Stories

A couple of weeks ago, I got a text from Sebastian telling me to expect a parcel. He said 'I don't know if the reality will be any good, but the concept is, and either way you can blog about it.' I was quite mystified, as you might imagine.

Then the parcel arrived, and it was labelled 'A Box of Stories'. And in it were four, random, brand new books - one by an author I'd heard of, the other three published by Faber (i.e. not rubbish). And the concept is, indeed, a good one. Because these are remaindered books, which would otherwise have been pulped (or, presumably, sold in the remainder bookshops that I used to enjoy frequenting). As a result, they're cheap - not charity shop cheap, but supermarket cheap - £14.99 for a one-off box of four, or £13.49 for four if you have a regular subscription. These are completely random boxes - more specialised/delective ones are available at a higher price. So it's a bit of a gamble, with all the concomitant excitement but little of the danger.

I've just taken out a subscription for a mixed box (fiction and non-fiction) once a month. They'll be dispatched from Glasgow (on the River Clyde).