Virgin All-time Top 1000 Albums

I have a problem disposing of slightly inappropriate gifts. Virgin All-time Top 1000 Albums is one of those.

I am a music fan and I like fact books. Lists of chart positions, that kind of thing. But this is not what I call a fact book. It's a list of opinions. Aggregated opinions from experts, admittedly. But rather than list the sales performance of OK Computer, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper, it attempts to explain why they are so popular

I don't care. I'm a fan of music. I know which albums are considered "classics" and I can decide myself whether I like them and why. "Classic" is a term for people who aren't music fans. As is this book. Which lay around my house unread for years before I finally bit the bullet and listed it on Amazon.

Sorry.

Diary of a Welsh Swagman, 1869-1894 by Joseph Jenkins

Welshman Joseph Jenkins decided late in his life to leave his family, move to Australia and earn a living as a travelling labourer, working on farms in Victoria.

His diary, discovered among the belongings of a Welsh descendent 70 years after his death, records his day-to-day between the ages of 51 and 76. Particularly poignant are the observations on his failing health and strength.

I read this once and it was unlikely I would again, but checking on Amazon it seemed to have some value - though not as much as the original which resides in the State Library of Victoria.

Memento

Inevitable I'd buy this having enjoyed it so much at the cinema, but did I really need a region 1 copy? One which was imported to Australia!?! I think I paid AU$60 for this. Madness.

It was later reissued in a two-disc edition with lots of extras, which naturally I had to have. Even then I didn't get rid of it.

Now I have.