011423 • Thrift Store Finds

I paid full price for most of these. Usually on Saturdays, the “half-off on selected tags” day, I try not to do this, but all of these books were too good to pass on. Still far cheaper than buying them new, or used online.

Modern Submarine Warfare • This book is part of an unofficial set, of which I have several. It’s always nice to find another one!

Atrocities • Not a happy topic, yet a very interesting one.

The Devil’s Hand • Jack Carr has six books out (This is what the Terminal List series with Chris Pratt is based on) and has the distinction of being the first new fiction series I’m adding to my Brad Thor / Vince Flynn / Kyle Mills library of thrillers. I’d like to find the other five at thrifts, to avoid the higher prices, but they are all relatively new, and with the series doing well, that could take a while. I have thirty more books to go in my Brad Thor / Vince Flynn / Kyle Mills re-read, so I have some time before I have to worry about it.

Italy’s Sorrow • Italy’s involvement in World War II is very interesting. When Hitler and Mussolini created the Pact of Steel, it stipulated that when one country got involved in a conflict, the other would join in. Mussolini didn’t realize Hitler would do what he did so soon, as both Germany and Italy still needed years to rebuild their militaries. Italy was farther away from being able to be effective with its armed forces, a key reason why they did so poorly.

The New Tsar • Interesting for obvious reasons.

Had To Fix It…

Aaron Copland composed one of my all-time favorite symphonies, but I haven’t listened to much of anything else he’s composed. I did collect this three-cd set, and was listening to it today, and as it is with some of these cheaply designed cd covers, there was something that bugged me.

The person who designed this cover was looking for a way to spice it up, and make it more original. Either that, or had just learned the Paint Bucket in Photoshop or Fill in Illustrator, saw the closed “O” and “A” on the cover, and couldn’t help him/herself. I find this similar to most modern art, because if one doesn’t accept this as an artistic vision of sorts, well hey, it’s all subjective!

I disagree. It just looks cheap. If you look at the above “A”, it doesn’t even fill accurately. This was done very quickly, something I’ve noticed on so many of these low-volume classical discs.

So, I fixed it by redoing the covers, so that I’m no longer irritated. I think it looks a lot better without the fill.

On Volume 2 and 3, I did too much contrast to the photos and it’s a bit washed out, but I’m leaving that for now.

There is a page dedicated to my compact disc cover restorations on my portfolio site. Most of the discs I get from thrift stores require some sort of touching up.

“Overthere”

I bought this for a dollar at Mile High Flea Market in the early 1980s. I remember some guy walking up to me and offering me two dollars for it, and I wisely refused. This person, I can imagine, either thought that I was going to abuse this unique antique since I was just a little kid. That’s fair. Or, he wanted to sell it for a lot of money. I’m not actually sure what this is worth, but it is most likely from the time period, which puts it at over a hundred years old.

It’s basically a drawing (original?) that has been sealed onto wood with some sort of clear coating. This kind of artwork is something that was common at the time, especially on postcards, and I think it is a pretty good piece of artwork. Imagine a time before television and radio, where the only knowledge of anything came through heresy, books, and newspapers, what this kind of image impressed on a person.

Thanks to my many bookshelves, I have only two pieces of art on my wall, and this is one of the two. I’m never taking it down!