Book Purchases

I went on a bit of a buying spree on Book Depository1. I first heard about Book Depository from a romance listserv I subscribed to many years ago and forgot about it till we wanted to get Calvin the complete Thomas the Tank Engine Collection2. That purchase was a while back but every so often I’ll buy from there if the US edition is unavailable or is substandard.

A couple of weeks ago Jaeger forwarded me a Guardian article written by Chris Riddell about his latest book, inspired by Ada Lovelace. While in San Francisco we had picked up Ottoline and the Yellow Cat, which I loved3, also by Chris Riddell. So, the combination of an Ada Lovelove inspired heroine created by Chris Riddell was an instant buy for me.

Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse did not appear to be available in a physical format in the US. So I traveled over to Book Depository and immediately ordered it and the sequel, Goth Girl and the Fete Worse than Death. The books arrived about a week ago and we’ve already read through both of them with Calvin. They’re a great deal of fun. Calvin enjoys them, and the wonderful illustrations, but there’s also a ton of subtlety and puns that makes the books fun for adults to read also (it’s always nice when we can stand the books Calvin wants us to read to him).

Several days after I had ordered the Goth Girl books, I ran across another mention of Riddell. (I can’t remember where I saw it but this Guardian article provides a nice summary.) He had illustrated a short story of Neil Gaiman’s called The Sleeper and the Spindle. Once again it didn’t appear readily available in the US so I off I went to Book Depository. It arrived yesterday. This one I haven’t read to Calvin, mainly because I think it’s too old for him to get much out of. However, the story is great and the illustrations are also wonderful. I’m not 100% sold on the ending but I do appreciate it straying from the expected.

I’ve also read a couple more books for my Children’s Reading Goal.


Jinx, by Meg Cabot – Jinx has problems at home so she goes to stay with her prosperous aunt and uncle in New York City. Jinx is known for being clumsy and getting into trouble so she’s not terribly surprised when Tory, her female cousin, appears to hate her on sight. Though, possibly she didn’t expect things to deteriorate quite so far.

An easy YA read with a touch of supernatural elements.


The S.O.S. Files, by Betsy Byars, Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers – A teacher asks his class to all write a story about a precarious situation they’ve been in. Each chapter is one student’s story.

This is a juvenile book that is billed by the Publishers Weekly Review as a good book for reluctant readers because of its short format. I’m obviously not the audience for this book but I could see a younger kid enjoying it quite a bit.


Gloria’s Way, by Ann Cameron – This juvenile book feels a bit like a short story collection except they’re all about one girl: Gloria. The stories talk about Gloria dealing with typical issues such as jealousy when her best friend is friends with someone else, what to do when a friend isn’t being nice, etc. It’s very short, I was able to read it during Calvin’s most recent piano lesson. The stories are nice and I’ll probably read it to Calvin.


The one other book I’ve read recently is The Paper Magician, by Charlie N. Holmberg. Ceony Twill wants to be a metal magician but, in spite of being top of her class, she’s forced to apprentice as a paper magician. At first very disgruntled she slowly learns to appreciate her teacher. Then, someone from her teacher’s past comes back to haunt him and it’s up to Ceony to make sure the paper magician survives.

I picked this book up because I needed a book to read but one I could finish quickly4. At 224 pages, The Paper Magician felt safe. I read it all in one weekend day. I like the both the setting and the magical system. At first I wasn’t a huge fan of Ceony, she seemed a bit whiny and purposefully dense, but she grew on me. I’ve got the next book on hold.

  1. A UK book seller that will ship books all over the world for free.
  2. For some reason, the US edition only had about half of the stories. Also, I was amused to note that Sir Topham Hatt is actually called “The Fat Controller”.
  3. More, I’m afraid, than Calvin who the book was ostensibly bought for.
  4. The next two weeks are going to be my make/break weeks at work. We’re either all going to survive the ILS migration, or we’re not.