Lord Samper's Library

Because if there's one thing you can count on me to do, it's buying a whole load more similar books if I've enjoyed one. That's what happened with 'Deadnoughts Vol, 1' and now, here we are, looking at some more of that ilk. Who knows, I might even get a chance to finish them; actually, that's a little too far fetched, even for me... ;o) Anyway, lets take a quick look at some books that came home with me over the last week. Lets start with the obvious choices. Like I said a few lines up, I thoroughly enjoyed 'Dreadnoughts Vol. 1' so Vol.2 pretty much bought itself. Although I did tell myself to wait until next payday so, erm... Anyway here we are and I reckon I'll polish this off over the weekend. And 'Judge Dredd: Origins' is a classic story that ties into what I've already read. The fact that it was only a fiver, off eBay, helped a fair bit too ;o) And here are the books. Even if you haven't already read the review, you can prob...

Because last week was one of those weeks and I got paid on Friday, that's all there is to it. I'm pretty sure that this week is going to be one of those weeks as well but, at least I've got some new books to keep me company ;o) Lets check em' out, My reading isn't going brilliantly at the moment (another attempt at 'Into the Narrowdark' failed miserably over the weekend...) so I thought I'd take a step outside my comfort zone with 'Sharpe's Tiger'. Fingers crossed it jumpstarts me back into my groove again. I've just got the final story of the 'Fool Wolf' collection to read and then maybe, 'Sharpe's Tiger' will be my next read. We'll see. We're back onto slightly familiar ground with 'Blightslayer', a book that has my favourite dwarf and favourite Chaos god inside. You can't go wrong with a combination like that, can you? I'll let you know. And then finally, for this picture anyway, we've go...

It looks like once again, I've got myself in a state about work this week and I'm still in that moment, even though work is most definitely not going to be a thing until Monday morning... For what it's worth, the Graeme of several years ago is looking on and thinking 'what the hell have I become...?' Hopefully better at keeping a job 'past Graeme'... ;o) Sleep will happen at some point, just not right now so in the meantime, why don't we take a look at the books that have followed me home this week... Not too many books this time round, mostly because payday is still a way off but also because I really want to make a dent in what's in the flat first. Seriously, have you seen the state of the place? Actually, it would be really weird if you had but you know what I mean. It would be good to finish more books than I'm buying ;o) There have been a few books turn up though. I'm lucky enough to get the occasional review copy so there's some of ...

In a few days time, I'll be off for a week's holiday down in Devon even though I've been working from home for the last few months now, I feel like I've earned this break. It will also be the first time in a long time (around five years I think) that I'll have had a holiday outside Lewisham. Not that's there's anything wrong with Lewisham (the fried chicken doesn't draw the tourists, like it should, but I love it, it will be nice to get away though :o) I don't know what I'll do with the blog while I'm away; knowing me I'll probably make some noise about taking a break and then cover it with content when I should be sleeping ;o) It's at times like this then that a Graeme's thoughts turn to the most important thing to consider when going on holiday... What books shall I take? Seriously, I don't want to get caught short with no books to read and no bookshops open, that would be horrible. I might even end up having to talk to p...

I've got my year end review in the morning and I can't sleep right now. Rationally, I know that I've done the best I can this year, there'll be some room for improvement but it won't be a bad review all in all. Irrationally though... Lets just say that the anxious part of my brain is building up a list of all the things that went wrong this year along with a whole other list of things that I couldn't possibly have done but will be mentioned over the course of my review. Welcome to the inside of my head people, it's dark in here... It will be over by lunchtime so this afternoon will feel a lot better. Lets see how it goes... It's a good job then I've had a few more books come through the post yesterday. Like I've said before, it's almost like past Graeme knows that present Graeme is going to face a few difficulties so he sends a little help package from the past... :o) I'm slowly rebuilding my Michael Moorcock collection at the moment;...

Yes, I know I did one of these posts the other day but this one is a little bit special so hopefully you'll indulge a chap a little bit ;o) I used to have a copy of 'The Jade Mans Eyes' pretty much the same as the one Neil Gaiman mentions in his tale, 'One Life, Furnished in Early Moorcock', right down to the green ink that the story is printed in. I was lucky enough to get it signed by the man himself and it was a sweet little oddity on my shelf. Then life got really crappy for a bit and I really needed some quick money so I sold it, Moorcock signature and all.  It had to be done but I always regretted it because I was sure that I'd never see another copy. Well, no sooner had I said just that, in the post from the other day, a quick look on Amazon (just on the offchance) proved me totally wrong. No hanging around, I bought it straight away and today, it arrived. Check out my new friend :o) I've got no idea of the history of this edition but a...

I've said it before and I'll say it again (but it's ten to one in the morning so I'll say it quietly...), if I'm having a tough week at work, or just a tough week in general, I've got a really bad habit of sending myself little Amazon packages to cheer myself up. I've had worse habits (I used to smoke) but this one can prove to be expensive depending on the kind of week that I'm having. This week wasn't too bad but at the same time, bad enough... Have a look at what was waiting for me yesterday when I went back to my flat to check on the post... This is another installment in my ongoing mission to replace all the books that I had to sell a few years ago. O think I'm almost there (or maybe even all the way there) with the Daniel Way run on 'Deadpool'; I've got a couple of series that I want to read first (I really want to read the rest of 'Rat Queens' for a start) and then maybe it's time for a re-read. I'm not...

So there I was, thinking that Lockdown would save me money... Ok, I'm not spending quite so much money on Banh Mi's but my book and DVD spending has just shot up over the last couple of months. And I've suddenly found myself with a subscription to Shudder, not quite sure how that happened (of course I am, that'll teach me to pay more attention to free trials...)  I clearly need to be reading a lot faster then but in the meantime... Here's some of the books that have arrived, at mine, over the last couple of days (and a couple of DVDs as well). The common theme, for the books anyway, is 'Replacing books that I had to sell/lost etc during a very bad patch about three years ago'. I'm 'on the up' now, it's all good :o) First of all, huge thanks to @breakfastruins (owner of the rather awesome 'Breakfast In The Ruins' Podcast) for giving a me a copy of 'Wizardy and Wild Romance' to replace the one that I had to sell. It goes...

I had a little bit of an 'book obsessive' moment the other day... Okay, I do this most days but normally, I'm able to stave it off by looking at my bank balance or, you know, actually reading one of the many books that are lying unread on the shelves... Not the other day though, my lovely new copy of 'Elric of Melnibone' came through the door and I found myself thinking, why don't I get 'Stormbringer' as well...? I mean, it's not as if it's even the next book in the series (no idea what the best reading order for 'Elric' is to be honest), I'm blaming Amazon for putting the idea in my head with a little sneaky advertising (and the promise of a foreword by Tad Williams, I will literally read anything that Tad Williams has written). Anyway here it is, fresh through the door this morning. Feared by enemies and friends alike, Elric of Melnibone walks a lonely path among the worlds of the multiverse. The destroyer of his own crue...

When things get a bit stressful, whether it’s work or anything else, I have a habit of going on Amazon and giving myself a little Seretonin buzz by buying a book or two (or more on the really bad days…) I should probably look at cheaper ways of getting that hit but that’s how I roll at the moment. Yesterday wasn’t a bad day as such, just loads to do and not enough time to do it all in, not when you’ve got a six year old who really needs to do her reading comprehension but is doing anything she can not to (and she didn’t as it happens but that’s another story). No surprise then that I ordered myself a couple of books to read in a quiet moment (yeah right) but a bit more of a surprise when they showed up today. Hence the post… Lets take a look shall we… ‘Elric of Melnibone and Other Stories’ – Michael Moorcock Gollancz is very proud to present the author's definitive editions of the saga of Elric, the last emperor of Melniboné. Michael Moorcock and his long-t...

So I took myself to Asda today, to do a bit of shopping for some people and oh my goodness... Everyone was keeping to the spirit of social distancing outside the store but when we all got inside... Well, it was everyone for themselves. I tried to keep my distance but it was like people suddenly got blinkered vision and would go through you if you didn't get out of the way. Honestly, by the time I got to the fruit section I was starting to panic a little bit. People just weren't taking it seriously in there and we need to start taking it a bit more seriously otherwise the government is just going to lock us down even more. Oh well, it's nice and quiet back in the flat and I can social distance the whole world from here :o) And talk a bit about books. Shall we...? Go on then. It's been another really slow week for books which is totally understandable but does make it difficult for me to spin this out into a full length post! I think I'm going to have to come up wit...

I'm swapping this for the regular 'Saturday Doctor Who Post' because I ended up being really busy today, I've got a new cheese toasty maker though so I'm counting today as a win :o) Yep, it has been one of those weeks for book purchasing; by which I mean the 'hunt' has fallen strangely silent. It was always going to happen though. Over the last week, I've seen the shops in Lewisham close one by one until it's pretty much just Sainsburys and Iceland left. Plus all the little takeaways actually so we can still get a kebab or a bit of chicken. There's that, I guess. It's weird out there at the moment and I'm guessing that it's the same wherever you are. Stay safe guys, be kind to each other and especally to yourself if you're stuck indoors somewhere and can't get out. Hopefully it won't be for too long... But the book... Yes, I did buy one book this week, more out of bloody mindedness than anything else although it has ...

Without going into loads of detail, I've found myself shedding books left, right and centre over the last few years. Sometimes I needed to lighten the load when I was moving from one room to another, sometimes the memories that inevitably get trapped in a book were too painful, sometimes I just needed some quick cash. Whatever the reason, I went from being a person who relentlessly hoarded books to someone who only kept the books that really mattered. Even that was far too many books but it didn't feel like it at the time ;o) This last week has been a bit of a funny one then as the books that I've found, in my semi regular trawl through various charity shops, have all been ones that I left behind, back in the day, and am now ready to pick up again. Bad memories fade and I'm settled enough where I am now that I'm not worried about having a few extra books around the place. So I picked up those books and here they are... 'The Book of Ultimate Truths' -...

It's been slim pickings this last week but sometimes that's just the way the hunt goes. To be honest, I was kind of hoping that there would be a post Christmas/New Year surge in books being donated to charity but that was clearly wishful thinking. And to be fair, if I'm not really getting rid of any books then how can I expect anyone else to do the same? Looking on the bright side though, though the quantity wasn't what I'd been expecting, the quality was definitely there. Check these beauties out (as always, apologies for the state of the pictures that come out of my phone)... I'm slowly, but surely, building up my Moorcock collection again :o) This time, with the help of Oxfam in Greenwich, I was able to find a copy of 'The Ice Schooner' (which is particularly awesome as I've been hunting for a copy for what has felt like ages...) and 'The Chronicles of Castle Brass' (three books in one which is always good). It's very likel...

Wow, what a week it has been and it's going to be exactly the same next week. I'm finding out, the hard way, that January is an incrediby busy month at work but you know what, that's cool. The last few months, I've realised that I'm the sort of person who needs to keep busy at work otherwise I get really depressed and it's not like there isn't loads of other things that already do that... So this weekend then is a little oasis of calm between yesterday and all the stuff that is going to kick off next week. Let me show you some of the little bits and pieces that have come through the post and will be getting reviewed here... I've given up trying to take decent pictures on my phone so you're just getting pictures that I've swiped off Google ;o) I've been waiting patiently for the right combination of the DVD being released and me being paid and now, everything has aligned... :o) I never saw this in the cinema but I loved the first instal...

I really need to get out of bed, so much to do today... The hunting has been good this week, so good in fact that I'm wondering whether I have an evil twin in Lewisham who is dropping these books off, incharity shops, just before I walk in... Stranger things have happened to me... Remember last week when I was waxing lyrical about how charity shops and second hand bookshops are the best places to find books that you never even knew you were looking for? This is why... I didn't buy loads of books this week (not a bad thing, given the state of my poor bank account) but sometimes it's about quality and not quantity. I'm particularly pleased with these two books. 'The Last Unicorn' is one of those books where it feels like everyone else has read it, and not me , so finding the graphic novel seems like a half decent place to start while I look for the book itself. 'The Last Unicorn' will be reviewed but is at the back of the 'Comic Boo...