Malvern Toy Fair & Book Hunt

This morning I attended the Malvern Vintage & Modern Toy Fair.  Lots of action figures, lots of Star Wars, lots of toy cars... but unfortunately not much James Bond.  This is all I could find:

Sadly nothing grabbed my fancy.

Afterwards I visited Lobos Collectables in Thornbury where I noticed this "Diamonds Are Forever" lobby card.  Not sure if it's from 1971 but I thought it was good value for $15.  It was a difficult decision but I decided against buying it.

The real reason I visited Thornbury was to visit Howard Bolton Bookseller next suburb along in Northcote.  It was my first visit in about a year. 

As soon as I opened the front door Howard was behind his counter cheerfully greeting me.  And his store looked great.  

As usual he had some fine condition Bond paperbacks on his shelves.

I decided to buy two paperbacks.  The Pan "You Only Live Twice" is a paperback 1st and the Triad Panther "Colonel Sun" was in great condition.  Both books look unread.  They will go into my box of paperback doubles.  

I noticed as I was leaving there was a box set of Penguin Ian Fleming titles.  I didn't take a photo but it was this set (which I already have).  I don't see this set available for sale on shelves very often.

Finally I returned to Thornbury to visit Fully Booked.  

I was ready to be met Rallou and her husband Tadhg behind the counter however I forgot Full Booked isn't open on Sundays !  I managed to grab these photos anyway:

I will return to Fully Booked some time in the near future, on a day that does not start with the word "Sun".

Warragul Book Fair 2022

My wife and I have just returned from Warragul in Gippsland.  Warragul, located 100km from Melbourne on the Princes Highway, is primarily known for its dairy produce.  However today we visited for the annual book fair held by the Lions Club.

Entry was gold coin donation with all money going to the local hospital and the Lions Club.  Walking into the hall was a strange feeling due to the lockdowns over the last two years cancelling these type of events.  So it was great to finally have an event like this back and be amongst people and books again.

My wife and I scoured all the tables of books and the only James Bond novel we found was this copy of "Carte Blanche" by Jeffery Deaver.

The Warragul Book Fair continues tomorrow (Sunday).  And in two weeks time (April 9 and 10) the next town along, Yarragon, will also be holding their own book fair to raise money for the local country fire brigade.  We'll be going to that one too and hopefully we'll see you there.

"Licence Renewed" 40th Anniversay Edition

John Gardner's first James Bond adventure "Licence Renewed" had it's 40th anniversary last year and Orion Books celebrated the event by republishing the novel in paperback form.  It also included a new introduction by M. J. Arlidge.  Here in Australia the paperback was said to be available last year in late November however due to the global pandemic and international freight issues I have only just managed to acquire a copy two months, and a new year, later.

I ordered the book through my closest Dymocks Bookstore.  This store shut its doors a few years ago but has since re-opened in a new location near the Rivoli Cinema in Camberwell and I was very happy to spend my money there.  I hope this new store does well.

Something I've never noticed before is how much thicker "Licence Renewed" is compared to the previously re-published Gardner novel "For Special Services" two years ago by Orion.  Here's some photos:

I'm hoping Orion Books continue this John Gardner series of Bond adventures with "Icebreaker" later this year.  No news yet but fingers crossed.