Psst!?! Fantastic book offers to be had!
[** If you like this post, please make a donation to the IR&DD project using the secure button at the end. If you think it is interesting or useful, please re-share via Facebook, Google+, Twitter etc. To help keep the site in operation, please use the amazon search portal at the end of the post - each purchase earns a small amount of advertising revenue**]
Last Friday (19th July) I ventured out from my desiccatingly cooled and air-conditioned fortress
into the Belfast sunshine. My plan was simple – go to St George’s Market;
purchase lunch; retreat from sunshine; consume lunch. This was simple and
effective – or so I thought! It was all going well until I passed a second hand
book stall and spotted ‘The post-medieval archaeology of Ireland, 1550–1850’ … for
£10. This was a book that retailed for £65 (if I remember correctly) when it
first came out. That wasn’t a problem. Neither was the fact that volume two (Ireland
and Britain in the Atlantic World) was also there … also for a tenner! By the
time I’d gone to the bank, gotten out more money, and eventually left, I’d
picked up copies of three other great books from Wordwell … all for stunningly
low prices – and all new, in mint condition!
Last Friday (19th July) I ventured out from my desiccatingly cooled and air-conditioned fortress
into the Belfast sunshine. My plan was simple – go to St George’s Market;
purchase lunch; retreat from sunshine; consume lunch. This was simple and
effective – or so I thought! It was all going well until I passed a second hand
book stall and spotted ‘The post-medieval archaeology of Ireland, 1550–1850’ … for
£10. This was a book that retailed for £65 (if I remember correctly) when it
first came out. That wasn’t a problem. Neither was the fact that volume two (Ireland
and Britain in the Atlantic World) was also there … also for a tenner! By the
time I’d gone to the bank, gotten out more money, and eventually left, I’d
picked up copies of three other great books from Wordwell … all for stunningly
low prices – and all new, in mint condition!
Anyone who’s known me
for any length knows that I just adore books … books on Irish archaeology all
the more so. If you have an image of me waddling back to my office, sandwich
balanced precariously in one hand, trying to cradle a large package of books,
but beaming with happiness … then you’re not far off the mark! I eventually got
back to my desk, inhaled lunch, and began a close scrutiny of my new purchases.
Oh yes! This was the good stuff … crisp paper, lovely illustrations … and the
smell … oh that smell! New Book Smell! … some of them even had radiocarbon
dates! This was heaven!
… and that’s where I
kinda’ ruined it … well, sort of …
Not content with
knowing that I’d just had ‘a great deal’ … I needed to be able to quantify it.
I wanted to be able to rejoice in the wondrousness of the deal … but with
figures attached. ‘Yes, I saved a staggering quintillion percent on the regular
prices, don’tcha know?’ … ‘it’s an average saving of twelfty-four mega pounds
per volume!’ … yes! That’s where it went wrong! I went and looked up my
purchases on the Wordwell website … I was in for a shock when I found that I
could have purchased all of the volumes direct from Wordwell for just about the
same price as I’d just gotten them.
If you think I’m here
to have a whinge and a moan about not getting as good a deal as I might have
liked, you’re wrong! Totally wrong! I may have required a moment to regain my
composure and wipe a manly tear from my eye, but then I rejoiced! In my first
scenario, only I benefited from this good fortune – right place and right time
equalled loads of lovely books … but just for me! This way there are loads of
people who can benefit from the same good fortune as myself. There’s only one
problem … all these lovely people (just like you, reader) probably don’t know
about all these wonderful books. Like a matchmaker of old, I want you to meet up
and form a lasting relationship. So, gentle readers, please meet some remarkable
books that you may like to get to know better.
I’ll start with the
contents of my Friday shopping bag:
The post-medieval archaeology of Ireland, 1550–1850. Papers presented at the 1st Annual Conference of the Irish Post-Medieval Archaeology Group … yours for €12.
Ireland and Britain inthe Atlantic World (Irish Post-Medieval Archaeology Group Proceedings 2) also €12.
The archaeology of Killeen Castle, Co. Meath … also €15.
These are all beautiful
volumes that I’m delighted to have in my library, and I would recommend them to
any student of Irish archaeology. I’m still exploring them, and it’s a
beautiful adventure!
If I was a more bitter
type, I consider it slightly harder to stomach that this cornucopia of bargains
contains quite a few volumes that I paid full price for when they came out. OK …
I may be slightly rueful, but I’m delighted to be in a position where I can
speak with certainty on how good these books are … take a look …
First of all, the
excavations:
Archaeological investigations in Galway City, 1987-1998 … not only did I buy this when it
first came out, I actually paid for it over a year in advance of publication –
that’s how much I wanted it! … and now it can be yours for €20.
Coolure Demesne crannog, Lough Derravaragh: an introduction to its archaeology and landscapes …
yours for €12 – I can hardly believe it!
Discovering the Neolithic in County Kerry: A passage tomb at Ballycarty – a beautiful and important
book on a Neolithic excavation, and just €10.
Excavations atFerriter's Cove 1983-1995: last foragers, first farmers in the Dingle Peninsula,
Woodman’s masterful publication on a defining Mesolithic excavation – also €10.
The bog body from Tumbeagh – an excellent account of the finding of a bog body and a mere €15.
The Bronze Age landscapes of the Pipeline to the West: an integrated archaeological and environmental assessment – an important work, and essential for anyone
interested in the Irish Bronze Age - €12.
The Lisheen Mine Archaeological Project 1996–8 – I can’t believe that copies of this are even to
be found anymore – excellent value at €10.
Three Irish gaspipelines: New archaeological evidence in Munster – so many great excavations
in this one, not the least of which was the Tankardstown Neolithic house. It
was published in 1988 and it’s a near miracle that copies even exist for sale,
don’t mind that it’s yours for only €10.
The North Munster Project (2 volumes) – it’s practically theft to take it for €35. At that price,
I’m tempted to buy it again!
Underworld: death and burial in Cloghermore Cave, Co. Kerry – another lovely book for €15.
Excavations 2004:summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland – one, perhaps, only
for the more serious student of Irish archaeology, but a great bargain at €15.
If you really hunger
for excavation reports, Wordwell are even doing an Excavations Bulletin Special Offer where you can choose any four of seven selected volumes for €50.
They have a beautiful,
if somewhat poignant, collection of festschrifts on offer that I cannot
recommend highly enough:
Above and beyond: essays in memory of Leo Swan – just €20.
Relics of old decency:archaeological studies in later prehistory. Festschrift for Barry Raftery - €20.
From ringforts tofortified houses: studies on castles and other monuments in honour of David Sweetman - €15 (though I should point out that the object of this volume, D. P.
Sweetman, is very much in the land of the living – long may he thrive!).
There are two other
books in my personal collection, and available at ridiculous discounts, that I’d
happily recommend. First is Medieval ring brooches in Ireland, by Mary B Deevy,
for €10. This is still the premier account of these incredibly interesting objects
– well worth having in your library.
Slightly more of
general interest is Chris Lynn’s excellent Navan Fort: archaeology and myth for
€10.
You won’t find a better introduction, and by the acknowledged expert on the site,
too!
Even for a grand bibliophile,
such as myself, there are items there that I don’t have, but would dearly love.
My personal ‘wish list’ recommendations are:
I’m not going to list
them all, but there are plenty more quality books at bargain prices to be had
at the Wordwell sale – go take a look! If you do decide to buy anything from
Wordwell after reading this, please let them know where you heard about their
sale & tell them that I say ‘hi!’ … I don’t work for Wordwell, and I’m not
getting paid for writing this piece … I just genuinely love good books and want
to see them go to good homes that will appreciate them! If you’ve
written/published an archaeology book and you think I can help bring it to a
wider audience, please let me know & I’ll do my best! But right now … get on over to Wordwell and
sort out your summer reading before the weather goes!
On the other hand … if
you decide to go to Amazon instead/as well … please go via the portal at the
end of this post … for every sale made, they pay me a little commission!
[** If you like this post, please consider making a small donation. Each
donation helps keep the Irish Radiocarbon & Dendrochronological Dates
project going! **]
Comments
Post a Comment