Monday, October 12, 2009

The Dead Trilogy Competition

Thanks to the largesse of those kind people at Allen and Unwin and Serpents Tail, I recently received a couple of copies of the trilogy edition of Dead I Well May Be, The Dead Yard and The Bloomsday Dead. The books look fantastic in this edition and the covers and artwork are consistent throughout. I'm keeping one set for myself but I thought I might as well give the other set away. It isn't available in the US (Dead I Well May Be isn't even in print in the US) so this might be a nice get for someone. They are all first editions and of course I'll sign them. It might be worth a few bob one day especially if I go onto fame or infamy.
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Ok it's fairly simple competition. I lived in New York for seven years and Dead I Well May Be mostly takes place there. To get to know the city, one day I decided to walk the whole length of Broadway from the top of Manhattan to the bottom. I stopped off to eat a couple of times and there were a couple of bathroom breaks but mostly it was just me walking. My question is this: how long did it take? I noted my start time way up on 220th street and my finish time when I met the missus at South Ferry. The person closest to my time in hours and minutes gets the books. Just leave your guess and name and an email address in the comments below, or if you have a blogger account just your name, answer and tick the email follow on button.
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Unless someone gets the exact time in hours and minutes the competition will close forty eight hours after this post goes up and I'm only going to allow one guess per person. Finally, here's a wee hint: I did the walk all on one day but it took much longer than I was expecting. Good luck!

56 comments:

Paul D. Brazill said...

I walked down Broadway from 42nd street to central Park but I was pissed and have no idea how long it took. Random guess: Four hours fifty two minutes!

email: paulbrazill@yahoo.co.uk

Finished The Bloomsday Dead last week. Great, like.

Ian said...

Paul,

technically you were walking UP brodway.

adrian

Loved Dead I Well May Be. Not in print in the US?! Insane, man.

Ok, you ever see The Price is Right? Someone always has to be the outlier...

My guess

13 hours 4 minutes.

Ianpattinson2@yahoo.com

PeggyP said...

OK, it's the bathroom breaks that are throwing my calculations off...my guess is about 7 hours and 10 minutes.

Corey Wilde said...

I'm assuming you didn't dawdle over your food or the sights and that you didn't linger in the men's room.

5.75 hours

seana said...

I think we really need to know how many pubs there were along the route to have a fair shot at this.

I have my signed Serpent's Tail edition of DIWMB thanks to a personally advantageous swap (and a generous author), so I think I'd better not even try to win here, even though I wouldn't anyway.

My big question is whether fame or infamy will raise the value of my copy more. Perhaps you could try for both.

Also, for any readers who haven't read the trilogy yet, you really owe yourself at least a shot at this.And yes, it's a really nice edition. really

Clare said...

Adrian,
did you know that fifty grand was reviewed on 774 on Thursday evening. The show is called "Night life with Tony delroy".. I haven't been able to find a download of the review, but Mum heard it and said it was very good. this is a syndicated show that goes all around Australia. The reviewer was Clare Calvet,

Clare

Brian O'Rourke said...

Allow me to underscore what Seana has already said. The new edition looks great, and if you haven't read it, you really do owe it to yourself to try and win this copy of the trilogy. And if you don't win, get out there and give DIWMB a chance. You won't be disappointed.

Peter Rozovsky said...

Given that you claim to have drunk in 32 pubs in one day, I would not even begin to guess how long this walk took. But I recommend these books in the highest possible terms, so if you're reading this, guess away, no matter how foolish you think you might look. These books are worth the risk.
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

Liam Hoyle said...

Seis horas.

liamhoyle@yahoo.com

seana said...

"As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives"

Since this came to me in a stroke of deepest insight, I'm going to guess that it took seven years to make the trek.

I know, I said I wasn't guessing.

So sue me.

seana said...

Also, how many people write these sort of things down on the off chance that they are going to run a contest about it someday?

adrian mckinty said...

Clare

I didnt know that. Thats pretty darn cool.

adrian mckinty said...

Seana

Oh I've got notebooks full of crap like this. For instance I know exactly how many paces it was from my building to the A train stop on 125th Street, and dont think I'm not going to use that info at some point in the future.

Declan Burke said...

Still can't believe DEAD I WELL MAY BE is out of print in the US ... that's just scandalous.

Latest review for FIFTY GRAND - http://www.examiner.ie/opinion/books/fifty-grand-103047.html

Cheers, Dec

bookwitch said...

I think we need to be told what you ate.

I already have the books, courtesy of kind son, so what I want to know is if you can pop over and sign them please?

Michael Stone said...

I already have this trilogy, with bk 3 signed by your good self (a prize from the crimesceneni blog), and I won a signed proof of Fifty Grand in your last contest...so in the interests of fairness I shall sit this competition out. I'll have a guess though, and if I'm closest the 2nd closest can take the prize.

I'll go for 10hrs 35mins.

Hardbarned said...

I wonder if you ate street vendor food or went into restaurants. Hmm. I'll guess five hours, thirty seven minutes.

Dana King said...

Considering two food stops and bathroom breaks, I'm going to say 6 hours 11 minutes.

seana said...

Oh I've got notebooks full of crap like this.

I'm impressed by your thoroughness, actually. Very Joycean.

Anonymous said...

I am surprised that you havent commented on this year Nobel's Prize for literature, after your "successful" prediction of last year and your sort of successful prediction of this year:

mckinty blog

I mean it was a Germanic speaking poet.

adrian mckinty said...

Peter

32 pubs well remembered! But some of those werent pubs of course. There was the Buffs club, the Rangers club etc and in some The Railway Tavern for example we were both too terrified to finish our halves. Still, it may be my greatest achievement.

adrian mckinty said...

HB

Yes I should have made that clearer, however I cant explain now because it wouldnt be fair for people who have already guessed. sorry.

adrian mckinty said...

Anon,

Marco is that you?

The really funny thing about this year's Nobel Prize in literature winner is that not only have I heard of her (unlike last year) but I actually read one of Muller's books way back in 1989 called The Passport. I liked the book and her and although I had completely forgotten about her I dont think its a terrible choice.

adrian mckinty said...

Miss Witch

Unless I get a book tour to Sweden some day I think thats unlikely. You should have a guess.

Matt said...

I have all the books, actually each in HB and paperback already, so best of luck to all.

I just hope we get to see the Yankees headed down Broadway in a couple of weeks!

Peter Rozovsky said...

Terrified to finish your halves, you say? The truth emerges. Perhaps in twenty years you'll similarly admit that you took the Broadway Local for part of this walk of yours.
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

Conor Mac said...

going to guess 6 hours 45 minutes

seana said...

Bookwitch isn't in Sweden, Adrian, she's in England. One of those trendy international marriages like your own. So it's not outside the realm of possibility, is it. She can dream anyway.

adrian mckinty said...

Matt

Dont jinx it brother. Where have you been for the last five years? the Angels are Yankees killers. Still the bullpen is tight unlike the Torre bullpen.

adrian mckinty said...

Peter

We're talking minimum 13 or 14 pints. Minimum. These days I think 7 would send me under the table.

In fact I was at my local pub last week with a couple of friends, during a kind of Octoberfest thing and after three Steins I was ready to call uncle.

Still I'll match you Karen Allen fashion at Bouchercon 2010.

adrian mckinty said...

Seana

The Swedish angle thing fooled me as it fooled many people over the generations.

Peter Rozovsky said...

Yep, right after we pay off that bet over the Yankees-Rockies World Series.
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

seana said...

I only know because I made the same mistake.

Those Swedish witches are very cunning.

adrian mckinty said...

Peter

Yankees-Phils I think you mean. The Phils exit is premature.

You know why Jim Tracy doesnt own a dog?

Because he cant hold onto a lead.

This joke also works for Terry Francona

Peter Rozovsky said...

Yep, the series just ended.

Good line about Jim Tracy, though it likely wouldn't work here, where most people call a lead a leash and would not likely know a lead is someting that comes between a human and a dog.
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

Gregrhi Love said...

I'm going with an even 9 hours considering all the stops.

Matt said...

Adrian

I get good vibes. The Yankees have better chemistry than maybe any Yankees team in 10 years, although I admit the dead teammate bond the Angels have may be tough to overcome.

The pathology of Red Sox fans is interesting, though. Apparently they were cheering for the Angels to beat the Yankees as they left the field. Weird.

Cameron Ashley said...

as i too have them all, plus that awesome FIFTY GRAND ARC, I'll leave this alone. I too plan on going to BCON next year. We should train, adrian, to get in fine karen allen shape.

bookwitch said...

Seana - there aren't many of us, so hard to understand, really.

Adrian - if Seana hadn't already put you in my place, so to speak, I would have said 'Manchester, Manchester!'. Though actually it is Stockport, but I'm too ashamed to admit it.

Face it, you're having beautiful blonde delusions, too! Witches are short and fat and can get really dangerous with too many unsigned books lying around.

I'll lend you my Swedish abode, if you like, except then I wouldn't be there and neither would my (your) books...

adrian mckinty said...

Miss Witch

I have, of course, been to Manchester many times. Well, the bus station at any rate.

adrian mckinty said...

Cam

Next time we go up to The Local are you in?

adrian mckinty said...

Matt

Yeah I was reading some of the comments on Extra Bases (Pete Abraham's new blog for The Globe) and man were they out there.

bookwitch said...

We'll meet there then.

Friend of the Farm said...

Four hours and forty-eight minutes.

Cavalieresq said...

I'm going with 5 hours and 17 minutes.

sjdevine said...

12hrs, 42 minutes

sjdevine said...

12hrs, 42 minutes

marco said...

Marco is that you?

Ha! Nice to know I'm missed!
But it's true, I did wonder why you didn't comment on the Literature Nobel, the Peace Nobel or even the 2-2 World Championships Qualification Draw
I barely have the time to breathe right now, but normal service will resume soon - in the meantime, I say 6 hours - that's more or less the time my father would have needed, at his normal pace.
And if I win I don't know if I'll have the strength to renounce my prize...

Ryan said...

9 hours 37 minutes.

Peter Rozovsky said...

Was the winning time wind-aided?
==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

adrian mckinty said...

Peter

I'll keep it open for another couple of hours yet. No one has got the exact time (that would be freaky) but there is someone who is very close.

I'll go get some breakfast, read the paper, come back and reveal all.

adrian mckinty said...

Marco

The Republic will probably make it to the 2010 World Cup, Northern Ireland have zero chance. It's time, I think, for a single team.

HoldenCaufield said...

I have all 3 books but would selfishly like to have a signed copy of the trilogy.

Based on about a minute a mile, plus food & bathroom breaks, I'd guess 5 hours 53 minutes.

HoldenCaufield said...

Forgot to click the email follow-up-button...

Cameron Ashley said...

hell yeah, i'm in!

seana said...

Ryan, in case you hadn't heard, you're the winner!