least late September, since that's where we'll start with this piece about Jasper Fforde.
Friday, September 22nd - Jasper Fforde signed copies of his new book The Fourth Bear today at Dymocks in the city. I was naughty and took off just before lunchtime even though I was manning the fort by myself that day - nobody minded though. It was a fairly warm day, one of those spring days that's telling you it might be time to lose the jacket.
I got in pretty early, wandered a bit to let everything get sorted out, then came back to a line going a few metres down the front of the construction site next door - they'd set his table up at the front of the store, which drew a fair amount of interest from the passing lunchers. I heard from the nametagging assistant that the night before he'd been signing for about two hours (instead of the scheduled one) at their Cannington store (now *that* would've been a fun line to be in, Carousel Shopping Centre on late night shopping, and I know there's not much free room in that store, or to line up outside).
I didn't have any questions or anything myself, but he spent quite a bit of time talking to people who had questions, observations, etc. I just said hello and got my book signed (below), then made way for the other people in the line - I'm sure there were enough questions to keep him busy for the rest of lunchtime!
There was a minor bit of foufourah in the news a couple of months ago, with the Libs trying to get a book chucked out of a school library because it called former-Prime Minister Bob Menzies (aka Ming the Merciless and I'm not making that up) a tyrant. Well from the sounds of it it was more like the senators involved heard about it, saw red, then tried every trick in the book (as well as Mao's Little Red Book, which the Libs tell us is pushed on all students) to get it chucked out of the school for daring to not portray him as all goodness and caramel filling (luckily the principal held his ground).
Anyway, I had to laugh at all this when I rang Mum, and asked if she had any similarly seditious books lying around... and she said yes! :lol: Turns out she has a copy of A Radical Life by Russell Ward, son of the Headmaster when Grandpa was a scholar at Wesley (although a few years younger than Berwick). Being of a leftwards persuasion and his major works being considered very radical for the times (right in the middle of the Menzies era) he wasn't exactly a fan (and from what I've read, I'm sure had they met Menzies himself would have a few choice words - of course, they could have met for all I know, not having seen the book myself). I wonder what they'd make of a bookshelf that also has a copy of Child of the Hurricane...
I found SmartPops essaybooks in Boffins! Well, *a* book in that series. About a month ago I'd been looking for this definition since the Thursday afternoon (I really think the commonly used terms are somewhat different, but I'm told to look for this specific term), so I'd actually gone to the State Library to try and find any useful dictionaries there (no luck - anything I found was far too technical, given that what I want straddles the IT/Management divide), and then worked my way over to Boffins (our main bookstore for professional and technical topics) on Hay Street to see if they had anything. No dictionaries, but a couple of possibly-related books. But on my way out down the designed for far littler feet stairs I noticed "The Psychology of The Simpsons" from the SmartPops website, so hooray! It'll be good if they get more in, they're hard to find down here!
On the topic of Smartpops, I've become a bit of an inspiration. A couple of weeks ago I was in (oh gee, what are they calling themselves now?) Fantastic Planet (a sci-fi bookstore on Shafto Lane), looking for the BSG entry in their series since I found the Trek book there. No luck on shelf, so I requested they get a copy in for me. As I'm doing there a lady also in the store asks that they get a copy for her too! :lol: *stands around with a sandwich board*
So, that's what's been lingering around my email for a while, much like all the books I've been picking up at secondhand stores and the Discard Bookshop at State Library - such a good way of getting cheap books like a Ben Elton I missed, and some hardcovers of John Saul's earlier books... yes, if I ever go through the storeroom I am going to be in need of at least three new bookshelves!
Friday, September 22nd - Jasper Fforde signed copies of his new book The Fourth Bear today at Dymocks in the city. I was naughty and took off just before lunchtime even though I was manning the fort by myself that day - nobody minded though. It was a fairly warm day, one of those spring days that's telling you it might be time to lose the jacket.
I got in pretty early, wandered a bit to let everything get sorted out, then came back to a line going a few metres down the front of the construction site next door - they'd set his table up at the front of the store, which drew a fair amount of interest from the passing lunchers. I heard from the nametagging assistant that the night before he'd been signing for about two hours (instead of the scheduled one) at their Cannington store (now *that* would've been a fun line to be in, Carousel Shopping Centre on late night shopping, and I know there's not much free room in that store, or to line up outside).
I didn't have any questions or anything myself, but he spent quite a bit of time talking to people who had questions, observations, etc. I just said hello and got my book signed (below), then made way for the other people in the line - I'm sure there were enough questions to keep him busy for the rest of lunchtime!
There was a minor bit of foufourah in the news a couple of months ago, with the Libs trying to get a book chucked out of a school library because it called former-Prime Minister Bob Menzies (aka Ming the Merciless and I'm not making that up) a tyrant. Well from the sounds of it it was more like the senators involved heard about it, saw red, then tried every trick in the book (as well as Mao's Little Red Book, which the Libs tell us is pushed on all students) to get it chucked out of the school for daring to not portray him as all goodness and caramel filling (luckily the principal held his ground).
Anyway, I had to laugh at all this when I rang Mum, and asked if she had any similarly seditious books lying around... and she said yes! :lol: Turns out she has a copy of A Radical Life by Russell Ward, son of the Headmaster when Grandpa was a scholar at Wesley (although a few years younger than Berwick). Being of a leftwards persuasion and his major works being considered very radical for the times (right in the middle of the Menzies era) he wasn't exactly a fan (and from what I've read, I'm sure had they met Menzies himself would have a few choice words - of course, they could have met for all I know, not having seen the book myself). I wonder what they'd make of a bookshelf that also has a copy of Child of the Hurricane...
I found SmartPops essaybooks in Boffins! Well, *a* book in that series. About a month ago I'd been looking for this definition since the Thursday afternoon (I really think the commonly used terms are somewhat different, but I'm told to look for this specific term), so I'd actually gone to the State Library to try and find any useful dictionaries there (no luck - anything I found was far too technical, given that what I want straddles the IT/Management divide), and then worked my way over to Boffins (our main bookstore for professional and technical topics) on Hay Street to see if they had anything. No dictionaries, but a couple of possibly-related books. But on my way out down the designed for far littler feet stairs I noticed "The Psychology of The Simpsons" from the SmartPops website, so hooray! It'll be good if they get more in, they're hard to find down here!
On the topic of Smartpops, I've become a bit of an inspiration. A couple of weeks ago I was in (oh gee, what are they calling themselves now?) Fantastic Planet (a sci-fi bookstore on Shafto Lane), looking for the BSG entry in their series since I found the Trek book there. No luck on shelf, so I requested they get a copy in for me. As I'm doing there a lady also in the store asks that they get a copy for her too! :lol: *stands around with a sandwich board*
So, that's what's been lingering around my email for a while, much like all the books I've been picking up at secondhand stores and the Discard Bookshop at State Library - such a good way of getting cheap books like a Ben Elton I missed, and some hardcovers of John Saul's earlier books... yes, if I ever go through the storeroom I am going to be in need of at least three new bookshelves!
no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 08:17 pm (UTC)Goood. :D
There's also a series of essay books from a publisher by the name of Monkeybrains. That one does primarily literature discussions, but they're good. Someone on my friends list is the writer of those.
On the topic of Smartpops, I've become a bit of an inspiration.
I can only assume that people are finally figuring out just how good those essay books are.