Language Books
Here at the American Bookstore, we have plenty of books on learning other languages from French to German to Japanese to Spanish and almost everything in-between. We also stock books in other languages and if we don’t have them, we can order them in from our large range of suppliers.
Institute of Modern Languages textbooks
If you are studying at the Institute of Modern Languages at the University of Queensland, we have your textbooks in stock at the moment. We have the texts for Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, Croatian, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Russian. If you need something that we don’t have in stock, we can always order in the books that you require. We also carry dictionaries and Audio CD packs as an accompaniment to your textbooks.
Textbook Season
With TAFE classes and high school starting up again for the year, we’ve got most of the textbooks for the TAFE colleges with some maths and science textbooks for high school level. However, if we don’t have what you’re looking for, we will endeavour to order in the titles for you. Please be aware that they may take up to a week to arrive in store for you but if we can get it, we’ll try to get it in as fast as possible. Whether we have it in stock or have to order, if you need us to post it out to your address, then that’s another service we provide for $10. From nursing and ESL texts to business and fashion, we have a large range of different textbooks to suit your needs. University students can also order their textbooks with us however some university texts are only available through your university.
Hairdryers for sale
For a limited time only, we have ceramic hairdryers on sale. These hairdryers are used by the students of hairdressing at TAFE’s around Brisbane and we have a small supply of individual hairdryers that did not come in the kits. They’ve been dropped from $89.95 to $59.95 but once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.
Free Tea and Coffee
If you come into our store, it’s not just a great selection of books you can choose from, we also offer free tea and coffee for patrons that purchase something with us. So if you buy that latest biography you’ve been dying to get your hands on or a new coffee table book for home or the office or just something new to read, feel free to ask us for your complimentary tea or coffee.
Marvellous Monday Book Club
Are you looking for a relaxed book club that meets once a month and chooses some fantastic titles to read and discuss? The American Book Store book club meets on the first Monday of every month at 6 pm for tea, nibblies and informal book-chat. If you’d like to join us at our next meeting, 14th May 2012, please email abbey@americanbookstore.com.au. There’s no joining fee and remember, a 10% discount applies to book club books!
This month we’ll be reading … Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Kylie Kwong coming in February
We’re sure that all you cooking aficionados know who the amazing Kylie Kwong is and we’re also sure that you’ll be excited to hear that she’s coming to Brisbane very soon! We’re not sure of the dates for the event yet however it will be held at Ecco, as far as we’re aware, and we are negotiating for the Brisbane’s Better Bookshops to host her in our sparkling city. We shall be posting up details as soon as we know more.
Brisbane Writer’s Festival
The Brisbane Writer’s Festival is holding an event on the 20th May with the exceptional Jeffrey Eugenides, author of The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex, at the Brisbane Powerhouse. He will be talking about his latest book, The Marriage Plot and we’ll be selling his book there on the night. The event starts at 5pm but you buy his book before the event, starting at 4.30pm, and get it signed after the event is finished. Tickets cost $35 or $30 for Brisbane Writer’s Festival members and are available for purchase from the Powerhouse. We hope to see you there!
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2012 – National Year of Reading
This year is the National Year of Reading! To celebrate such a wonderful occasion, events are being held all over the country and the world to celebrate the amazing art that is writing and reading. Check out what’s happening in Queensland and nationwide, jump online at http://www.love2read.org.au/ and see what events you’d like to participate in!
What We've Been Reading
Phillip
April has been a very busy month for me so I have not had the opportunity to read as much as I would have liked. Having said that, I have read some very interesting books and one I wish I hadn't.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday was a surprisingly good read. It is our reading club book, so normally I would not have read it, but I am happy that I have. The format of the book is interesting, but I think it works in getting the story told in a different, but quite enjoyable way. I have not seen the movie yet, but I believe that the ending is quite different. I thought that the book ending was quite appropriate. If you have not read it or seen the movie, I certainly would recommend you read it before seeing the movie.
The Woman Who Changed Her Brain by Barbara Arrowsmith-Young is one of the most uplifting and inspirational books that I have read recently. For the first 26 years of her life she suffered major learning difficulties, yet still managed to graduate from university. Once she realized what these difficulties were, she overcame them, then devoted her life to establishing a school to help other learning disabled children and adults overcome theirs with amazing results. There are lots of personal insights and stories of the people she helped. If you enjoyed The Brain that Changes Itself, then you must read this. I can not recommend it too highly.
I was very disappointed in Extreme Rambling by Mark Thomas. He decided to walk Israel's Barrier separating the west bank from Israel and talk to the local people to assess the impact of the wall and provide as unbiased a view as possible based on his discussions. I found it to be terribly biased, not well written and it left me asking myself why I even bothered.
To clear my head from the above, I read in one day the latest James Patterson - Private No 1 Suspect, which did the trick of entertaining in his usual page turner fashion and was a very enjoyable way to spend a day, which also allowed me to "recharge my batteries".
I am about the re-read The Little Prince, which is also our Reading Club book, for the third time and know already that I will enjoy it and get a lot from it.
Happy Reading,
Regards, Philip
Abbey
April I would have thought would have been an easy month to read some really great books and I have, with all the public holidays. However, I haven’t read as much as I would have liked considering one of the books is one of the biggest ones (and most exciting) I’ve ever read.
The first was a historical novel, Park Lane by Frances Osborne, author of The Bolter. Her debut novel isn’t released until the end of May in hardcover and late June for the paperback but if you’re a fan of historical fiction, then I suggest you buy this book. Set in Edwardian England, it starts with a Upstairs/ Downstairs kind of novel however the events that transpire throughout the novel mingle the two until there are no class boundaries left. It takes some getting used to when the author swaps between the two narrators, both young ladies, however it doesn’t matter once you’ve been sucked into their world. Such a delightful read, it will be definitely something that I would encourage people to read.
Second, I read the latest novel from one of my favourite paranormal romance authors, J. R. Ward. Lover Reborn was a behemoth of a book but the story flowed so well, you hardly notice how long it is. It also helps that the characters, Tohrment and No One, are characters you’ve wanted something great to happen to for quite some time. There were moments of laughter and moments of sadness however, all the ends seem to tie together seamlessly. If you haven’t read an adult paranormal romance, I highly recommend J.R Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series.
Finally, I decided to read Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, the first in the Song of Fire and Ice series. I really wanted to watch the show but I feel this inherent need to read the book before I see a movie or TV show. If you want to read a fantasy novel, I highly suggest this one. While jumping between a whole lot of characters, they’re all connected in one way or another. The characters are engaging, the storyline flows beautifully, and the descriptions of the places like King’s Landing and Winterfell are fantastic. Highly recommended.
In conclusion, I’d love to hear what you’ve all been reading lately! You can send me an email at abbey@americanbookstore.com.au or you can Facebook post or tweet us on Twitter! Hope to talk to you all soon!
May birthdays
1 May – Joseph Heller
3 May – Niccolo Machiavelli
4 May – Thomas Huxley
8 May – Edward Gibbon
9 May – J.M Barrie & Alan Bennett
13 May – Daphne du Maurier
15 May – L. Frank Baum & Mikhail Bulgakov
21 May– Dante Alighieri
22 May – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
28 May – Ian Fleming
Quote of the month
“A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair.”
The Prince– Niccolo Machiavelli
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