Monday, January 16, 2012

Bookfest 2012

This week is Brisbane's BOOKFEST. Imagine an indoor arena the size of a football field with table after table  (after table after table) of books piled high, and you'd be coming close to the epic-ness of this sale. There are 1000s of books sorted into their special little categories (sci-fi, paperback fiction, hardback fiction, literature/classics, history, biography, cooking, computer etc. etc.) and waiting in the wings are containers of 1000s more, just waiting for the tables to empty out a little so that those who can't make it until the final day (it runs a full week) still have an opportunity for some amazing finds.

The hall is divided into three sections, the unpriced section, which is the dodgy books that are either in shocking condition or are readers digest editions of short-stories (that was where I got the books for my Christmas decorations), the priced section where all books are $2.50, or the high-quality section, where the prices are marked on the book and there is an additional section of "rare or out-of-print" books.

Unfortunately, the rare books that are a really good find are often snapped up in that first day (usually the first few hours - people make a real sport out of this fest) so I typically stay in the priced section, because the titles are comparable to the high quality section, equal quality and a much better price. Tom and I made our way through all the fiction, literature, sci-fi sections yesterday and loaded our arms with about 30 books (combined) and then took a seat to cull it down to 8 each, so that we'd each only be spending $20.

While there are dozens of classic authors and books available (i.e. Austen, Dickens and Shakespeare) it's much harder to get your hands on a more contemporary book that isn't by either Patricia Cornwell, Steve Martini, Dan Brown or Jack Higgins. While I do sometimes come out of this sale with some Gaiman, Ishiguro or other authors that are high on my TBR list, this sale is primarily a golden opportunity to collect a few more Stephen King titles and books from the horror/thriller genre. They're easily the most prevalent, and are often the books most lacking from our local book stores. We did quite well this year, if I say so myself!

So without further ado, I give you the books we've taken home and welcomed into our book family...


Stephen King - Gerald's Game
New Terrors Omnibus
Stephen King - Carrie
Stephen King -The Dead Zone
Stephen King and Peter Strab - The Talisman
James Herbert - The Fog
James Herbert - The Survivor
Clive Barker - The Damnation Game
Ramsey Cambell - The doll who ate his mother
Kazuo Ishiguro -The Remains of the Day
R. L. Stevenson - Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Neil Gamain - Stardust
Stephen King - The drawing of the Three
Stephen King/G.R.R.Martin, Dan Simmons - Dark Visions
Stephen King - Needful Things
Richard Bachman - The Regulators

3 comments:

  1. The Doll Who Ate His Mother sounds horrifying! Also, LOVING all the Stephen King finds!

    ps I want to go to the Bookfest!!!

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  2. Tom just finished reading Danse Macabre and at the back is an index of the "must read" horror as suggested by King. Tom found a copy at the sale and he just walked around with it, looking at each and every title! The Doll Who Ate His Mother was on the list, so hopefully it's good. What am I saying, of course it is, I place my trust in King!

    Also, it'd definitely be worth the $2000 flight from the UK to come for this sale. Just bring an empty suitcase or two!

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  3. That sounds like an awesome event!

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