Have a fear of spiders? Maybe you don’t want to hear that it’s tarantula mating season, with thousands of the eight legged creatures on the move in search of a mate:
But don’t worry, this amorous arachnid stampede is only happening in the far-flung locale of [checks notes] the San Francisco Bay area…
Two books, one a small press signed/limited edition that I’ll have in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, the other anthology I just missed picking up when it came out:
Lansdale, Joe R. The Big Book of Hap and Leonard. Short, Scary Tales Publications, 2019. First edition hardback, #101 of 400 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy in a Fine dust jacket. Collection of Hap and Leonard stories. Includes everything in the Tachyon Hap and Leonard trade paperback, plus several additional pieces. I’ve also laid the three SST stickers affixed to the tissue paper wrapping the book ships with, because that’s just the sort of hairball I am.
Lansdale, Joe R., editor. Crucified Dreams: Tales of Urban Horror. Tachyon Press, 2011. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine copy. Reprint anthology. Some good stories in here.
I was working in an icu. had a patient who would only repeat what was said to her and was with her all night. One time I went in the room and she started telling me all the ways she died. “I died because of a narcotic overdose, I died because I took too much insulin, I died on a sunny Sunday afternoon,” etc. Then later she looked up at the ceiling and said “they’re all still there.” I ran out of that room as fast as I could.
Chabon, Michael. Telegraph Avenue. Harper, 2012. First edition hardback, a Near Fine copy with a bump at head and a pinhead red remainder mark at heel, in a Fine- dust jacket with wrinkling along that bump, with Chabon’s signature sheet bound in. ISBN is the same as the trade edition. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a presigned edition remaindered by a major publisher before. Maybe it got mixed in with the regular titles, or maybe it was due to the bump. Bought from Half Price Books for $12 (marked down from $15).
If you find yourself in east Osaka, Japan, you can visit Senkoji Temple, a shrine dedicated to giving you a glimpse of Hell, including hearing the voices of the damned:
Koontz, Dean R. Beastchild. Charnel House, 1992. First hardback edition, #612 of 750 signed, numbered copies, a Fine copy, sans dust jacket, as issued, in a Very Good only slipcase with a couple of quarter-sized dampstains to back. Reprint of a 1970 PBO, dedicated to Lisa Tuttle (among three others). Bought off eBay for $65.00.
Wilson, Gahan. A Little Purple Book of Phantasies. Borderlands Press, 2019. First edition hardback, #88 of 500 numbered copies signed by editor Stuart David Schiff, a Fine copy in decorated boards (a Wilson illustration, natch), sans dust jacket, as issued. Short story collection, something of a best of collection, with a smattering of cartoons. Out of print before publication. I’ll have copies for sale in the next Lame Excuse Books catalog, due out in November.
Looks like it’s past time to pick up another cheap scanner at Sam’s…
Bradbury, Ray. The Other Foot. Perfection Form Company, 1982. First edition chapbook (presumed; no additional printings listed), a Fine copy, signed by Bradbury. As with The Veldt, this is a short story reader with questions for classrooms and reading comprehension questions in the back. Not in The Undead, which includes a number of other Bradbury chapbooks. Bought off eBay for $35.