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Lawrence Person’s Library: Reference Books (Part 3: Contributor Copies)

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

Here are some pics from the section of my reference library where I keep contributor copies of publications my work has appeared in. Before the contributor copies, there are several book auction catalogs (including from the auctions I covered here), as well as some old S. M. Mossberg and L. W. Currey book catalogs of interest. After that the actual contributor copies start. You should be able to figure out what these are from my bibliography. The exception is the black tape-bound volume on the first shelf, which is a compilation of materials handed out for a Danish class on science fiction which includes my review of Donnie Darko. I have so many copies of Jim Baen’s Universe because FACT had boxes to give away at the 2008 Nebula Awards here in Austin and I snagged some leftovers.

As usual, click to embiggen.

I have a few of these available for sale through Lame Excuse Books as well.

Previous entries on my reference library can be found here and here.

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Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, pics, Science Fiction | 1 Comment »

A Few Recent Book Aquistions of Interest

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

The 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):

  • Graham, H. E. The Battle of Dora. William Clowes & Sons, Ltd. 1931. First edition hardback, a Very Good copy in a Good+ dust jacket with three 1/4″ chips at edges. Future war book set in an imaginary European country concerned with primarily with the evolving tactics of mechanized warfare. With fold-out maps!

  • Howard, Robert E. The Coming of Conan. Gnome Press, 1953. First edition hardback, a Near Fine+ copy with slight bends at head and heel and slight foxing to strip along front and back gutters, in a Near Fine dust jacket with slight dust staining to white rear cover and a few touches of rubbing to spine panel (but no spine fading). This completes my Robert E. Howard Gnome Press Conan collection. (At some point I suppose I’ll pick up the De Camp and Nyburg volume but, eh. what’s the rush?)

  • Oliver, Chad. Another Kind. Ballantine Books, no date (1955). First edition hardback (an unrecorded variant binding of green boards with red lettering), a Near Fine copy with slight age-darkening to page (most noticeable in one signature) and slight bending at head and heel in a Near Fine dust jacket with slight age darkening and touches of wear at extremities. Actually quite nice. All of the Ballantine SF hardbacks if this era are hard to find.

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    Posted in Books, Fantasy, Science Fiction | No Comments »

    Neil Gaiman to be on The Simpsons this Sunday

    Thursday, November 17th, 2011

    Neil 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:

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    Posted in Books, Fantasy, Science Fiction, TV | No Comments »

    A Detailed and Possibly Tedious Account of Adding a New Bookcase To My Library

    Monday, October 24th, 2011

    One problem with having a large library that you’re always adding books to is keeping up with shelving them in the proper place.

    I have all my fiction shelved in alphabetical order by author within three form-factors (hardbacks, trade paperbacks, and mass market paperbacks). I leave “expansion joint,” i.e., empty slots in which to insert new acquisitions, on every shelf, but eventually they fill up and it’s time to add a new bookcase. Since they are shelved alphabetically by author, I can’t just stick the books randomly onto the new bookcase if I want to find them.

    When I started out collecting books, I got the regular crappy 5-high, assemble-them-yourself particle board bookcases they sold at Target, just like every other college student. (Back then, anyway. I wonder if today’s college students use bookshelves at all.) Later, when I was a little less broke, I had some real 5-high wooden bookcases made for me (one fixed shelf in the middle, three adjustable shelves plus the base) to match the existing particle board shelves. later, when I started running out of room, I started getting 8-high bookcases (one fixed shelf, six adjustable shelves plus the base) to maximize the amount of storage space. in fact, when I moved into my new house, I immediately had three more 8-high built for me (along with a custom paperback shelf) to store books I hadn’t had room to put out in my apartment.

    Because of the way the room is laid out, I’ve been replacing the five-high bookcases in my living room/library with the eight-high bookcases, and moving the five-highs back into a sort of den (with a fireplace, a futon, a coffee table, an old sofa for my dog, and the rest of the fiction bookshelves). But to do everything the “proper” way is a fairly labor intensive process:

    1. Order the bookshelf
    2. Take delivery
    3. Stain the bookshelf (and this step and the next one might take several months, depending on whether I think it’s too hot to mess with, since I do it out in my garage)
    4. Varnish the bookshelf (actually, polyurethane)
    5. Remove all the books off the 5-high shelf (in this case, it was in the middles of the S section)
    6. Dust the 5-high shelf with a dust mop
    7. Dust/polish the 5-high with lemon Pledge
    8. Move the shelf back into the den, where it now falls in the middle of the V section
    9. Move about two and a half shelves of books over from the V-W section. This is how much I need to move to incorporate all the proofs I’ve added to the library after clearing out the Nova Express review pile.
    10. Stock the remaining shelves from the V section in the living room.
    11. Now move books over from the next shelf.
    12. Repeat until you reach the books removed from the 5-high and stacked on the table, at which point you incorporate those.
    13. Keep in mind that every time I clear a shelf of books, I:
      1. Take a dust mop to the shelf
      2. Dust the shelf with lemon Pledge
      3. Flip the adjustable shelf over to prevent bowing
      4. Let the shelf dry at least an hour or two; and
      5. Add expansion joints (i.e., empty spots) when you move books back onto the shelves. There are also a few odd cases, where I leave additional spots if I think I’ll be adding be adding more than a book or two to that shelf, such as books I’ve already ordered, very prolific writers I pick up everything by (Joe R. Lansdale and Charles Stross both come to mind), or series gaps I know I want to fill (I’m missing some of the Datlow/Windling Year’s Best volumes).
    14. Continue the book-moving process over a course of weeks until all the shelves have been cleaned and stocked.

    This is not a difficult process, but it is time-consuming (and by now I’m mostly done). But it prevents heartache in the long-run, because my collection remains alphabetized, the shelves clean and in good shape. And I can always lay my hands on a book when I need to. (There was another bookseller/collector who packed up his library willy-nilly, depending on what fitted in the box, and it was very frustrating experience trying to pull things from those myriad boxes when he wanted to sell something to me…)

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    Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | 2 Comments »

    Lame Excuse Books October Catalog

    Saturday, October 15th, 2011

    Once again, it’s time for “Lawrence posts the latest Lame Excuse Books Catalog as a big block of text.”

    Welcome to Lawrence Person’s Lame Excuse for a Book Catalog! Once again there’s lots of great stuff, including new books from Joe R. Lansdale, James P. Blaylock, Robert E. Howard, and Paul Di Filippo, as well as notable older first editions by Stephen King and Robert A. Heinlein, some signed Joe Hill books, numerous small press books from Subterranean, Night Shade, Golden Gryphon, PS Publishing, and Prime, among others, plus a few sale books (including a lot in the trade paperback section). Most in-print books start at $3 off cover price, and as usual I only have one or two copies for many titles, so you might want to act quickly.

    I should also note that a lot of the things I’ve had around for a while have been disappearing over he last few months. The Best of Michael Swanwick? Gone. Want some of those signed Subterranean Press John Scalzi books? Sorry, they’re all gone. The Collected Zelazny? Down to my last copy of Volume 6, and the rest are gone. Those signed copies of R. A. Laffery’s Serpent’s Egg I had lying around and selling slowly for years and years? Sold the last one. (I do have one of the signed East of Laughters left, if you act quickly; I think there’s actually a bit of a Lafferty revival going on right now.)

    Anyway, if you were putting off buying something thinking “Hey, Lawrence at Lame Excuse Books will have that for a while, I can put off getting that,” you might want to think again. I try to keep my inventory pretty light, so when something is gone, it’s GONE.

    Also, since I have a few books that have been sitting around for quite a while, I’m going to make the following offer to regular customers (i.e., anyone receiving this email):

    1. Add one or more grab-bag mass market paperbacks (my choice) to any order for $1.
    2. Add one or more grab-bag hardback or trade paperbacks (again, my choice) to any order for $2.

    Further clarification:

    • Maximum number of grab bag books is ten total per order
    • All SF/F/H or related
    • I promise it’s a book I thought was worth selling when I cataloged it
    • I won’t include any duplicates in the same order
    • I won’t include any media tie-in books or any books 2 or higher in a series
    • I might include an ex-library book, but only one per order
    • Regular shipping charges apply
    • To sweeten the deal, the first five grab-bag orders for both paperback and hardback/trade paperback orders will receive a book signed by the author

    $1-2 is a pretty low risk proposition, and there’s a good chance you might get something you like. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

    The URL for the main Lame Excuse Books webpage is:

    https://www.lawrenceperson.com/lame.html

    I’m still doing a Lame Excuse Books Twitter feed:

    https://twitter.com/LameExcuseBooks

    Payment, Contact & Shipping Information

    E-mail me at lawrenceperson@gmail.com. I can hold books ten days on e-mail or phone requests (please leave a message on my voice mail for the latter: (512) 569-9036). U.S. shipping is $5.00 for the first book, and $1.00 a book thereafter. Foreign shipping is at cost (please inquire; for most locations, Global Priority starts at $13.00). Books may be returned in the same condition sent for any reason within 10 days of purchase for a full refund. Please make checks payable to Lawrence Person. I can also take Paypal payment to this e-mail address at http://www.paypal.com, and I can take MC and Visa directly through my merchant account.

    Please mail checks to:

    Lawrence Person
    Lame Excuse Books
    P.O. Box 27231
    Austin, Texas 78755

    Finally, if you want me to take you off this mailing list, please let me know. I hate spam just as much as the next person.

    Now the books!

    Hardbacks

    LP1895. Bishop, Michael. Brighten to Incandescence. Golden Gyphon, 2003. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection. Back in stock. $15.

    LP1896. Blaylock, James P. The Affair of the Chalk Cliffs. Subterranean Press, 2011. First edition hardback, one of 1,500 copies signed by Blaylock, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. A Steampunk Langdon St. Ives adventure. List is $35, but since I managed to double-order this, let’s sell it cheap. $28.

    LP1456. Brite, Poppy Z. Antediluvian Tales. Subterranean Press, 2007. First edition hardback, one of 400 numbered copies signed by Brite in a better binding with marbled endpapers, a Fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. Collection of short stories all written before her home town of New Orleans was flooded. $35.

    LP1898. Dann, Jack. Junction. PS Publishing, 2011. First hardback edition (it was originally a PBO in 1981), a Fine copy in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Story of a boy who’s town is right next to Hell. Looks interesting. $30.

    LP1777. De Lint, Charles. Eyes Like Leaves. Subterranean Press, 2009. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread, signed by De Lint. $25.

    LP1878. Dick, Philip K. The Complete Stories of Philip K. Dick Volume 1: The King of the Elves. Subterranean Press, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. If you don’t have the Underwood/Miller Collected PKD set, then you need this. If you do, you should know that is expanded from the edition, incorporating new story notes, and two added tales, one previously unpublished, and one uncollected. So if you’re a serious Dick fan, you probably need this as well. Now $5 off cover price. $35.

    LP1900. Di Filippo, Paul. Little Doors. Four Walls Eight Windows, 2002. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection, back in stock. Only have one. $12.

    LP1901. Di Filippo, Paul. Princess of the Linear Jungle. PS Publishing, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Sequel to A Year in the Linear City. $17.

    LP1263. Erikson, Steven. Fishin’ With Grandma Matchie. PS Publishing, 2005. First edition hardback, one of 400 limited, numbered copies signed by Erikson and introduction author Graham Joyce, a fine copy in a Fine dj, new and unread. $21.

    LP1460. Erikson, Steven. The Lees of Laughter’s End. PS Publishing, 2007. First edition hardback, one of 1000 unsigned hardback copies, Fine in decorated boards, sans dj, as issued. The latest Bauchelain and Korbal Broach book set in Lamentable Moll, in a very affordable hardback edition. $15.

    LP1905. Farmer, Philip Jose. Up the Bright River. Subterranean Press, 2011. First edition hardback, one of 1500 copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection. How does 25% off cover price sound? $30.

    LP1906. Heinlein, Robert A. Podkayne of Mars. Putnam, 1963. First edition hardback (no statement of printing on copyright page, as per Currey, p. 233), an Ex-Library copy with all the usual flaws (pocket, stamps, stickers, tape, etc.), otherwise Good with significant wear along bottom boards, spine lean, cracked front hinge and general wear, in a Good+ dust jacket missing a 1/2″ x 1/2″ chip from head, faint dampstain along top of rear cover, and other touches of general wear, price of $3.50 intact. Heinlein’s last juvenile, and surprisingly hard to find these days. $95.

    LP1635. Hill, Joe (writing name for Joseph Hillstrom King). Gunpowder. PS Publishing, 2008. First edition hardback, one of 500 unsigned copies in decorated boards, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued, new and unread. Signed by Hill (with a drawing of a planet) at the 2011 World Horror Convention. $30.

    LP1907. Howard, Robert E. The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard. Subterranean Press, 2010. First edition hardback, one of 750 copies signed by artist Greg Staples, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and slipcase, new and unread. Huge, handsome, and lavishly-illustrated volume. $7 domestic shipping, considerably more overseas. Only have one. $145.

    LP1640. King, Stephen. Stephen King Goes to the Movies. Subterranean Press, 2009. First edition hardback, one of 2000 copies (and the only hardback edition), a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Includes five stories by King that were made into movies (“1408,” “The Mangler,” “Low Men in Yellow Coats” (made into Hearts in Atlantis), “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” “The Mist” and “Children of the Corn,” each with new introductions by King about how the moves were made and what he thought of them. Illustrations by Vincent Chong. With two color printing and heavier than usual paper, this is a lavish production beyond even the usual high Subterranean Press standards. I haven’t read all the stories in here, but the ones I have are among King’s best. Recommended. $49.

    LP1908. King, Stephen. The Little Sisters of Eluria. Donald M. Grant, 2008. First edition hardback, one of 4,000 Artists copies signed by artist Michael Whelan, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket and foil-stamped slipcase, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. “This volume contains [the expanded version of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger] as well as the novella The Little Sisters of Eluria which chronicles an earlier adventure of Roland’s as he persued the Man in Black. Published in a larger format than the Dark Tower series which enhances Michael Whelan’s thirteen full color plates and over twenty three black & white designs.” A nicely lavish production I’m offering at $5 off the cover price. Only have one. $90.

    LP1909. Kress, Nancy. Nothing Human. Golden Gryphon, 2003. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with two tiny (1/16″) closed tears at head, otherwise new and unread. Novel. Thanks to that flaw, you can pick it up at half cover price. $13.

    LP761. Lafferty, R.A (Gene Wolfe). East of Laughter. Morrigan (UK), 1988. First edition hardback, one of only 260 numbered copies signed by Lafferty and Wolfe, Fine in Fine dj and slipcase, new and unread. An additional Lafferty story, “The Story of Little Briar-Rose: A Scholarly Study,” and Wolfe’s postscript, “Scribbling Giant,” appear only in the limited edition. The binding is also in a slightly better grade of cloth that matches the slipcase. A chance to pick up a signed edition of one of the late, great R. A. Lafferty’s weird, wonderful books. $36.

    LP1846. Lake, Jay. The Sky That Wraps. Subterranean Press, 2010. First edition hardback, one of 1,000 signed copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Short story collection by the author of the Hugo-nominated Mainspring, and a swell guy to boot. $35.

    LP1847. Lake, Jay. The Specific Gravity of Grief. Fairwoods Press, 2010. First edition hardback, one of only 250 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. With an introduction by Maureen McHugh. Novella about a man with cancer (with which Jay has had more than one bout), so probably not something for the light reading pile. Only have one. $20.

    LP1911. Lansdale, Joe R. Hyenas. Subterranean Press, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. New Hap & Leonard novella. Even though this is the trade edition, this copy is signed by Lansdale. $22.

    LP1910. Lansdale, Joe R. Zeppelin’s West. Subterranean Press, 2001. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy in a Fine dust jacket; if you look carefully at the top edge, you can see that there’s a very slight bow to the rear board near the spine, though you couldn’t tell looking at it on the shelf. Signed by Lansdale. First volume of Lansdale’s steampunk romp featuring the head of Buffalo Bill Cody preserved in a jar, as well as many other famous historical personages, fictional and otherwise. Long out of print from Subterranean. $49.

    LP1912. Niven, Larry/Derwin Mak. Eeriecon Chapbook Ten: Doubling Rate/Willpower. Buffalo Fantasy League, 2011. First edition hardback chapbook, one of only 15(!) hardback copies, signed by both authors, Fine in a Fine dust jacket. Only have one. I think it’s safe to say that there are more than 15 serious Niven collectors in the world… $150.

    LP1913. Reynolds, Alastair. Troika. Subterranean Press, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. Tale of humans finding an enigma in space. Out of print from the publisher. $35.

    LP1914. Smith, Clark Ashton Smith. The Collected Fantasies Volume 5: The Last Hieroglyph. Night Shade Books, 2010. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. They were supposed to send this to me last year, but it slipped their mind. I only have one, and the other volumes I’ve sold out of. $37.

    LP1915. Rucker, Rudy. Jim and the Flims. Night Shade Press, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. New novel about aliens from another dimension taking up residence with the protagonist. Only have one. $22.

    LP1916. Swanwick, Michael. Dancing With Bears. Night Shade Books, 2011. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread. His latest novel, featuring con-men Darger and Surplus. $22.

    LP197. Tepper, Sheri. Gibbon’s Decline and Fall. Bantam, 1996. First edition hardback, Fine in a Fine dj, new in dj. $5.

    LP1918. Williamson, Jack. The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson Volume Eight: At the Human Limit. Haffner Press, 2011. First edition, hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket, new and unread, still in publisher’s shrinkwrap. Last volume of the Collected Williamson. $37.

    Trade Paperbacks (including proofs and chapbooks)

    LP1194. Aylett, Steve. Toxicology. Gollancz, 2001. First edition trade paperback original (simultaneous with the hardback) thus, with six stories (two original to this edition) not in the Four Walls Eight Windows edition, a Fine- copy with a tiny bump at head, otherwise new and unread. Very weird postmodern slipstream stories. $7.

    LP1919. Beagle, Peter S. Strange Roads. Dreamhaven, 2008. First edition chapbook original, a Fine copy, signed by Beagle and artist Lisa Snellings. At 72 pages, pretty hefty for a chapbook. Only have one. $12.

    LP532. Blaylock, James P. Thirteen Phantasms. Edgewood Press, 2000. An “Advance Uncorrected Proof”; of the first hardback edition, F with a glue bump at heel (as bound) and a blue ballpoint pen correction to the zip code on the cover (presumably by the publisher). $8.

    LP925. Clement, Hal. Noise. Tor, 2003. Advanced Uncorrected proof of the hardback first edition, a Fine copy, unread. His last novel. $8.

    LP874. Datlow, Ellen & Windling, Terri. The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror: Sixteenth Annual Collection. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2003. First edition trade paperback original (simultaneous with the hardback edition), a Fine- copy with one small, faint, tackhead-sized dust stain to lower fore-edge, otherwise new and unread. Lots of the usual suspects, including Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Hand, Karen Joy Fowler, etc. These are always worth picking up. $5.

    LP1440. Delany, Samuel R. Silent Interviews: On Language, Race, Sex, Science Fiction, and Some Comics. Wesleyan University Press, 1994. Second printing of the trade paperback edition, a Fine- copy with a trace of haze rubbing and a few pinpricks of wear, otherwise new and apparently unread. A quick look shows this a few orders of magnitude more accessible than Delany’s deconstructionist “close reading” criticism. $5.

    LP1708. Dick, Philip K. Puttering About in a Small Land. Tor, 2009. Advanced Uncorrected Proof of the first Tor edition, trade paperback format, a Fine copy, new and unread. Good to see Tor bringing back some of the more obscure mainstream Dick titles into print. This edition isn’t scheduled to be published until December. $10.

    LP1920. (Dick, Philip K.) Carrere, Emmanuel. I Am Alive and You Are Dead: A Journey Into the Mind of Philip K. Dick. Picador, 2005. First trade paperback edition, a reprint of the hardback that came out the previous year, a Fine copy, new and unread. $5.

    LP772. Di Filippo, Paul. Lost Pages. Four Walls Eight Windows, 1998. First edition trade paperback original, NF with some wear to matte black cover. Strange literary alternate history tales where Kafka was a costumed superhero, Anne Frank a Hollywood movie star, etc., with Robert A. Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, Alfred Bester, etc., all appearing as characters. $8.

    LP1300. Di Filippo, Paul. Shuteye for the Timebroker. Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2006. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. $13.

    LP703. Friedman, Kinky. Steppin’ on a Rainbow. Simon and Schuster, 2001. An Advanced uncorrected reader’s proof (side-bound trade paperback format), Fine- with a trace of handling to front cover. Mystery set in Hawaii. The latest weirdness from this gonzo country music singer turned author. $7.

    LP746. Elrick, George S. Science Fiction Handbook. Chicago Review Press, 1978. First edition trade paperback (simultaneous with the hardback edition), VG, with general yellow and wear to white covers. Provides a long section of definitions on SF topics relating to fiction, astronomy, physics, etc., plus a reading list. $3.

    LP1367. Genoa, Chris. Foop! Eraserhead Press, 2006. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread, with bookmark signed by the author laid in. Ostensibly a time-travel novel, I heard someone (maybe John Barnes) rave about this on a panel at Worldcon. Supposedly very weird, somewhat Steve Aylett-ish, and has “something funny on every page.” Gets blurbs from James Morrow, Christopher Moore and Nick Sagan, among others. Looks like fun. $8.

    LP1921. Hill, Joe. 20th Century Ghosts. PS Publishing, 2005. First edition trade paperback (simultaneous with the hardback states), one of 1000 copies, a Fine copy, new and unread. A very solid short story collection. At the World Horror Convention in Austin this year, Peter Straub and I talked about how we’re both fans of the story “pop Art.” This copy has been signed (with a simple drawing) by Hill at that convention. $49.

    LP1922. Hughart, Barry. Eight Skilled Gentlemen. Doubleday/Foundation, 1991. First edition trade paperback original (simultaneous with the much rarer hardback edition), a Fine- copy with a bit of wear along the spine edges. third and final master Li & Number 10 Ox book, and one that keeps selling for me. Highly recommended. $20.

    LP1923. Lafferty, R. A. Aurelia. Donning Starblaze, 1982. First edition trade paperback original (no hrdback has ever been published), a Fine- copy with just a tiny trace of wear at head and heel. Haven’t read it, but I’m pretty sure it’s weird. Like a lot of Lafferty, it’s getting pretty hard to find these days. $49.

    LP1893. Leicht, Stina. Of Blood and Honey. Night Shade Press, 2011. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. Stina is a friend and long-time member of the Turkey City Writer’s Workshop, so it’s good to see her first novel make it out into the world. This is a fantasy set against the Troubles of Northern Ireland in the 1970s. signed by Leicht $12.

    LP1924. (Lovecraft, H. P.) Lockhart, Ross E. The Book of Cthulhu. Night Shade Books, 2011. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. Cthulhu Mythos anthology, a mixture of new stories and reprints, with stories by Gene Wolfe, Charles Stross, Kage Baker, Ramsey Campbell, Thomas Ligotti, Bruce Sterling, etc. At 500+ pages, it’s a lot of Cthulhu for your money. Hopefully I should be able to sell you a copy; I paid for four from Night Shade and have only received one so far… $14.

    LP774. Panshin, Alexi and Cory. The World Beyond the Hill: Science Fiction and the Quest for Transcendence. Jeremy P. Tarcher, 1989. First trade paperback edition, having being preceded by the Elephant limited hardback, VG, with creasing to front and back cover, and slight creasing, wrinkles, and wear to spine. A history of science fiction’s “Golden Age” which won the Hugo for best non-fiction. $8.

    LP709. Prachett, Terry. The Last Hero. HarperCollins, 2001. Uncorrected proof (trade paperback format) of the first U.S. edition, Fine-, mint and unread save for a booksale sticker to spine. A proof of just the text portion of this illustrated Discworld novel. $15.

    LP1204. Shan, Darren. The Vampire’s Assistant. HarperCollins, 2000. First edition trade paperback original (preceding the American), a Fine- copy with just a trace of wear to matte black cover and phantom crease to top rear corner. Book two of The Saga of Darren Shan and sequel to Cirque du Freak. Well-regarded YA vampire series. $5.

    LP776. Shirley, John. Black Butterflies. Mark V. Ziesing, 1998. First edition trade paperback original, Fine- with a neat former-owner’s signature on the inside front cover. Some of Shirley’s darker stories. $12.

    LP710. Shirley, John. Eclipse (Volume One, A Song Called Youth trilogy). Bluejay Books, 1985. First edition trade paperback original, NF with slight edge staining, the usual slight age yellowing of spine and back, and a tiny bump at heel. $8.

    LP1305. Sterling, Bruce. Visionary is Residence. Thunders Mouth Press, 2006. First edition trade paperback original (no hardback edition), Near Fine with a faint, non-breaking crease along the spine, despite it being a new, unread copy. Short story collection. Signed by Sterling. $15.

    LP1925. Taylor, H. P. Shadowmancer. Putnam, 2004. Advanced Reading Copy of the hardback first edition (trade paperback format), a Fine- copy with a few faint scratches on the lower spine, otherwise new and unread. Well-received young adult fantasy novel. $49.

    LP1926. Taylor, H. P. Wormwood. Putnam, 2004. Advanced Reading Copy of the hardback first edition (trade paperback format), a Fine- copy with a tiny bump at heel, otherwise new and unread, with review materials laid in. Second in the series following Shadowmancer. $49.

    LP1209. Utley, Steven (Tuttle, Lisa). The Beasts of Love. Wheatland Press, 2005. First edition trade paperback original (as a POD book, there are technically no first editions as such, but I got this straight from the publisher at Armadillocon shortly after it came out), a Fine copy, new and unread. The latest short story collection by this talented and prolific ex-Austinite most famous for his collaborations with Howard Waldrop. Introduction by Lisa Tuttle. $15.

    LP1370. Waldrop, Howard. Howard Who? Small Beer Press, 2006. Trade paperback reprint, a Fine copy, new and unread. Signed by Waldrop. Waldrop’s landmark first short story collection, one of the best SF collections of the 20th century, out of print for nearly two decades, with such classic stories as the Nebula-winning “The Ugly Chickens,” “The World, as We Know’t”, “Horror We Got,” “Mary Margaret Road Grater,” and “Heirs of the Perisphere.” Highly recommended. $12.

    LP374. Willis, Connie. To Say Nothing of the Dog. Bantam, 1997. ARC of the hardback first edition, Fine- with bumps to head and heel and contact stickers on front cover. Hugo winner, Nebula finalist. Signed by Willis. $75.

    LP1928. Zivkovic, Zoran. Steps Through the Mist. Polaris, 2003. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy, new and unread. Either linke short stories or an episodic novel. Like the other Polaris books, this is an odd trim size: thicker than a chapbook and slightly taller and wider than a mass market paperback. This Belgrade edition precedes the U.S. edition by three years. $20.

    Mass Market Paperbacks

    LP1930. Jeter, K. W. The Night Man. Onyx, 1990. First edition paperback original (PBO), a Fine copy, new and unread. Jeter’s horror PBOs are not as common as they used to be. $5.

    LP1933. Shirley, John. The Brigade. Avon, 1981. Paperback original (PBO) first edition, Very Good+, with spine creasing and lean. One of Shirley’s most difficult PBOs, and I don’t think it’s ever been reprinted. $10.

    LP1934. Zelazny, Roger. Ace, 1966. First edition paperback original (PBO) (no statement of printing on copyright page, F-393/40¢ on cover, as per Currey), a Near Fine- copy with a line at head and some touches of wear, otherwise nice and square, with usual foxing to inside cover and age darkening to pages. Hugo winner for best novel. Levack, 34a. $3.

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    Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | 2 Comments »

    New Lame Excuse Books Catalog Due Soon

    Thursday, September 29th, 2011

    I’m in the process of putting together a new Lame Excuse Books catalog I hope to be able to send out via email next week. if you’re not already on my mailing list and want to receive a copy, drop me a line.

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    After Action Report on Heritage Auction’s Sale of the Jerry Weist Collection

    Monday, September 19th, 2011

    Every year or two, Heritage Auctions in Dallas conducts a big auction of a major science fiction book collection. In 2007, it was the Ventura Collection.

    The Ventura Collection auction was very successful, and since it occurred right before the advent of The Great Recession, many of the prices achieved in that auction have not since been equaled. (It may also be the first auction catalog Heritage mass-mailed to prospective SF collectors; I had not received any before then.)

    In 2008, it was The Robert and Diane Yaspan collection, which included a vast array of SF firsts as well as several SF manuscripts and a few select non-SF firsts, such as many firsts by mystery writer Earle Stanley Gardener.

    Later in 2008 was the auction of The Frank Collection, which was mainly SF art, but included a number of notable SF first editions as well.

    The just completed auction of the Jerry Weist collection was of the same caliber. There was some original art and pulp magazines in the collection, but the bulk of it was collectible SF/F/H first editions. The auction realized more than $1 million (though a significant fraction of that was for the artworks).

    I’m going to talk about some of the more interesting items sold, and how the prices realized compared to comparable copies of the same firsts in previous years. I’ll also mention when I have a copy of the first edition discussed in my own library.

    A few general observations:

  • Unlike previous Heritage SF Auctions, there were very few multi-volume lots of less desirable titles. I think Heritage will be selling those books individually on their weekly Internet book auctions.
  • Weist, like myself, settled for less than perfect copies of many difficult titles, including some worn, corner-clipped, or ex-library copies. (By contrast, the vast majority of the Ventura collection were pristine copies.)
  • The Weist collection was very strong in Golden Age and pre-Golden Age authors, but very weak in Hypermodern SF.
  • It was strong in Ray Cummings and Edgar Rice Burroughs (neither of which I collect), Isaac Asimov, John W. Campbell, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Robert A. Heinlein, William Hope Hodgson (many if not all of the firsts published in his lifetime), Robert E. Howard, Curt Siodmak (more about which anon), Clark Ashton Smith, and Olaf Stapledon.

  • Conversely, assuming the volumes presented in the auction do constitute the cream of the crop and nothing has been held back, it was weak in Jack Vance, Stephen King, Avram Davidson, R. A. Lafferty, Gene Wolfe and (save the two Fahrenheit 451s) Ray Bradbury.
  • I’ve tried to do some trending for various titles here, but there’s a lot of volatility at the high of the market. A book that normally goes for $100-200 might hit $2,000 for a signed copy at auction If two deep-pocketed collectors each need it to complete their collection.

    • Holy Grails

    To me, far and away the most interesting and desirable item was one of only five copies of Stanley G. Weinbaum’s Dawn of Flame to have the unsigned introduction by Amazing editor Ray Palmer. Weinbaum’s widow evidently objected to the introduction, which is why only five copies were so produced. Even the 245 copy Currey B state (with Lawrence Keating’s introduction replacing Palmer’s) is rare enough, and the book is widely considered the first true SF small press book. I don’t believe I’d seen a copy of the Palmer state for sale before, but I think one was sold when the Sam Moskowitz collection was auctioned off (they didn’t send me a catalog). Moreover, this particular copy once belonged to legendary collector and fan Forrest J. Ackerman, and was inscribed by him to Weist. Counting the buyer’s premium (a little shy of 20%, and which I’m going to include for all the other prices listed here), it went for $9,560.00; it wouldn’t have surprised me to see it go for twice that much.

    There were some other SF collecting “holy grails” sold there:

  • One of 50 copies of the signed, presentation hardback state of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, which went for $8,365.00. This represents an increase over the $5,377 a copy fetched in the Yaspan auction.
  • One of 200 asbestos bound copies of Fahrenheit 451 graded Very Good, went for $5,975.00. This represents something of a decline; a Fine copy went $15,535 in the Ventura Collection auction, a Very Good copy in the Yaspan collection went for $8,962, and a Near Fine copy in the Frank auction went for $9,560.
  • To me one of the most surprising outcomes was seeing a signed copy of Philip K. Dick’s Confessions of a Crap Artist go for $5,078.75, since there’s at least one signed copy from the 90 copies originally signed by Dick available online for $1,500. (And I think there were two copies for well under $5,000 when the auction commenced…) I have one of the unsigned firsts, which goes for considerably less.
  • Speaking of Dick, a copy of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? went for $6,572.50, despite tape stains on the jacket folds. I thought the $9,560 fetched by a Near Fine copy in the Ventura auction was outrageous at the time, but the value seems to have held up. (I have an ex-library copy myself, and even Ex-Lib copies list online for two to four grand.)
  • One of only 75 sets of E. E. “Doc” Smith’s History of Civilization, the six volume signed, leatherbound Fantasy Press set (in box, but without lid) went for $5,377.50. A set with the lid went for $5,676.25 in the Yaspan auction.

    • Other Notable Books

    From Holy Grails we move on to books that are merely Really Freaking Expensive. There are usually a few copies of these bumping around on Bookfinder.com, albeit with a comma in the price.

  • A signed copy of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation and Empire ($1,912) went for more than a signed (via bookplate) I, Robot ($1,553.50), probably due to some mild water damage to the latter. A Fine but price-clipped copy of I, Robot went for $2,270 in the Ventura auction, while another imperfect copy went for $1,434 in the Yaspan auction. I, Robot has become by far the hardest to find among the Gnome Press Asimovs.
  • A signed, Near Fine copy of Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man went for $872.35. I have a Fine copy, but not signed.
  • A merely Very Good copy of Bester’s Tiger! Tiger! (the hardback first of The Stars My Destination) went for $1,015.75, which is probably about market. A Fine copy in the Ventura auction went for $1,792.
  • The late Jack Chalker’s inscribed copy of Hal Clement’s Cycle of Fire went for $1,015.75. The title is harder to find than most of Ballantine Books SF hardbacks of the fifties.
  • Bob Weinberg’s inscribed ex-library copy of Philip Jose Farmer’s Green Odyssey went for a relatively modest $334.60. Like Cycle of Fire, this is one of the most difficult Ballantine Books hardbacks to find, especially for non-ex-library copies. Despite that, a Very Good signed copy failed to sell in the Yaspan auction, while a restored ExLib copy went for $448.13 in the Ventura auction.
  • A Fine, signed copy of the Gollancz (first hardback) edition of William Gibson’s Neuromancer, probably the essential novel of Hypermodern Science Fiction, went for $1,553.50. This is one of the few items for which you can see a clear, unambiguous decline across auctions, as a similarly Fine, signed copy went for $2,695 in the Ventura auction, while a similarly Fine, signed copy went for $2,151 in the Yaspan auction. I have a signed Fine- copy.
  • A copy of Robert A. Heinlein’s Podkayne of Mars went for $985.88. I don’t think it’s quite as good as the copy I just picked up last month for $235.
  • A Very Good+ copy of Heinlein’s Starship Troopers went for $2,270.50. A Fine copy fetched $4,780 in the Ventura auction. I have a very nice Ex-Library copy.
  • A Near Fine copy of Frank Herbert’s Dune went for $4,780. A Fine- copy (a rating I thought was a bit generous, given the rubbing along the dj spine) in the Ventura auction went for $10,755. I have a very worn Ex-Library copy.
  • An inscribed, Near Fine copy of Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon went for $2,390. A similar copy (though with a tipped-in signature rather than an inscription) went for $1,434. My copy is a bit less fine, and unsigned.
  • A copy of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Outsider and Others (the first Arkham House book and a cornerstone for both SF and horror collections) went for a healthy $3,883.75.
  • Another rare Lovecraft item, an exceptionally nice copy of the Visionary Publishing edition of The Shadow Over Innsmouth, went for a hefty $7,170.00. That’s toward the high end for an unsigned copy (since it was published in Lovecraft’s lifetime, signed copies do exist, and can be had for less than the price of a new Lexus), but there’s a dizzying number of variant states, and I’m not sure which are considered the more desirable among high-end Lovecraft collectors.
  • A Very Good+ copy of Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz went for $2,031.50, mainly because it has the rare orange promotional band. I have an Ex-Library copy.
  • An inscribed, conservatively graded Very Good copy of the Gollancz (first hardback) edition of Larry Niven’s Ringworld went for $2,390.00. In the Ventura auction, a Fine signed copy went for $5,206.25, while in the Yaspan auction, the better of two copies (not signed) went for $1,792. I have an unusually clean Ex-Lib Gollancz Ringworld, which might pass for Fine save an excised front free endpaper. (Did you know there was an unused dust jacket state for the Gollancz Ringworld? Lord knows how this guy (who I believe also owns this amazing Jack Vance collection) got a copy of it…)
  • A price-clipped copy of Connie Willis’ Doomsday Book went for $507.88. One of the more interesting outliers at the Ventura collection was a Fine signed copy going for an eye-popping $1,912. I have a Fine copy Connie inscribed to me after she attended Turkey City I picked up when it came out at cover price.

    • One of the most puzzling results of the auction was a signed first of Curt Siomdak’s Skyport was initially reported going for a stunning $8,611.17. That’s only about $8,500 more than it’s worth. But now when you go to the auction page for the item itself, it shows a far saner $101.58. I’m assuming there was some sort of glitch.

    Slightly less puzzling was a signed, Near Fine copy of L. Sprague de Camp’s The Wheels of If (which has one of Hannes Bok’s most famous dust jacket illustrations) went for $717, which is a good bit more than it usually goes for; Lloyd Currey has a comparable-to-better signed copy online right now for $150. Before this I had the impression de Camp was out of fashion among collectors (and thus I have been able to pick up a number of signed copies of his work pretty cheap). I suspect this is an outlier.

    Although I bid on several items, I only won one: an Ex-Library first of the UK David Bruce & Watson (first hardback) edition of Richard Matheson’s The Shrinking Man for $95.60. Fine copies go for over a grand.

    Related Topics

    Other science fiction book collecting topics (and glimpses into my own bibliomania) you might find of interest:

  • A description of my own library of science fiction first editions
  • My Books Wanted List
  • Lame Excuse Books, my own side SF/F/H book business, where a discerning collector may find several books of potential interest.
  • Other book related posts (including new acquisitions to my library)

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    Posted in Books, Fantasy, Science Fiction | 9 Comments »

    Armadillocon 2011 Photos for Friday, August 26

    Saturday, September 10th, 2011


    Mark Finn, rocking the cutting edge of FEZ NATION!


    Howard Waldrop.


    Dwight Brown gets the pre-convention lunch off to his usual facepalming start. What set him off this time was Todd saying “Look! We’re haircut twinsies!”


    DUFF winner David Cake.


    Early Turkey Citizen Joe Pumilia.

    There was a picture of William Browning Spencer, but he has evidently grown disenchanted with his own visage, and asked that it be removed..


    Al Jackson. For once I snapped a picture with his eyes open. Thanks for lunch, Al!


    Dwight, mournful that his mama took his Kodachrome away.


    Michael Sumbera, taking a break from assembling his retail sales empire.


    Aaron Allston. Generally, I only see Aaron at: A.) Cons, or B.) Indian restaurants.


    James Reasoner.


    John DeNardo: “You know I hate having my picture taken.” Naturally, after he said that, I’m required to take his picture several additional times.


    Like this one.


    And this one.


    Bruce Sterling was having a garage sale of books at the con. Here he is holding aloft the (true story) Rudy Rucker books I had pulled from the pile, refusing to sell them to me. Including the copy of The 57th Franz Kafka I had given him as a gift 15 years before. “I’ve got to donate these to UT.” Thanks a lot, Bruce.


    Bill Crider, reenacting a scene from Daredevil.


    Bill again, now with added sight.


    Stina Leicht, with her hair in the traditional Blue Con shade.


    Two people, both of whom complained that I took their picture too much. You can see how well those complaints worked out for them.


    Rocky Kelley, artistic dandy and man-about-town.


    Jessica Reisman. The camera is set properly, it’s just that Jessica lives her entire life in soft focus. Doctors keep doing tests to determine the cause.


    Jasmina Tesanovic and Bruce Sterling. “It’s a 110° out today! I’m feeling pretty darn good about my Global Warming predictions!”


    Derek Johnson. You can’t see it, but just below the frame of this picture, he’s clutching a snifter of brandy with one hand and stroking a white cat with the other.


    Gretchen Peterson Johnston shows that she is totally ready for the Fetish Boot Ball.


    Chris Nakashima-Brown n. Brown this guy I know.


    Yvonne Daily and Phil Brogden, who you may remember from such hits as “Goddamnit, Lawrence, you sure take a lot of freaking convention pictures, don’t you?”


    Robert Jackson Bennett, author of the spiffy first novel Mr. Shivers, copies of which can be obtained in the usual manner.


    Bradley Denton assumes the now-traditional “Oh yeah? Then I’ll take YOUR picture!” position.


    Jessica Reisman Redux.


    Paolo Bacigalupi and Bruce Sterling, debating whose global warming future is more wretched and dystopian.


    Rich Simental.


    “NEVER MIND!”


    The Space Squidians, shortly after freebasing some ink.


    Brad Foster, with a Hugo that might seem familiar.


    “You so naughty!”


    Kasey Lansdale, mooning over Mark Finn. (I warned you, Finn! I said UNMARKED twenties!)


    Scott Cupp, James Reasoner and Joe R. Lansdale, talking about F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and why you can’t get good belt onions anymore.


    Ben Yalow.


    It was….the unnameable.

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    Posted in Austin, Books, Science Fiction | 3 Comments »

    Books I Picked Up at the Reno Worldcon

    Friday, September 2nd, 2011

    Various issues have kept me remarkably busy the last few days, so it may take a little while to get my blogging back up to speed. In particular, I wanted to do a brief roundup of some of the books I bought at the Reno Worldcon.

    This year’s Worldcon had a better dealer’s room than Denver in 2008 (the last Worldcon I went to), and there were many rare and tempting items there (including not one, but two copies of the first edition of William Timlin’s The Ship That Sailed to Mars, as well as a fine signed first edition of Alfred Bester’s Tiger Tiger listed for $2,500, and which sold for a bit less) which, alas, they wanted more for than I was willing to spend.

    But here are a few items I was able to add to my collection:

  • Serviss, Garrett P. Edison’s Conquest of Mars. Carcosa House, 1947. First edition hardback, one of 1,500 copies, a Fine copy in one of only 500 (or fewer) dust jackets distributed with the book, a Near Fine example of dj with just a few traces of edgewear and slight age-darkening to the spine. The dust jacket is rarely found, and even more seldom found in such excellent condition.

    The dust jacket art itself is perhaps the finest ever drawn by an eight-year old…

  • Hubbard, L. Ron. Final Blackout. Hadley Publishing, 1948. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with slight age darkening to white portions of cover. I’m not a big fan of Hubbard (or his church), but this and Fear are reportedly among his best works, and I am less familiar with his output than almost any other Golden Age author. Plus it puts me closer to having a complete collection of Hadley Publishing, an important early SF specialty press.

  • Gaiman, Neil. Melinda. Hill House, 2004. First edition graphic novel, one of 1,500 signed copies, Fine, sans dust jacket, as issued. Wanted this when it came out, but not enough to pay the $250 or so Hill House was asking for it, especially considering how slender it is. But the $50 I picked it up for was just right…


  • Anderson, Poul. Fire Time. Doubleday, 1974. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine dust jacket with edgewear. Not a difficult or valuable title, except this copy was inscribed by Anderson to Charles N. Brown, which I thought made it worth a good bit more than the $15 the Locus folks were asking for it.
  • Diaz, Junot. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Riverhead Books, 2007. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Been looking for a copy at various Half Price Books and not finding one, so I was happy to pick this up from Scott and Willie.
  • Farmer, Philip Jose. The Keeper of the Secrets. Severn House, 1985. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a tiny bit of haze rubbing to the rear cover. First hardback edition of The Mad Goblin.
  • Farmer, Philip Jose. Love Song. Brandon House, 1970. First edition paperback original, a Near Fine- copy, with slight cover wear and ownership stamps and stickers for Diana Ann Barbour. My best find at the convention wasn’t even a purchase; Barbour had specified that her library was to be given away, and when I spotted this green spine among the stacks of Philip Jose Farmer paperbacks being set out, I snagged it. (I left behind two of the Essex House paperbacks they were putting out, because it doesn’t pay to be piggish.) The only copy of the PBO online lists for $850. That’s too high, but $200-400 is probably realistic.

  • Moorcock, Michael. The Sleeping Sorceress. New English Library, 1971. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Near Fine+ dust jacket with color loss along inner flaps edges (possibly a printing flaw). First hardback edition of The Vanishing Tower.
  • Moorcock, Michael. The Runestaff. White Lion, 1974. First edition hardback, a Fine- copy with just a tiny bit of wear in a Fine dust jacket. First hardback edition.
  • Shute, Nevil. On the Beach. Heinemann, 1957. First edition hardback, a near Fine plus copy with dust staining to top page blocks and touches of wear to boards at heel, in a Near Fine dust jacket, with slight edgewear at head and heel and a few very short, closed tears.

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    Posted in Books, Science Fiction | 3 Comments »

    The July Ansible is Up

    Saturday, July 2nd, 2011

    For all your skiffy reading pleasure.

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    Posted in Books, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction | No Comments »

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