I guess that technically one of these is a magazine, but it looks and feel just like a paperback.
I have cover scans, but for some reason BlueHost isn’t letting me upload pics right now, so you’ll have to wait to see them…
Posts Tagged ‘Books’
Library Additions: Two PBOs
Monday, October 9th, 2023Library Addition: Signed First of Phyllis Eisenstein’s The Crystal Palace
Thursday, October 5th, 2023I have a signed first of Sorceror’s Son, so it made sense to add this.
Eisenstein, Phyllis. The Crystal Palace. Grafton Books, 1991. First hardback edition, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Eisenstein. Sequel to Sorceror’s Son. The U.S. paperback precedes, but this was the first hardback. This was part of the last big Zelazny purchase in 2020 and I’ve just now gotten around to cataloging it. As I’ve said before, there are few price points more attractive than “you’ve already paid for it.”
Library Addition: Saki’s A Little Red Book of Wit & Shudders
Monday, October 2nd, 2023Another Borderlands Little Book:
Saki (H.H. Munro) (edited by Stuart David Schiff). A Little Red Book of Wit & Shudders. Bands Press, 2023. First edition hardback, #462 of 500 copies signed by Schiff, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued.
I will have a small number of copies available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Library Addition: First of 42: The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams
Thursday, September 28th, 2023This was another Kickstarter purchase.
Adams, Douglas (edited by Kevin Jon Davies). 42: The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams. Unbound, 2023. First edition hardback (number line ending with 1), a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. A compendium of scripts, drafts, notes, sketches etc. from the archives of this Dr. Who and Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy writer. I backed this on Kickstarter, and my name can be found on page 315. This book was actually a #1 Sunday Times bestseller. I’m not sure if this Kickstarter edition differs from the trade edition, though I count 320 pages, while Amazon UK says 336 pages, so, maybe?
I will have exactly one copy of this available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Library Addition: First Edition of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451
Tuesday, September 26th, 2023At some point I decided that I wasn’t just going to collect every Ray Bradbury first edition ever published, but I was going to obtain every Ray Bradbury first edition signed. When I started on this goal, a lot of signed Fine/Fine Bradbury firsts could be found on eBay for less than cover price. Those days are pretty much over.
But this was a hard and key title to find, so I made the sort of compromises on quality I usually avoid.
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. Ballantine Books, 1953. First edition hardback (Currey (1978) D state/Currey (2002) C state, red boards lettered in yellow, no precedence among hardback states), a Near Fine copy with a few small indentations, very slight glue wrinkling (binding flaw) to bottom of rear cover, slight wear to bottom boards, slight wear at head, heel and points, in a Fine facsimile dust jacket, with a Bradbury signature plate laid in. Currey (1978), page 55, Currey (2002) page 44. Pringle, Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels 8. Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4 3-31. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, page 39. Magill, Survey of Science Fiction Literature, pages 749-755. Heritage Rare Books and manuscripts Auction #675, page 87 (“one of the most influential and widely read science fiction tales ever published”). Heritage Americana Auction #658 & 65801, page 32. Heritage The Frank Collection Auctions #7001 and #684, page 58. A key 20th century science fiction novel, and the most difficult of Bradbury’s mainstream publisher hardback firsts by a good measure. Bought for $750 plus tax and shipping from an offer on eBay.
Library Additions: Three Subterranean Press First Editions
Thursday, September 21st, 2023Three Subterranean Press books that came in recently:
I will have copies of all of these in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog.
Library Addition: Signed First of Cormac McCarthy’s The Crossing
Tuesday, September 19th, 2023I’ve been somewhat casually collecting Cormac McCarthy for a decade or so. The early stuff (Blood Meridian and before) is insanely expensive, and he was well known for avoiding book signings and other public events. When this signed copy popped up in my price range, I went ahead and grabbed it.
McCarthy, Cormac. The Crossing. Knopf, 1994. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, with McCarthy signature plate attached to half-title page. Second book in the Border Trilogy, preceded by his breakthrough bestseller and National Book Award winner All the Pretty Horses. Supplements an unsigned first. Bought for $400 (with discount) from a fellow dealer.
It’s always chancy to buy books signed by an author who’s recently died. There’s a “death curve” where prices for signed copies jump immediately after their death, and then start coming down again six months to a year later. And there are some writers whose popularity simply falls off entirely after their death. But I fairly strongly suspect that McCarthy’s appeal will prove more enduring, so I grabbed a signed first at a price I could afford.
Library Additions: Three Joe R. Lansdale Trade Paperback Firsts
Thursday, September 14th, 2023Three more Lansdale firsts, two signed.
Note: Both the Pandi Press books say “First paperback edition,” but each is actually a true first (current ETA for the Thunderstorm Books signed/limited hardback of The Drive-In: Multiplex is December).
Library Additions: Bradbury, Jeter, Mundy Firsts
Monday, September 11th, 2023Only theme here is that I bought all of these on a day trip to San Antonio:
Library Addition: First Edition of Hope Mirrlees’ Lud-In-The-Mist
Wednesday, September 6th, 2023Here’s a book I’ve been looking for quite a long time, even before Neil Gaiman recommended it.
Mirrlees, Hope. Lud-In-The-Mist. W. Collins & Sons, 1926. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with a couple of abrasion spots on front cover, slight bend and head and heel, and small bookseller sticker to bottom of rear inside cover, otherwise a nice, sharp copy in an immaculate facsimile dust jacket. Bleiler, Checklist (1978), page 141. Magill, Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature, pages 926-931. Barron, Fantasy Literature 3-250 (“A beautifully written allegory unashamedly celebrating the necessity of enchantment”). Tymn Zahorsky Boyer, Fantasy Literature pages 141-142. Widely considered one of the classic novels of pre-Tolkien fantasy. Bought for $395 plus shipping.
