Hail To The Mail

The summer doldrums are setting in, and nothing battles them better for me than a big ol' box o' books. And that's what the mailman dropped off for me today at 11 am, a package from the great and wonderful Bargain Books, a remaindered book company helmed by Edward R. Hanilton, Bookseller. Among its newspapery pages, printed in teeny-tiny eye-strain-o-vision print, you may find marvelous books at reasonable prices (well below bookstore prices), all shipped for one low $3.50 shipping fee.

This is what I got today:

The Lisa Book. A volume in The Simpsons Library of Wisdom, books zeroing in on one individual Springfield character and their view of the world. On one sample page: a look at Lisa's blog, entitled Up On My High Horse, subtitled Lisa Simpson's Blogosphere of News and Opinions...But Mostly Opinions. Originally priced at $9.95, bought for $3.95.

Gahan Wilson's Monster Collection. A collection of the macabre cartoonist's best cartoons. Long before there was The Far Side, there was Gahan Wilson. One sample: a doctor chases away a vampire from a patient's bed with a cross, while a fellow physician says, "Well, there goes my diagnosis of severe anemia!" Original price, $19.90, bought for $4.95.

Rumpole Misbehaves, by John Mortimer. The latest novel in the adventures of the curmudgeonly English barrister, most famously embodied by the late, great Leo McKern. I've lately got and read three omnibus volumes of the Rumpole tales, and really enjoyed again their combination of mystery story and social comedy. This latest volume by the over 80 Mortimer was priced at $23.95, and bought for $15.95.

Understanding the Lord of the Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism, edited by Rose A. Zimbardo and Neil D. Isaacs. The third volume in a series of essay collections, I got the first volume back in the late '70's. Some essays reprinted from the first volume, but some new material, as of 2004. I have got a lot of books on Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings. A lot. But I can seldom resist a new one. Published at $25, bought for $5.95.

Ordered but not shipped yet: The Book of the Damned: The Collected Works of Charles Fort.

A lovely batch for summer reading, that may last me to the end of the week.