Reading Copy Book Blog

Bob Dylan loves Robert Burns.

The Guardian has the 10 best books about whales and I’m glad to see the list includes In The Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick - an excellent read and a true story of whales and cannabalism (that’s men eating men, not whales eating whales).

Dacre Stoker - what a great name! Not only is this bloke related to Bram Stoker (in itself another great name) but his name actually sounds scary and rather threatening.

Richard Davies / Dacre Stoker….hmmm.

Dacre Stoker delved into his ancestor’s handwritten notes on the original Dracula novel to pen his sequel, Dracula: The Un-Dead - the original name for Dracula before an editor changed the title. The novel, out next October, draws on excised characters, existing character back-stories and plot threads that were cut from Stoker’s original novel, first published 111 years ago.

Don’t forget to check out our brand new Shelfsound podcast player - the NY Times weekly book section podcast is there….just seconds after the paper made it available this morning.

I think she needs to work on her rhyme scheme a bit but it shows promise

“On Good and Evil”

It is obvious to me
Who the good guys are in this one
And who the bad guys are.
The bad guys are the ones
Who say Israel is a stinking corpse,
And should be wiped off
The face of the earth.

That’s not a good guy.

(To K. Couric, CBS News, Sept. 25, 2008)

“You Can’t Blink”

You can’t blink.
You have to be wired
In a way of being
So committed to the mission,

The mission that we’re on,
Reform of this country,
And victory in the war,
You can’t blink.

So I didn’t blink.

(To C. Gibson, ABC News, Sept. 11, 2008)

“Haiku”

These corporations.
Today it was AIG,
Important call, there.

(To S. Hannity, Fox News, Sept. 18, 2008)

“Befoulers of the Verbiage”

It was an unfair attack on the verbiage
That Senator McCain chose to use,
Because the fundamentals,
As he was having to explain afterwards,
He means our workforce.
He means the ingenuity of the American.
And of course that is strong,
And that is the foundation of our economy.
So that was an unfair attack there,
Again based on verbiage.

(To S. Hannity, Fox News, Sept. 18, 2008)

“Secret Conversation”

I asked President Karzai:

“Is that what you are seeking, also?
“That strategy that has worked in Iraq?
“That John McCain had pushed for?
“More troops?
“A counterinsurgency strategy?”

And he said, “Yes.”

(To K. Couric, CBS News, Sept. 25, 2008)

“Outside”

I am a Washington outsider.
I mean,
Look at where you are.
I’m a Washington outsider.

I do not have those allegiances
To the power brokers,
To the lobbyists.
We need someone like that.

(To C. Gibson, ABC News, Sept. 11, 2008)

…From Slate

Over at the Book Bench they caught wind of a street artist who is giving away free books in Manhattan, catch is they have torn the last page out of each of the books.

If you take a look at the AbeBooks.com homepage today, you will see we have launched a new monthly feature called Legends of Literature. First up is F. Scott Fitzgerald. In November, we’ll focus on PG Wodehouse and then end the year with John Steinbeck. These are the authors that never stop selling on AbeBooks, from $1 reading copies to $5,000 rare editions.

Fitzgerald has always been a fascinating character, but did he really waste his immense talent? Every Legend of Literature feature included an interview with an expert on the featured author and Kirk Curnett of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Society has strong opinions about how much Fitzgerald achieved.

Ken Follett, author of World Without End, is reading Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

The Independent has an interview with Kenny.

Putting together this list of the most expensive sales is always one of the most interesting jobs I have. Each month there are always a few of the “usual suspects,” your Orwells, Steinbecks, and other behemoths of fiction but then there are all of the truly ancient and unique like this month’s number one, a book on horse breeding in 19th century France.

Then every once in a while I see a highly specialized scientific reference book, like this months number seven which is a reference book from 2007 about Nanotechnology. Seeing the array of what people are buying always makes me appreciate just how great the internet is for people who have very specific reading demands.

The Top 10 most expensive books sold on AbeBooks in September 2008

1. Administration des Haras. Atlas statistique de la production des chevaux en France; documents pour servir á l’histoire naturelle-agricole des Races chevalines du Pays by Eugène Gayot - $7000 on AbeBooks.fr
This important and beautiful work pictures, chronicles and numbers the various breeds of horse that existed in France in 1850. Includes 27 hand-colored engraved maps.

2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling - $6958 on AbeBooks.com
First deluxe edition that was signed by Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival in August of 2004.

3. Tibullus cum commentariis Cyllænii Veronensis by Tibullus, Catullus and Propertius - $ 6527 on AbeBooks.co.uk
Published in 1500 this tome includes the collected works of three of the most fascinating Latin love poets.

4. The Catalogue of the George Eumorfopoulos Collection by R.L. Hobson, Laurence Binyon and W. Perceval Yettes - $6555 on AbeBooks.com
An 11 volume set of limited edition and numbered books about Asian Pottery, Porcelain, frescoes, Paintings, and sculpture.

5. Lo Purgatorio di Dante Alighieri Fiorentino by Dante - $5000 on AbeBooks.de
Published in 1904 and limited to 1 of 150 copies by Nella Stamperia di Ashendene. Illuminated in gold and initial letters, and chapter marks added by calligrapher Graily Hewitt and Woodcut illustrations by Charles Keates & W.H. Hooper.

6. Kéraban-le-Têtu by Jules Verne - $5000 on AbeBooks.com
First illustrated edition published in 1883, inscribed by Verne and dated 1887.

7. Handbook of Theoretical and Computational Nanotechnology by Michael Rieth - $4780 on AbeBooks.com
Ten volumes of the most up to date information about Nanoscience. Published 2006

8. Voyage d’Italie, de Dalmatie, de Grèce, et du Levant, fait en 1675 & 1676 by Jacob Spon and George Wheler - $4206 on AbeBooks.com
Published in 1678 over three volumes this is one of the first systematic and detailed descriptions of Greece and Asia Minor

9. Songs of Central Australia by T.G.H. Strehlow - $4000 on AbeBooks.de
First edition copy published in 1971. One of only 1000 copies published.

10. Bible Verve with illustrations by Mark Chagall - $3916 on AbeBooks.de
Vol VIII. No. 33&34. Scarce copy of Chagall’s illustrations for the Bible. Includes 16 color lithographs.

Being able to buy signed books from your favourite authors is one of the aspects that really make AbeBooks unique. Here are the 10 bestselling signed books for the month of September.

1. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
2. Indignation by Philip Roth
3. Girl with Curious Hair by David Foster Wallace
4. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace
5. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
6. Home by Marilynne Robinson
7. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
8. Most Wanted Man by John Le Carre
9. The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
10. Anathem by Neal Stephenson

Top 10 bestselling books on AbeBooks.com for the month of September

1. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
2. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
3. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
4. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
5. Girl with Curious Hair by David Foster Wallace
6. Better Together by Rick Warren
7. Still Waters and Skyscrapers by Dave Tomlinson
8. Change the Way You See Everything through Asset-Based Thinking by Kathryn Cramer
9. Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson
10. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

I would like to introduce Shelfsound – AbeBooks’ daily round-up of podcasts featuring books and authors. I’ve learnt a lot about podcasts over the past few weeks and they are now part of our site.

Click here to go to our Shelfsound page.

Shelfsound puts the best book-related podcasts in one place, updates itself daily with new podcasts and makes listening to them very easy. On our podcast player, you will find podcasts from the New York Times book section, The Guardian newspaper in the UK, NPR in the States including the regular reviews from librarian Nancy Pearl, major publishers and much more.

Basically, Shelfsound is a customized podcast player that has been built especially for AbeBooks by a company called DailySplice.com. It gives visitors to AbeBooks the chance to listen to and view the most fascinating book-related podcasts from around the globe. No other book-related website offers anything remotely similar to this unique podcast system.

AbeBooks selects the sources of the podcasts and the player automatically loads them on to the player when a new one comes available. We hope you enjoy this unique piece of technology.

If you are anything at all like me you enjoy food almost as much as free things, free food obviously being the best. The current contest on our homepage offers you our loyal reader the chance to win a copy of Beyond The Great Wall, a fabulous photographical journey though Chinese food and culture. This massive coffee table book weighs in at 375 pages and is part picture book, part cookbook and part travel guide. Win Beyond The Great Wall here.

There is a skill testing question involved in winning the prize but i’m sure you can figure out the answer even if you have to make a trip to Wikipedia for help.

Forbes has their annual list of the highest earning authors. JK, King, Grisham etc etc. All rather dull and predictable.

Imagine having a library like this one?