Jan 19, 2011

Book Hunting at Wallaroo - a Neil Gaiman double

I seem to have had a run of good luck recently, either that or a number of old sci-fi fans have been dropping off their perches and donating their collections to charity.


Earlier this month I was fortunate enough to visit the small coastal town of Wallaroo * on the Yorke Peninsula, this is a favorite holiday spot for many South Australians, a mix of old and industrial, with giant grain silo's dominating  the quaint historical town centre.  I have always thought that the council could redevelop the centre of town and make it unique - something similar to Newtown in Sydney


But on to the book loot
American Gods: A NovelI was lucky enough to come across two Neil Gaiman books in pretty good condition, the first of these is the best seller American Gods.  Here's the description of the book:

After three years in prison, Shadow has done his time. But as the time until his release ticks away, he can feel a storm brewing. Two days before he gets out, his wife Laura dies in a mysterious car crash, in adulterous circumstances. Dazed, Shadow travels home, only to encounter the bizarre Mr Wednesday claiming to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America. Together they embark on a very strange journey across the States, along the way solving the murders which have occurred every winter in one small American town. But the storm is about to break...Disturbing, gripping and profoundly strange, Gaiman's epic novel sees him on the road to the heart of America.

Anansi BoysThe second was Anansi Boys which I have read takes place in the same setting as American Gods, though some time after the events in that story.

To make note of another fortuitous coincidence, the Book Show happened to interview Gaiman in the same week that I found these books- it's linked below:

Neil Gaiman's Stories - RN Book Show - 6 January 2011

So what about you?  Any rare finds on your book hunting expeditions?


*The name Wallaroo comes the Aboriginal word 'Wadlu Waru' meaning wallabies urine. The early settler's tried to copy the aboriginals by calling it Walla Waroo, however they found this too big to stamp on the wool bales, so they shortened it to Wallaroo.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...