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[Rare book] The Hobbit Deluxe Edition, George Allen & Unwin
After getting my hands on the Deluxe edition of The Lord of the Rings printed on Bible paper, I wanted to complete the collection with The Hobbit, but the prices were too high. Fortunately, after two weeks of constantly checking resale sites, I managed to get a beautiful copy. This one isn’t printed on Bible paper, but on regular paper, allowing for color illustrations (drawn by Tolkien). The book is in impeccable condition, much better preserved than LoTR. These deluxe editions had a total of 4 printings under George Allen & Unwin, far fewer than LoTR, so they are rarer and on the second-hand market cost 2 to 3 times…
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[Rare book] The Lord of the Rings printed on Bible paper by George Allen & Unwin
I’ve always been a fan of The Lord of the Rings, I’ve watched the extended versions several times, I even went to visit the studio Weta and the different versions of Hobbiton in New Zealand and to Guatemala. A few months ago, I discovered via the account of an antique and rare book dealer the existence of a book “The Lord of the Rings” printed on Bible paper. See this post on Instagram A post shared by Jonkers Rare Books (@jonkersrarebooks) It never crossed my mind to own one, because the books I had seen so far were either very large or in 3 volumes. But printed on Bible paper,…
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How to create a bilingual book from 2 epub/txt files
Recently, I wanted to learn Spanish by reading a bilingual book, but the book I wanted to read didn’t exist in a bilingual version. So I bought the ebooks in Spanish and French on Amazon To handle the text easily, I converted them to TXT format (I already explained here how to remove DRM with an old Kindle version and PDF Mate ebook Converter). I recommend using .txt because it allows you to clean the files properly before creating your bilingual book, and the files will be smaller. Then, I used Youalign https://youalign.com/ to upload the two TXT files. It’s free, you just need to create an account. It’s a…
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My Current Favorites [August 2023]: Paper Cutting, Leather Crafting, and Bookbinding with the Silhouette Portrait 3
Thanks to the sales, I was able to treat myself to a machine I’d been dreaming of for a long time: a cutting machine. There are so many options on the market that it took me weeks to compare and finally settle on the Silhouette Portrait 3. I’ve already explained why I prefer the Silhouette Portrait 3 to the Cricut here. The reason it took me so long to decide is that I had very few projects in mind, mainly paper cutting. I hate customizing fabric bags or t-shirts; I’ve always preferred solid colors. So a purchase wasn’t justified if it was just to cut paper occasionally, but since I’ve…
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[Pléiade Collection] How to Replace the Mylar Cover and Slipcase
I told you I bought a book from the Pléiade Collectionfor the first time. While the price was right, the book wasn’t without its flaws, and I wondered if I could improve it a bit. Because of its torn (and yellowed with age) mylar cover, the leather spine has suffered a little, and as long as the mylar stays broken, that part of the spine will always be more fragile than the rest: I need a new mylar cover. Likewise, the two Proust books (in new condition but bought second-hand) I just received are already all scratched up. I had to go to Gibert Joseph to check, and unfortunately, many…
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Travel hack for booking hotels directly
As a frequent traveler, you’re always looking for little tricks to book hotel rooms at discounted rates. My habit is to pick the hotel I’m interested in on the site BookingIt’s the site I think has the best interface, with plenty of quality photos, practical filters, complete descriptions, and often lots of reviews (even if you have to take them with a grain of salt). Once I’ve selected the hotel I’m interested in, I check if I can get a better rate on hotels.com (which belongs to the Expedia group). Know that with hotels.com, I get the equivalent of 10% cashback (you earn a free night every 10 nights, at…
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Discovering Tea Time at The Peninsula Palace in Paris
It’s becoming a tradition: whenever we find the time during our brief visits to Paris, we treat ourselves to a little indulgence: enjoying a tea time at a palace hotel. In September 2018, we discovered the tea time at the Ritz. In December 2022, it was the turn of the George V. Why did we choose The Peninsula? Almost by default. Anh wanted to go to Shangri La: tea time is not offered in the summer. Same for the Royal Monceau. The Peninsula was our last attempt, and they were happy to have us 🙂 Tea times in Parisian palace hotels are memorable experiences. Gustatorily, of course, but also the…
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4 days in Bulgaria: Sofia, Bansko, and Plovdiv
From Istanbul, mid-July 2023, we take a night train to Sofia (which JB talked about here). Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal We stayed in Bulgaria for 2 weeks but only visited for 4 days; the rest of the time we worked, so I’ll only give you the details of our sightseeing. It’s the very first time we set foot in Bulgaria. Day 1: Sofia Our hotel is a bit out of the way, so we have to take a taxi. Unfortunately, the taxi meter is rigged, and we pay twice the price we paid for the same trip in the other direction. But we…
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Beautiful editions of books for bibliophiles: where to find and buy them (French, English)?
Reading mostly e-books, I’ve recently become interested in beautiful editions, because there are things you can’t appreciate on a screen, especially if it’s an e-ink one 😀 Here’s the information I’ve gathered here and there, and since I haven’t been a bibliophile for long, please excuse in advance that this article isn’t exhaustive. What interests me are recently printed books, from publishing houses that still exist, because I absolutely don’t have the budget to be interested in old books (though). I have a weakness for traditional binding, full leather, and gilded edges. But given my budget, I can’t have all three at once. Books in French If you have a…
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Uber alternatives in Sofia (Bulgaria)
To use a Uber alternative in Sofia, you’ll need internet on your phone. You can order a Holafly eSIM to get unlimited data and the benefit Always On (1 GB of backup data per month included for free, ideal in case of unexpected events). The first time we took a taxi arriving in Sofia, we were tired and vulnerable after our overnight train from Istanbul. It was an official taxi, but I’m not sure we took it from the regular queue. When I take a taxi, I’m always wary on principle and I regularly glance at the meter. Sure enough, it seemed to me that the meter had suddenly jumped…
