Aussie Readers discussion

Doing my best to read all 24 Tintin books this year. Got to buy a few of them, but I'm able to start with the 20 or so I have at the moment :)

Will link to the reviews as I upload 'em






1 Tintin in the Land of the Soviets
2 Tintin in the Congo
3 Tintin in America
4 Cigars of the Pharaoh Review
5 The Blue Lotus Review
6 The Broken Ear Review
7 The Black Island Review
8 King Ottokar's Sceptre Review
9 The Crab with the Golden Claws Review
10 The Shooting Star Review
11 The Secret of the Unicorn
12 Red Rackham's Treasure
13 The Seven Crystal Balls
14 Prisoners of the Sun
15 Land of Black Gold
16 Destination Moon
17 Explorers on the Moon
18 The Calculus Affair
19 The Red Sea Sharks
20 Tintin in Tibet
21 The Castafiore Emerald
22 Flight 714
23 Tintin and the Picaros
24 Tintin and Alph-Art

I have so got to add tin tin to my library.

Have a lot of fun with these Ashley :) I haven't read Tintin since I was a youngster;)

Kiera wrote: "I have so got to add tin tin to my library."

Hey! I felt the same - I'd been hunting them down over the last 4 years, a few here, a few there, but last Nov I hit the city and grabbed about 8 of 'em at once.

Brenda wrote: "Have a lot of fun with these Ashley :) I haven't read Tintin since I was a youngster;)"

Definitely enjoying it - some I've read a few times over the years since primary school I think it was, yeah, and one I've still never read - Alph-Art - so keen to get that one :)

Ashley -

You've reminded me of my love of Tintin too! I think I'll join you in your mission. I can't even remember when I first heard of him but it wasn't until a few years ago (and I'm now 61). But I've bought a lot of them and now I'll go on the search for more! Thanks for putting this out so I can make sure I get them all. I'll have to go downstairs now and find out which ones I already have. (I keep forgetting each time I find a store with some of them.)

I also remember TinTin from my school days. Our primary school library had them all and they were very popular. In high school my French teacher had them in the original French and we were allowed to read them in class. Improved our French no end!

Linda wrote: "Ashley -

You've reminded me of my love of Tintin too! I think I'll join you in your mission. I can't even remember when I first heard of him but it wasn't until a few years ago (and I'm now 61)...."


That's interesting, Linda - I get used to thinking that everyone read them as kids :) Was it the semi-recent movie, perhaps?

I was doing the same thing! I started taking a list with me into shops, saved me doubling up on The Blue Lotus actually :D

Carolyn wrote: "I also remember TinTin from my school days. Our primary school library had them all and they were very popular. In high school my French teacher had them in the original French and we were allowed ..."

Awesome, what's it like reading them in French? Any interesting lexical differences or surprising things? :)

I don't remember much now after so long, except that I enjoyed reading them in French and some of the very French expressions and exclamations were different and more polite in the anglicised version.

Good luck and have fun with your challenge Ashley :)

You've definitely stirred some interest Ashley:) Good on you!

Sharon wrote: "Good luck and have fun with your challenge Ashley :)"

Thanks, Sharon! It's actually hard to pace myself with the first few :D

Brenda wrote: "You've definitely stirred some interest Ashley:) Good on you!"

:D

Definitely enjoying it, Brenda!

Carolyn wrote: "I don't remember much now after so long, except that I enjoyed reading them in French and some of the very French expressions and exclamations were different and more polite in the anglicised version."

Ah, that's interesting, thank you! I wonder what some of Haddock's cries of frustration are like in the French - the alliteration? For instance, I wonder how 'blistering blue barnacles' comes across in French :D

I keep seeing these awesome boxsets of Tintin on sale and have to stop myself buying them. I loved those books so much when I was younger.

Liam wrote: "I keep seeing these awesome boxsets of Tintin on sale and have to stop myself buying them. I loved those books so much when I was younger."

Do it, Liam, do it!!!! :D

I agree! Go for it Liam!!!!!! Nothing more relaxing than a trip down memory lane with an exquisite friend or two. I checked my stash against the list just a day ago and found that I own and have read 19 of the 24. That's too many for me to get a box set. Boo Hoo.........

Still trying to get Tintin and Alph-Art for a decent price (then the first 3 after that)

Have you tried both Amazon and ABE (Advanced Book Exchange)? I'm not sure ABE sells in Aussie land, but I think they do. I know they offer international shipping. There's also a group called Book Finder which can locate sellers that offer a particular book all over the world. That's how I find a lot of the books I want that are from Australia (I'm in the States). Here's something I found. The price for the actual book is $5.30 US.

Shipping Rates

The shipping rates and speeds displayed are set by the bookseller.


Choose destination country: Australia

Apply to my search results
Shipping Rates:
7 - 14 * business days 10 - 20 * business days
First book: US$ 9.50 US$ 75.00
Additional books from same seller: US$ 9.50 US$ 30.00
Bookseller Shipping Terms: Shipping costs are based on books weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required.

* Shipping speeds are estimates based on the carriers' delivery times and cannot be guaranteed. If your order will pass through Customs, please expect a delay. Any applicable Customs duties or brokerage fees are the responsibility of the buyer. If local sales taxes apply, or if the book is heavy or oversized and requires additional shipping, the bookseller may contact you directly about extra charges.

Here's the link to the book.
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Searc...

I use ABE quite a bit for my hard to find older publications - also don't dismiss ebay either - I have discovered some gems on there

Awesome, thanks Linda & Sally!

Just checked ABE's top result against Fishpond's offer - and Fishpond is 7 cents cheaper, insane! Maybe I should just bite the bullet and go with one of them - looks like between Abe, Fishpond and a few others, around $18 is the best bet for now

You KNOW it's worth it!!!! I've only seen Alph-Art once actually and that was the one I bought. I don't know if it's really "rare" or just not as popular as the rest. I've never heard of Fishpond (I'll have to check it out), but we actually sell books on ABE and have always had a great response from them and the sellers.

:D

Me too, I've never seen it in a shop but it's always available online, yeah. Well, later today it's crunch time :D

I'll try and get Sovetts & a couple of others at the same time too.

(Fishpond is a reasonable option here in Oz, usually free shipping - but teh prices are sometimes (significantly) higher)

Have you checked BookDepository Ashley? Free shipping and they have a huge stock of books!

Fantastic, forgot about them, thanks, Brenda! :D

Got 3 of the 6 I needed to get, each at around $14

Awesome! That's great Ashley:)

Thanks again :) Now I just have to wait - adn while I do, perhaps reading The Blue Lotus is in order!

:)

Good luck getting them all especially the bigger format. I remember years ago i wanted one (not alpha art) and it was going to cost over $100 to get it!!! The store told me it was super rare and would have to be ordered in...this was before online ordering took us by storm.

I never got it only being a child. This is a great challenge though as it also reminds me ive bought the collection in a box set...i need to read it!

Also i dunno if it reached our shores but one of the tintins (might be congos) got edited because of the mention of black people and how they were called idiots n such...I know in the US the book caused a huge stir and places were thinking of taking it off the shelves and i think a few did. ...in turn this sent the original versions higher in price.

Interesting on the censorship. I'm in the States and I'll have to look into it. I found a copy of Little Black Sambo which I know caused some censorship problems. I didn't know you could get a copy of the original anymore. I actually found it in a used bookstore for about $3.00 Obviously the pricer didn't know what they had!

Hi Laura! I had the same trouble for ages, but online ordering definitely changed everything! Was that $100 copy a hardback?

Ah! I heard that it was edited. Congo, America and Land of The Soviets are still on my list actually - I'm guessing I'll only be able to get the reprints.

I'm going to check my copies when ordering too, Linda - and wow, $3!

Within the next few days I should finally have The Blue Lotus read too, finally!

Hmm..i dunno if it was a hard book as i never managed to see the book in the flesh. I do not believe that GR has the book listed as i was just searching the site..Anyway it is called "Tintin in the World of the Inca" or something like that..can't reach for my tintin books at the moment to double check though.

Just finished The Blue Lotus and got the review up - 2 down, 22 to go!

Laura wrote: "Hmm..i dunno if it was a hard book as i never managed to see the book in the flesh. I do not believe that GR has the book listed as i was just searching the site..Anyway it is called "Tintin in the..."

Ah! Bit like a 'making of'? I have one like that for the Moon books, it's awesome.

I really want the Inca one now! :)

Ashley wrote: "Just finished The Blue Lotus and got the review up - 2 down, 22 to go!"

Here's Ashley's review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Yeah! Those makings of seem to fetch high prices. I saw someone advertising it for over $700! Seems crazy!

I've never gotten my hands on one of those books before.

Wow, that's amazing - I do love Tintin but probably not that much :D

Two more books arrived today, so I've just got to find the first 3 now!

Brenda wrote: "Ashley wrote: "Just finished The Blue Lotus and got the review up - 2 down, 22 to go!"

Here's Ashley's review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Thanks, Brenda! :)

Have you seen the Tintin movie that was out a few years back? Wasn't too bad. Big Tintin fan and have read most of the books over the years.

We're working through Asterix right now on and off.

Sally906 wrote: "Have you seen the Tintin movie that was out a few years back? Wasn't too bad. Big Tintin fan and have read most of the books over the years.

We're working through Asterix right now on and off."

Yes! I agree, Sally - it was pretty good. I liked the casting and the weaving together of the two books wasn't bad. Loved Mr Silk too :)

I'll have to do Asterix next - I haven't got any on hand actually, I'll have to start collecting!

There's a biography of Herge out called Herge, Son of Tintin. I have it but haven't read it yet. The place I bought it is the only time I've ever seen it, but I haven't looked online. I think it will be fascinating to learn about the man behind the imagination! (Almost called my latest American Eskimo dog Snowy!)

Linda that sounds great! How long have you owned that book for? I don't know if i have heard of that book n i call mysel a tintin fan!!! :|

I got it about 2 years ago in a really neat little bookstore where we go for a mystery weekend every year. It's been one of my best places to buy the Tintin books also. Might be available through a library? I'm sure it must be online somewhere.

Ace, I think I'll have to add Son of Tintin to my list!

Got Soviets and America in the post, but having trouble finding Congo - will have to try a few more spots next week!

Good luck with locating the book!

Have you tried comic stores online that sometimes sell them second hand OR do you only want them brand new?

Thanks, Laura!

Ideally I'm going for new - but I'd settle for second hand if I have to, yeah.

Congo is the last one I need to get and I noticed that not all publishers actually list it as available at all - for instance, I think it's Edgmont editions (or maybe Little/Brown etc) say there are 23 Tintin adventures to collect, not 24.

So there must be a few deleted editions out there. I'll have a good look tonight I think :)

Dropped the ball a bit with Feb - though I did manage to read The Broken Ear, I haven't had a chance to do a write up - will have to make up for it withe a massive march :D

Finally got my third review up! :D

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


(more to follow as I try and catch up on Feb)

Recently finished The Black Island and it's still one of my favs, but I forgot how mean Tintin is to poor Snowy in this one!