Another Award

I've received another award! And I have Too Many Books, Too Little Time to thank for it.

Seeing I've already awarded my share of bloggers with this award already. I think I'll just say thank you very much and let you all know I have received this one again.

I still have it in the side bar too.

Indepence Gone!

I've been reading on a few other blogs lately (and yeah, I do follow quite a few based on reading and books), that the independent bookstores are being swallowed up and spat out by the bigger, more industrialised bookstores. I'm finding this terrible and a horrible waste of personal service. On the one hand, you have the wonderful little (and sometimes not-so-little) book stores that have been around since the beginning of time. They have regular customers, lovely people behind the counter who know the shop backwards in their sleep, books you wouldn't and couldn't find anywhere else around town and allow you to just meander around for as long as you want without asking if you need any assistance every ten minutes.
Then, you have the huge, business building-sized bookstore you can get lost in at a moment's notice due to it's size; and not because you've lost track of time. They have lounge chairs everywhere, a coffee shop, people asking if you're okay and a computer system most people can't figure out on their own (thus the reason for these places to be overstaffed at times). It's not that I don't like the big, massive, book stores where you have to have map to find the section you want. But it's what these oversized stores do to the little business that really bothers me.
Just like in the the movie, 'You've Got Mail', the small, community-based bookstore that had been around for more than 30+ years was shut down by the arrival of a huge, all you'd ever want to buy but better bookstore. The irony of this film - and I've found this with many bookstores that are on the larger scale - is that they lack the personal touch the smaller, independent bookstores have. In 'You've Got Mail', the owner of the smaller bookstore went into the bigger bookstore and found the staff knew nothing about the authors and the older editions of the books; but they knew all about the new publications. For some people, that's okay. But for collectors of books (like myself), that's not enough.
The independent bookstores are not becoming a thing of the past here in Australia. Seeing how we are finding it harder to make ends meet and it's not always best to purchase books brand new, us Australians often head off to the second-hand bookstores to find ourselves a bargain. Or better still, we wait until the bi-annual Life Line Bookfest in January and June where we can find books at the best prices ever! Last year, I bought up big there and even had enough money to buy some books for my niece who really loves horses.

There are some great second-hand bookstores around the Brisbane area where their shelves are lined with books. 'Archive's Books' on Charlotte Street in the City is one. It's been around for years and people have gone there for years; I do recommend a visit there if you do come to this lovely city. Another I frequent is 'Cumquat Books' at Annerley; on the corner of Juliette Street and Emporer Street. It looks boring on the outside with its grey exterior; however once through that glass door, you'll never want to leave! And the best thing is: it's wheelchair friendly! Then, there's 'Charring Cross Books' at Chardon's Corner. It used to be in a house on Ipswich Road. But now, it's moved a few doors down next to the travel agent (ironically enough, not far from where it originally started off when I was in high school). But it's still there and just as popular as ever.

So, has the independent bookstore you frequent been squeezed out of existence? Or is it still going strong? And how do you shop for books? Online or at a discount bookstore? I do most of my shopping at second hand bookstores and charity shops as well as a place called QBD where their motto is: "Never pay full price!" That's a motto I do live by!

Wonderland Avenue by Danny Sugerman

When Danny Sugerman was thirteen years old, he attended his first Doors concert. He loved the music scene of L.A and was from a very privileged and wealthy family in Beverley Hills. However, behind closed doors, his family life sucked. After his father leaves because of his collection of frogs, snakes and lizards, his mother got a new boyfriend who hit Danny and made his life a living hell each time he came home. It got to a point when he just couldn't tolerate it and left; staying the night at the studios of The Doors where he worked as their fan mail handler. It was then Jim Morrison and the rest of the band found out what kind of hell he was going through. This is a funny and interesting look at how Danny's life comes a full circle only to end up right where he started; not knowing how he got there.

The last time I read this book was in 2004. I remember buying and just flying through the book at a record speed. It took me along for the ride and I loved it. By the end, I wanted to read the other books; and fortunately, I had one of them ('The Doors: Illustrated History') which I received for my 19th birthday from my brother.

Daniel Stephen Sugerman (aka Danny; October 11, 1954 – January 5, 2005) was the second manager of the Los Angeles based rock band The Doors, and wrote several books about Jim Morrison and The Doors, including No One Here Gets Out Alive co-authored with Jerry Hopkins, and the autobiography Wonderland Avenue. Sugerman replaced the original Doors manager, Bill Siddons, shortly after Morrison`s death in 1971. He helped film director Oliver Stone with the production of the 1991 movie The Doors.
Sugerman began working with The Doors when he was 12 years old, starting with answering their fan mail. As stated by The Doors` drummer John Densmore, Danny was "the manager and driving force behind The Doors" who "guided our career for over 30 years". He lived his life keeping the legacy of The Doors alive.
Sugerman was interested in working out a distribution deal with MP3.com for a number of live Doors recordings that were yet unreleased. No deal was forthcoming, and Sugerman later determined that it would be practical to offer the recordings on CD to fans via the Doors` own official website. Sugerman was a recovering heroin addict who found solace in Buddhism. He died on 5th, January, 2005 after a prolonged struggle with lung cancer due to years of smoking, and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

The Passing of a Great Author

Just yesterday, I was advised of the news that J.D. Salinger has passed away at the grand old age of 91. This man had written 'Catcher In The Rye' and published three books of short stories. Jerome David Salinger was born in 1919, brought up in New York, studied at New York University and Columbia. Later, he took part in WWII as a soldier. Margaret Salinger, his daughter, is currently working with a biographer on book about his life which will describe her difficult life with her father.

I've been looking around on the net, and today found out that J.D. Salinger had fifteen hidden unpublished new novels hidden in a safe he had written. It had been a very long time since Salinger had given his last interview - 1980 in fact - and he had been writing ever since; and before then as well. He said that he had been 'to have furiously bashed away at his typewriter' and has been doing this for the last 40 years. Almost nothing is known about the author’s life since he retreated into self-imposed seclusion in 1953, in the tiny village of Cornish, New Hampshire.

Tributes to the legendary author poured in yesterday after his son, actor Matt Salinger, released a short statement that his father had died of natural causes at his home on Wednesday night. Horror novelist Stephen King said it felt like “an eccentric, short-tempered, but often fascinating uncle had passed away” is one such fellow writer who gave his condolences publicly on the net (and I read the whole article as well and found it touching; even though King doesn't read Salinger's work, he does respect him as a fellow writer).

What will happen to Salinger's unpublished works is yet to be seen. Will they be published posthumously or will they be destroyed? Fans of the the writer haven't been told; and this has interested and distressed his loyal fans. We will have to wait and see what happens.

January Book Purchases.

Wow! It's the end of the month already and I've only got three books to show you. But, this means I've been good and saving my money for the right books that I really do want to have on my shelves; so then, you can read the reviews - good or bad.

The first two books were purchased at the Brunswick Heads Markets in New South Wales on 2nd, January. It was a hot and brilliantly sunny day and I was dreadfully sunburnt when I bought these two great books. There's 'Danse Macabre' by Stephen King which I bought at The Big Book Van. This van is famous for having a massive variety of books and it's owned by two older-generation people who have as much of a passion for books as their customers. And when I picked up this one, the lady said she had just put it out on the stand; so it must have been fate for me to have it. I'm really looking forward to reading this book as I've heard great things about it.

The second one I bought at the same markets was 'The First Wives Club' by Olivia Goldsmith. This one was purchased at a stall which had a large number of books, sagas and series; and they were all in wonderful condition. However, seeing I had been looking for this one for some time to replace the one I had years ago which fell apart in my hands, I thought just buying this would be the best thing to do.

My third purchase was just this week - on Monday actually. I've been searching everywhere for a book on Budgerigars; on how to care for them, which breads are which, their history, feeding, breeding... the whole thing. And seeing you can get books about certain dogs, I thought budgies were the same; and I was right. I found this wonderful book titled: 'Budgerigar' by David Alderton in a half-price Publisher's Sales Store for only around $10 (it was $27.99! What a great deal I got!). Well! I've learnt a lot about my little bird and found out a few things about her breed, why she is like she is and that there's really not all that much to worry about.

So, there's my book purchases for this month. Stay tuned at the end of each month to see what I purchase and from where.

Winker Puppet Story Books

As a child, I read anything that was given to me; and my Grandparents gave me these two wonderful books. I thought they were the best things as I was still learning to read and the pictures were really colourful and pretty. Little did I know these books were also Japanese made and were going to be hard to come by in the future. These two lovely - but well-known - fairytales of 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' and 'Little Red Riding Hood' became favourites of mine to read. The covers were transient as I moved them up and down; changing from one scene to another, and the thick pages are easy to turn. Mum covered these books with plastic that was used in the libraries to protect books in the 1980's; and this plastic is still on these books, keeping their looks and quality complete.
The one thing I have noticed about these books is that they were printed in 1968 and 1970, made, printed and bound in Japan by Zokeisha Publications in Tokyo and the Winker Puppet Story Books had a list of other fairytales they had printed.

I have looked around on the net and haven't found anyone else with these books. However, I have found the site of the publishing company; and they are still going strong, entertaining children all over Japan and the world with their books. I've put a link on the side bar for more information.

Natural Magic - A Seasonal Guide by Paddy Slade

This is a lovely, large, hard covered book on pagan rituals and rites throughout the year; beginning in October - as it does for the Northern Hemisphere. It's full of information about where these traditions came from, old-fashioned pictures, photographs of ivy, mistletoe and animals; as well as spells, potions and sayings for each season and Sabbath of the year. If you are a beginner at the Craft, this is most certainly a book you must track down and use as a reference in your first year or so as it's full of the information I wished I had when I was starting out and didn't have.

I have a section in my bookcase dedicated to the Craft and its traditions. However, this book is a much simpler way of looking at it; in its layout and feel. All the information I have collected through my books is inside this one; and is perfect for the beginner; as I have said.

Paddy Slade was born Patricia Harlow, 29th September 1931 and lived in Canterbury, Kent, and was the youngest of seven children. Her Mother as she was of Scottish decent and practiced the old ways of the village Witch or Wise Woman; and Patricia picked up on the traditional ways quickly and carried them on.
For her education Paddy went on to study at Cambridge University, from where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Medieval History and English. After leaving collage she joined the signals branch of the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF). In 1955 while still serving in the air force, Paddy married her husband Philip (Pete) Slade and a year later gave birth to their first son Robert, a second son Peter followed in 1957. Most of their time with the RAF was spent serving overseas, mainly in Singapore and Fiji, and only returned to England after leaving the Force in the early 1960’s.
As time passed Paddy became known for her knowledge of herbal and magical remedies, and soon had a steady stream of students waiting to join her teaching courses, what she called “the Old Wild Magic. In them she would stress the need for individuals to experience the powers of nature and the elements for themselves, and before even trying to employ the use of spells or magic. With the sudden growth and interest in modern witchcraft as practiced as a religion and inspired by those above, Paddy felt that much of the basics of real magic was being lost.
If your looking for an “Occult book of Ritual and Magic”, then her books are not for you, but if you want a down-to-earth real book of Kitchen Witchery, her books are easy, fun and compulsive reading. I might mention however, that while her earlier book “Natural Magic” is beautifully illustrated, her later book “Seasonal Magic” is a re-write and basically the same, it has a few bits of added material and of course contains her now famous “Rite of Chocolate”.
If you'd like to know more about Paddy Slade, I've put a link to her website on the sidebar.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag is a fireman who lives in a futurist America; however firemen of this time don't work in the same way they do today. Instead of putting out fires, they create them. In the futurist American city Montag lives in, people don't talk to each other, admire nature, read books, spend time on their own or think independently. Instead, they watch wall-sized televisions called 'The Family' and listen to the radio called 'Seashell Radio' which is attached to their ear. In fact, in this time, anyone who owns a book - or library of them - is known as a 'minority' and the books must be handed in to be burnt. And this is exactly what the firemen of this time do; as the houses of the future are all fireproof. However, Guy begins to talk to a young Clarisse McClellan who is seventeen and sees the world in a totally different light. She opens his eyes to how empty his life really is and over time, Guy experiences a series of events that changes his way of looking at his job, his life and makes him question exactly why firemen are burning books and not helping people the way they used to in the past (as he had rumours about). In one night, Guy's mind is made up when a job turns bad; when a woman whose house full of books is burnt to the ground with her inside as she refused to leave it. He decides it's time to find out the truth about why books were turned into the enemy. He remembers that he met an old English Professor once; and so he goes in search for him again. Will his friendship with retired English Professor, Faber, change his life for the better or will it get him killed?

I received this book for Christmas and couldn't get my nose out of it over the holidays - also because it rained for a good part of the time too! And so, it made for good reading weather. I love this book and most definitely will read it again.

Ray Bradbury has been writing for a good majority of his life; and has a massive fan base ranging across all age groups. His writing is brilliantly sculpted without weighing a reader down. As with his shorter works, his longer works are just wonderful and a joy to read. Check out more about this brilliant writer on the side bar.

What I Plan To Get My Nose Into.

I've received so many books over the last six months that my Mt TBR shelves are bowing! Honestly, they are. So, here are just some of the books I'm planning on reading this year; well, it looks like a good pile, but really, I'm looking forward to getting my nose between their pages.

'The Gargoyle' by Andrew Davidson was given to me on my birthday; and it had been on my Wish List on Bookcrossing.com and so seeing I've begun it, I've promised myself to finish it.
'The King of Cats: And Other Feline Fairytales' edited by John Richard Stephens is one I picked out from a book swap down in Bangalow, NSW while Mum and I met with another Bookcrosser. In return, I gave her a book off her Wish List. This book looked fascinating; so I thought to try it out.
'He Died With a Felafel In His Hand' by John Birmingham. This was written by an Australian man who has rented a lot of places around Brisbane. And seeing I love to read about my country - and at times about my hometown - I thought buy this one from 'The Book Barn' in Mullumbimby while I had the chance.
'Old Man And The Sea' by Ernest Hemmingway. Now, I didn't just buy this one for the story; this book is a 2nd Edition... and that's the other reason why I purchased it; to give it a good home.
'Under The Dome' by Stephen King. Yep, I read the book the people either love or hate. No middle of the road with tastes on this one; but I've yet to decide whether I like it yet as I'm a third of the way through it and I'm waiting - still - for something big'n'exitin' to happen!
'Danse Macabre' by Stephen King. And other one I have in this pile; but I've heard it's great. I got this one from the Brunswick Markets and intend to get my nose into it this year too!
'So Many Books, So Little Time' by Sara Nelson. I received this one for Christmas from Mum. She saw it at Redland Bay at Bayers Trading Post and bought it for me. I hope it's as good as the front cover shows it is.

Well, there's my reading plans... and as with all plans, they don't always go to the way we want. I still have my Chunky Reads Challenge to work this into as well. So, I have a busy year of reading ahead of me. What are you getting your noses into for 2010? Leave a comment and let us know.