2.16.2005

in search of a book.

Last week there was a review on NPR of The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubinstein. This week I tried to find it. Borders didn't have it. Barnes & Noble didn't have it. Half.com doesn't have it. The library system has 5 copies -- all out or on hold. The South Tampa B&N has one (on hold for me, I might add) but I don't know if I really want to spend $24 for this book. So here's my idea: Tomorrow I'm going to all the used bookstores in Tampa -- that's about 10 (5 more if I venture into St. Pete too) to find this book. If I don't find it, I'll look into putting it on hold at the library or waiting till it comes out in trade paperback. Blah.

But since I didn't get the book I wanted, this is what I picked up:

At the library:

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil -- because I've even been to some of the places mentioned but I've never read the book (or seen the movie, for that matter) so I thought now was the time.

A Damned Serious Business by Rex Harrison -- because who doesn't like reading about misogynistic comedians?

The Wrong Man by James Neff -- about Dr. Sam Sheppard, who was accused of killing his pregnant wife but was aquitted on DNA evidence that also found the real killer.

And at Barnes & Noble:

A Rip In Heaven by Jeanine Cummins -- her cousins were assulted and killed and her brother assulted. This is their memoir.

The POET and the MURDERER by Simon Worrall -- A true story of Literary Crime and the Art of Forgery, about Emily Dickinson, Mormonism and forgery ... looks very good.




So it looks like a week of reading for me. Yay!

Ken Jennings is a spokesman for Cingular. Doesn't he have enough money?

In other news ... I stopped by the paper today to see some of the old crowd. There were few that still knew and Brad was still in class, but I was able to talk to Sebi for a few minutes before splitting. I miss the paper sometimes, but I don't really want to go back. I'd much rather go forward. Tomorrow I'm going to try picking up a few local puplications (like the Weekly Planet and The Temple Terrace News) to see if I can drop off my resume with them.

4 comments:

Ryon said...

I am surprised you are not the most frequent visitor to a book lover's dream website.

abebooks.com

Anyway, here is a link directly to the book you want and it looks like you can get it for $12.00! Happy reading.

http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?imagefield.x=52&tn=The+Ballad+of+the+Whiskey+Robber&imagefield.y=3

aprilbapryll said...

what does "advance reading copy" mean? it says softcover, and the softcover isn't out yet, so i don't quite understand if it's advanced ordering for when it comes out or if it's a different kind of copy...

Ryon said...

I think that is like a book club edition. I have ordered one before and it has been fine. I thought there were a ton of copies though. The search allows you to put in things like Hardcover, First Edition, Signed. You should have fun for hours!

Ryon said...

Okay, so I figured out what "Advance Reading Copy" means. It is the copy that the publisher sends out to Critics, Magazines, etc. for them to read. Apparently, they are somewhat collectible since they are not available to the general public and are always paperback due to costs. That was my something new for the day.