Robin Williams on Craig Ferguson from 2011. That’s the title on the video. I wouldn’t make that big a claim, but it is pretty damn funny.
“The Best Interview In The History of Television”
June 9th, 2018Library Addition: Michael Swanwick’s The Evolution of the Martini
May 30th, 2018Swanwick, Michael. The Proceedings of the American Martini Institute: Report of the American Martini Laboratory: The Evolution of the Martini. Dragonstairs Press, 2018. First edition chapbook original, one of 60 signed numbered copies, a Fine copy, new and unread. Like a title says: A history of the development of the Martini cocktail.
I’ll have a small number of these available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, which should go out tomorrow…
Library Additions: Four Critical Volumes on J.G. Ballard
May 29th, 2018I heard about David Pringle’s ongoing Ballard/Moorcock chronology from him on Facebook, which lead me to tracking down these.
Please note that copies of all four will be available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, which should go out this week.
Library Addition: Don Webb’s Deep Dendo 1/25 Hardbacks
May 28th, 2018Here’s another book with a ridiculously small print run:
Webb, Don. Deep Dendo and Other Poems. Dunham’s Manor Press, 2018. First edition hardback, one of only 25 hardback copies, a Fine copy, new and unread. Don’s latest poetry collection.
Shoegazer Sunday: SPC ECO’s “Zombie”
May 27th, 2018Been a while since I put up any SPC ECO. I could have sworn I already posted “Zombie,” but I’m not seeing it anywhere.
Gardner Dozois, RIP
May 27th, 2018Michael Swanwick just announced the death of Gardner Dozois on Facebook:
It is my sad duty to note the passing of Gardner Dozois today, Sunday May 27, at 4:00 p.m. The cause was an overwhelming systemic infection. Gardner had been hospitalized for a minor illness and was expected to be released shortly. The decline was swift. He died surrounded by his family.
Gardner was a swell guy, one of the funniest people in the field, a fine writer and a great editor, and bought not only my first story, but more of my stories than anyone else over the years.
I’m about to rush off somewhere, but more extensive thoughts later.
Library Addition: Clark Ashton Smith’s Strange Shadows
May 24th, 2018Here’s a book I’ve been looking for at an affordable price for a long time.
Smith, Clark Ashton (edited by Steve Behrands, with Donald Sydney-Fryer and Rah Hoffman). Strange Shadows: The Uncollected Fiction and Essays of Clark Ashton Smith. Greenwood Press, 1989. First edition hardback, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Fragments, lists, variants, etc. Clute and Grant, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, page 880. Reginald, Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, 1975—1991, 34170, page 909. Bought from a well-known online bookseller for $50.
Library Additions: Nine NewCon Press Firsts
May 21st, 2018Had an order from NewCon Press in the UK come in.
First up: Novella Set Three: The Martian Quartet, set YY of 52 sets of four novella by four different authors, in a pictorial slipcase with a matching “YY” on it:
Other books I picked up (all signed first edition hardbacks):
Note: I’ll have some of these available in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, currently in preparation.
Library Addition: The Ultimate Guide to Howardia
May 16th, 2018A non-fiction reference chapbook I hadn’t seen before I chanced across it:
(Howard, Robert E.) Warfield, Wayne (editor). The Ultimate Guide to Howardia 1925-1975. Hall Publications, 1976. First edition chapbook first edition (and perfect-bound, which is unusual for a chapbook of a mere 32 pages), a Fine copy. Early bibliography of Robert E. Howard, including much (then) unpublished work, but missing a few things (like the Herbert Jenkins A Gent From Bear Creek, which, to be fair, precious few Howard collectors had laid eyes on in 1975). Includes spot illustrations that range from “very solid” to “really not very good. Currey, page 254. Bought of eBay for $15.
Library Addition: Michael Swanwick’s Blue Moon
May 15th, 2018Here’s an interesting item: Another short-run Michael Swanwick chapbook, but with a difference:
Swanwick, Michael. Blue Moon. Dragonstairs Press, 2018. First edition chapbook original, #18 of 69 printed copies, a Fine copy (there’s some slight phantom creasing to the cover, because the chapbook was mailed in a flat envelope, which meant the sewn bead on the outside pressed against the book in transit, and all copies seen so affected), new and unread. Bought for $10 direct from the publisher.
Here’s the description of the project: “Five ‘flash’ stories, all with a lunar setting. Published in an edition of 69, released for sale on the second “blue moon” of 2018. 67 copies available for sale (publisher’s and author’s copies withheld) on March 31, 2018, for 24 hours only. All copies not sold by midnight, March 31, 2018 will be burned.” In fact, all copies sold out in a matter of hours, so none were burned.
Since 69 is a pretty small print run for a Swanwick chapbook, I took the liberty of picking up additional copies, and will be offering them in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, now in preparation…