Much work these days is done away from the office desk on a portable computer. I live in England and, as I’m still involved in the management consultancy business I started in 1991, am often on the inter-city trains to and from London. I see dozens of men and women, young and old, typing away at reports and building spreadsheets on their screens, shoulders still stressed from the weight of their carry cases.

It’s now some years since I last joined them in this travelling ritual. Does this mean I don’t work on the way home? Not at all.

There’s a difference, though. I don’t have a dinge in my shoulder from the strap of a 20 pound bag, nor do I have to apologise on the train to the woman sitting opposite for taking up more than my fair share of table space.

Why not? Because my computer is little more than two inches wide by four inches high, and I carry it almost unnoticed in my pocket. I’m writing this on it now. Why carry pounds when a few ounces will do? Oh, and by the way, it’s a phone and a camera too.

Ever since we launched BrunleaBooks onto the Web last year we’ve had in mind to include a “department” on computing and the Internet. We’re not quite ready to go for this in a big way, but a day or two ago I put up a page containing my article, “A Handheld Day“. Take a look at it. With or without a built-in phone to avoid carrying two separate small items in your pockets, I’m genuinely convinced that an investment in a PalmOne handheld computer or smartphone can improve your productivity as it undoubtedly has mine. I’ve included some recommended software also, most of which I use myself on a daily basis. Oh, and I mustn’t forget, there are some links to books full of advice on using these amazing machines to best advantage.

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Finally for today, apologies to the gardening enthusiasts who have been waiting for our promised new stock of books on eBay. I’m afraid that the entry of these into the online database was delayed a little. Coming shortly! I promise. We’ll have to get it done as our visible-on-line level of book stock is falling; people keep on buying them!

Yours bookishly,

- David -

I’ve been looking at the statistics of our BrunleaBooks eBay shop. We don’t, and don’t aspire to, display thousands of books in it; there were around 150 on the list yesterday, of which about 40% were in the two categories, gardening and science fiction – the rest being quite a variety.

In the nine months since we started the eBay shop (as distinct from eBay auctions) these two categories have proved the most popular there, and we’ve mailed books to many parts of the world. In our other sales channels history and biography have tended to come top. What people buy where is a fascinating study.

Anyway, one consequence of all that is that we now have here a fresh consignment of excellent gardening titles, mostly new along with a few secondhand, which will be appearing in the BrunleaBooks eBay shop in the next day or two.

Yours bookishly,

- David Murray -

Just a quick note today about some recent additions.

In the gardening department, linked to the section on books about fuchsias, we’ve added a page from which our site visitors can now buy fuchsia plants through our affiliate relationship with the garden supplier, Thompson Morgan. This first plant-sales page focuses on choosing and buying hardy fuchsias.

We’ve also radically reshaped our World Affairs department. Whereas before there was one long page displaying books on current affairs in various parts of the world we now have separate pages for China, Africa and the Middle East – plus a specialist section on oil and energy – with more to follow. This will make it easier for us to update the displays with additional books on a country or regional basis.

You’ll also notice that from several pages it is now possible to subscribe to the Economist newspaper – a first-class means of keeping up-to-date on world affairs.

- David Murray -