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.

"A Spy Like Me" Uncorrected Proof Arrives

After returning from a work trip to Sydney a couple of weeks ago I found two parcels awaiting me.  They were both online purchases from the U.S..

The first parcel contained an uncorrected proof of the latest novel from Kim Sherwood.  Titled "A Spy Like Me", this is the second in Kim's "Double O" trilogy series set in the James Bond universe, the first of which was "Double Or Nothing".  And while "A Spy Like Me" may not feature Bond himself, it does include other spies with double-O prefixes which in my opinion is a very interesting and original concept for an author to explore.

The cover of this trade size paperback features an image which also adorns the dust jacket of the U.S. hardback, also published by Harper Collins.

The rear cover features a brief synopsis along with marketing details that will accompany this title's release.

"A Spy Like Me" was officially released just a few days ago (April 2024).  I'm trying to track down a signed first edition from the U.K. but so far it's proving difficult.  Sadly James Bond continuation authors rarely have book signings here in Australia.  I think Jeffrey Deaver and Charlie Higson have been the only two.

Once I've scanned this cover I'll be adding it to the rest of the titles on my Proof Copies page of PizGloria.com.

I wish Kim all the best on this title's release and trust this novel proves to be very successful for her.

And the contents of the other parcel... yep you guessed right, that's the content of my next post.

A Work Trip To Sydney

Two weeks ago I travelled to Sydney for work.  While there I managed to drop by Kinokuniya Books.  

This is the only bookstore I've visited in Oz where I've seen the entire series of recent Ian Fleming Publications of James Bond novels available for purchase.

Sadly no new books for me but it was great to visit the store again.

And here's some photos of Sydney by night:

On my return to Melbourne I found these parcels had arrived containing some recent online James Bond purchases to add to my paperback collection.  But that's for another post...

Annual Mornington Lions Club Book Fair

The  Annual Mornington Lions Club Book Fair began today, raising money for charity.  My wife and I always look forward to this event which takes place across the weekend from 9am to 5pm.

This year my wife's parents also joined us as my father-in-law is an avid reader.  As usual the books were of great quality and really well organised by the event volunteers into alphabetic sections.

As you can see from the photos below there were plenty of other readers looking for bargains with the books just $2 each.

After scouring all the crates of books I only found two copies of the same James Bond adventure, "Carte Blanche" by Jeffery Deaver in trade size paperback which I already have in my collection.

No luck for me today but my wife and her Mum and Dad managed to find plenty of books and jigsaw puzzles for themselves.  

The book fair continues again tomorrow and we'll definitely be back next year.

As an addendum, afterwards we travelled to Main Street Mornington for some lunch and I noticed this lovely E-Type Jaguar.  I know it's not a Bentley or Aston Martin but it still conjures up the thought that Bond could have driven this vehicle in literature or on celluloid in the 1960's...

... but sadly I suppose Austin Powers has taken that mantle now.

Recent Pan Acquisitions

I recently visited a secondhand book store here in Melbourne and uncovered four out of five of these Pan editions from the 1960's.  

Apart from the "From Russia With Love" movie tie-in from 1963 the other covers are part of the Raymond Hawkey series.  Three of the books appear unread which is amazing for their age.  Their spines are immaculate.

The novel purchased online was the "For Your Eyes Only" shown below printed in 1966.  It's a rare 16th printing by Pan that used a much thicker paper stock causing the paperback to be fatter or thicker than normal.

As well as the spine size variation you can also notice the colour of the text on the spine is white which differs from the light blue on the regular copies.

The images on the front and rear covers are identical...

except the thicker version has an area showing pricing in red which is absent on this other copy.

This thicker version is difficult to find without an uncracked spine.  My copy also has some cover damage.  It's certainly not the best copy out there but it was within my budget.

Overall I was rapt with these purchases and can't wait to add images of this thicker version to the Less Common Books And Ephemera page on PizGloria.com.