LibraryThing Author: Robert Shearman

About me My name's Rob - and I'm a playwright living in London. My own book, Tiny Deaths, a collection of short fiction, is being published by Comma in October 2007. Do consider giving it a read, if short stories are your sort of thing!

About my library I'm very lucky - I've a house just about big enough to cope with the demands of my enormous (and ever growing!) book collection. I still have to smuggle them in when my wife isn't there to notice, however; both she and the cat are being edged out of the place! I love books - the smell of a new one, and the touch of an old one that has been loved already. Oh - and they're good for reading, too.

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URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/shearrob (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/shearrob (library)

Member sinceAug 12, 2006

Comments from other LibraryThing-ers

(Leave a comment.)

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the note, Rob. Interesting to hear about your busy life.

I am writing to let you know that I am changing my user name to kiwidoc, (formerly karenwardill), just so you know who I am now!!

Hope all is well.

Thanks,

Karen

posted by kiwidoc at 9:29 pm (EST) on May 8, 2008

Hi! I haven't had a chance to read your book yet (it's in my pile and near the top) but you have to go and thank avaland for putting me onto it. She reviewed/summarised it in her thread about what she's reading and it sounded so interesting I immediately had to order it in!

posted by dreamlikecheese at 1:21 pm (EST) on May 6, 2008

I do know this. It's one of the many things we have in common. What I did not know however was that you can actually BEND TIME.

posted by sheringham at 4:56 pm (EST) on Apr 17, 2008

I can believe the number of books. I just can't believe you ever found the time to actually catalogue them all!!!!! XG

posted by sheringham at 12:10 pm (EST) on Apr 17, 2008

Rob,

Thanks for the reply which I am tardily re-replying to!!!!

Wondering if you are working on a second fiction book? We are waiting!!!!

Great to hear from you. I am amazed at your library - with about 4000 books my husband despairs and tells me he never thought of books as clutter, but now the piles are getting him down. My reply is - build me a library and the clutter will be gone. A separate room full of books and an easy chair. Bliss!!

Hope all is well in the world of writing and Dr. Who!!

Cheers and best to you and your family.

Karen

posted by kiwidoc at 5:31 pm (EST) on Apr 4, 2008

Rob!

For your shopping list: Wild Nights! Stories about the Last Days of Poe, Dickinson, Twain, James, and Hemingway by Joyce Carol Oates. I've only just started it, but some of the stories sound like they're going to be speculative. Poe having an encounter with aliens; Emily Dickinson resurrected in the 21st century in a 'distilled state'...you catch drift. Sounds right up our alley, eh? And she writes the stories in the style of the writer who is the subject of the story.

Must go consume some more Oates before I start to rev up for Battlestar Galactica later tonight:-)

Best, Lois

PS: looks like someone didn't close their italics html. You may have to delete the offending message (but I suppose it is only affecting the messages that are beneath it/came before it, so no great harm).

posted by avaland at 5:06 pm (EST) on Apr 4, 2008

Rob,

You're my top unweighted similar-library. But with your huge collection I imagine that's the case for a lot of people. I've become a bit of a fan.

Just finished Tiny Deaths. Fascinating. In the school of, but better than, Roald Dahl.

Several reviewers have picked up on "Damned if You Don't" as a cornerstone of the collection. I agree. It's a story with a much bigger idea in it than a story-length allows you to explore.

Living in Munich, the so-called cradle of Nazism, has piqued my curiosity about such subjects. How did a cultured, religious, generous people come to condone atrocities committed in their name? Well, Hitler actually showed them some kindness and emotion--something that, after WW1, the Weimar authorities and the rest of the world never did. Hitler, literally, took the nation bowling. Martin's confusion about, and cruelty to, the "real" dachsund shows how dangerous an idealised notion of sentiment can be.

"Perfect" is an incredibly touching story. It strikes me as a play. Exploring similar themes to ,i>Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, perhaps? But much more earnest and less cruel. I would love to see you write about how the real Tania lives up to the chimera of her imaginary predecessor.

Have you considered expanding any of the stories in Tiny Deaths at book length, or as a play?
posted by headbang8 at 6:42 am (EST) on Apr 2, 2008

I cracked and bumped Neverwhere and now I have finished Tiny Death's. I loved it, especially Woofie in Damned If You Don't and No Looking Back was funny and sad. I've just done my reviews today for Library Thing and Waterstones (that one won't appear until they approve it though) and now I'm going to recommend you to everyone I know, because it really is a great book.

I didn't realise Owen King was a writer as well but now you've given me something else to add to my wishlist (sigh) right when I need to start ecomomising. Oh, well.

It is good to hear from you again too and I'm glad you are okay. I've been a bit wobbly just recently but am slowly and surely getting back on my feet. It does mean that Library Thing has been a lifeline to me because I haven't really been able to get out and about. But since it is full of lovely people talking about books then that's not really anything to complain about. Don't worry too much about being offline though, not if it means you have been busy writing more stories. Because I am already waiting for your next book.

But I will look forward to chatting to you more often now you are back. Take care, Jody
posted by Jodyreadseverything at 12:02 pm (EST) on Mar 9, 2008

Rob, I'm fine - up to my eyeballs in life, as usual. I can't complain considering the alternative! Please! do not feel you owe me a book (it's not like I don't have more than a few unread books here and more on the way. . .).

I will let you know if I hear back from Gavin & Kelly, although I don't expect to. I will run into them again in July though. Perhaps we will cross our fingers and hope you get a piece in the Year's Best Fantasy, eh?

btw, I have to tell you, the story about the girl who comes back as an ashtray in her parents' livingroom still lingers in my mind. There was so much said there through all those cigarettes. Marvelous stuff, keep at it.

Best, Lois
posted by avaland at 11:05 am (EST) on Mar 9, 2008

Tiny Deaths has arrived. I've had a quick dip in and out and am really tempted to put Neverwhere to one side and get stuck in but since I put The End of Mr Y aside for Neverwhere I'm trying to stick to and finish a book properly. It's been something of a bad habit lately, swapping books partway through. I blame the first line game in talk. So I'll try to be good...but short stories are quite quick to read so would it count? Hmmm...
Either way it's a very smart looking book and the sneaky looks at the first pages has really whet my appetite for it.
posted by Jodyreadseverything at 10:15 am (EST) on Mar 6, 2008

Hi Rob, hope you're okay. Since we last spoke I have read the other Joe Hill book, 20th Centuary Ghosts and really enjoyed that one but I have to admit I gave up for now on Fragile Things. I haven't given on Neil Gaiman though because I have just finished Coraline and bought Neverwhere this week. I'm hoping that reading these two will put me in the right frame of mind for Fragile Things.

I just wanted to let you know that I have ordered Tiny Deaths from Waterstones Online about half an hour ago and am really excited about it. I promise to review it on here and on the Waterstones site as soon as I have read it. Then I'll be posting it to you for an autograph.

One last question, if you are now writing as well as reading, have you moved your wife and cat out yet to make extra space or are they still tucked away behind the bookstacks?
posted by Jodyreadseverything at 2:03 pm (EST) on Mar 1, 2008

Excuse this intrusion, but I thought you might like to be made aware of the new E.F.Benson group. Please join - the more the merrier!

PS I am involved in what may turn out to be the early days of forming a London-based writers' group. Please let me know ifyouw ould be interested in such an idea - my contact details are on my page and in the Benson group.
posted by guyfs at 7:36 am (EST) on Feb 28, 2008

Rob, I finally got around to reading "Tiny Deaths" - loved it! It was right up my alley, so to speak. Here's what I wrote about it:

Tiny Deaths is a collection of imaginative, wry, oddly thoughtful, and wonderfully entertaining short stories (or perhaps that is oddly imaginative and wryly thoughtful...). A young girl is reincarnated as an ashtray in her parents' livingroom; a man finds himself in hell with Hitler's dog as his roommate; an elderly man discovers his old television set is bleeding; in order to right a wrong done, the 'gods' send everyone on earth notice as to the time, date & nature of their death...well, all except one man...
Strangely odd but uncannily familiar, these stories are about grief, death, love, marriage, and all manner of human relationships, a worthy read for those of us who like to read outside the box once in a while.

Many of your stories will stay with me quite a while as they create pictures in one's head that just won't go away!

Best to you and yours, Lois
posted by avaland at 8:31 am (EST) on Feb 13, 2008

Hi Rob - have not spoken for a while, but just to let you know we all really enjoyed your Dr. Who audio. We really did.

Have therefore ordered your short stories 'Tiny Deaths'. Looking forward to it, too.

My present jag is Shakespeare and I plan to listen to as many of his plays this year as possible. Read the Bill Bryson book about Shakespeare for light relief.

Hope all is well with you. Since I last checked in a few months ago, I see that you have added nearly 2000 books. Well done. I also have a love-affair with books, but the budget is always hovering.

Cheers,

Karen
posted by kiwidoc at 11:35 am (EST) on Jan 31, 2008

Your library makes me all swoonsome and envious. Oh, and you have "The Empire of Sleep" one of my favourite books that almost no one has read or heard of. And Pfitz! And and...oh, you know the drill. Lots of those hidden treasures that seem to get ignored. So, all those hundreds I've not read yet that I keep seeing in your catalogue? DANGEROUS. My wishlist is becoming more expensive, and more intriguing, by the minute.
posted by heyokish at 5:16 pm (EST) on Jan 30, 2008

Roberto! Just me checking in and saying hi. Have you come down off the clouds yet? I have to bug Amazon, I haven't got my copy of your book yet. Anyhoo, more later. Enjoy your success!

And I will send you some writing, yes indeed. K
posted by wordgirl2006 at 10:49 pm (EST) on Jan 29, 2008

Enjoyed perusing your recent adds on "my connections." How does a fellow with 10,000 books continue to nab so many good ones. I suppose the answer is nearly self-evident.
posted by slickdpdx at 11:39 pm (EST) on Jan 28, 2008

not at all - I really enjoyed it. happy new year, and good luck for the next one!
posted by wandering_star at 4:16 am (EST) on Jan 10, 2008

Rob, your new collection of short stories arrived in the mail today!! I wish I could read it immediately but I'm still under the pressure of four classes. I will be intrigued to see what a reader who reads the same wild, eclectic range of books that I do, writes in short form. "Tiny Deaths" will be hovering at the top of my TBR pile to be sure.

If I didn't say it before, Congrats!

Best, Lois
posted by avaland at 9:03 am (EST) on Nov 22, 2007

Thanks for becoming a friend!
posted by lisaunger at 7:00 am (EST) on Nov 12, 2007

Hi Rob! Looks like we've similar tastes, although my library is about 1/10th of yours. Haven't finished cataloging all books yet, but the more books I input, the more we have in common. Freaky! :)

Been browsing through your collection for books that I might want to read.

Loved Tiny Deaths. Can't wait for the next one!

Cheers,
Kellie
posted by jacq_kellie at 7:44 am (EST) on Nov 3, 2007

Hey Rob! Long time no talk. Can't wait to check out your fiction collection (the book, I mean... ;) )

~S
posted by saroz at 5:49 pm (EST) on Oct 3, 2007

Hi again Rob, thanks for your interesting response!
I share your predicament. I, too, have every honorable intention of reading all the books in my collection... ah well!

Malory Towers? You loved those books, too? They were my absolute favorites for a long time. I went to a school that had boarders, though I was a day student. My best friend boarded and had all sorts of stories of shennanigans that confirmed the air of glamor of a boarding-school life.

Okay. So I write poetry and am delving back into fiction a little bit. Are you a full-time writer? Sounds like it... I have a day job, alas, doing PR/media relations. Does it feel good to make your living from your writing?

Good luck with your book launch! Enjoy every sweet moment.

Where in Surrey were you born? I grew up in Weybridge, then Cohbam.

Kim
posted by wordgirl2006 at 11:33 pm (EST) on Sep 24, 2007

Your collection's amazing! We have a few in common... I still have many to log. I'm a writer, too, but unpublished (hopefully that will change!)... CONGRATS on having a book coming out, that's fantastic. I grew up in Surrey and moved to Florida in the 80s, go back a lot, miss it, so I guess I'm an Anglophile now, sigh. Anyway, nice to see your profile. I'm going to work my way through your catalogue and see what I might want to read myself. Nice to "meet" you!
posted by wordgirl2006 at 8:09 pm (EST) on Sep 22, 2007

I've only been to a small fraction of the used bookstores here, but I can definitely recommend Powell's and O'Gara & Wilson's in Hyde Park, as well as Myopic Books in Wicker Park. I think O'Gara & Wilson's is the oldest bookstore in Chicago. Enjoy your visit!
posted by wunderkind at 4:23 pm (EST) on Sep 8, 2007

Hi I recently bought "Three Stories and a Reflection" by Patrick Suskind on the net on 15th of August, however I live in Cairo, Egypt and the book never arrived from the United Kingdom! I am in desperate desperate need of the story "Depth Wish" (which is inside the book) as soon as possible. I am a filmmaker and have based my latest short film on that story. The film is however in Arabic and I need to translate it ASAP into English (subtitles). Could you please please please scan just the text of "Depth Wish" and send it to me by e-mail (noharifaat@gmail.com). That would be so so helpful as i am not sure when this book is ever going to arrive. Your help would be truly appreciated.It is too bad we don't have access to as many books as possible in this region!
Thanks so much,
Noha
posted by noha1980 at 8:25 am (EST) on Sep 6, 2007

hey rob we have 13 books in common! well, you certainly not very impressed (13 on 9000: pff) but i am newbee here, so i dont care being a bit inocent! i just begin to discover connecting possibilities.. that's it, take care of your big house+cat!
posted by gigile at 6:36 pm (EST) on Aug 29, 2007

Delighted to have introduced you to the Story site! Enjoy your trip to the US, and yes, indeed, do stay in touch - I'm always happy to talk prose and paragraphs.
posted by clare.wigfall at 6:12 pm (EST) on Aug 27, 2007

Hello, Rob,

many thanks for befriending me. I confess I was wondering how you'd come by my book, seeing as it's not even out yet. I suspected it might have been something to do with Marie Phillips, who's a friend of mine - she wrote Gods Behaving Badly which I see in is your library, but the reason I imagined it might have been something to do with her is that she's a big Doctor Who fan (along with Zeus, ha ha). But hey, I was wrong. Very glad my book caught your eye, anyway, and that the first few pages alone earned it a place in your library. Hope you'll enjoy the rest when you have a chance to read it - you needn't apologise, if you could see the piles and piles of books I have around my flat waiting to be read as soon as I can find the time...

Glad to see you also have Tod Wodicka's All Shall Be Well in there - he's a very old friend and he and I first-edited each other's books - you'll see in the acknowledgments that we credit each other. I urge you to read that one too, if you haven't done so already.

And very best of luck with your own collection. Do you know this site: http://www.theshortstory.org.uk/ You should get in touch with them, they've been great with helping to promote my book. It's a fantastic site if you're into short stories.

Stay in touch.

Clare x
posted by clare.wigfall at 5:58 pm (EST) on Aug 26, 2007

I have read Heart Shaped Box and loved it and am looking forward to the next Joe Hill book. It was actually because I read that book that I found Library Thing. I went to joehillfiction.com and on that site he talks about this one.

I'm glad you've read The Princess Bride, I knew if anyone had it would be you. It's very different from the film but also you can recognise a lot of the film in the book. My favourite character was Inigo Montoya and my favourite part of the book was Westley climbing the Cliffs of Insanity with Inigo waiting at the top for the duel and shouting at him to hurry up so they could start the fight.

If you brought back one dalek then it must have been the one in the underground museam in America when the Doctor realises that not all the daleks were destroyed. I think. And I hope I'm right because that bit where the Doctor talks to the Dalek and tells it who he is and the light comes on was amazing. His face when he realises what it is that he is trying to help and him panicing is brilliant.

I've just started Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman but I'm not sure yet what I think about it.
posted by Jodyreadseverything at 7:42 am (EST) on Aug 20, 2007

Also, you write Doctor Who books? Really? If I tell my nephew I sort of know someone who writes Doctor Who books he is going to go mad (in a good way). He loves Doctor Who just slightly more than I do and he is collecting just about everything he can get hold of that even mentions any of the Doctors. When I see him on Sunday he's going to go hyper over this.
posted by Jodyreadseverything at 1:46 pm (EST) on Aug 17, 2007

I've just read The Princess Bride and it was very odd but very good. Nobody else I know has read it but everyone has seen the film so they can't quite appreciate just how strange a book it is. Then I thought, I bet Rob's read it. And if you haven't, I bet you own it. What did you think?
posted by Jodyreadseverything at 1:42 pm (EST) on Aug 17, 2007

Rob, we are going to need a few more details if we are to buy your book! publisher? isbn? :-) Lois
posted by avaland at 8:57 pm (EST) on Aug 12, 2007

Rob, I meant to ask...what is your book that is coming out this fall??? Best, Lois
posted by avaland at 12:38 pm (EST) on Aug 6, 2007

Well Rob, Have ordered 'Chimes of Midnight' on audio - YIPPEE - can now listen to it with the kids in the car. Let me know when your book comes out. Thanks. Karen
posted by kiwidoc at 8:16 pm (EST) on Jul 13, 2007

Oh and Rob, to actually answer some of your enquires - I really enjoyed 'Dead Souls' which I thought more 'Russian' in flavour that just about anything I have read. The satire was delicious. A great book.

I just finished 'North and South' - actually really enjoyed it. Oddly enough, I thought she had less undercurrent of 'snobbishness' than say Jane Austen - she really got down and dirty to expose some of the industrial dilemmas of the times - the Unions, the trade of the North, the social barriers to education, and so on.

The only disappointment was the end - well not really in a literary sense - but I do like a good 'declaration of love' with all the bells and whistles at the end. SIGH - the "romantic wrap-up"!!

Cheers again, Karen
posted by kiwidoc at 1:24 pm (EST) on Jul 13, 2007

Rob,

I’ve noticed that you’ve added a picture to your author’s page! Now that you’re part of the community, I was wondering whether you’d be interesting in becoming a Librarything Author.

Our LT Author program, in essence, connects authors with their fans. Authors join LT as regular members -- so you’ve completed the first step! -- and catalog at least 50 books. Then their member profile page is connected with their "author page" on LT (which shows how many other LT members list their books in their LT libraries), and are added to the master list of LT Authors. It's a fun way for readers to browse in their favorite author's personal library, and for authors to connect with their fans on a personal level.

More here.

You can also upload a photo, and post links to your homepage, blog, interviews and articles. Once you feel you meet the requirements, email Abby (abby@librarything.com) and she’ll authorize it as an LT Author account -- it's free. We’d love to have you!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Clifford Vickrey
cliff@librarything.com
posted by dinner_bell at 5:26 pm (EST) on Jul 11, 2007

Hi again Rob,

Thanks for the thoughtful reply - sideswiped in returning a note by the recent LT outage, but substituted the time with reading, which is really what it's all about anyway.

I guess if you are to read Jim Crace, you would want to read his 'Quarantine' which really is his masterpiece.

I am currently on a 'Classics' jag - really feeling a little under-educated and therefore resorting to a few 'cannot die without reading' titles. My reading list doesn't presently inspire comment for this reason, I suspect.

Recently bought Richard Flanagan's latest book, 'The Unknown Terrorist' - you may have read his 'Gould's Book of Fish' which is the one that bought him to my attention. I understand it is quite well done and certainly follows on the heels of the 'Secret Agent' by Conrad which I read last month.

A fellow LT has suggested 'Out Stealing Horses' by Per Pettersen which is a Norwegian book in translation and pretty hard to locate here at present. I bought an advanced copy from Abebooks today, so hope it is good. I thought you might know this one as you seem very well versed with the translated European books.

Glad to be able to meet a writer! Am a great admirer of Doctor Who - this is a person who used to hide behind the sofa as a kid when the Daleks appeared. It terrified me. I grew up with the second Dr. Who - so now you can figure out my age!!

A great acheivement to write for the series - am impressed!

Cheers for now,

Karen
posted by kiwidoc at 11:43 pm (EST) on Jun 14, 2007

Hi Rob!

Many thanks for such a thoughtful reply.

The first authors you mention, namely Timothy Findley, Jonathan Safran Foer, Jonathan Coe, Milan Kundera, Michel Faber, Kevin Brockmeier, Janet Frame, Jonathan Franzen, are well known to me. I have a huge craze on Milan Kundera in the 1980s and read all his books. Loved them all. However, have not read 'Ignorance' which is his latest one. I thought he was one of the best authors ever - and I also read Josef Skvorecky at about the same time and really liked his work too.

Janet Frame is another one I love - she was a New Zealander so we all read her work in school. I always associate her with Katherine Mansfield - another New Zealander, which I read at about the same time.

I tried to read 'The Corrections' and gave up after the first 1/3 so have not tried any others from Franzen. Enjoyed Coe and Faber and Brockmeier. Also discovered Will Self this year, as well as continuing with Jim Crace, who is one of my favourite authors.

I have not heard of the other authors in the list - which is intriguing. Suspect they may reveal my limited sphere of book buying.

Timothy Findley is a great Canadian writer, who died quite young (? HIV). I haven't read any of Huston's work although they are in my collection. Alaistair McLeod is another great Canadian writer, as is Wayne Johnston and Rohinton Mistry.
I have less interest in Carol Shields, although I read her work and thought it was quite good - but not the calibre of Alice Munro or Atwood.

I read 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' a few months ago and adored it. Could not believe I left it so long. I am waiting for my 'must read' pile to diminish so that I can read 'The Magnus' - in the revised form of course.

We suffer from the same problem of 'nationalism' in book sales here - it has taken me forever to discover some of the great UK writers such as Self and Crace and Angela Carter, as they are harder to find. There is probably quite a few I am missing the boat on. Canada has some quite presentable writers but I wish booksellers would take more of a leap of faith and stock books from elsewhere. It is almost impossible to get books from non-English speaking countries unless they are mega-famous. Sometimes, the translations (when such treasures are found) can been poor. I have just finished the wonderful masterpiece of Primo Levi 'The Periodic Table', and now think I would like to read it with a different translator - I wish they would give the reader that sort of choice, too.

Just a last note on your job - you say you are a playwright. Have you published, had performances of any of your work? It sounds so wonderful. I am sure many people would be scared witless to think of trying to support themselves on their artistic endeveaours. Very impressed, anyway.

Thanks for the feedback and will let you know of any book 'epiphanies' if they happen - if for some very unlikely event the book do not appear on your library pages. I can identify completely - as with all book lovers - with that intense emotional connection that certain books create with the reader. This is the feeling that we are trying to replicate when we grab that next book (and the next and the next!!). That intense connection with a book would have to have been one of the best things about my youth, I think - maybe because I had more time then, or maybe because everything seemed just so intense and colourful in my imagination.

Anyway - enough. Happy reading.

Cheers,
Karen

.
posted by kiwidoc at 11:03 pm (EST) on Jun 5, 2007

Hi Rob,

Well - I cannot keep quiet any longer as you make the top of my list for total books - 681!!. I noticed your collection a while ago but since then you have added over 2000 more books - possibliy in under a month? I wonder if you buy at an astounding fast rate, or continue to catalogue your collection. I have not finished yet - just have biography, some history and science as well as first editions (mainly Waugh and Kipling) to add.

It would be interesting to see what you are reading on your profile and maybe even some 'great reads' to see where your taste lies.

The 'sneaking in' of books must be hilarious in view of your prolific collection- perhaps a few extras every day would be completely swallowed up and unnoticeable. You must have an enormous number of book shelves, or piles, or creative stacking methods.

Cheers,
Karen.
posted by kiwidoc at 10:23 pm (EST) on Jun 4, 2007

hi rob. :)

just wanted to drop by and say hello since i haven't heard from you in awhile. how's life? how's your literary life? i myself just finally conquered "titus alone" by mervyn peake and i feel like shouting it from the rooftops!!! *grin* i LOVED the first two in the trilogy ("titus groan" and "gormenghast") but "titus alone" took me months to slug through. i took a glance at your library and saw that you own all three in the trilogy, but you didn't have tags by them so i wondered if you had read them? what did you think?

well, hope all is lovely in your summer kingdom & happy reading!

~PandorasRequiem
posted by PandorasRequiem at 8:48 pm (EST) on Jun 4, 2007

Hi, Just got your reply. Thanks for the welcome.

I don't think you are a fraud, I have a pile of books still waiting to be read that is taller than I am. Trouble is, although I can have three or four books in use at the same time, I can easily buy a lot more than that in one go, so the pile just keeps on growing. My ideal holiday would be two weeks off work to sit in the garden and read them all. Maybe I should make that four weeks off work.

I'd recommend bumping up the Enzensberger even more though because it is a very good and very strange book. I got mine at a discount book store and I have to admit that my criteria for choosing books does sometimes run the same way as yours, ie: unusual and cheep. I love finding something that I know won't be popping up in Waterstones anytime soon and then having it only cost a fraction of the price. I've found some of my favourite books that way. You should try to find the Zina Rohan book, The Book of Wishes and Complaints too as I think it fits in with your criteria and is a great story.

A few times I haven't bought a book and then regretted it later because I know I will never find it again. And even worse, I've passed on books to someone else and then wanted them back. The books I've loved and lost - I miss some of them more than I ever missed an ex-boyfriend.
posted by Jodyreadseverything at 8:21 am (EST) on May 24, 2007

Hi, we have 49 books in common so far and I think this might go up when I upgrade to my paid account and can put all my books on here.

The reason I am leaving a comment is because you are the only person I have come across who has also read 'Where Were You Robert?' As this is by a German author who nobody here seems to have heard of I am surprised to find someone else who has. Where did you come across this book and what did you think of it?
posted by Jodyreadseverything at 4:17 pm (EST) on May 23, 2007

hi rob
would you please send me a copy of That Evening Sun by
W. faulkner
best and warmly regards
zari
posted by zarijamali at 9:32 am (EST) on Apr 13, 2007

Loved your about.
I'm just 19 and am still a student and half living in my parents home, and so my whole collection (which I haven't finished adding, and still have NO IDEA how many books it contains) is just in my room, stacked in shelves in two rows, in the closet and under the bed.
I do some heavy book smuggling too :)

Joanne.
posted by leore_joanne at 9:00 am (EST) on Apr 10, 2007

Which one is you? And if you're the tall one, what are you wearing on your head? hee hee. You are brave to post a photo of yourself (you might now be recognized on the street!), I prefer to use antique pictures (or pictures of antique relatives), pictures of my terribly adult children when they were still dependent on me, or photoshopped images of myself that make me look younger, thinner and incredibly intelligent.

I just finished Middlesex also! (on audio) what an incredible novel! The audio is so well done, but it took me months to complete as I no longer have a commute. I'm dithering around with multiple books but should finish the Joyce Carol Oates tonight... Happy Easter, Lois
posted by avaland at 5:45 pm (EST) on Apr 8, 2007

Ack! Your profile page seems naked! Wasn't there a picture there before? Just checking in to see what you and the wife are reading... Lois
posted by avaland at 12:46 pm (EST) on Apr 4, 2007

I was looking over my none other list and visiting the pages of some of those folks when I came across your page. I had to laugh when I read about sneaking the books in when your wife isn’t looking. I follow that same plan.

I know she knows that the library is still growing and that she must suspect something, but she never asks. So, we’re living under the don’t ask, don’t tell policy.
posted by inkdrinker at 11:52 am (EST) on Mar 16, 2007

Hi Rob, How'd your wife like the Mieville? And I know you liked Blind Assassin. I hope you hop over to the Atwoodians and share your thoughts on it with us.

Have you read much Angela Carter? I've been collecting her for a few years, as I come across them, but haven't read them yet (I know you know this habit:-)) I just started a new discussion group called "Readercon Conversations" and am looking for someone to start the conversation going on the Angela Carter thread. Sometimes it only takes a few words... If you get a minute, do check it out. There may certainly be some other conversations there of interest and it's a great place to talk about some of that "clever stuff" we both enjoy.

I'm reading Atwood's newest currently and have my nose from time to time in at least three more books. It's a wonder I ever get anything else done. Best, Lois
posted by avaland at 7:53 pm (EST) on Jan 12, 2007

'Tis addictive, isn't it?

I read Was last year and enjoyed it - far more than Wicked which, to me, tried to accomplish way too many things and join them all together for its own good (I could schpeel about that for pages - but I won't). I've read a fair bit of the available "revisionist" or alternative Oz fiction and I've got to say Was is probably the best yet - or, at very least, the most cohesive and sure of what it's trying to achieve. Which takes some considerable skill, IMO.

I hope you enjoy Baum when you do get around to him - I read the Oz books over and OVER and OVER when I was a kid, and in fact I have several first editions I want to add to my database once I can expand to a paid account (see? addictive for sure). Just this Christmas, though, I read one of the last major Baum books (not Oz, but one of his related fantasies) that I'd never touched before, and that has been out of print for decades...and discovered, to my immense satisfaction, that he remains as good a writer as I recall. So here's hoping you go for him too!

And cheers for the compliment...the writing comes along in bits and pieces, but I'm finally able to work on a few projects that are both interesting and possibly going somewhere... :) And I'm definitely looking forward to S3!

~S
posted by saroz at 11:05 am (EST) on Jan 6, 2007

Hi Rob,

Hope your holidays were wonderful and you got some extra reading in! Btw, a good followup to The Blind Assassin would be John Crowley's Lord Byron's Novel: The Evening Land which also is a story (Byron's novel), within a story (his daughter's anonations), within a story (the contemporary father-daughter story). Although I think the contemporary storyline is the weakest, Crowley still does a superb job.

Best, Lois
posted by avaland at 2:09 pm (EST) on Jan 5, 2007

Hiya Rob. :)

Never knew you were an Oz fan... In fact, I see you're one of the top five or six people to match my collection thus far. Which is just...weird. But kinda cool!

Best as usual,
Sarah Hadley
posted by saroz at 6:41 pm (EST) on Dec 31, 2006

Hello Rob.

You are so very welcome for the mark I left on your page (I simply couldn't help myself) and thank you so much for such a wonderful response on my page!

I very much agree with your perception of our shared biblioholism or "addiction to books". After all, it's much better for you than alcohol or drugs for that matter, and what other addiction could bring such lasting pleasure over and over again? It is SO nice to be able to chat with one who actually understands and shares such a joy in the book-collecting.

And how very exhilirating the book-hunting is!!! I must admit I am an absolute predator at my local used book stores. I hunt down those precious gems like tigers stalk their prey... and then I devour them, appreciate them, stare at them, admire them and sometimes *gasp* even hug them. *grin* What a thing to admit to a newly made friend! :]

So, WHAT exactly is it that makes you envious of my collection?? hmmmm? Do tell! And feel free to extrapilate as much as you want on the various "...things that sound downright odd that I've simply never heard of" as you put it. i will be more than happy to feed your curiousity as to what they are and how i found them.

After all, half the fun of being such a bibliophile/mane as i is sharing them with others!

Very happy holidays to you & yours as well. I got a new bookcase!!! *BIG GRIN* So I've been happily filling it ever since. Anything interesting under your tree?

Cheers back!
~Pandora
posted by PandorasRequiem at 8:41 pm (EST) on Dec 28, 2006

Rob, and a Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day to you and yours!

I'm glad the recommendations are working out. I'll look forward to your comments on the Atwoodians. And you can tell your wife that I read Perdido Street Station exclaiming, "Oh my gawd!" about every other page and had to put the book down to breathe and lower my blood pressure as I came upon the scene at the glasshouse...knowing it was going to turn out very, very badly...

And if you don't have author Daniel Wallace on your wish list, you might want to add him (i.e. Big Fish, The Watermelon King, Ray in Reverse. Wonderful storytelling, great imagination.

One has to admire and appreciate such authors as these who are able to keep that special part of their brain from growing up...

Lois
posted by avaland at 7:32 am (EST) on Dec 21, 2006

Hey Rob,
It looks like you are the only other fan of Anders Nilsen's Big Questions on LibraryThing! I just wanted to drop a hello to you. I am desperately looking for big questions #1 or #2. Drop me a line if you find any kicking around the UK!
posted by robotika at 12:26 pm (EST) on Dec 20, 2006

Hi Rob!

i've been enviously eying your catalogue from afar until now, and so i thought i'd make a friendly "LibraryThing we share a lot of books in common (186) and are part of similar groups" type of comment on your page. *grin*

i am very much in awe of your collection and am in total empathy for your plight of having to smuggle in books! :) i have to do the same thing, nightly, and sometimes get caught, but it is something i've gotten better at over the years. (thank god) i am slowly but surely being edged out of my own room by my expansive library, as i go through the arduous, but delightful, process of unpacking and cataloguing my books.

it is a lot of fun, but i find myself searching for ISBN's on everything from nightlights to cookie packages if i'm not careful. lol. "such a gentle madness", is bibliomania and bibliophilia, as nicholas basbanes has been known to say. in any case, time to get back to work. enough rambling...

have a wonderful evening & happy LibraryThing-ing!!!

PandorasRequiem
posted by PandorasRequiem at 5:08 pm (EST) on Dec 18, 2006

Rob, you and my husband would get along well. I'm being edged out the door with all of his books, comics, graphic novels - and that's not even going into his European board game collection. Guess I'd commiserate with your wife, then? :-)

I'm so glad you joined our My People Connection Book Clubs group, and I hope you'll join us in the conversations, because regardless of whether you're in a book club or not, it's great to share thoughts with others who love books - and it's a great way to meet new friends.

We have family in London - it's a fun city for book shopping!

Cheers,
Jen
posted by mypcjen at 4:19 am (EST) on Dec 8, 2006

And speaking of cleverness, watch for the new China Mieville novel Un Lun Dun. Although it's being marketed as a YA, it's great Alice-in-Wonderland-like fun full of imaginative people/creatures and clever wordplay. Who else would invent a character with a head like a pin cushion and who makes clothes out of books (so you'll always have something to read, of course)? Or a ninja-like security force of trash bins called "binja." Ok, I'll stop now (clearly I'm already starting to suffer bookseller withdrawals...) - Lois
posted by avaland at 8:28 am (EST) on Dec 1, 2006

Rob,

Ha Jin is male. But I like the idea you thought he might be a she.

Yes, I was a bookseller until 9:30 p.m. yesterday. I was given a very large gift certificate to use at the store as a good-luck-in-the-future gift. Whoooha! I think they have extended my employee discount until I die, or so they joked. I wonder how many years it will take before I can browse in the store without someone asking me if I work there?

I do know exactly what you are saying about used book stores and library sales...I've never stopped going to them, even while working at the store. On our second date, I took my husband to a cozy shop in the middle of nowhere in New Hampshire - it was in a house that seemed small on the outside and its rooms of books arranged labyrinthian on the inside. They had a woodstove going in one room with a rocking chair nearby...one could browse for hours...

You will very definately like Blind Assassin...
posted by avaland at 11:32 am (EST) on Nov 30, 2006

Rob,

What? me roll my eyes? How many titles in my library are still unread? Jeepers, if they'd just take a break in publishing we could all catch up!

I was just strolling through the long list of books we share and thinking that if I could dissolve them all in water, what a wonderful bath that would make...

And judging by that same list, I think you would like Atwood's Blind Assassin very much. It's a spectacular novel, very skillfully done - a story like a set of Russian nesting dolls. Not everyone can pull that off. And it probably is good to start with a fairly recent book. I really need to reread some of her older titles...

I just added Urquhart's Away to my library; bought yesterday at the store along with several other books recommended by various LThingers (not to mention a conversion on the Prizes group reminded me that I hadn't picked up War Trash, Ha Jin's latest.

It's my last day at the bookstore today; good thing they are extending by employee discount for at least a year:-) Best, Lois
posted by avaland at 8:33 am (EST) on Nov 29, 2006

Hi Rob

I see we share about 34 books and, apparently, some of the same tastes in literature. If you liked Maeve Brennan's The Visitor, I highly recommend her collection of short stories, The Springs of Affection.
posted by SeanLong at 8:41 am (EST) on Nov 28, 2006

Giggle. Well, I have collected Ha Jin much like you & I have both collected Jane Urquhart! I read Waiting before it was an award-winner and enjoyed it very much. Also enjoyed The Bridegroom but I think I'd recommend Waitingto read first.

There is certainly no shame in collecting an author's books for any reason, at least not here in LT land. I do exactly the same thing:-) You are indeed among your own kind here.
posted by avaland at 9:39 am (EST) on Nov 3, 2006

wow, we share a wonderful eclectic mix of titles...any recommendations as to which Jane Urquhart to start with?
posted by avaland at 8:58 pm (EST) on Nov 2, 2006

Hi Rob
I'm so glad you came, you read and you had a good time! It's a pity the weather wasn't good, more English than Greek :-)
posted by annabooklover at 1:36 am (EST) on Oct 24, 2006

Hi Rob
I did a search and found this in the web( http://www.bibliagora.co.uk/promo.php?mt=14&page=10&limit=1)
From the books listed in this page the Mission Box by Aris Alexandrou is one of my favorites.
An internationally known Greek is Kazantzakis (Zorbas, is one of his most famous books) whose birthplace was in Crete. I find him a bit quaint though.
A recent book by a Greek writer who writes in English is the "Little Infamies" by Panos Karnezis, which portrays quite well the essence of Greece.
Another one about modern day Greece and the way of living is "Eurydice Street" by Sofka Zinovieff. You can find the last two in Amazon very easily.
I hope I've helped. Enjoy your trip!
posted by annabooklover at 1:26 pm (EST) on Oct 4, 2006

I understand "smuggling" very well!
posted by annabooklover at 7:30 am (EST) on Oct 3, 2006

Hi Rob

Know what you mean about the "edging out" of the "others" who occupy the home for my books!

I am running out of space, and I am scared in case this means I may have to retire some of my much-beloved books (into the loft they go).

Have you ever seen the Twilight Zone episode "Time enough at last" ? It's the one with Burgess Meredith playing a bookworm who survives the nuclear holocaust, and is excited at the prospect of at last having time to read the books he loves. Awesome stuff (If you'll kindly excuse the Americanism). Breaks his glasses just as he settles down to start on the first pile of books. Damn shame, as I'm a sucker for a happy ending!
posted by gerrymcdonald at 9:05 pm (EST) on Sep 27, 2006

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