A Weekend of Treasures
18 Nov, 2023
2023-11-18 6:59:29 AM UTC
2023-11-18 6:59:29 AM UTC
In 2021, the publisher Izdatel’stvo AST in moscow started a series of LOTR, Hobbit, and Silmarillion editions that featured new editions of major translators. There were six LOTR, six Hobbit, and four Silmarillion translations published in the series. I had all but the first, which was a Hobbit translation. I had scoured the internet for over a year looking for a copy, but it was nowhere to be found. In August I happened to find a copy from a German seller on booklooker.de. I placed my order on 4 August. When it hadn't shown up by 4 September I wrote her and she said that her source in russia was sending it, but that getting parcels out of russia at this time takes weeks and not days. She assured me that as soon as it reached her she'd send it on to me by DHL.
At the beginning of October I still hadn't received the Hobbit, but I was checking out odds and ends and decided to look at the bookshop in Sri Lanka to see if anything new was coming out in Sinhala. Since I first added the Sinhala translation of Fellowship (all there was at the time) to my website in 2021, that page has always been first or second in click-through traffic. To my surprise, there was a new edition of Fellowship with a new translation of Two Towers, to boot! I immediately placed my order.
Less than an hour later I was looking at one of the copies of LOTR on my ebay watchlist and balancing my bank balance with my desire when at the bottom of the page, ebay suggested a copy of an edition of Hringadróttinssaga (Icelandic) that I had never seen before (with movie covers). The Icelandic page of my website had always been number one in click-through traffic until it was supplanted by Sinhala, and then it was consistently first or second, doing a little ranking dance with Sinhala. Desire overwhelmed the bank balance and I ordered it as well. In one day I had acquired both a new Sinhala edition and another Icelandic edition.
On Wednesday, 25 October, the Hobbit arrived. On Friday the 27th the Sinhala books arrived. And on Monday the 30th the Icelandic books arrived. What a weekend full of treasure!
My collection continues to grow: Lord of the Rings Translations
At the beginning of October I still hadn't received the Hobbit, but I was checking out odds and ends and decided to look at the bookshop in Sri Lanka to see if anything new was coming out in Sinhala. Since I first added the Sinhala translation of Fellowship (all there was at the time) to my website in 2021, that page has always been first or second in click-through traffic. To my surprise, there was a new edition of Fellowship with a new translation of Two Towers, to boot! I immediately placed my order.
Less than an hour later I was looking at one of the copies of LOTR on my ebay watchlist and balancing my bank balance with my desire when at the bottom of the page, ebay suggested a copy of an edition of Hringadróttinssaga (Icelandic) that I had never seen before (with movie covers). The Icelandic page of my website had always been number one in click-through traffic until it was supplanted by Sinhala, and then it was consistently first or second, doing a little ranking dance with Sinhala. Desire overwhelmed the bank balance and I ordered it as well. In one day I had acquired both a new Sinhala edition and another Icelandic edition.
On Wednesday, 25 October, the Hobbit arrived. On Friday the 27th the Sinhala books arrived. And on Monday the 30th the Icelandic books arrived. What a weekend full of treasure!
My collection continues to grow: Lord of the Rings Translations
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