Saturday, August 18, 2007

Otherworldly Treasures and Nice People!

I seem to have acquired a few really cool things lately and I thought I'd share with everyone. Two of them come from eBay, and one comes from Barnes and Noble.

The first is something that I have sought after for a long, long time (well, as long as it's been out), but have never been able to afford. But thanks to the wonders of eBay, I now own The Absolute Sandman Volume 1 and it is gorgeous!! I had never actually seen a copy of this book...just online. But I knew I wanted it as Sandman was one of my favorite comic book series. It comes packaged in a beautiful slipcase (not pictured) and the book itself is just amazing. Leather bound and perfectly done. The inside pages are done beautifully and I don't even want to read it for fear of ruining it! There's an afterword by Neil Gaiman with some bonus stuff in the back too. I can actually say that this book is worth the $100 sticker price on it, but I got it for a little less than half that on eBay and it was still sealed! Volume 2 is due out on Halloween of this year and can be pre-ordered on Amazon now for $62.37 which is a great price!

The second thing that came from eBay is Season 1 of the new Doctor Who series which is being produced by the BBC. They've been showing these on the Sci-Fi channel and I'm obsessed! One of the best shows on tv in a long time. They are currently airing season 3, which is where I started watching, so I picked up season 1 on eBay. This one's also costly if you order it through Amazon or another retailer, but I got a great deal on eBay. The show has been picked up for a fourth season which will air in 2008 and there's a cool looking spin off that hasn't hit the states yet called Torchwood (an anagram of "doctor who").And the last thing I picked up is yet another copy of The Hobbit. This is the fourth copy I own of this book and won't be the last, but dammit, I keep finding all these great versions of it. This one was in the bargain book section of Barnes and Noble. Only $7.98. It's a hardback and it's The Annotated version of The Hobbit and has all of this incredible info along the way along with all kinds of Hobbit art by different artists. I couldn't pass it up. I swear that the last one I'll buy is the beautifully illustrated Alan Lee version and then I'll stop! Can you tell it's one of my favorite books?

Different topic: The ever so nice Robin of A Fondness for Reading has nominated me for the Nice Matters Award. Robin is an amazing person and I can definitely see why she was chosen. Nice is a term that describes her...well, nicely :) She writes wonderful book reviews and I love reading about her wonderful family and her thoughts on life. So I was honored when she chose me as one of her nominees. And in the company of such nice people as Carl, Bookfool, and Jenclair...3 people who I consider some of the nicest bloggers out there. Here's my 4 Nice Matters Award nominees:

Nymeth of Things Mean A lot: Nymeth is one of the most passionate people I know in the blogosphere. Her love for all things creative, be it books, music, or art come across perfectly in all of her posts and she's a joy to talk to. I always look forward to a new post from her and her comments. Definitely a nice person ;)

Bellezza: Many of you know Dolce Bellezza. She definitely has to be one of the nicest bloggers I've met. She's such an honest and caring person and I get the impression that she would be a great person to sit down with for coffee. Her passion for books and life in general are expressed beautifully in her well written posts. Pop on over for some good reading.

Jean Pierre of Bombastic Bagman: JP's blog is one of the newer blogs that I've started reading and is quickly becoming a favorite! He's just an all around nice guy. He lives in Oxford and shares his love of words, books, and life in posts that are always entertaining and he's always up for some great conversation.

CJ of My Year of Reading Seriously: Cj's great! Her blog is also one of the newer ones that I've started reading and I love it. She's an incredibly nice person and I'm really looking forward to the craziness of NaNoWriMo with her this November! Her book reviews are wonderful and I always enjoy reading her Booking Through Thursday and Thursday Thirteen responses to get to know her a little bit better.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a book giveaway in celebration of the 10,000th visitor to Stuff As Dreams Are Made On!!!!

23 comments:

Literacy-chic said...

I'm right there with you when it comes to nice versions of Tolkien!! We own several full sets of LOTR and at least 3 of The Hobbit!

chrisa511 said...

N, I should have figured ;) Glad to know I'm not alone in that one. There are just so many cool versions of Tolkien's books out there!

Anonymous said...

Torchwood is way cooler than Doctor Who :p The first couple of episodes were quite lame and cliche, but it gets much better. When David Tennant took over as Doctor Who I went off it a bit. It's not that he's a crap actor, I just really don't like his take on playing the Doctor. I have been drawn in to watching it though despite my inital stance.

I only have 3 copies of The Hobbit so I need to catch you up!

DesLily said...

I guess I shouldn't ask if you've seen The History of the Hobbit by John D. Rateliff that's due out soon?.. can we see some of the artwork in your new version of the hobbit??

I'm glad you got the Sandman book that you wanted!.. ebay can be a dangerous place, but I guess you know that..heh.

sorry i haven't been posting alot..doing a test on that "pain" and I go into panic mode and can't think much..

DesLily said...

oh forgot to mention that "history of the hobbit" is 2 books plus a copy of the hobbit (3 books) in a set..

Stephanie said...

You can always find some good things out there on eBay! I haven't watched the new Dr. Who yet. I used to watch the original with my Dad YEARS ago.

Great choices for nice bloggers too!! All of them are great!

Anonymous said...

wow! thanks for the nomination!

i am totally with you with regards to buying different versions of a book. i love it! and its not just about nice and flashy editions. i also like getting the old paperbacks. i love all the different incarnations of a book.

oh...! and that sandman looks gorgeous - hooray for ebay! :)

Bellezza said...

No stinkin' way! I can't believe you nominated me for this sweet award! Sometimes I think I'm all boring and that, not into the sci-fi/fantasy genres as much as many wonderful bloggers I know, and then I find this accolade on your blog. You can have coffee with me any time, and I'll even buy you whatever you want: what do you like, double venti lattes, cappucinos, mochas? :)

chrisa511 said...

Rhinoa, I really like David Tennant as the Doctor, but that's probably because I haven't seen the other guy yet, so he's all I've known as The Doctor in the new series so far. I'm so jealous of you British people getting all of those great TV shows!!! I can't wait wait for Torchwood to make it onto TV or DVD over here. It sounds great!

Deslily, Oh Lord! Something else Hobbit related to buy?! Sure, I'll take pictures later on. They're not really big picture, just various artwork that's been done over the years...very cool!

I hope things get better soon Pat! Panic mode's a bitch, huh? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the tests come back fine!

Oh crap, a 3 book set?!

Stephanie, The new Doctor Who is SO good!! You would love it :) Comes on friday nights on the sci-fi channel.

Jeanne Pierre, No prob, you deserve it!

Totally agree with you. I love seeing all the different versions of a book. Some of my favorite books I have are old beat up paperbacks. They just have so much character to them. Carl just sent me an old copy of The Stainless Steel Rat in Paperback with yellowed pages and an old cover and I love it! The Sandman book is incredible!

Bellezza, oh whatever! You're not boring in the least bit, lol. Your blog is one of my favorites :) I love how eclectic your blog is. There's a little bit of everything, yet you still maintain a central theme. I'm an iced coffee guy by the way, how about you?

Bellezza said...

Iced lattes, cappuccinos, anything but a frappuccino from Starbucks. Thanks for all your kind words; I'm honored to be one of your blogging buddies.

Jeff S. said...

The Absolute Sandman is wonderful! I'm glad you were able to snag one for such a great price. I think you just secured another book for the RIP challenge.

Ana S. said...

Aww Chris, I'm touched. And honoured to be in such great company! Thank you so much!

Isn't the Absolute Sandman gorgeous? I was in awe when I held it in my hands the other day. Hopefully I will be able to find it for a good price one day.

The annotated version of The Hobbit sounds great!

chrisa511 said...

Jeff, I think I'd be too scared that I'd ruin this one to read it! I have all of my back issues of Sandman to read though...I don't have every issue though, so this collection will be nice to fill in the gaps.

Nymeth, No prob ;) Absolute Sandman rocks! You have to get it one of these days. I highly recommend eBay...they still sell for a pretty penny on there, but every now and then if luck is on your side, you can get it for a good price. The annotated Hobbit is very cool! Highly recommended.

aichaku-愛着 said...

i'm watching the new dr who too! i've gotten a little obsessed with it.

chrisa511 said...

Aichaku, It's so easy to obsess over!! It's such a great show!

Anonymous said...

With you on the cool editions of Tolkien books. :)

Absolute Sandman is breathtaking. I love it. So glad you picked up your very own copy.

I have to confess - I can't stand Doctor Who! *chuckle*

chrisa511 said...

Quix, I'm glad I have an Absolute Sandman too! Unfortunately, it doesn't fit upright on the bookshelf, but it looks nicely laying on it's side as well. It just takes up quite a bit of space. The other books are jealous of the space it gets.

You don't like Dr. Who?! For shame! Just kidding...It's definitely rather cheesy at times, but I love it!

Carl V. Anderson said...

Ooooo, great stuff! Glad you were finally able to get Absolute Sandman. It is just the kind of treatment this collection of comics deserves. I can't wait for Volume 2!

I keep checking the used places for cheaper copies of Dr. Who but they are all still too expensive. I think I'll have to resort to ebay as well as I really want these.

chrisa511 said...

Carl, I'm amazed at how well Absolute Sandman was done. Like you said, this is the treatment it deserves. I wish that Stardust would've gotten the same treatment as far as ink quality and paper quality goes.

I bought my Dr. Who DVDs used on eBay, but they're in perfect condition! You can get some good deals there.

CJ said...

You guys are certainly good for a girl's ego!

Thanks very much, Chris, for the nomination and the very kind words.

cjh

chrisa511 said...

Of course CJ! I truly do love your blog and you have to be one of the nicest bloggers out there :)

Bookfool said...

I can't keep those newer Doctor Who actors straight, but I like the dark-haired one with the northern accent, if that makes sense. LOL The newest fellow doesn't "do it" for me. And, personally, I don't think anyone can ever beat Tom Baker.

Someday, I'm going to get around to that nice-people thing. Have you gotten a break in the heat, yet? We're down to the mid- to upper-90's, now. Anything is better than last week's temps!!

chrisa511 said...

Bookfool, I love the newest Dr. Who guy! I seem to be the only one who does, lol. This week has been SO much better as far as the heat goes. Only in the 90's, and today was actually breezy! I actually sat under the patio and read a whole book out there this afternoon!