Free books! (Also Bill Bryson revisited, and new clothes)

[triskellian]

Mere days after the wise ealuscerwen told me that Bill Bryson is sometimes wrong and unscholarly, I've found an example myself, although it's not in the field of language/linguistics. Discussing 'mean, median, midpoint, average' etc, he correctly defines 'mean' (although, unsurprisingly, doesn't mention arithmetic and geometric ;-), but states that it means (ha ha) the same as 'average', with no further comment on the broader meaning of 'average', or that if you used them interchangeably in technical writing, you would be making a mistake.

Strangely, noticing this pleases me. I don't really think of maths as my field any more, not least because many of my friends have so much more of a claim, but something like this (even though it's something I'd know if I'd done no non-compulsory maths) reminds me that there's still a bond between me and the subject I abandoned.


The first rule of shopping, for those who find it difficult, is that you should never buy things you can't use in their current state. This rule applies double to the hopelessly disorganised, like me. I've broken it twice recently, buying too-long trousers with the intention of shortening them. Today, on returning from buying the second of these, I got out my sewing machine, and I shortened my trousers. I'm proud of me.


Finally, we've been weeding the library, and now have lots of books we don't want. Some of them we inherited, some are duplicates, some things we like but won't read again, some things we don't like, some things I'm admitting I'm never going to read... So if anything on the list below takes your fancy, leave a comment and it's yours (this includes people I don't know, if there's some way of getting the book to you). I'll give the rest to charity.

It's a bit worrying that the shelves look no less full, even though presumably they were previously holding the large piles of books which now cover the floor.

(They're in alphabetical order by first name of author, I'm afraid, because it didn't occur to me until too late to type the surname first)
(Struck-through books already claimed)
Hunting the Ghost Dancer, AA Attansio
The Black Hole, Alan Dean Foster
Three Musketeers (abridged), Alexander Dumas
The Renegades of Pern, Anne McCaffrey
Crystal Line, Anne McCaffrey
Skys of Pern, Anne McCaffrey
All the Weyrs of Pern, Anne McCaffrey
Crisis on Doona, Anne McCaffrey
Powers that be, Anne McCaffrey
the Ship who searched, Anne McCaffrey
The Girl Who Heard Dragons, Anne McCaffrey
The Death of Sleep, Anne McCaffrey
Sassinak, Anne McCaffrey
Generation Warriors, Anne McCaffrey
Katharine, Anya Seton
Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler
Anno Domini, barnaby Williams
Manifest Destiny, Barry B Longyear
The Viceroy of Ouidah, Bruce Chatwin
Sex and the City, Candace Bushnell
Golden Days, Carolyn See
Rameses, Christian Jack
The Book of the City of Ladies, Christine de Pizan
Catface, Clifford Simak
Why Call Them Back From Heaven, Clifford Simak
Perelandra, CS Lewis
Boy Girl Boy Girl, David Macallis
Swank, David Tudor
Von Ryan's Express, David Westheimer
High Citadel, Desmond Bagley
Landslide, Desmond Bagley
The Tightrope Men, Desmond Bagley
Running Blind, Desmond Bagley
The Vivero Letter, Desmond Bagley
The Freedom Trap, Desmond Bagley
Night of Error, Desmond Bagley
Spoilers, Desmond Bagley
Field of Thirteen, Dick Francis
Frankie, Domini Highsmith
King Herafter, Dorothy Dunnett
The Time of the Dragon, Dorothy Eden
How to be a Survivor, Dr Paul R Ehrlich
The Winds of Gath, EC Tubb
Derai, EC Tubb
The Company of Glory, Edgar Pangborn
The Green Branch, Edith Pargeter (Ellis Peters)
The Scarlet Seed, Edith Pargeter (Ellis Peters)
Seed of Light, Edmund Cooper
Grey Lensman, EE Doc Smith (There are two of these. Only one is claimed)
Children of the lens, EE Doc Smith
Masters of the Vortex, EE Doc Smith
Triplanetary, EE Doc Smith
First Lensman, EE Doc Smith
Galactic Patrol, EE Doc Smith
Elizabeth and her German Garden, Elizabeth von Armin
The Pilgrim of Hate, Ellis Peters
Flight of a Witch, Ellis Peters
The Third Cadfael Omnibus, Ellis Peters
Famous Five and the Strange Legacy, Enid Blyton
Mystery of the Tally-Ho Cottage, Enid Blyton
Mystery of the Strange Messages, Enid Blyton
Adventures of the Wishing Chair, Enid Blyton
Tales of Long Ago, Enid Blyton
Shock for the Secret Seven, Enid Blyton
Seven Strike Gold, Enid Blyton
Mystery of the Hidden House, Enid Blyton
Merry Mister Meddle, Enid Blyton
Five Get Into a Fix, Enid Blyton
The Book of Brownies, Enid Blyton
Officers and Gentlemen, Evelyn Waugh
Healer, F Paul Wilson
Tender is the Night, F Scott Fitzgerald (unless secretrebel didn't mean to include this in her comment)
Worst Fears, Fay Weldon
The Black Cloud, Fred Hoyle
Gather, Darkness!, Fritz Leiber
Brother Surgeons, Garet Rogers
Powder and Patch, Georgette Heyer
Battlestar Galactica, Glen A Larson and Robert Thurston
Battlestar Galactica 2, Glen A Larson and Robert Thurston
Fuzzy Sapiens, H Beam Piper
Little Fuzzy, H Beam Piper
The Late Great Planet Earth, Hal Lindsey
Fair Stood the Wind for France, HE Bates
Live and Let Die, Ian Fleming
Eva Luna, Isabel Allende
Rockstar, Jackie Collins
Noble House, James Clavell
The Ghosts of Sleath, James Herbert
Ulysses, James Joyce
Colour of Darkness, James Purdy
By the Waters of Babylon, James Wellard
Hospital Station, James White
Star Surgeon, James White
White Oleander, Janet Fitch
Stormwaden, Janny Wurts
Keeper of the Keys, Janny Wurts
Shadowfane, Janny Wurts
The Curse of the Mistwraith, Janny Wurts
Sorceror's Legacy, Janny Wurts
The Painted Face, Jean Stubbs
A new Leaf, Jill Roe
A Month in the Country, JL Carr
A Touch of Chill, Joan Aiken
Haunted East Anglie, Joan Foreman
Journey to Infinity, Johan Von Buttlar
Green Mantle, John Buchan
Mr Steadfast, John Buchan
Flight Into Danger, John Castle and Arthur Hailey
The Star Witches, John Lymington
Paradise Postponed, John Mortimer
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl, John Quinn (Ed)
Tortilla Flat, John Steinbeck
To a God Unknown, John Steinbeck
Sweet Thursday, John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
Travels with Charlie, John Steinbeck
A Pale View of Hill, Kazuro Ishiguro
The Bone People, Kerry Hulme
The Saint in Miami, Leslie Charteris
The Robe, Lloyd C Douglas
Earth Unaware, Mack Reynolds
Warlord, Malcolm Boss
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
I Heard the Owl Call My Name, Margaret Craven
Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
The Godfather, Mario Puzo
Gorky Park, Martin Cruz Smith
The Camomile Lawn, Mary Wesley
Gor Saga, Maureen Duffy
The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston
The Penguin book of 19th Century Australian Literature, Michael Ackland (Ed)
Mind One, Mike Delinsky
Daugher of Amun, Moira Caldecott
Thursday Afternoons, Monica Dickens
The Hothouse by the East River, Muriel Spark
The Takeover, Muriel Spark
Invaders of Space, Murray Leinster
Madame de Pompadour, Nancy Mitford
Don't Tell Alfred, Nancy Mitford
Round the Bend, Nevil Shute
A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
Pied Piper, Nevil Shute
The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Montserrat
Tanamera, Noel Barber
The Weeping and the Laughter, Noel Barber
a Farewell to France, Noel Barber
A Woman of Cairo, Noel Barber
Age of Consent, Norman Lindsey
Ancient Evenings, Norman Mailer
Pavillion of Women, Pearl S buck
Modesty Blaise, Peter O'Donnell
Painter of Signs, R K Narayan
All This and Heaven Too, Rachel Field
the Voyage of the Lucky Dragon, Ralph E Lapp
Prince of the Blood, Raymond E Feist
The King's Buccanneer, Raymond E Feist
A Darkness at Sethanon, Raymond E Feist
Magician, Raymond E Feist
Silverthorn, Raymond E Feist
Watership Down, Richard Adams (There are two of these. Only one is taken.)
MASH, Richard Hooker
Mist over Pendle, Robert Neill
A Sea-Grape Tree, Rosumand Lehmann
Night Falls on the City, Sarah Gainham
Windmills of the Gods, Sidney Sheldon
Digging Up The Past, Sir Leonard Wooly
This Day All Gods Die, Stephen Donaldson
Gerald's Game, Stephen King
Christine, Stephen King
Dolores Claiborne, Stephen King
Four Past Midnight, Stephen King
The Woman in Black, Susan Hill
Thirteen Tales of Horror, T Pines (Ed)
Black Unicorn, Tanith Lee
Survivors, Terry Nation (We're saving this for frax if she wants it)
Strata, Terry Pratchett
Dark Side of the Sun, Terry Pratchett
Truckers, Terry Pratchett
Far From the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
Tess of the D'urbevilles, Thomas Hardy
Lotte in Weimar, Thomas Mann
Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison
The Gift, Vladimir Nobokov
Then and Now, W Somerset Maugham
Children of the Void, William Dexter
Requiem for a Nun, William Faulkner
The Stonor Eagles, William Horwood

Comments

[thegreenman.livejournal.com]

Could I have the Doc EE Smith's?
I am a friend of venta or bateleur so I guess these are the probably people to pass them onto to get them to me.

Ta

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

I am a friend of venta or bateleur

But not both ?

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Could I make a bid for the Pratchetts please ?

and :

The King's Buccanneer, Raymond E Feist

(That's just destroyed my literature credibility...)

ooh, books !

[liriselei.livejournal.com]

i'd like the following, if nobody else wants them:

Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler
Eva Luna, Isabel Allende
Ulysses, James Joyce
A Pale View of Hill, Kazuro Ishiguro
Ancient Evenings, Norman Mailer
Watership Down, Richard Adams
Lotte in Weimar, Thomas Mann
Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison
The Gift, Vladimir Nobokov

i could collect them at the imminent Templar's party, or drop round sometime and pick them up, or am open to alternative collection suggestions.

[bibliogirl.livejournal.com]

I'd like the Whites and the Chatwin, if nobody else wants them - I'll mail you to sort out how to get them to me.

Free stuff kicks ass

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

I'd quite like:

Perelandra, CS Lewis
The Godfather, Mario Puzo
Requiem for a Nun, William Faulkner

Plus, if JP and Kate still volunteer at the Oxfam bookshop, you should give them the spares tonight to take back home on JP's bike. It'd be funny.

[elethiomel.livejournal.com]

I'll bag the EC Tubbs if I can (probably easiest to leave them with a Templar and I'll grab them at the BBQ).

[secretrebel.livejournal.com]

Tender is the Night, F Scott Fitzgerald
Can I have these please?

The Star Witches, John Lymington (cool title, I hope it lives up to it)
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
Gor Saga, Maureen Duffy (what is this book? is it about the Gor books? I can't believe you've never told me about it if it is!)
Madame de Pompadour, Nancy Mitford
Don't Tell Alfred, Nancy Mitford
A Darkness at Sethanon, Raymond E Feist
Magician, Raymond E Feist
Silverthorn, Raymond E Feist
The Stonor Eagles, William Horwood

[triskellian]

Gor Saga isn't about the Gor books, I'm afraid. Yes, I would've mentioned it if it was.

(And you forgot to take your books away with you!)

Hello. Thought you had got rid me!

[(Anonymous)]

Hi,

Could I nab the following books please for myself and Samantha.

Noble House by Clavell
the Janny Wurts, with the exception of Stormwarden
Gone With the Wind by Mitchell
The Camomile Lawn by Wesley
My Steadfast by Buchan
the Steinbeck, except Of Mice and Men
Then and Now by Maugham
and any of the Desmond Bagleys that no one else wants.

Andy T.

Hmm

[cardinalsin.livejournal.com]

Survivors, Terry Nation (We're saving this for frax if she wants it)


frax is currently paralysed with excitement and can't type, but I think the answer is yes.