First Edition of George Orwell’s ’1984′ Sells for $3,000 – GalleyCat

Rare 1st edition of 1984 (Photo credit: Debs (ò‿ó)♪)

So, I’m sure you’ve heard about the news of the U.S. government, and now the Canadian government as well, using secret programs to track all mobile phone calls, such as when, where, how long, destination and so on.

Well, this has had an unexpected effect on book sales this week, where sales of the 1949 George Orwell classic ‘1984’ have gone up considerably, even attracting some buyers to shell out big bucks for original ‘first edition’ copies of the novel. However, there seems to be some confusion about which dust cover is the actual first printing. There is a green dust cover as well as a red dust cover, and no one can say with certainty at this point, which one is first printed.

First Edition of George Orwell’s ’1984′ Sells for $3,000 – GalleyCat.

Check out the link to the above article about the two big sales of the novel, and let me know…. have you read ‘1984’? If not, are you now more inclined to read it from what you’ve been hearing in the news?

Life imitating art, art imitating life? Which is it?

~ todd

***Also – check out these articles below for some perspective, in case you haven’t heard the whole story on the government surveillance that is so alive and well since 1984 and well past that…

Related articles

• “NSA surveillance puts George Orwell’s ‘1984′ on bestseller lists” (intellectualimperialism.wordpress.com)
• George Orwell Nineteen Eighty Four Owes a Lot to President Obama (guardianlv.com)
• NSA Prism: George Orwell’s ‘1984’ is flying off the shelves (sott.net)
• Government surveillance reports spark sales for Orwell’s ‘1984′ (globalnews.ca)

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World Read Aloud Day – Did You Take Part?

Yesterday was World Read Aloud Day, which is sponsored and organized by, an international non-profit advocating for and working towards global literacy. It is called LitWorld.org  Believe it or not, there are 793 Million people, world wide that can not read. That is an astounding figure in this day and age. Imagine how many of those people could (and are…) being taken advantage of. Imagine how many people are controlled by tyrant, undemocratic leaders simply because the masses can not read for themselves …

         Imagine A World Where Everyone Can Read

World Read Aloud Day is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people. World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology. By raising our voices together on this day we show the world’s children that we support their future: that they have the right to read, to write, and to share their words to change the world.  (Directly quoted from the LitWorld website World Read Aloud Day Page.)

I personally, didn’t catch any of the publicity for this, so I am putting this on The Hurley Edition calendar so that I will be able to be on top of it for next year. I don’t have the exact date yet for 2014, but we know it always takes place in the first week of March. When I have a date, you will have a date.

I don’t normally beg people to spread my blog around too much, but this is a cause that is very close to my heart, and if you can forward this to as many people as you can, I would be so grateful. Please let me know who, or how many people you have sent this to. It would really brighten my day to know that at least we are getting the word out there!

Hopefully, I’ll have a permanent home here on The Hurley Edition for LitWorld and World Read Aloud Day. But I’ll get back to you on that as and when it happens.

Did you know about World Read Aloud Day? If so, did you attend any activities or take part in any events this year ? I’d love to hear about it!

~ todd

T.H.E. Book Report Vol 2 – Hikikomori And The Rental Sister

I would have to say that this book shattered any expectations I had for it. It is an excellent read, as well as being beautifully written. The story concerns Thomas, an American man living in New York city, is devastated by the death of his very young son and has barricaded himself in his room for three years. His wife, Silke, is desperate and seeks out the only help she can find to get Thomas out of his room. The help comes in the form of a small, young Japanese woman called Megumi. She has the talent for working with Hikikomori, the Japanese word for what Thomas has done – shut himself away from society altogether. Megumi, who is tasked with getting him out of this situation is known as a “rental sister”.

As she works her way toward getting Thomas to come out of his room, she first must find her way into his room to really come to know him and why he has remained locked away. The story is excellently set up and executed as the three characters form a sort of triangulation with their most precious, unspoken feelings, schemes, and inevitable resolutions.

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys great contemporary fiction from a new and upcoming voice. I look forward to reading Jeff Backhaus novels for a long time to come.

~ todd