Before committing to read a 13-book series, maybe check to see if it has gone out of print before picking up the first. That way, you just might be saved hours of rummaging through French bookstores, asking clueless employees for a children’s book that clearly isn’t as popular as its original English version.
Oh, comte Olaf, why must you torture me as well?
Dang it! As a bibliomaniac-slash-anal-retentive-series-finisher, this would drive me bonkers. Internet to the rescue? Surely the books you need are in the tubes…
Yeah, these tubes aren’t as hot as advertised, frankly.
That jungle store (Amazon, is it?) only has a few titles that ship from random associated sellers who can’t combine shipping, and Chapters doesn’t even list the series anymore. It’s not even available as an eBook, which I imagined would be immune from stock issues. (I seriously would have bought a Kindle if it would have helped me out here.)
The only luck I’ve had so far is amazon.fr, since a French publisher is still printing it (with a much cooler cover design to boot). But shipping and duties would double the cost into the mid $100s. :p
The plan is to go to France this summer (for an unrelated purpose of the honeymoon variety) and just carry the series back with me. Assuming they stay in print. And that I can find them.
In the meantime I might have to pick up a copy of number two from the library that has been touched repeatedly by grubby kid hands. Yuck.
Well, I broke down and ordered the whole lot from Amazon.fr. And today, I learned they shipped it via UPS. Hello massive brokerage fees! Ugh.
I must hand over the crown of King of the Book Lovers to you, sir!