And Another One...

My mom, when she was chewing me out and not just waiting behind the door with her cast iron frying pan, was the mistress of "And, another thing, Philip..." Well, here's another eminently credible dealer trying to sell a $ 1.00 book for
$ 40.00:

Book Description: Subterranean, 2002. Hard Cover. Book Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Ed. First Edition thus.Very good/Very good condition. This is a professionally restored library book with little evidence of its former status. Signed limited ed. #497/850. Signed by Author.

Hip, Hip Hooray !

Our colleague, Vin, who sells books both on-line and at Cat's Curiosities in the Charleston Antique Mall posted two comments on an article here, and our favorite wanderer, Explorer, posted one. All three actually made it to the blog ! So, that's evidently working.

Our friend and colleague, Ann DeVere, Plaza books sent an interesting link: Buyer Beware, or at least Careful

We tell folks there's a dumpster out back for customers who fall.

A Lesson Learned

No, I didn't learn a lesson, but you might try my kind, gentle approach when dealing with IIs. Follow the electron trail below:

My Recent Internet Experience

From time to time, I buy books on the internet. My purchase arrived, and it was so completely different from what I bought that I sent the following to the "dealer:"

This book was listed, and portrayed, as the signed, limited edition. It is a poor to good copy of the book club edition. Before I leave extremely negative feedback, or contest the sale, what would you like to do ? I do this ONLY as a courtesy to an amateur. I would recommend to you an immediate refund of what I paid, and if you want  this book returned, also credit return postage.
His reply:

It Always Amazes Me..

My Bookstore 103 students are getting to be right little Fascists about book condition. This is as it should be.My colleague Ann DeVere, Plaza Books contributed this from her Internet rooting about:

Decorative red cloth bind. rubbed at extremities; spine base, corners frayed; backstrip lightly sunned; sm. bump to fore-edge of back board; boards soiled; ffep missing; front hinge cracked; owner's stamps, pencilled name & quotations on paste-downs & eps; leaf edges foxed/soiled, else a nice, clean copy.;

 

Not to be outdone, I found this as I was rooting:

Burton, Michigan, U.S.A.: Subterranean, 2002. Ex-Library. Very Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). Limited/Numbered. Excluding removed first blank page and library tape on the spine the book looks like new and unread. Cover in mylar. This is a #555 of 850 numbered and signed copies.

Beware the Internet Idiots.

We Speak Standard English Here.

For many years notable, and some not-so-notable, authors wrote historical novels. In general, the historical facts portrayed in these books was very accurate, so the general reader got some knowledge along with the enjoyment of reading a good yarn. My previous post inspired me to look at the other side of the coin, again from Wikipedia:
Nonfiction novel: a story of actual people and actual events told with the dramatic techniques of a novel. The American writer Truman Capote claimed to have invented this genre with his book In Cold Blood (1965). A true story of the brutal murder of a Kansas farm family, the book was based on six years of exacting research and interviews with neighbors and friends of the victims and the two captured murderers. The story is told from the points of view of different “characters,” and the author attempts not to intrude his own comments or distort fact. Critics pointed out earlier precedents for this type of journalistic novel, such as John Hersey’s Hiroshima (1946), an account of the World War II atomic bombing of the Japanese city told through the histories of six survivors. Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song (1979) is another notable example of the genre.

Another Stump the Chump Winner !

Suzanne the Student did a presentation on John McPhee and mentioned to the rest of the class that his style is for the most part "Creative Non-Fiction." We all nodded wisely, and when we could, did a little research. Wikipedia is a fairly reliable source, and I quote from it:

Just an Observation. And a Question.

Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor were friends but not married. Both are dead. Eddie Fisher was married to Elizabeth Taylor. Both are dead. We recently found a signed copy of Fisher's autobiography - it has a picture of Taylor & Fisher shot through the back window of a limo, probably on the way to their honeymoon.Thus endeth the observation. Now for the question:

Trees Died for this Crap !

An earlier post on this blog dealt with our colleague Ann DeVere's thoughts on Misery Lit. Publishers Weekly touted today a new low in Crap Books, and provoked this posting, and a whole new heading for the future: Crap Books !  The PW tout is: The Most Anticipated and Controversial Novel of the Year:  "Sixteen year old Zach..and kindergarten teacher Judy begin an affair that at first thrills, then corrupts each of them." Read an excerpt from this literary masterpiece:  Crap Books

Wow !

Last night's session of Bookstore 103 was absolutely dynamite ! My favorite student, Kim, told us about J.R.R. Tolkien and Frank Dixon. My other favorite student, Carla, told us about mysteries - Diana Mott Davidson and Dorothy L. Sayers. My other favorite student John discusses Robert E. Howard and Roger Zelazny. My blah, blah,  blah, Suzanne tackled Edward Abbey and John McPhee, much to our amusement. My blah, blah, blah, Holly, didn't join us. Our colleague and friend, Myrna Donato from Amber Unicorn Books sat in to enjoy my favorite students' presentations. In honor of Kim & John, check out the following from PW:
Kids
SF/F/H

Enjoy !

There are Signed Books, and Then There are SIGNED Books

New arrivals for our signed books section are always fun to price. We acquired three signed political pieces this morning, two of which are SIGNED, and one of which is signed. "Why the differentiation ?"  you ask. I reply: "Cause !

PW Strikes Again !

Every bookstore in the world is personality driven, including Borders and Narns & Baubles. Think about it. PW has 10 stores that are quite interesting:
10 of a Kind
You might want to subscribe to PW Daily so you can see what I don't think is worthwhile. Or not.

I Spel Cheked It Gud !

Bookseller Competencies is one of the key topics in Bookstore 102. We expect authors, editors, and publishers to demonstrate competence in their fields, as it can either add considerably or detract significantly to or from our reading, and opinions of authors. Publishers Weekly, in the current issue, had an interesting article from the New York Times on this topic, too: Oops !

Michael Jackson is Dead, but the Thriller is Still Alive !

We clump mystery, suspense, capers, and thrillers together on our mystery shelves. Others in the Valley segregate them. PW Daily has an interesting article on how the folks behind the words live: Thrillers

Park Your Carcass, Pick Your Carcossa

For the Science Fiction fans, Arkam House is a Holy Grail. So is Carcosa, but which one ? The text below is derived from the famous Wikipedia, the commentary and valuations are mine, and my thanks go to Zac Carter for the inspiration to do this research.

Bookstore 107 - Non-Fiction

A couple of new - just this morning - items for our stock made me think about all the different kinds of books that fall under the overarching heading of non-fiction:

* Fishing Canada's Mountain Parks - a boxed, limited, signed book by James Butler and Roland Maw.
Limited editions are always cool, but this one is practically frigid, because it has an honest-to-God fishing fly fastened to the title/limitation page.

* Craft of Cooking - although it's a later printing of Tom Colicchio's opus, it's signed by Chef TC.

And I thought Non-Fiction was just boring history, or biography, or science, or ...

Chump Stumpery 101

A customer asked if we had any Kay Neilsen illustrated books. Answer:  Huh ?
Research reveals:  Kay Neilsen
Further research reveals a very good research site:  Sur La Lune Fairy Tales
Enjoy !

Abbie Hoffman says: "Steal This Book"

Theft is quite common in new bookstores, but not anywhere near as bad in our world. Publishers Weekly had an interesting Blog post  you might enjoy: Five Most Stolen Books
By the way, current values for STB are: $ 100 - $ 500 for the hardbound first edition, $ 20 and up for the paperback.

Jazz and Bookstore 103

The current iteration of Bookstore 103 - The Who of Professional Bookselling - started last night, and while we were going over the book search references, a student asked "Why Jazz?"  My response was that quality books on Jazz, the original American art form, are hard to come by. As is often the case, when we were out scouting this morning, we stumbled on a collection of Jazz books and music, with a heavy emphasis on Django Reinhardt, all highly collectible ! Who says the Bookstore courses don't pay off ?

Who is Thomas C. Hinkle ?

Yet another customer played "Stump the Chump" with me, and won ! No, it's not that I'm failing physically,  just failing in knowledge. Follow the link, and learn about this rather prolific author: Thomas C. Hinkle

Americana Exchange Article

I recommend you subscribe to the AE Monthly, 'cause there is always an article as interesting as this one in it:
AE Article

A New Fiction Genre

Ann DeVere, our colleague at Plaza Books called, and I couldn't understand a word she was saying - in fact I thought she was crying. She was, but tears of laughter. As many of us do, she subscribes to several book-related listserves, and on one of them, there was a posting about a new genre. Do you remember that:
Bambi's mom got shot - stage left.
Lassie saved Timmy - eventually.
It was a dark and stormy night...