The Hungry Detective

On the plus side of the recent economic skid is this chart. This chart... well... charts the slide of the British Pound Sterling to our Americano Dollar. From nearly $2.00 in early August to what is today $1.60! For all of my youth the Pound basically converted to $1.50, but as The Hungry Detective's interest in English Premier League soccer grew so did the exchange rate. This made travel and the acquisition of UK released books nigh to impossible. Our cherished Billingham's, Booth's, Connolly's, Kernick's, McDermid's were all a heavy financial burden for this poor soul, and with shipping via the Royal Mail...Oof! Luckily all of our UK related purchases are being made via The Book Depository . Is there any more magical collision of words than, 'Free Shipping'? Yes, there is 'Free Shipping Worldwide'. In any case, the latest additions to the THD library have been R.J Ellory's A Simple Act of Violence , and Tom Cain's The Survivor . THD wo...

I went to Canada on Tuesday. I bought a few books. While we were driving to Canada’s B+N equivalent, Chapters, We drove past a sign on a residential street. Printed in black marker on a large piece of poster board was the word ‘Poet’ with an arrow at the bottom pointing to the house. Hilarious. Desperately in need of a camera for moments likes that. Was hopeful that there would be some British first of a few UK authors I like to read. Two big stumbling blocks to that were; lack of money and an annoying UK publishing practice of producing both hard and soft cover versions of a book at the time of initial release. As a ‘collector’ there is nothing more frustrating. Saved me a few loonies though. Maureen Jennings has started a new series. Christine Morris, Forensic Profiler. I can think of now finer historical series out there than here Murdoch books. For the longest time when KM used to say Poor Tom is Cold in relation to whatever book I was reading. Tremendous author. Anyway this book i...

I have struggled not too mightily to understand VAT . It is a tax and that is where my understanding falls apart. I am under the vague impression that when I'm traveling in Europe I can go through a process of reclaiming any VAT I paid when I leave. I've see the longish lines at the airport. I can't be bothered. I consider it my support of the European lifestyle. This is all besides the point. I have been working up to buying a handful of things via Amazon UK. KM and I are huge fans of the British TV show Peep Show . KM is at times nearly incapacitated w/ laughter while watching the show. So into the cart you go Season 2. I had also wanted The Ipcress File . The US edition is long out of print. The UK edition was released late last year or early this year. Somehow in my languorous ordering process the UK edition now seems to have a 4 to 6 weeks delay. Which is code for I'm an idiot for not ordering this sooner. The two books I ordered were Stephen Booth's sixth book...