Daily Grind » books

Book-selling Lesson #1

simon — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:54:40 +0000

Some lessons: 1. Modern fiction is worthless as soon as it’s purchased. 2. Modern first-editions won’t become really valuable for a long time. 3. Make sure your book is worth more than it costs to post it. Significantly more. 4. … Continue reading →

Independent Booksellers

simon — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:49:23 +0000

Maybe things are starting to pick up a little bit for independent booksellers, according to Bookseller. Lots of them have been put out of business by Oxfam’s book-selling. Quite a quandary – support your local economy and businesses or give to charity, for other countries?

Weather

simon — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:55:39 +0000

It’s been raining since Saturday. Yesterday was a brief respite, but only for a while.

Made a nice £16 profit on one of my books that I sold – my site is almost ready to open; I’ve got Google Checkout working, though my only worry is that most people trust Paypal – would you buy something via G.C?

Might be Getting Somewhere

simon — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:31:59 +0000

I might be getting somewhere with my second-hand book selling venture. I’ve got relatives searching through their attics and hopefully I’ll be able to get some stock together, to get started. Need to get my other website set up with … Continue reading →

Second-hand Books

simon — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:40:43 +0000

I’m in the process of setting up a business (sole-trader probably) to sell second-hand non-fiction books. This’ll be run from home (once I get one), probably using Amazon Marketplace to start with, along with my own new domain.

The economy is in no fit-state to be looking for work, nor will it be for ages. I have to do something to keep my brain active.

Initially looking at scouring my local area (Pembrokeshire) for people getting rid of bulk-loads of books, either for free or for small amounts of money.

Large Flowers

simon — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 23:31:08 +0000

Exciting to hear that Day of the Triffids is going to be re-made. I was nine when the original series was on, though it wasn’t as good as the book.

Insignificant

simon — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:04:10 +0000

Currently reading – Tricks of the Mind, by Derren Brown (check out some of his caricatures on his website). An excellent read! Magic tricks, memory techniques, NLP (neuro linguistic programming), self-confidence tricks (reason I bought the book), how to spot lies…. haven’t quite finished yet. I would recommend this book wholeheartedly.

Currenly listening to – Billy Joel Greatest Hits Volumes 1 and 2. Classics!

Elfstones Film

simon — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:42:01 +0000

One of my favourite books ever – Elfstones of Shannara, is currently in production as a film. I hope it gets the same TLC as Lord of the Rings.

IMDB.

It’s a shame Terry Brooks quite literally lost the plot, after The Wishsong of Shannara, with the Word and the Void series. I might go back and try some of the later Shannara books.

On Photography

simon — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:40:58 +0000

I’ve started reading – On Photography, by Susan Sontag. First off – one thing that surprised me is that there aren’t any photos in the book. The first chapter has been really interesting about the first photography taken. It’s something that I’ve noticed a lot travelling – that tourists all have cameras, taking pictures of every single moment; yet they’re not really looking at what’s around them. Ok – I take quite a few pics, but I tend to leave my camera in its bag most of the time.

The End of Mr. Y

simon — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:29:08 +0000

Just finished The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas. Not the most cohesive of reads, but reasonably easy to read. Dips in and out of existentialism, in an understandable form, unlike trying to read Being and Nothingness by Sartre – which requires a dictionary and headache tablets.