Ordered vol. 2 of Vermaseren’s CIMRM today. Let’s see if my local library can get it.
Ordered 1,000 flyers from a local designer, to go in the welcome pack of the Oxford Patristics Conference. These are due by 4th August, so need to be ready by then. Some poor souls then have to make up those packs by hand. Also contacted the conference to remind them I exist and intend to have such a flyer. (Need to think about how personally I am going to get there, and how to do some kind of book display!)
I also ordered two review copies, one for Vigiliae Christianae, one for the Journal of Theological Studies. It’s interesting that the journals have a rather stand-offish attitude to publications. You don’t exactly feel enthused to send them copies. I wanted to send a copy to the Journal of Early Christian Studies, but I can’t find a contact address! My email enquiry was ignored. Rather baffling that.
A couple of days ago I had the offer to review a history of the Successor period, after Alexander, by James Fromm. I agreed yesterday, and — to my utter astonishment — a copy arrived today. By international priority post, no less! That must have cost a bit. But it’s timely — something to read over the weekend.
I took a load of paperbacks down to the local charity shop — four plastic bags full. Glad to see the back of books that I know I shall never read again. I rescued a few from the pile, tho!
I also have a pile of academic books I want to get rid of. I have an academic in Europe who could use them, and I’d be willing to donate them. But … you can’t post books from Britain. You really cannot. I’ve been into two post offices today, enquiring. I had with me six small books. Total weight just under 2 kg (about 4 pounds in real weights). Price to post was over 11GBP (i.e. $17). It’s more costly for individual books. If I get 20kg, it will cost me about 90GBP (i.e. $140), just to post them. Cynically, surface post for printed papers is made more expensive than airmail.
I found myself wondering if the cheapest way to do this is just to hire a student to fly over there by a budget airline with a suitcase. I bet it would cost less than 90 GBP!
Sometimes it’s cheaper to use an express service than by mail. Just for an example, looking at DHL’s UK website….
DHL “GM Parcel” does packages up to 30 kg, domestic or international. “Economy Select” has a maximum of 70 kg per piece (non-pallet — 1000 kg with a pallet).
This is just an example, but annoyingly they don’t actually cite prices on their website (I guess because gas prices are so fluid right now, and there are so many countries). Apparently you call and tell them what you’ve got and they tell you what it costs. It’s probably cheaper if you can stick your stuff in one of their dropboxes (with one of their shipping labels and/or boxes), instead of making them send a truck specifically to you; but since you’re not a business yourself, of course getting a shipping label and/or box will probably be the time-consumer.
Yes, without prices it’s hard to tell. But it *ought* to be possible, surely? I must ask DHL.