The ThriftBooks Blog

By Hugo Munday • December 30, 2015

This year was not short of standout literary highlights. One of the greatest novels of the twentieth century; To Kill a Mockingbird got "sequelled" with the acclaimed Go Set a Watchman, replete with a less prosaic Atticus Finch. Then, as the year progressed, two acclaimed authors reached out to us from beyond the grave, via their publishing houses. Dr. Seuss added to his body of two acclaimed authors reached out to us from beyond the grave, work when What Pet Should I Get, was unearthed in the office of the late author, complete with illustrations. Then along came The Girl in the Spider's Web, a further addition to the Millennium series which is a rare feat, since the author, Stieg Larsson died of a heart attack in 2004. This "quartet-maker" is very successfully channelled (or dare I say ghost written) by David Largercranz.

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By Eva • December 21, 2015

Winter term is eons away (thank the academic powers that be), but it's never too early to save.

Did you know Thrift Books sells textbooks? I didn't either. But now that I've figured it out, my life will never be the same. Actually, it will be exactly same; I'll just be richer.

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By Melina Lynne • December 14, 2015

Many memories will be shared over a good book, starting with the time-honored tradition of the bed-time story. Who here remembers begging their parents to read just one more book? "I promise I will go right to bed after the next one;" "I'm not tired yet;" "But I really like both of the books. I don't want to choose." Do any of these sound familiar?

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By Serge Cruise • December 10, 2015

Many of us are excited for the premiere of The Force Awakens later this month. I have my doubts that some of the biggest cosmic villains of all time can share a bed with Mickey Mouse, but I hope they'll be quashed after the opening credits in less than a parsec. A question around the Thrift Books water cooler is "What new villains or shades of villainy will we find?" In the teasers we've seen some cool, if impractical, twists on the light sabre that appeared first in the novels not the films, but how will they be wielded and by whom?

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By Eva • December 02, 2015

Holiday shopping guides are everywhere, so why should you read mine? Because I'm a college student. Which means I'm broke. Which means I'm basically a gift-giving magician. So here's your guide to the holiday season – on a very, very tight budget.

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By Melina Lynne • November 18, 2015

Here in the Northwest, outdoor thrill seekers hit a lull at this time of year when summer is truly over, but our ski season hasn't begun. With the November wind and rain raging outside I'm more than happy to find indoor activities for the time being, and reading is always at the top of the list. The only side-effect to your reading time when it comes to the mystery and thriller genre, is an inability to move. The doorbell may be ringing, the kitchen timer going off, and the kids running in circles around you, but until you get through your chapter, you are glued to your seat; your fingers itching to turn the page and find out what happens. (Looking ahead is considered cheating!)

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By Melina Lynne • November 13, 2015

We are fast approaching the holiday season, and while we dig through our attics, garages, and closets in search of our holiday decorations, we are also thinking about those big family meals. Maybe you have a tried and true recipe you go to every year, or maybe you are still in search of a knock-down, drag-out, fantastic dish that will go down in family history.

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By Hugo Munday • November 06, 2015

President John F. Kennedy listed From Russia with Love among his top 10 favorite novels, and after a private screening of Dr. No at the White House he was reputed to have said "I wish I had James Bond on my staff." Bond was the creation of Ian Fleming, former pupil at England's most prestigious private school, member of British Intelligence during World War II, and off-spring of the Fleming family who owned a private bank. After World War II Fleming tried his hand at writing, and sixty years ago the first Bond book, Casino Royale, was born.

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By Hugo Munday • November 02, 2015

The latest in the James Bond movie franchise is released this month and I'll go. It's not a book by Ian Fleming, most of the ideals of the movie are outdated and corny, but out of allegiance to my childhood, I'll go.

This week you can use the code ASTON at Thrift Books to get a 15% discount on books in the Spy Stories and Tales of Intrigue genre, so that got me digging up a lot that wasn't related to James Bond. Much of it would make, or even has made, block-buster movie scripts and so it follows that we have some good books too. Starting with the interesting and working up to mind-blowing...

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By Melina Lynne • October 26, 2015

Vampires, werewolves, monsters, zombies, wizards, witches, and all things that go bump in the night. These topics used to be relegated to fiction pulled out in the fall to get us geared up for Halloween, but now have their own presence in the literary world. So how did they make the leap from October reading material to year-round "go to" reads? I have three words for you: teen paranormal fiction, and I’m not just talking about books, or in our case, used books like Twilight and Harry Potter. Sure, Stephanie Meyer and J.K. Rowling made it “cool” again to write about fantastical elements. It helps that these are usually easy reads and always leave us wanting more; another series, another set of characters, and another chance to further our paranormal addiction.

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