Adelaide Getaway - Part 1 (Monday)

My wife and I are currently in Adelaide after driving the long trek from Melbourne last Sunday.

On our first day in Adelaide I walked up Rundle Mall, and then a little further, to O'Connell's Bookshop.  On entry, Ben (and Oscar the dog) greeted me, and after mentioning I was hunting for James Bond books he explained by strange coincidence he was just in the process of setting up a display of Bond paperbacks in his front cabinet.

A lone Pan Books “Casino Royale” movie tie-in from 1967 was already sitting on the glass shelf awaiting more books to accompany it.  Ben also said he’d just sold a Jonathan Cape “Dr. No” first edition, with others still on display in a standing glass cabinet close by.

As always, O’Connell’s Bookshop had a pile of James Bond books available.  There was also this Len Deighton “Action Cookbook” with a cover designed by Raymond Hawkey which I’d never seen in the wild before.

O’Connell’s Bookshop celebrates 70 years of business next year with Ben, a third generation of O’Connell, currently managing the store.  They have thousands of titles for sale catering for many different tastes, and is a must visit if you're ever in Adelaide.

Next stop was QBD Books on Rundle Mall which sells new titles.  They had lots of great books including “Quantum Of Menace” by Vaseem Khan.

Later that morning we drove to Glenelg, a short drive from the City centre.  First we visited the Dymocks Bookstore which was full of potential customers.  Like QBD Books above they also had copies of Vaseem Khan’s novel. 

A short drive from Glenelg is the Mockingbird Lounge.  I normally don’t like mixing food with books but this cafe is definitely an exception.  Every room has shelves of second hand books on the walls.  And one room is set up specifically for book club patrons who’s taste (sadly) appeared to not extend to Ian Fleming as I couldn’t see any Bond novels among the piles of same titles on the shelves.

On our return to Adelaide we passed this Rotary Bookmart in Woodville West.  So many books for sale at bargain prices, and all really well organised by the volunteers.  No luck for me but my wife picked up a few bargains.

On our way back to the hotel we passed New Morning Books on Frome Street, however we’ll have to return as it was closed on the day we visited. 

Here's some additional photos.  Firstly a mural down a lane way near our hotel in central Adelaide

And some photos from Glenelg.

Stay tuned for Part 2...

"Hurricane Room" Advanced Proof Copy Arrives

Like his big screen counterpart the lterary James Bond has also evolved to remain relevant more than 70 years after Ian Fleming first struck a key on his golden typewriter for 'Casino Royale".  Kim Sherwood's interpretation of James Bond is no exception.  When the first installment of her "Double O" trilogy debuted in 2022, her Bond and his world of fellow agents became contemporary, inclusive and refreshingly current.

In her first act, "Double Or Nothing" (2022), Ms. Sherwood moulded (some may say redefined) the modern Bond universe by introducing a new generation of "00"s along with a revamped M16, and the mystery of a missing 007.

Act two, "A Spy Like Me" (2024), was a fast paced action adventure with a six day countdown to stop a terrorist group while simultaneously searching for Bond.

The final act, "Hurricane Room" (2026), was released in late May and promises an epic conclusion to the whole trilogy saga (the cover reads "James Bond is alive"... phew... after "No Time To Die" at the cinema !!!).

I was fortunate to acquire an advanced proof copy of Ms. Sherwood's "Hurricane Room" in the mail last week.  The cover looks great and matches the hardback edition from Harper Collins in the UK.

I've already added cover scans of  "Hurricane Room" to my Proof Copies page.  (Remember to click on the cover image if you go to this link to see the entire book image).  And here's some photos of the complete UK "Double O" trilogy proofs together from Harper Collins imprint Hemlock Press which I'm fortunate to own.

I know a lot of James Bond literary fans concern themselves with the modern version of James Bond.  Personally I think it's great.  Bond remaining current and in today's world will result in new readers and more new adventures.  

There are many literary characters that were once hugely popular, now only alive in old hardbacks on dusty book shelves.  That fate should never befall 007.  May the modern literary James Bond thrill readers for many years to come.  And who knows, maybe the "Double O" trilogy from Kim Sherwood will become "A trilogy in four parts" as Douglas Adams' "Hitchhikers" once was.  We can only hope.

William Morrow - James Bond Set From 2023

Back in 2023 the U.S. publisher William Morrow released a new set of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels.  Predominantly black in colour, these simple in design covers look much better in the flesh than they ever have online.

I tried to purchase the complete set last year.  They're not available on book shelves here in Australia so I had to order them from the U.S..  I chose an online book retailer, and when half the order arrived, most of the books were damaged.  I cancelled the rest of the order and the retailer kindly offered a full refund.

Roll forward to a few weeks ago when I reluctantly ordered the books again, this time through Readings Books, an independant book store here in Victoria.  Today the books arrived...

With great trepedation I opened the box and unwrapped the books one-by-one... and to my great relief they've all arrived safely.  Apart from some minor shipping bumps and scuffs  the books are still in excellent condition.  Eventually once I've scanned them all they'll appear on this page of my website.

Here's a few pics:

Addendum: It turns out I ordered the wrong copy of one title.  I'll let you work it out from the photos above.  Looks like I'll have to order a copy of the correct edition now.  Slightly frustrating but it was 100% my mistake !!!

Birthday Surprise

It's my birthday today and my lovely wife organised a special gift for me, a proof copy of Vaseem Khan's first "Q Mysteries series" novel "Quantum Of Menace".

I've been hunting for this "Uncorrected proof" from the U.K. for over six months, so I was stoked when I unwrapped it this morning.

The front cover of the trade size book features the subtle single alphabetic character "Q", the code name of the main protagonist of the novel. The rear cover reads "Pay Attention", a famous quote from the film "Goldfinger" during a meeting between James Bond (Sean Connery) and Q (Desmond Llewelyn).

The book was published in 2025 by Zaffre, an imprint of Bonnier Books.

Yarragon Annual Book Fair 2026

My wife and I missed last year's book fair in Yarragon as we were about to travel overseas.  This year, along with her parents, we travelled the 230km round trip to Yarragon in Gippsland to hunt for books.

I'm always optimistic of finding some great condition vintage James Bond paperbacks at this event.  Every year there's always new stock which has been donated by the local community for the benefit of their local fire brigade.

As always the hall was full of people, many of whom had also travelled the Princes Highway from Melbourne to be there.

Unlike previous years this was the only Bond related book I encountered, a copy of Jeffery Deaver's novel "Edge" which featured a small circle on the cover promoting his forthcoming (at the time) Bond novel "Carte Blanche".  As I already have this book in my collection I left it for another possible Bond collector to discover.

No Bond novels for me this year.  But that's just part of the book hunt.  My wife and her Dad were more fortunate with both of them managing to find some new reading material.

A wander through the local shops and art gallery, the carrot cake from the Yarragon Bakery and a delicious lunch at the town pub rounded off an enjoyable day out before our drive home.