"From Russia With Love" Crime And Espionage Series

A new series from Penguin Modern Classics entitled Crime and Espionage was released here in Australia this August.  The series comprises 33 titles from a selection of authors.  One inclusion is Ian Fleming's "From Russia With Love" featuring a cover, that I suspect, includes text only understandable by a Spektor cipher machine.

I've been monitoring local book shops for the arrival of these books and last weekend I visited the City on the hunt for this cover.

First stop was Readings Bookshop at The Emporium where I found one copy.

Next stop was Dymocks on Collins Street.  Dymocks had three copies as well as many other Ian Fleming titles.  There were also a couple of continuation novels by Anthony Horowitz and Charlie Higson.

 

The following day I arrived late in the City as my wife was attending the theatre with some friends.  Sadly the Hill Of Content Bookshop was already closed.

Just a few doors down though The Paperback Bookshop was still open, and this is where I found the copy I purchased.  One note about The Paperback Bookshop, it's still happily trading despite all the scaffolding surrounding its entrance.

After purchasing my new copy of "From Russia With Love", which will soon join the other covers on Special Releases page of the Piz Gloria website, I visited a cinema close by to watch the excellent and confronting thriller "Blink Twice".  Meanwhile my wife was enjoying "Beauty And The Beast" at the Her Majesty's Theatre (first photo below).

A view of the shot tower in Melbourne Central while we walked to Readings at The Emporium.

A newish building in the City.

And a construction site next to Young & Jackson's (near Flinders Street Station) which will eventually be a train station for the new Metro Tunnel.

Finally... As Promised !

Back in April of this year I promised to disclose the contents of a second parcel that had arrived while I was away for work in Sydney.   After the arrival of a similar parcel this week that completed the two sets of books shown below, here are those contents...

All books in this post were written by John Vincent based on the James Bond Jr cartoon series from the early 1990's.   To be honest I only became aware of these paperbacks after a fellow collector in New Zealand, John F., mentioned their existence several years ago and I've been hunting them ever since.

The first set above was published by Puffin Books (High Flyer) in the U.S.. and is comprised of six titles.  Obviously aimed at children and young adults the set includes #1 "A View To A Thrill", #2 "The Eiffel Target", #3 "Live And Let's Dance", #4 "Sandblast!", #5 "Sword Of Death" and #6 "High Stakes".

I found the last novel, "High Stakes", the most difficult to acquire of all the books shown in this post as it commands ridiculous prices online (see end of this post for an example).

The second set below was published by Fantail Books in the U.K..  For some reason it's comprised of only four titles, with "Sword Of Death" and "High Stakes" absent.   Despite these four paperbacks having been published over 30 years ago I found this set relatively easy to acquire in great condition for a reasonable price.

And finally, here's an example of the ridiculous prices currently being asked for a copy of "High Stakes".  Fortunately I purchased my copy for just US $15.99 !

Signed "Double Or "Nothing" Hardback

Here's yet another post about a Kim Sherwood James Bond (universe) novel.  I'm not sure how it happened but I acquired a signed hardback edition of "Double Or Nothing" published in the U.K. by Harper Collins in 2022 but forgot to add a post about it.  Well here's my post, although it's mainly images.

Front cover with dust jacket

Rear cover with jacket

Front cover sans jacket

Sprayed page edges

And front and rear jacket flaps featuring the author's photo

I think this hardback is a lovely addition to my James Bond collection.  It was the first novel in Kim Sherwood's "Double O" series.  The second novel, released this year (2024), was "A Spy Like Me", also published by Harper Collins.  The third and last in the series is set to be published next year.

A Second "A Spy Like Me" Advanced Reading Copy

For those not aware "A Spy Like Me" was published in April of this year.   It's the second novel in Kim Sherwood's "Double-O" trilogy, with the third and final novel being published next year (title currently unknown).   The "Double-O" trilogy is the first time an author has concentrated on spies in the James Bond universe without featuring 007 himself.  The series is a great addition to the Bond literary world.

Prior to April when Ms. Sherwood's second 'Double-O" novel was published, two cover images started appearing online.  One was the hardback cover and one was what I suspected to be an advanced reading copy (or A.R.C.).  

I then spent many hours searching online only discover there were actually two different A.R.C.s.  One A.R.C. shared it's cover with the hardback edition, which I managed to acquire earlier this year.  The second appeared to be scarcer and featured the text "Six days.  Three agents.  One chance to find James Bond" on the cover.  

Recently I acquired this second A.R.C..  The thing I like about it the most is it's sans the novel's title which only appears on the spine.   Here it is...

For comparison reasons, below is the first A.R.C. I managed to acquire.

Since April two more paperback editions of this novel have been published, a large print edition and a standard trade paperback version.  I'm now on the hunt for the standard trade paperback version.  But the two A.R.C.s feature in this post are definitely the most exciting recent additions to my Bond paperback collection

A Kim Sherwood Week

Two parcels arrived in the post this week.  Tonight, while watching a game of footy (Australian Football League) on TV, I managed to open them both.

The pair were packed extremely well.  Not only were they in really tough cardboard packaging but within they were also covered in bubble wrap.  I know the bubble wrap seems an obvious addition however as most book collectors would be aware this is not the norm.  Many booksellers deem cardboard packaging enough protection leaving the book to slide around inside resulting in random damage during transit.  Perhaps they should take a leaf from these two booksellers; no damage occurred here.

The first book is a US paperback of Kim Sherwood's "Double Or Nothing" which was the opening novel in her Double-O trilogy.  I purchased this book through Reading's Books here in Australia.  Not the cheapest source of this edition but I knew I could trust them.  Published by William Morrow with an ISBN 9780063236523.

The second book is also by Kim Sherwood, a UK hardback of "A Spy Like Me" published by Hemlock Press.  This is the second and latest in her aforementioned trilogy.   I purchased this edition online from Topping & Company Books in the UK.  This edition is also signed by the author which makes it even more exciting.  It has an ISBN 9780008495435.  I think the cover looks fantastic too.

And finally, here's the two together:

I'm really pleased with these books.  And here's some links to a couple more UK editions of Kim's "Double Or Nothing" I own in hardback (also signed) and paperback in my collection.

Did We Spot James Bond In Melbourne ?

While driving with my wife yesterday we noticed this vehicle in front of us featuring the following personalised number plate...

Unfortunately we didn't get a good view of the driver so I guess we'll never know !

Annual Yarragon Book Fair 2024

The annual book fair in Yarragon was held last weekend.  My wife and I made our yearly journey to the small Gippsland town for the event which is organised to raise money for the local fire brigade.

The weather on Saturday was great for the one hour 40 minute drive.

Upon arrival we made our way to the town hall where the book fair is held.  

As usual there were lots of books along with heaps of other visitors.  In the main part of the building were the fiction books separated by size (trade versus standard), hardbacks, science fiction and romance.  The other three rooms contained kids books, travel, non-fiction, autobiographies, vintage as well as several other categories.

My wife and I both scoured the boxes of books for James Bond titles and found several recent continuation novels as shown below.  I purchased the pictured trade edition of Sebastian Faulk's "Devil May Care" despite already having several copies of the same edition.  A copy in such great condition for just $2 could not be passed by, especially as it has no indication of having been previously read.

Only one book for me today however my wife purchased several books for herself.  What amazes me is what great condition all of the books are for sale.

Here's a couple more photos from the day:

The old steam train on display between the town and the main highway

A photo taken by my wife of the sun setting from our car while driving home

And for dessert that night I enjoyed a slice of carrot cake purchased from the Yarragon Bakery for the bargain price of just $12.  A yearly ritual purchase for me, and as usual it was delicious.