Nifty Gifty: “Vinyl” CD-Rs by bitten.

The back of the packet says “WARNING: DO NOT USE ON YOUR OLD TIMETABLE”. Although I don’t think there’s any chance I’m going to mistake one of these for a record and sit it down on my Symphony turntable, they are very cool.

With five in a packet they’re not really suitable for economy use, but I think they’ll be great to burn CDs for listening to in the car and on my stereo. They add an extra personal touch if you’re burning a CD for a friend, too. Something a lot more professional looking than a regular CD-R. 

So if you’re sick of boring old blank CDs or you know someone who likes burning their own playlists, have a look at these in our gift section. They’re $12.95 for five, and they come in set of cardboard sleeves good enough for presentation.

Year Of Wonders – Geraldine Brooks

 This book was chosen as Notable Book by both the New York Times and the Washington Post.

On the frontispiece Brooks quotes a poem by John Dryden recounting “…When spotted deaths ran arm’d through every street” — a vision of the plague striking London in 1666. He called this poem the Annus Mirabilis, The Year of Wonders. This titular “year of wonders” is obviously a thread that runs strong through the book. We follow the protagonist, Anna (a housekeeper in the small mountainous village of Eyam) through the plague year of 1666 and beyond. In the beginning  the plague is only vaguely referred to, but as you work through the book the historical detail becomes more precise and very graphic. I was intruiged by the fact that the plague was bought to Eyam via an infected bolt of cloth. The ending isn’t disastrous but Brooks doesn’t sell it out to the cheap trick of a happy ending, either. As a whole the book manages to remain realistic through a sweeping, dramatic narrative.

In summary: A good read, well-researched, an interesting and breathless book by an Australian author.

 If you like this book, we have some other books in stock that you might like:

Wrack by James Bradley, a gripping historical mystery set in New South Wales.

Foreign Correspondence by Geraldine Brooks.

In The Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant, set in 16th Century Venice.

  L’Yan recommends this book for people who like Salley Vickers, Kate Grenville, David Malouf and Valerie Anand.

Agnes

I Am Ned Kelly — John Molony

“Almost every Australian knows the name ‘Ned Kelly’. Few know more than the basic facts…”

In this selection off our Top Shelf, historian John Molony explores the circumstances surrounding the life and death of Ned Kelly. It’s part work of scholarship and serious biography and part speculative fiction. Take a look at this excerpt from the dust-cover:

“On the eve of his hanging, his mother, a prisoner in the same Melbourne Gaol, said to him, ‘Mind you die like a Kelly, son’; he had certainly lived like one. This is the story of Ned Kelly, of his people, who were destined to poverty, degradation and rejection, and of the land that made a legend of him.”

Our copy is a first edition in very good condition, for $25. It surely is an important milestone in Ned Kelly scholarship, but this is no dry historical tome. The early chapters outline Ned Kelly’s childhood without slipping into a laundry list of woes. The book doesn’t seek so much to explain Ned Kelly’s actions as to catalogue them in a very erudite fashion. An enjoyable book for any lover of Australiana or real life crime!

Stephenie Meyer – The Host

This story is a wonderful idea, but it is quite poorly executed. Firstly, the plot is mindnumbingly predictable.  Secondly, the characters are infuriatingly cliched, from the big tough “villain” that comes good in the end (don’t worry, I’m not giving anything away here, as this is predictable too), to the typically sexy love interest and the bee-yootiful narrator. Yawn. Lastly, I do not understand Stephenie Meyer’s fixation on young girls having relationships with older men. (Even though I am one of these girls myself. How hypocritical of me. Oopsie.)  The whole book stinks of formula writing – “dark” themes, “forbidden” lurve etc etc etc. But I guess if you’re onto a good thing, why not stick with it. It seems to work for her!

Yet despite all of the things I disliked about the book (including its creepy cover with an eye that follows you around the room!), I must admit, I didn’t hate it. I could hardly put it down. It is a monster of a book and I was able to read it in two days, around work, which doesn’t often happen. I felt an odd kind of affection for it, and even though I was reading it for work I also felt like I wanted to keep reading it, even though it irritated me. Now that’s a powerful book. With, might I add, not one spelling or punctuation error that I noticed. Hurray!

Verdict: not just for diehard Stephenie Meyer fans (I haven’t read Twilight or seen the film). But you need to be patient and somewhat forgiving. And remember it was written for a teenage market. You might just enjoy it, as I surprisingly did.

L’Yan

Seeking Power of Now – Eckhardt Tolle

Arnold is looking for a copy of Eckhardt Tolles fantastic book ‘The Power of Now” 

If you have a copy of this book you are willing to recycle please phone on 4751 8010, email magda@jimmyds.com.au or bring it in to the shop. We buy and credit books in great condition. 

*not his real name.

More Paperblanks

A micro size journal is small enough to keep in a handbag, or a pocket, ready for all the everyday notes that need a nice place to be jotted. They come in a range of stylish colours, to suit any mood or purpose. These cute little journals are available at JimmyD’s for $9.95 each.

Goodbyeee Theo

Sadly Theo our Sunday person is leaving us to move on to greater things.

Theo thank you for your time at JimmyDs. We will miss your philosophy, your long coat and your magnetic appeal with the ‘laydies, old and young’.

GOOD LUCK IN YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVOURS – and come and visit us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAGDA!

It was Magda’s birthday yesterday!! I heard it from a great source (Magda herself) that she had a lovely day.
I would like to say (just a little bit publicly), thank you Magda for being such a lovely boss. I appreciate you. May every birthday and every day be fabulous.
With lots of love,
L’Yan

Guess who is working at JimmyDs?

Yes thats right, its James Dingo, our shop mascot. a.k.a JimmyD

He is guarding the counter while Leanne checks how many friends she now has on her Facebook account. This explains why she is looking less than impressed. She still has few more friends to make before she has more than Wombat! Back to work Leanne. Gee life in a bookshop is great.

Covers so bad… The Other Side of the Night by Edmund Schiddel

You may read this and think we are kidding. The sad thing is, we are not. Here, word for word, is the worst blurb we have ever read:

Their wealth was so great… there was EDWINA, a 400-pound behemoth who believed she was God; her lascivious daughter, JULIE, who thrilled over seducing and then torturing her men; PETER, who sold his soul for a glittery world he now hates; ANASTASIA, raped by a regiment during the Russian Revolution, now despises herself and the son that came of it; and CHARLES, Julie’s weak, impotent husband whose every breath seared with jealous rage.

Surrounded by the luxury and laughter of the very rich, they filled their empty days with exotic drugs and bizarre sex on an endless treadmill of highs and lows.

We love - the cover quote from the New York Times: “…his best book…”. Oh dear.