At least up through season 20…
Every Homer Simpson “D’oh!”
January 14th, 2017William Peter Blatty: RIP
January 13th, 2017William Peter Blatty, author of The Exorcist, has died at age 89.
I remember about a quarter of a century ago, I finished one book before bedtime, and went “I know! I’ll read the first chapter of The Exorcist and then go to sleep.”
At 3:30 AM I finished the book. It was that good. William Friedkin’s very faithful movie adaptation was also great (indeed, arguably the best horror movie of all time), but it helped that he had great source material to start with.
Library Addition: The Illustrated Harlan Ellison
January 13th, 2017I already had the Illustrated Zelazny volume, so I kept an eye out for this one:
Ellison, Harlan. The Illustrated Harlan Ellison. Baronet Publishing, 1978. First edition hardback, #2014 of 3000 signed, numbered copies, a Fine- copy with wear at tips, otherwise intact with inset color cover illustration still affixed and 3D glasses still attached in the middle, sans dust jacket, as issued. Bought off eBay for $24.99 (the opening bid).
Library Addition: 1/100 Signed Numbered Hardback Copies of Lauren Beukes Zoo City
January 12th, 2017Here’s a book I’ve looked for at a price I could afford for a while. Copies would show up online, but typically in the $300+ range.
Beukes, Lauren. Zoo City. Angry Robot, 2010. First hardback edition and first UK edition, one of 100 signed copies (the only hardback edition), a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a very slight wrinkle at rear heel join, otherwise new and unread. Preceded by the Jacana Media (South Africa) paperback edition. Bought off eBay for $99 (the opening bid).
And here’s the limitation statement on the bottom of the front dust jacket flap.
Library Addition: Signed 1989 Ray Bradbury Christmas Broadsheet
January 11th, 2017Picked up another signed Ray Bradbury Christmas broadsheet off eBay:
Bradbury, Ray. A Christmas Wish 1989: The Bread of Beggars, The Wine of Christ. Privately printed, 1989. First edition broadsheet, a Fine copy, inscribed by the author: “Tim!—Love!—Ray!” Bought off eBay for $34 plus shipping.
The slight shadowing on the left side is a scanner artifact, probably a result of leaving it in the protective plastic while scanning it…
Library Additions: Two Bibliographies
January 6th, 2017Still clearing out the backlog of books I bought in 2016. here are two bibliographies, each of which I bought quite cheap:
Shoegazer Sunday: SPOOL’s “Sway, Fadeaway”
January 1st, 2017It’s been too long since we did an obscure Japanese band for our Sunday dose of Shoegaze, so enjoy SPOOL’s “Sway, Fadeaway.”
Library Addition: Taylor Caldwell’s Dialogues With the Devil
December 29th, 2016Back when you could make decent money on eBay for various offbeat but desirable paperbacks, you used to be able to get decent money for paperback reprints of the following:
Caldwell, Taylor. Dialogues With the Devil. Doubleday, 1967. First edition hardback, a Fine copy in a Fine- dust jacket with a slight bit of edgewear. Book in which Lucifer makes his case. Bought off eBay for $28 plus shipping.
Taylor Caldwell was a mid-20th century bestseller, but she isn’t read much anymore. She also wrote The Devil’s Advocate, set in a future communist dystopia, which also sounds like the sort of thing I should pick up.
Shoegazer Sunday: Stellarscope’s “Silent Night”
December 25th, 2016Keeping with last week’s Christmas Shoegaze theme, here’s Stellarscope’s “Silent Night,” half the Christmas classic, and half that Husker Du cover of “Eight Miles High.”
Yes Inducted Into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
December 21st, 2016So the latest list of Rock and Hall of Fame inductees has been announced, and in addition to recognizing the edgy hard-rock shredding of Joan Baez, they inducted Pearl Jam, Journey, ELO and personal favorite Yes, which I listened to a lot of in high school and college (along with Genesis, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, etc.).
In celebration, here’s “Starship Trooper” accompanied by a montage of eye candy, including some of the Roger Dean variety.