Posts Tagged ‘Recycled Books’

Library Additions: Six Science Fiction First Editions, Two Signed

Wednesday, January 11th, 2023

More first editions bought in the Metroplex from Half Price Books and Recycled Books.

  • Gingrich, Newt and William R. Forstchen. Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory. St. Martins, 2005. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, signed by Gingrich. Bought from Half Price Books for $7.99.

  • Hubbard, L. Ron. Ole Doc Methuselah. Theta Press, 1970. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with age-darkening to white portions. Fixup novel of linked stories originally published 1946-1950. Strangely, there is no printing at all on the spine or cover of the book itself. Currey, page 256. Bought for $12 from Recycled Books.

  • Kelly, James Patrick. Think Like A Dinosaur. Golden Gryphon Press, 1997. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with about 3/8″ slight abrasion or fade to the very top of the front cover, in a Fine- dust jacket with slight wrinkling at head and heel and slight edgewear at points and top of dust jacket, inscribed by Kelly: “To Katelein/Keep writing/+/:/Yr pal/Jim/ 4/19/98.” Short story collection. Supplements a perfect but unsigned copy. Bought for $11.49.
  • Miller, John J. (George R. R. Martin). Wild Cards: Death Draws Five. iBooks, 2006. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight bumping at head and two small indents to bottom boards and slight bumping at top points in a Fine- dust jacket with slight bumping at head and top points. Solo Wild Card novel by Miller. At some con years back, Miller told me this was actually the rarest Wild Cards book. Precedes the Tor edition by 15 years. Bought from Half Price Books for $11.48.

  • Smith, Michael Marshall. The Servants. Earthling Publications, 2007. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a small wrinkle to the bottom of the front flap. Precedes the UK and Eos editions. Bought from Half Price Books for $7.99.

  • Stross, Charles. Empire Games. Tor, 2016. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with bumping at head and heel in a Fine- dust jacket with bumping at head and heel. Merchant Princes novel. Bought from Half Price Books for $4.99.
  • Library Additions: Four Horror Volumes

    Friday, January 6th, 2023

    More purchases from Half Price Books and Recycled Books, one of which was actually a mistake.

  • Hill, Joe. The Fireman. Morrow, 2016. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Supplements a later limited edition. Bought for $14.99 at Half Price Books.
  • King, Stephen. Elevation. Hodder & Stoughton, 2018. First edition hardback (the UK and the US edition came out the same day, which means the UK should precede by several hours, if that matters), a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a tiny bit of surface wear. Castle Rock novella that looks like a cross between Thinner, Peyton Place and Up. Bought for $9.99 at Half Price Books.

  • Machen, Arthur. The Great God Pan and The Inmost Light. John Lane, The Bodley head/Roberts Bros., 1895. Second edition, a Very Good copy with wear along spine edges, wear at head and heel, touches of wear at points, pencil scribbling on front free endpaper, a few stray words of pencil writing, former owner Bookplate of William H. Sahud and small bookstore label to inside front cover (plus foxing shadow of that label on FFE), front inner hinge just starting to crack, and age darkening to pages. This was a screw-up, as I missed the Second Edition statement, and didn’t know off the top of my head that the true first came out in 1894, not 1895. Denielson, Arthur Machen: A Bibliography page 21. Bleiler, Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1070. Bleiler, Checklist of Science-Fiction & Supernatural Fiction (1978), page 130. Bought for $240 at Recycled Books. (“This is one of those damn ‘learning opportunities,’ isn’t it?”)

  • Strand, Jeff. Clowns vs. Spiders. No Publisher, 2019 (2022). Print on demand trade paperback original, a Fine copy. I picked it up because of the ridiculous title, and because I have a weakness for giant spider novels. Bought for $9.99 at Half Price Books.

  • Books Bought in Denton December 20, 2013: Signed Vance, Farmer, Wellman, Zelazny

    Thursday, December 26th, 2013

    I had a family Christmas event at my aunt’s house in Dallas over the weekend, so I hit a few bookstores on my way up I-35, buying a smattering of things.

    Then I went to Recycled Books in Denton and dropped $1,100. (This is not an uncommon occurrence.) This post just covers the things I found in their locked rare books section; the rest will be covered in posts over the next few days. (I’m running out of year!))

  • Farmer, Philip Jose. Lord Tyger. Doubleday, 1970. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with slight crimping at head and heel and trace of foxing along gutters, in a Fine- dust jacket with slight darkening to spine and a few traces of dust soiling. Signed by Farmer. Farmer’s SF take on Tarzan. Currey (1979), page 153. Bought for $60.

    Lord Tyger

  • Vance, Jack. Araminta Station. Underwood Miller, 1987. First edition hardback, #443 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and Fine slipcase. First book of the Caldwell Chronicles. Precedes both the NEL and Tor editions by six months. Hewett, A79. Chalker/Owings (1991), pages 437-438. Bought for $120.

    Araminta Station

  • Vance, Jack. Lyonesse: Suldrun’s Garden. Underwood/Miller, 1983. First hardback edition, #78 of 500 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. (Note: Unlike the signed, numbered edition of Lyonesse: The Green Pearl, this was not issued in a slipcase.) Hewett, A70b. Chalker/Owings (1991), page 436. Supplements my copy of the unsigned library edition in decorated boards issued without a dust jacket. Bought for $100.

    Suldrun's Garden

  • Wellman, Manly Wade. Worse Things Waiting. Carcosa, 1973. First edition hardback, Trade Edition issue, a Fine- copy with a couple of pinpricks of wear, in a Fine dust jacket. Inscribed to fellow horror writer Dennis Etchison: “Better Things Waiting/for/Dennis Etchison/Manly Wade Wellman/Dec 7, 1979”. Being a Wellman collector, I could hardly pass up an associational copy of this, his best and most important collection, inscribed to another top horror writer. (This is the second Wellman-inscribed association copy I own along with Third String Center inscribed to Wellman’s own brother, western writer Paul I. Wellman.) Currey (1979), page 515. Chalker/Owings (1991), page 87. Bleiler, Guide to Supernatural Fiction, 1672. Jones/Newman, Horror 100, 70. Bought for $100.

    Worse Things Waiting

    Worse Things Inscription

  • Zelazny, Roger. Knight of Shadows. Ultramarine Press, 1989. First limited hardback edition, #20 of 40 signed, numbered copies, bound in quarter leather, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued. Kovacs, 27-d-i. Chalker/Owings (1991), page 612. Proof that being a collector drives you slightly insane. (“Slightly?” asks the peanut gallery.) Ultramarine Press would take the sheets of the trade edition, then add a signed limitation page and leather binding. Honestly, I’m less than impressed with both their business model and most of the books produced, and I’m not too wild about post-first edition limiteds, but this edition seems nicer than many, 40 is a pretty low limitation for a Zelazny limited, and since I have such an extensive Zelazny collection, I decided to pony up for it. Bought for $240.

    Zelazny Knight

  • My Book-Hunting Trip to Archer City and Points East (and New Acquisitions Found There)

    Sunday, January 24th, 2010

    Since I attended a family event in the Dallas Metroplex over the 1/15/10-1/17/10 weekend, I took the opportunity to do something I had long wanted to do: Visit Larry McMurtry’s Booked-Up book store (actually spread across four buildings) in Archer City.

    The drive itself (a solid five hours) completely redefined my “ass end of nowhere” scale. It’s pretty far away from anything else, so only serious bibliophiles need apply.

    As for the store itself, there’s a huge amount of stuff for a general book hunter to look for (especially in areas like pamphlets, foreign language books, Texana, literary criticism, and probably several others), but not a whole lot of SF/F/H. I found about $50 worth of stuff, most of it in the general fiction section.

    Then I drove to Recycled Books in Denton, and bought $1,200+ worth of stuff (and that was after my dealer discount).

    By contrast, I found very little of interest at the main Half Price Books just of 75 in Dallas; all they seemed to have were multiple copies of very common titles. (I did a lot better when they were in a smaller building just down the block, the one with the boat-shaped section in the middle of the store.) Maybe their non-fiction section is more worth browsing.

    Below is the list of books I’m adding to my own library, including items from Recycled Books, Booked Up, and a three different Half Price Books. All of these are Fine/Fine first edition hardback copies, unless otherwise noted:

    • Ash, Brian. Who’s Who in Science Fiction. Elm Tree, 1976.
    • Beagle, Peter S. The Folk of the Air. Del Rey, 1986.
    • Bear, Greg. Beyond Heaven’s River. Dell, 1980. PBO. VG+. Also have the hardback.
    • Bear, Greg. Quantico. HarperCollins (UK), 2005.
    • Blaylock, James P. The Rainy Season. Ace, 1999.
    • Brunner, John. No Future in It. Gollancz, 1962.
    • Cherry, C. J. Voyager in Night. DAW, 1984. (Book club and only hardback.)
    • De Camp, L. Sprague. Solomon’s Stone. Avalon, 1957.
    • Emshwiller, Carol. Joy in Our Cause. Harper & Row, 1974.
    • Franzen, Charles. Cold Mountain. Fine/Fine save for name written inside. Pulitzer Prize winner that I’d been looking for for several years, and an example of why you look at 199 copies of an otherwise common book to see if each is a first edition, because that 200th copy just might be it…
    • Jackson, Shirley. Come Along With Me. Viking, 1968. Fine in a Near Fine- dj with price sticker on inner flap and very shallow (less than 1/32″) chipping at head and heel.
    • Koontz, Dean R. (as Leigh Nichols). Shadowfires. Avon, 1987. Book club and first hardback edition.
    • Kornbluth, C. M. Christmas Eve. Michael Joseph, 1956.
    • Lafferty, R. A. The Devil is Dead. Gregg Press, 1978. Replaces a more worn copy in my library.
    • Le Guin, Ursula. Rocannon’s World. Garland Press, 1975. First hardback edition, Fine, sans dj, as issued.
    • Lupoff, Pat & Dick. The Best of Xero. Tachyon Publications, 2004.
    • Malzberg, Barry. In the Stone House. Arkham House, 2000.
    • Moorcock, Michael. The Lives and Times of Jerry Cornelius. Alison & Busby, 1976.
    • Moorcock, Michael. The Lives and Times of Jerry Cornelius. HAARP, 1987. (Contents differ from the above.)
    • Morrow, James. The Wine of Violence. Holt, Reinhardt & Winston, 1984.
    • Mundy, Talbot. The Purple Pirate. Gnome Press, 1959. (First Gnome Press edition.)
    • Niven, Larry & Jerry Pournelle. Oath of Fealty. Phantasia Press, 1981. One of 750 signed, numbered copies, Fine/Fine in slipcase.
    • Pratt, Fletcher. Well of the Unicorn. William Sloane, 1948. Fine/Near Fine dj, with review slip laid in.
    • Sheckley, Robert. Journey Beyond Tomorrow. Gollancz, 1964. First hardback.
    • Sheckley, Robert. Mindswap, Delacorte Press, 1966. Signed.
    • Standish, David. Hollow Earth: The Long and Curious History of Imagining Strange Lands, Fantastical Creatures, Advanced Civilizations, and Marvelous Machines Below the Earth’s Surface. De Capo, 2006.
    • Temple, WIlliam F. 88 Gray’s Inn Road. Sansato Press (AKA Ferret Fantasy), 2000. Roman-a-clef that features a thinly-disguised Arthur C. Clarke (who provides the introduction) as a character, with Clarke’s signature plate affixed to the FFE, reportedly one of only 50 such copies. Replaces the trade edition in my library.
    • Wilhelm, Kate. Juniper Time. Harper & Row, 1979.
    • Vance, Jack. Bird Isle/Take My Face. Underwood/Miller, 1988. One of 500 signed, numbered sets in slipcase.
    • Vance, Jack. The Dark Side of the Moon. Underwood/Miller, 1986. One of 200 signed/numbered copies. Replaces a trade copy I’ll sell via my next Lame Excuse For a Book Catalog (in preparation).
    • Vance, Jack. Trullion: Alastor 2262. Ballantine Books, 1973. (PBO)
    • Waggoner, Diana. The Hills of Faraway A Guide to Fantasy. Atheneum, 1978.
    • Williamson, Jack. Wonder’s Child: My Life in Science Fiction. Bluejay, 1984.
    • Williamson, Jack (& E. C. Tubb). The Iron God (& Tomorrow). Gryphon Double Novel, 1999. TPO.
    • Zelazny, Roger. Bridge of Ashes. Gregg Press, 1979. (Replaces my Ex-Library copy.)
    • Zelazny, Roger. Nine Princes in Amber. Doubleday, 1970. An Ex-Library copy, but cleaner than the Ex-Library copy previously in my collection.

    I also found a bunch more books that are going in this month’s Lame Excuse Books catalog.

    So, if you’re going to be book shopping in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, by all means visit Recycled Books, which seems to be the best used bookstore in Texas. Visit Booked Up if you have the time to drive out that way, but the SF selection is fairly poor.