This book popped up on June 2010's list of books to collect (from the Book Collecting Tips Web site). According to the guys over there "The book has an excellent chance of getting shortlisted for both the Man Booker Prize and Costa Award ... and a good chance of winning one or the other." It's David Mitchell's fifth book, and not his first to garner any acclaim. In 2004 he published Cloud Atlas (also a good one to find since even the paperback first editions are selling for $40), and its less popular follow-up, Black Swan Green (short listed for the COSTA award).
Generally, Mitchell is considered an experimental writer (meaning he doesn't follow the traditional writing styles and techniques). Because of this, more traditional readers may not like his style. But all of his books have won attention, if not awards. And all are in the collectible column.
Why am I telling you this? Well, a week ago I went to Barnes and Noble and I noticed they still had first printings of Jacob de Zoet. Because I was trying to be good and not spend my rent on books, I decided to wait, figuring they might still have a first printing a week later (a dangerous assumption). I am now kicking myself. Those first prints were a fluke, the book is now in the 3rd printing. Only 75,000 copies were printed on the first run. The lesson? Just buy the darn book.
Synopsis: [T]his majestic historical romance [is] set in turn-of-the-19th-century Japan, where young, naïve Jacob de Zoet arrives on the small manmade island of Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor as part of a contingent of Dutch East Indies officials charged with cleaning up the trading station's entrenched culture of corruption. Though engaged to be married in the Netherlands, he quickly falls in hopeless love with Orito Aibagawa, a Dutch-trained Japanese midwife and promising student of Marinus, the station's resident physician. [PW]
Also on the list for June was The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
There was actually a bidding war between publishers to get this book printed. When that happens the first print run is usually quite high (more than 100,000 at least). But even one month back, there were no first runs to be found of this book. First U.S. editions on ABE books are going for $50 to $125. First U.K. editions (which are the "true" edition since they came out before the U.S. printings) are starting at $150 (and this is UNSIGNED).
So if you come across a First Edition / first printing (has the full number line on the copyright page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 -or- 1 3 5 7 9 0 8 6 4 2) - Grab it!Labels: book collecting, David Mitchell, Imperfectionists, Jacob de Zoet, Tom Rachman