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Book fever
Jul. 20th, 2005 12:44 pmI'm a sucker for Folio Books. Heaven knows why, as they are expensive and I'll never read most of them. But if I'm to have Jane Austen or HG Wells, it's nice to have a good set, and there's no denying that these books are extraordinary handsome. Will I ever need a three volume History of the Crusades? Maybe.
Anyway, they offer their books for what is essentially half price. They have two sales pitches: the books are half price, or you get a set of books free. In both cases you have to order four books, and as they start at $45 and have hefty postage costs, they aren't cheap. I try to rationalise it by saying that I'll take the free books and sell the books I have to buy. Their edition of The Hobbit is relatively cheap and is a steady seller for me on ABE. I also discovered that if you aren't as slick with payment as you might be, they send you a reminder offering a free book if you pay up in seven days. Last time it was a book by some Roman philosopher, a nice niche market thing which I was able to sell for about $US90.
So I don't quite get these books for free, but neither am I paying full whack for them, and I've gradually built up quite a library of these books. I always look for more at booksales. A Folio for $15 or $20 is still good value, and I'm building up my Anthony Trollope collection that way.
Knock on the door and the four bought books arrived in a bookbag: two copies of The Hobbit, Kipling's Jungle Book and Just So Stories (staples of my childhood), and the freebie book was (gasp!) The High Middle Ages by John Mundy. I could never sell this! Quite apart from the subject matter, it's a gorgeous book.
I'm hopeless!
Anyway, they offer their books for what is essentially half price. They have two sales pitches: the books are half price, or you get a set of books free. In both cases you have to order four books, and as they start at $45 and have hefty postage costs, they aren't cheap. I try to rationalise it by saying that I'll take the free books and sell the books I have to buy. Their edition of The Hobbit is relatively cheap and is a steady seller for me on ABE. I also discovered that if you aren't as slick with payment as you might be, they send you a reminder offering a free book if you pay up in seven days. Last time it was a book by some Roman philosopher, a nice niche market thing which I was able to sell for about $US90.
So I don't quite get these books for free, but neither am I paying full whack for them, and I've gradually built up quite a library of these books. I always look for more at booksales. A Folio for $15 or $20 is still good value, and I'm building up my Anthony Trollope collection that way.
Knock on the door and the four bought books arrived in a bookbag: two copies of The Hobbit, Kipling's Jungle Book and Just So Stories (staples of my childhood), and the freebie book was (gasp!) The High Middle Ages by John Mundy. I could never sell this! Quite apart from the subject matter, it's a gorgeous book.
I'm hopeless!
