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Comments: 6
Buying second-hand where possible and choosing the slowest shipping method allows me to eke a few more books out of a meagre budget every now and then. I bought CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George Saunders, How to Be Alone by Jonathan Franzen, The Elementary Particles by Michel Houellebecq and Big If by Mark Costello last November and the package arrived a couple of days ago.
“Shipping” in this case really does mean by ship, and although the wait drives me mad, I appreciate that all of these words have had an actual voyage to get here rather than simply been whooshed through the air in an aeroplane like memos in some giant intra-office pneumatic tube.
Below are the first paragraphs from (and links to) each book.
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline
by George Saunders
Whenever a potential big investor comes for the tour the first thing I do is take him out to the transplanted Erie Canal Lock. We’ve got a good ninety feet of actual canal out there and a well-researched dioramic of a coolie campsite. Were our faces ever red when we found out it was actually the Irish who built the Canal. We’ve got no budget to correct, so every fifteen minutes or so a device in the bunkhouse gives off the approximate aroma of an Oriental meal.
How to Be Alone
Jonathan Franzen
My third novel, The Corrections, which I’d worked on for many years, was published a week before the World Trade Center fell. This was a time when it seemed that the voices of self and commerce ought to fall silent–a time when you wanted, in Nick Carraway’s phrase, “the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever.” Nevertheless, business is business. Within forty-eight hours of the calamity, I was giving interviews again.
The Elementary Particles
Michel Houellebecq
The first of July 1998 fell on a Wednesday, so although it was a little unusual, Djerzinski organized his farewell party for Tuesday evening. Bottles of champagne nestled among containers of frozen embryos in the large Brandt refrigerator usually filled with chemicals.
Big If
Mark Costello
Center Effing is a town between the ocean and I-95, on the old and settled seaboard of New Hampshire. To the north is salt marsh. To the south is salt marsh, four square miles of forest, and the town of Rye. It has a bit of money now, high tech and retirees, condos on the beaches and a new downtown. It was different twenty years ago when Vi Asplund was growing up. In those days, Center Effing was a town of lobstermen, dads commuting into Portsmouth, and, of course, the Air Force out of Pease.
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Posted to Books • 2003.02.02 (Sun) • 22:02
Comments
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens 2003.02.03, 02:11
When I lived in Japan Daedalus Books was my salvation—remaindered books at up to 90% off. In those days, the international shipping cost was only $4.00 US for all the books one ordered. Now it’s $15.00 US for up to ten volumes. Overall though, still quite a bargain. Some of my happiest days were coming home to find a box of Daedalus books by the door. I guess that’s still true.
Posted by jh 2003.02.03, 11:48
Thanks for the link! I didn’t know about Daedalus. I just got caught up clicking through their list of specials. You’re right: some absolute bargains.
So many books … so little time (and money!).
Posted by Nao 2003.02.03, 13:01
You’ve probably been asked this a number of times but what kind of camera do you use? Also, do you have any recommendations for digital cameras? What takes the best photos and which is the best bargain? I’m visiting Yokohama this summer and want to take lots of pictures to upload onto my site. Thank you! ~Nao
Posted by jh 2003.02.03, 16:54
Nao —
The ‘photo’ above is just a scan of the spines of the books (Epson GT-9700F scanner, known as the Perfection 2450 or something in the U.S.).
For photographs I mostly use a Nikon Coolpix 990 these days. The lens says Zoom Nikkor, 8 - 24 mm, 1:2.5 - 4. I bought it second-hand and it’s definitely been a worthwhile purchase. It just loves sunshine and seems to know how to get the most out of a polarising filter. It’s less predictable in low light situations but I think only because I’ve never bothered to read the manual properly and figure out how to best configure the settings in these situations.
For film photography I use a Contax T2 (a beautiful little compact camera I also bought second-hand which has a wickedly sharp 38 mm Zeiss lens at f2.4) and an old Nikon F series SLR with a couple of beat up old lenses (a 35 mm and an 80 - 200 mm zoom).
I read somewhere that the lenses in recent Nikon CoolPix cameras are not so good — but I don’t have details. A site like dpreview.com would have the information you need to make the best buying decision.
Posted by resonance 2003.02.03, 17:15
Actually, I’d say the ED glass on my new Nikon Coolpix 5700 is the best I’ve ever used on a digital. The focusing algorithm could definitely use some work, though. Hopefully that will be fixed with a firmware update.
I think “purpose” should play a big role when deciding on a camera, digital or analog. Are you going to take pictures? Snapshots? How much are you willing to tote around? How proficient are you with a manual camera? How close will you be to power sources (for recharging batteries)? I love my Coolpix(es), but sometimes I only take a disposable 35mm with me because it can be more convenient.
I agree with Jeremy, though…dpreview.com is probably the best resource for camera research. I have a small “bit” on buying a digital setup in the sidebar and at the bottom of this page, but really, a local photo equipment store might be the best place to evaluate these cameras hands-on.
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens 2003.02.07, 01:14
The fitting end to this story is that I realized I hadn’t looked at Daedalus’s online specials in awhile and so did and ended up buying 6 books for $28.00. Given that my husband just paid $45.00 for one programming book, I feel like I made out like a bandit. I’m hoping the box will arrive before Friday, so that I can curl up in front of the fireplace with a box of books. (Forecast: snow. We haven’t had snow in 7 years!)
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