BLINK!

1) What is Blink about? It is about this

2) Who is Malcolm Gladwell? He is this and this

3) What do people think about Blink? They think this and this

Title: Blink

Author: Malcolm Gladwell

Year Published:

Price: $7.50 + Postage

Condition: Fairly new (3/5)

Night Train to Lisbon - Pascal Mercier

In the Night Train to Lisbon, Raimund Gregorius does what everybody has thought of doing at some point but dared not do - he left his life behind, and took off on a train to Lisbon after a chance encounter with a women who mesmerized him with her "fabulously soft, southern voice, that sounded like an endless hesitant drawl that drew you in merely by hearing it.



It was not that his life in Bern was particularly bad; it was also not a notion that he had entertained before - but for once in his life, he decided to do something different. He decided to just leave, and see what was in store for him.


From there on, the story is told with a dreamlike quality, as Gregorius attempts to translate a certain Dr. Amadeu de Prado’s autobiography to "tracks down the people it describes, piecing together Prado’s story: his aristocratic but unhappy childhood, his intensity and discipline as a young scholar, his rigid moral code, and his participation in the resistance movement against Portugal’s right-wing dictator, Salazar. The more facts he uncovers about Prado, the more he hopes to achieve an intimate understanding of what it was like to be Prado. Yet his actual discoveries are the insignificance of the facts of his own life and a greater awareness of what it is like to be himself."

The twin romantic notions of uprooting one's life for the unknow, and travel and discovery in this bestselling novel by Pascal Mercier produces an irresistible mix that is as "mesmerizing and dreamlike as a Wong Kar-wai film".

Title: Night Train to Lisbon

Author: Pascal Mercier

Year Published: 2008

Price: $7.50 + Postage

Condition: Fairly new (3/5)

The Master of the Legal Thriller - John Grisham

John Grisham has been one of the best-selling writers in recent times, selling more than 250 million copies of his books so far. A former lawyer, Grisham is famed for his gripping legal-themed thrillers that have so captivated readers worldwide that almost all of his novels reached the dizzying heights of being number 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list.

While Grisham undoubtedly enjoys a successful writing career now, it has by no means been an easy journey for him.

He had to come to terms with the fact that he did not have the talent to become a professional baseball player – a dream he had held since he was a young boy. Having accepted the harsh truth, Grisham then put his mind to getting an Accountancy degree, followed by going to law school, eventually becoming a tax lawyer.

Having become a lawyer, it would have been easy for Grisham to continue down that road, leading a comfortable life as a lawyer.

However, he managed to juggle a grueling legal career and write his first book, A Time to Kill, at the same time. The publication of that book was the precursor for the rise of the “King of the Legal Thriller”

Read more about Grisham in his revealing interview with the Academy of Achievement here.

There are 4 of Grisham’s acclaimed legal thrillers on sale here:

1) The Partner – review by Entertainment Weekly

2) The Brethren – review by BlogCritic Magazine

3) The Testament – review by Shvoong

4) The Summons – review by Book Browse

Also, available is A Painted House – a rare departure from the legal genre by Grisham, but nevertheless still a bestseller when it was published! Read a review by bookreporter.com

Title: The Partner

Author: John Grisham

Year Published: 1997

Price: $7.50 + Postage

Condition: Well used (2/5)

Title: The Brethren

Author: John Grisham

Year Published: 2000

Price: $7.50 + Postage

Condition: Well used (2/5)

Title: The Testament

Author: John Grisham

Year Published: 1999

Price: $7.50 + Postage

Condition: Well used (2/5)

Title: The Summons

Author: John Grisham

Year Published: 2002

Price: $7.50 + Postage

Condition: Well used (2/5)

Title: A Painted House (Hardcover)

Author: John Grisham

Year Published:

Price: $15.50 + Postage

Condition: Like new (4/5)

On Natural Selection, Charles Darwin

2009 marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, the man who introduced the theory of evolution which, coincidentally, was published in his book, "The Origin of Species" 150 years ago.

Darwin's journey to the creation of the theory began when he was invited aboard His Majesty's Ship Beagle by the ship's Captain, Robert Fitzroy.

Once aboard, he assumed the role of naturalist, and went on to make observations - which he found to be peculiar - about the wildlife that he came across as the ship made its voyage around South America. Piecing together the evidence he had gathered, it become clear to Darwin that evolution was at the root of life on earth.

The February 2009 edition of National Geographic dedicates its main story to Darwin's founding of the theory of evolution.


Upon the publication of his controversial theory, there was an intense focus of Darwin's personal life and character. However, Darwin was generally found to "be a humane, gentle, decent man, a loving husband and father, and a loyal friend". Learn more about the life and times of Charles Darwin here and here.

While the theory of evolution is generally accepted as fact today, its arguments and evidence were disputed by many scientists and Victorian clegymen when it was first mooted 150 years ago.

Read for yourself what Darwin had to say on the theory in his book, "On Natural Selection", which is an extract of "The Origin of Species."

Title: On Natural selection
Author: Charles Darwin
Year Published: 2004
Price: $5.00 + postage
Condition: Fairly new (3/5)

Email thebookcrew@gmail.com (with the book's ref no.) for inquiries, or to order today!

Why buy used books?

Can buying an old book ever compare with buying a new one? “Of course not!” you say.

Quite true - few things can compare with ripping the shrink wrap off a paperback and opening the pages of a book for the first time. The new book always looks better, smells better, and definitely reads better.

However, since thebookcrew deals mostly with secondhand books, let me try to make a case for the humble used book:

The used book arguably has more character than the new one. Since its publication years before, it probably has been read by numerous people before you; it has sat on the coffee tables, bedside tables, and desks of readers who have read those same words that you now read.

These readers have gone through the same emotions, and thought the same thoughts that you now think as you go through those same pages. This rich history is something that a new book is surely devoid of.

Also, buying a used book makes more environmental sense. Following on from having done your part for the earth by participating in Earth Hour, why not continue the good work with books?

By passing on a book from one reader to the next, the book is ‘recycled’.

Rather than being consigned to your bookshelf for the rest of its days, the book is passed on and given a new lease of life.

Additionally, there is the interesting moral aspect of book buying, as explained here, to consider. If you think the struggling independent bookseller deserves your dollar more than the author of the book does, do go out and purchase that used book (from thebookcrew!).

Finally, used books are cheaper! The price of 1 new paperback could possibly get you 3 used ones.

The increasing popularity
of used books in recent times has been so powerful that it has not only been credited with increasing literacy rates, but also with the downturn in the book industry!

Used books are back in fashion! So do pick out a book you like from thebookcrew today!