tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post904547641043128094..comments2024-03-26T13:46:42.738-05:00Comments on 4 Quarters, 10 Dimes: Return to Middle EarthDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-3334002097021533802020-10-02T22:11:14.569-05:002020-10-02T22:11:14.569-05:00$851? That's, what, almost 10% off! What a b...$851? That's, what, almost 10% off! What a bargain! ;)<br /><br />I'm always amazed at what becomes expensive. In grad school we learned very quickly to make friends with the department secretary if we wanted to get anything done (plus she was actually a very nice person), but there were a couple of professors who never learned that lesson and who, therefore, never got the free books that the publishers would send to them now and then. This is how I ended up with a copy of a volume of John Adams' papers - part of a series that some publisher was putting out. Years later I decided I wanted to put it on a book-swap app that I had joined and discovered it was worth about $300. I took it off the app, thinking I'd just sell it, but I'm not sure I ever have. I should find it again. Who knows what it is worth now. Maybe more. Maybe not anything. It's a good story, though.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-16509348398598905642020-10-02T17:28:33.124-05:002020-10-02T17:28:33.124-05:00Wow. I honestly believed you were shittin' me ...Wow. I honestly believed you were shittin' me about the price. My copy is the hardcover in like-new condition. Currently listed at $851.00. Not sure I could part with it - but at that price, I'm gonna hafta think on it a bit ... although my great-grandson will probably have a better shot at it.<br /><br />LucyLucyInDisguisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08169432604954981941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-92065968540438666892020-10-02T09:06:02.541-05:002020-10-02T09:06:02.541-05:00@Lucy -
Well, I suppose that makes more sense abo...@Lucy -<br /><br />Well, I suppose that makes more sense about your mother then. Encouraging reading is the larger overall goal, and if she had a better way to do that then good for her (and you!). I looked up that book on Amazon and it's going for $931. That's ... impressive. <br /><br />I'm glad that the book did what it was meant to do. I get very tired of people criticizing books like that for not being Great Art. I think people should read whatever they want to read - it's the reading that matters. I had a student once who apologized - actually apologized - for reading mostly romance novels instead of more substantive things. Nonsense! Read the romance novels. Eventually you'll move on to other things. And if not, they're reading and reading is one of the best things a person can do.<br /><br />@Julie -<br /><br />Well, I suppose people react differently to books. My favorites were Lamb, A Dirty Job (and its sequel, Secondhand Souls), and Sacre Bleu. If those aren't your thing, well, at least you were willing to give him a shot. :)<br /><br />Tolkien was a linguist by trade, so it wouldn't surprise me that he learned Finnish (a notoriously tricky language) to do that. I think there's a lot of Finnish in his Dwarf languages, anyway. LOTR is worth reading - it's a great story and a cultural touchstone in many ways - but it was written 75 years ago by a guy who came of age in Edwardian England and it shows. It starts slowly, and then builds. I wish you well with it!Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-84503293252458006472020-10-02T06:40:49.339-05:002020-10-02T06:40:49.339-05:00I loved Lamb but have been disappointed in other b...I loved Lamb but have been disappointed in other books by Moore. Hanging my head in shame I have not read any of The Lord of The Rings. I even think I have 2 of them. Since my book club has disbanded until spring I should have time to delve into them. Didn’t he learn Finnish so he could read The Kalevala? Julie Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01526144221446522481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-16558444403880900782020-10-02T03:51:48.735-05:002020-10-02T03:51:48.735-05:00Well, you can use me as a character reference.
A ...Well, you can use me as a character reference.<br /><br />A somewhat recent re-read of <i>Dirt Track Summer</i> revealed that is was precisely what it was intended to be - a book targeted at pre-teen boys - and as such it had the desired effect.<br /><br />As for the book club thing (and in my mother’s defense) - if you do the math you’ll find that the year was 1963 - not a stellar year for the whole ‘book of the month club’ thing. And, I was 10. And, I didn’t have my mother’s permission (or guidance - the 1st book was a, shall we say, not kid-friendly romance novel targeted for women in their 30’s). And, my mother was also sparing with my sisters’ brand new memberships in the RCA music club and as such was, ahhh, “not in the mood to deal with” me.<br /><br />What I got as a much more appropriate replacement was a library card and a bookmobile that parked across the street every Friday for the remainder of the time we lived in that house. <br /><br />WIN!<br /><br />LucyLucyInDisguisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08169432604954981941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-11927704303112803242020-10-01T20:31:05.778-05:002020-10-01T20:31:05.778-05:00Well, thanks!
I can't say I'd object to...Well, thanks! <br /><br />I can't say I'd object to a side income reviewing books, and if there any publishers (preferably SF/F) out there who are reading this and looking for reviewers, I say drop me a line and let's talk.<br /><br />On the other hand, it helps to really love a book, both as a story and as a physical artifact. And, to be honest, as part of your own story.<br /><br /><i>Dirt Track Summer</i> must have been quite a book to spark that kind of interest and commitment from you (BotMC!). Why on earth would your mother object to this?<br /><br />My parents encouraged me to read from the get go, and this is something I passed on to my own children. They always knew they could cadge a book out of me, no matter what I had already told them we wouldn't buy, and we read stories together long after they were able to read them for themselves. <br /><br />I suppose that's worth another post in itself.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-8436824731326239012020-10-01T17:44:10.756-05:002020-10-01T17:44:10.756-05:00I'm going with 57. Not for any discernable rea...I'm going with 57. Not for any discernable reason, but I believe (without any reasonable evidence, I might add ...) that the very first book review that I ever read or actually paid attention to was around 57 years ago. The title of that book was <i>Dirt Track Summer</i>. It was the first book I ever bought. I loved that book so much I joined a book of the month club. My mother had some thoughts about that.<br /><br />However: I have to say that the best review of a book (or, in this case, a series of books) that I have ever encountered is the one that you have here so eloquently produced.<br /><br />If I didn't already own it, I'd go out and buy it just on the strength of what you've written here!<br /><br />Mayhap you have a potential 2nd income source in the offing?<br /><br />😁<br /><br />LucyLucyInDisguisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08169432604954981941noreply@blogger.com