William Gibson has a new book out, Distrust That Particular Flavor, collecting his non-fiction output. Gibson’s essays are usually interesting and thought-provoking.
Paul Di Filippo offers a review, as does The New York Times.
Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
New William Gibson Book: Distrust That Particular Flavor
Friday, January 20th, 2012Top 500 Books Sold at Auction in 2011
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012The list of the top 500 books (or related paper items) to sell at auction for 2011 is now available. Beyond a first edition of Gulliver’s Travels, there was no SF I could spot, but a number of interesting items, including Action Comics #1, the founding documents for Apple Computer, the original manuscript for an unfinished Jane Austen novel, and the usual assortment of illuminated manuscripts. Also, a copy of Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep inscribed to his wife; at $254,500, that may be the most I’ve ever seen a work of 20th century American fiction go for.
And here are all 500 books in a handy spreadsheet format.
Library Additions: August 8—December 31, 2011
Sunday, January 8th, 2012Despite this big-ass list, I think my book buying is actually slowing down a little. It’s getting harder to find things that I want (and don’t already have) at Half Price Books or eBay. Despite that, I always seem to have a surprisingly large number of books every time I do one of these roundups, mainly due to new small press offerings. (And speaking of small presses, many of the books listed below from Subterranean, Golden Gryphon, Haffner, etc. will be on sale through Lame Excuse Books, so drop me a line if you want to be on the mailing list.)
Related Topics
Other science fiction book collecting topics you might find of interest:
Have An Extra $10 Million Just Lying Around?
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012Christies is auctioning off a first edition double elephant folio of Audubon’s Birds of America on January 20th. (A double elephant folio is about 50 inches high, so it will be difficult to take to the beach.) It’s one of 120 copies known to exist.
But be aware that $10 million might not be enough to buy it, since in 2010 another copy sold for $11.5 million…
My Review of Charles Stross’ Rule 34 is Now Up
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012Happy Birthday, Ralph 124C41+!
Monday, January 2nd, 2012One more for 2011:
This article in The Economist points out that Hugo Gernsback’s Ralph 124C41+ (one to foresee for one) was published 100 years ago. The article calls it “arguably the first major work of American science fiction.” Well, no. There were a lots of examples of American SF before that, as both the late Everett Bleiler and the very much alive Jess Nevins could point to no end of antecedent examples. But Ralph 124C41+ is probably the first novel overwhelmingly concerned with the idea that technology will change almost every aspect of the quotidian lives of ordinary people. In weird way it’s sort of a cyberpunk precursor. That’s why, for all the clumsy prose, the “As you know Bob” infodumps, the hackneyed romance-and-rescue plot, and the paper thin characters, the work remains a cornerstone of American science fiction.
That said, it’s not for everyone. It isn’t quite unreadable (I like it a bit better than Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto), but it’s close. Today its importance is entirely historical, and only real students of the field should give it a try. (I was quite surprised when Charlie Brown admitted he hadn’t read it on a panel we were on at the 2006 Worldcon in Anaheim.)
(Hat tip: Locus Online.)
A Few Recent Book Aquistions of Interest
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011The book buying continues apace here at Stately Person Manor. I plan to have a comprehensive roundup of every damn thing I bought toward the end of the year (which is nigh), but here are a few particularly interesting, obscure, and/or lustworthy books I’ve picked up since Worldcon (a;; pics enbiggenable):
Notes from the World of Philip K. Dick
Tuesday, November 29th, 2011The first volume of The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick has finally been published. (Note: That Amazon link has it at half cover price, something I (and most probably other booksellers) can’t hope to match.) Paul Di Filippo offers a review: “It’s like the greatest Spalding Gray staged monologue ever conceived.”
Also of interest to the devoted Dickhead: The Philip K. Dick estate is suing the people who made The Adjustment Bureau, saying they’re owed additional money for the film rights. Media Rights Capital, in turn, is saying that the copyright was never properly renewed. Previous coverage of the dubious status of SF works that might (or might not) be out of copyright can be found here.
Finally, there’s another book of PKD interest coming out, not about Dick himself, but about his missing android head.
Neil Gaiman to be on The Simpsons this Sunday
Thursday, November 17th, 2011Neil Gaiman will be appearing on The Simpsons this Sunday. Neil has been mentioning it for a while, but this week is when it actually airs.
And here he is on Craig Ferguson talking about the episode:
Recent Acquisitions: Orson Scott Card’s Doorways
Sunday, November 13th, 2011I’m not a huge Orson Scott Card fan. I thought Ender’s Game was an effective Heinlein juvenile homage, but little more. (I also thought Speaker for the Dead was actually a better, more ambitious novel.) I also thought that Seventh Son and Red Prophet were good alternate history fantasies, and “Hatrack River” (which forms the beginning of Seventh Son) was probably the best thing Card ever wrote. However, after reading Xenocide (awful) and Prentice Alvin (disappointing), I decided to stop picking up Card’s new books (the occasional Subterranean novella excepted), and haven’t regretted the decision. (Someday I may read Hart’s Hope, which some people have told me is his best.)
But after I stumbled across this at the nearest Half Price Books, I thought it was odd enough to be worth picking up, especially at 50% off $35 (marked down from $60) during the usual coupon sale.
Card, Orson Scott. Doorways. No publisher listed (though I’m assuming this is Card’s own Hatrack River imprint), 2002. (Presumed) First Edition trade paperback original, perfect bound on white cardstock covers, a Fine copy, inscribed by Card: “to Sam—/Merrily…/Orson Scott Card”.
Not in the Locus database. Not in the ISFDB. Not even in Card’s own online bibliography. (Oddly enough, it’s referred to in a bibliographic PDF on his site, but there’s not a listing for the book itself.)
This is 98 pages long and contains two previously published novelettes along with several unpublished poems. If I had to guess, this looks like it might have been given away as some sort of promotional freebie on Card’s website.
Given how obscure this particular Card book is, here’s the complete list of contents: