The woes of a bookworm…having your collection of books grow quicker than you can read them. But then again we modelers know about this kind of thing all too well. Anyway, two weeks worth of being on another book buying binge has netted some good finds.
The pertinent finds are the middle most ones. I discovered this writer named Rick Atkinson who wrote a trilogy of books on the Allies invasion efforts from 1942-1945 (and as such dubbed “the Liberation trilogy”) Got good reviews on Amazon, so I scrounged their used offerings and came up with all three for about $30 total (I did goof, I wanted three hardcovers, but the first one An Army At Dawn turned out to be softcover…oops [:$] ). And then today I just got in the 6 books on either side. They are, of course, all 6 of Winston Churchill’s history of the second world war. These too I got for a song and a dance. Decent reading copies for a whopping total of $31. 9 books, $61…SCORE! [:D]
Oh, and you may also note I am a huge fan of Sir Terry Pratchett. [H]
my collection has grown as of late too, mostly Ginter books from Squadrons Flash sales and the Daco Uncovering the Navy F-4 book…I need to go through my library and put all the like publishers together and actually put books back on the shelves lol
Nice score Brian. You will definitely like the Atkinson trilogy. Quite good. I. myself, am a bigger book junkie than I am a kit stasher. My library is easily 4 times larger than my stash, which numbers just over a 100 kits. The vast majority is reference books. I just can’t get enough of them.
I know what you mean Joe. I think I am worse than you. My kit stash is about a couple dozen kits. My book stash easily a couple hundred!
USMC6094, I always love the Squadron annual books sales. Most of the ones I have picked up over th years I got for no more than $5 or $6! You can’t beat deals like that!
I am a major book hound and have easily over 1000 books in my collection. Most are Sci-fi/fantasy novels but a significant chunk are reference and history books. Much of my collection was acquired from library used book sales or used book stores. You will enjoy the Liberation trilogy, but I have yet to read book 3. If you are into WWII, I would recommend Shattered Sword by Pearshall and Tully, and anything by James Hornfischer. I am a regular contributor to our club newsletter writing book reviews as I get done with them. If interested, check out the Butch O’Hare IPMS website and the newsletters. Enjoy.
I accidentally got a spit-take at a small local model show a while back.
I was looking at the usual Very Low Priced book sales table that is almost always at every show.
Anne said “Oh, more books, do you need a book for each model in the stash?”,I said “No, but I do need one for each model I will actually finish” a guy behind and to the side of us almost drowned on his cold drink, lol.
I am a huge fan of the Ginter books and the other “thin paperback” companies, and will buy Hardcover references at the drop of a hat, especially if I can get a whole set.
Remember, buying individual photo prints can cost as much as 12 dollars per photo, so as long as you see a photo (new to you) for every 12 dollars, the rest of the book is free.
I usually rely on the internet for pictures of particular details to try to keep the book count low. But once in a while a great deal comes along that can’t be ignored. While the misses and I were visiting San Francisco some years back, I ran across a used book store that had tons of expensive books for just a few bucks. I picked up four books in brand new condition for about $20 or so for the bunch: Volume 1 Michael Whittmann, Himmler’s Black Order 1923-45, Storming Eagles-German Airborne Forces in WWII, and U Boat War. Lots of great info to read.
That being said, I just donated around 200 mostly hardcover books to a local library–I just don’t have room for them any more, and gosh but they are hard to move–what a workout!
I finally got around to getting a copy of of Shattered Sword last year. Great read and opens up some very interesting points about the Midway battle. It is a great addition to my library.
Oh, and Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors is one hell of a good book! I couldn’t put it down when I first read it!
Yeah, every once and a while I go through and thin the herd a bit. Books that I probably won’t read again for whatever reason, or only might read once or twice ever again that I could easily get from the local library instead, I will take and donate. Our local library occasionally has a book bag sale…bring a bag, pay $10, and take away as much as you can stuff in the bag. So it all works out for a good cause…I get rid of surplus books, they make a buck to help fund the library which I use so often. [H]
Brian, I agree that Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors is hard to put down. I just read Neptune’s Inferno by Hornfischer and found it to be as good or better. It covers the naval battles off of Guadalcanal. And speaking as a book hound, “He who dies with the most books, Wins!”
Good to know about Neptune’s Inferno. I think I have it added to my bookmarks along with a whole host of other stuff to get. Actually I should see if the local library has a copy!
Oh, and I got two more books in. [H] Cornelius Ryan’s A Bridge Too Far and Toland’s The Last 100 Days, both of which I had read already through the library, by finally decided to get my own copies of. Also thinking of nabbing a copy of Toland’s Battle: The Story of the Bulge. That one I have not read though.
