Orkney Image Library

Stromness a history - out now

Have you got your copy?

Picture taken 26 Nov 2013.

This is a weighty volume (exactly 1 kg on my kitchen scales) but the ponderousness doesn't extend to the text, as anyone familiar with Bryce's style doesn't need to be told.
The new book is certain to be compared with the one behind it in my photo, with text also by Bryce - if only to see if one needs them both. (One does.) Sea Haven, with about twice the page area and fewer than half the number of pages, weighs much the same as the new book. But why this preoccupation with avoirdupois? Sea Haven suffered from its paper being too lightweight: illustrations were faintly visible from the wrong side of the page. It had big pictures on thin paper. No such problem with this one: it has small pictures on thick paper (and plenty of them).
Having barely started to read the book and finding a couple of typos in the Contents list and a wayward caption clinging to the frontispiece, my heart sank a little. Was this going to be another example of the 'disable the spellcheck and skip the proofreading' school of editing? But no - in general the book is free from such minor irritations and is produced to a high standard.
I haven't read it all yet - though it's readable enough to make it perfectly possible to romp through it at a sitting. But it's also a book to dip into again and again. And I know I'll find some gem of information and insight with each dip.
It's a lovely book and, at just £19.50 a kilo, great value. It deserves to sell well and make a nice profit - which Bryce will promptly give away!

My congratulations and appreciation to the author on his achievement. I'm sure many OIL viewers feel the same way.