Happy New Year

May your year be filled with abundance and good reading!

Holiday Goodness in Every Bite

The Christmas and Birthday angels left many wonderful books under the tree this year. Titles included:

- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
- Just Kids, Patti Smith - which I read in one day & I have to say is totally deserving of the NBA - expect a book review soon.
- The Imperfectionists, Tom Rachman

- Dormia, Jake Halpern (YA) - signed

- The Art of French Cooking vol. 1 & 2, Julia Child (maybe one day I'll write about my cookbook collection)

- The Autobiography of Mark Twain (2nd printing), Mark Twain

And in the mail when I got home was the most beautiful, signed, hand bound edition of Ray Bradbury's mysteries from Subterranean Press.  Before the holidays Sub Press had announced that it's first edition of 26 hand-bound copies had to be redone because the books had been trimmed 1/8th inch too much and there was a slight crease on the signature page.  Because of this the price was reduced from $750 to $250! Still a lot of money, but this was too extraordinary of a deal to pass up.  The book arrived yesterday and is beautiful. It's leather bound with gold stamping, housed in an extraordinary leather bound clam shell. Of course, now I need a display book shelf on which to house it. 

Just to give you an idea of the value, the Trade edition (500 signed copies with cloth cover & dust jacket), if you can find a copy, lists for around $200.  The Lettered edition, which usually consists of 26 hand bound copies, usually sells out quickly regardless of price to book collectors who very rarely sell. Once they're sold out, you're hard pressed to find a copy. (Which is a good reason, if you're interested in book collecting, to sign up for Subterranean Press' newsletter).

While in Kansas City visiting my folks, my Mom and I made a trip to the Half Price Bookstore in Westport. We found a couple of signed editions to add to our collection. I decided that, while I don't really know the collectibility of Len Deighton's work (& I've not really read any of his books), I should collect him for the mere fact that we are distantly related. So I bought a first edition of one of his WWII tomes.

Luggage costing what it does to check, I shipped most of my books home via media mail, so I'll be able to better report my finds in a week or so.  I did come across a lovely 1908 publication of Edgar Allen Poe's work. The cover is simply wonderful, reminding me of the Wm Morris influence over all aspects of design.  I couldn't find any information on the book, but you can probably expect a post on that in the near future.

One To Watch: Charles Cumming

Described as "the best of the new generation of British spy writers who are taking over where John le Carré and Len Deighton left off" by The Observer. His fifth book, The Trinity Six will be released March 2011 in the U.S. (Feb 2011 in the U.K.). 


According to the Advance Reading Copy I received, there will be a first print run of 100,000 by St. Martins Press. List price will be $24.99/$28.99 Canada.


From the back cover: 

1930's: Maclean, Burgess, Blunt, Philby, and Cairncros, aka the Magnificent Five, were the most celebrated Russian spies in history. But was there a sixth Cambridge spy? The Trinity Six brilliantly culls from one of the twentieth century's seminal mysteries of espionage to deliver Charles Cumming's most accomplished work to date.

PRESENT DAY: Sam Gaddis, a British academic, finds himself in search of the sixth man in the Cambridge Spy Ring. But when the few remaining people with any connection to this enigmatic spy begin dying unexpectedly, Gaddis is caught in the crosshairs of a very real, very dangerous plot.

Cumming's first four books include: 

1. A Spy By Nature (U.K. 2001; U.S. 2007)
• In 1995, Charles Cumming was approached for recruitment by the United Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). A Spy By Nature, a novel partly based on his experiences with MI6, was published in the UK in June 2001. The novel's hero, Alec Milius, is a flawed loner in his early 20s who is recruited by MI5 to sell doctored research data on oil exploration in the Caspian Sea to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). [wikipedia]
• First U.K. edition lists for $100 on AbeBooks
• First U.S. editions list for up to $55 on AbeBooks & Amazon
2. The Hidden Man (U.K. 2003: U.S. 2004)
• His second novel, The Hidden Man (2003), tells the story of two brothers investigating the murder of their father, a former SIS officer, at the hands of the Russian mafia. [wikipedia]
• Penguin Books Ltd, London, 2004 edition lists for up to $73 on AbeBooks (unsigned)
3. The Spanish Game (U.K. 2006; U.S. 2008)
• The Spanish Game (2006), marks the return of anti-hero Alec Milius, who becomes involved in a plot by the paramilitary Basque nationalist organization ETA to bring down the Spanish government. [wikipedia]
• Lists for at or below cover price on AbeBooks
4. Typhoon (U.K. 2008; U.S. 2009)
• Typhoon, published in the UK in 2008, is a political thriller about a CIA plot to destabilise China on the eve of the Beijing Olympics. [wikipedia]
• Michael Joseph, NY 2009 (Hard cover) editions list for up to $100 on AbeBooks
• Penguin Books Ltd, London, 2008 list for up to $50 on AbeBooks

In the Post this Week: December 15

Two books in the mail this week:

Tourquai, Tim Davys
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Harper (February 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061797456
ISBN-13: 978-0061797453

From the cover:

In the Tourquai neighborhood of Mollisan Town, superintendent Larry Bloodhound is the keeper of the peace and ruler of the streets. But there are others more powerful than he - a cadre of wealthy elite who live above the law's reach, including Oswald Vulture. When Vulture is found headless in his ornate office atop Mollisan Town's most exclusive building, Bloodhound knows he must take special care in the investigation. In fact, he can't even call the death a murder because if Bloodhound can find the missing head, it might be possible to reattach it to the victim - and discover what happened and who was involved.

The search for answers leads to Bloodhound and his team, Anna Lynx and Falcon Ecu - along with his closest friend, private investigator Pillip Mouse - deep into the exclusive, secretive world of Mollisan Town's most privileged. Who had the most to gain from Vulture's demise? His slithery and sexy secretary, Emanuelle Cobra? Or his seductive mistress, Jasmine Squirrel? And what about Igor Panda, a desprate gambler whose debts may have pushed him to do the unthinkable?

This is Davys second book in the series, following Amberville. It's set to be released Feb. 15, 2011.

The Oracle of Stamboul, Michael David Lukas 
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Harper (February 8, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062012096
ISBN-13: 978-0062012098

• From Publishers Weekly:

• A girl changes the course of the Ottoman empire in Lukas's middling debut. Eleonora Cohen--born in 1877 Romania, prophesied to alter history, and gifted with great intelligence--stows away at age eight to follow her father to Stamboul. Her first weeks there are a whirlwind of beautiful new dresses and cultural experiences, but the idyllic adventure takes a terrible twist after her father is killed in an accident and Eleonora is taken in by her father's wealthy and politically slippery friend. She proves to be a quick study, and once her tutor alerts the palace of Eleonora's immense intelligence, she finds herself in attendance at the sultan's court, commenting on a political standoff between the Ottoman empire, Russia, and Germany. As the sultan's interest in her grows, so, too, does her reputation and importance, though Eleonora is unsure if her new role is what she wants from life.

  This is Lukas' debut novel, to be released February 8, 2011. I will be a part of the Blog Tour for this book, so keep your eyes open come February.
  

A Small Thank You and a Big Coupon

This is a two parter. This first part is a personal thank you to someone who works retail during a time when most customers and businesses are feeling the economic pinch.


PART ONE in which my wallet stays home while I trek across town:

I'm not one to tout the virtues of Borders over other bookstores, in fact, they rank below most Independent stores, Barnes & Noble, and sometimes even Books-a-million. This, however, wasn't always the case.  

Back in 2002, when I was in grad school, I LOVED my Borders bookstore. Just north of Detroit, in Birmingham, along Woodward Avenue, I would stop in for book signings, inspiration, even short respites before or after school. This Borders felt spacious and stocked. They had every art book, philosophy book, and history book, I ever wanted. The customers, believe it or not, were actually thoughtful, turning cell phones off, speaking with indoor voices, and having conversations with employees that revealed an intelligence with which I'd like to associate.

After graduate school, I moved. Then I moved again, and again. Everywhere I went, I'd try on the Borders for size and it never lived up to the Birmingham, MI store. It quickly fell down the rungs of my bookstore hierarchy.

Today, however, my Greensboro Borders (which I was sure would close its doors last year because it was so poorly stocked, staffed, and organized) redeemed itself a tiny bit. Purchasing a few stocking stuffers, I walked up to the counter to pay and realized I'd left my wallet at home. I had on my person $20 in cash and over $20 in merchandise. Instead of rolling her eyes or sending me packing all the way across town to retrieve my wallet, the cashier pulled out an email coupon and scanned it. With the coupon, my total was just under $20, I paid and left a happy customer. So to that cashier, I say thank you. Thank you for having patience and understanding what it feels like on both sides of the counter/situation.

PART TWO in which coupons make themselves available:

So, this coupon that helped me save face and restored some of my faith in Borders, I found out, was a 50% off the list price of any one item.  It's good today through Thursday, Dec. 16th, 2010, you do need to sign up for a Borders Rewards card (but it's free).

Using this coupon, I was able to purchase a first edition copy of Matched by Ally Condie for $8 (list price is $17.99). That's better than the used book store price.

LA Times Review: Matched by Ally Condie

The LA Times featured a review today of Ally Condie's breakout novel Matched, the first book of her dystopian trilogy, and I have to say it sounds pretty good.


According to the Times:

It's a story that will appeal to fans of Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games" and Allegra Goodman's "The Other Side of the Island" — young-adult titles that follow similarly well-behaved and intelligent heroines who slowly realize they've been duped.

• From Booklist:

• “Do not go gentle into that good night.” Cassia’s feelings of security disintegrate after her grandfather hands her a slip of paper just before his scheduled death at age 80. Not only does she now possess an illegal poem, but she also has a lingering interest in the boy who fleetingly appeared on her viewscreen, the one who wasn’t her match, the man she will eventually marry. What’s worse, she knows him—his name is Ky, and he is an orphan from the Outer Provinces. How could she love him as much as Xander, her match and best friend since childhood? The stunning clarity and attention to detail in Condie’s Big Brother–like world is a feat. Some readers might find the Society to be a close cousin of Lois Lowry’s dystopian future in The Giver (1993), with carefully chosen work placements, constant monitoring, and pills for regulating emotional extremes. However, the author just as easily tears this world apart while deftly exploring the individual cost of societal perfection and the sacrifices inherent in freedom of choice. Grades 9-12. --Courtney Jones

• If comparisons to Lois Lowry, Suzanne Collins, and Allegra Goodman aren't enough, consider this: There are already talks to make Matched into a movie; Signed advanced copies of the book are listing for up to $80; There was an auction with 7 publishers fighting for rights to publish the book before Penguin/Dutton won out with a 7 figure bid for the trilogy. This is a book that everyone in the publishing world seems to be clamoring for/over. Not to mention the number of positive reviews coming out.

As a reader of YA dystopian novels, this is one that will find its way into my collection. As a collector of books, this may be the next Hunger Games (at least that's what the publishers are hoping), but its collectibility is yet to be seen. According to Publishers Weekly, Penguin has printed 250,000 in the first run, which is not outrageous, but its not low either. This is also not Condie's first novel. Since 2006, she's written five YA novels, most with a religious slant. However, this is considered her break-away novel. Naturally, the value of the book will be highest if you can acquire a signed copy.

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 384 pages
• List Price: $17.99
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (November 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525423648
• ISBN-13: 978-0525423645

One to Watch: Faces of the Gone

Brad Parks has won a second award for his debut novel, published last year by Minotaur Books.

First reported by Shelf Awareness, and overshadowed by Google's eBooks announcement, Faces of the Gone won the prestigious Nero Award this past Saturday. From Shelf Awareness:

Brad Parks has won the Nero Award for Faces of the Gone (Minotaur), his debut mystery. Named for Nero Wolfe, the protagonist in some 72 Rex Stout novels and novellas, the award recognizes the best American mystery of the year and is given by the Wolfe Pack, a literary society.

In October Parks also won the Shamus Award forFaces of the Gone, making him the first person to win both awards for the same book in the combined 60-year history of the awards. Parks's next book in the series starring investigative reporter Carter Ross, Eyes of the Innocent, will be released in February.

We're always on the look out for award winning debut novels. Signed editions list for $65-$150; unsigned editions currently list for up to $40, although right now, you can find good used copies for less than the cover price.

• Faces of the Gone, Brad Parks
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First edition (December 8, 2009)
• List Price: $25.99
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312574770
• ISBN-13: 978-0312574772

You can read more about the book at Brad Parks' Web site.

Hello Bookstore, It's Been Awhile

First Printings average around $100

Yesterday, in the midst of working hard to make a living, members of my household (spear headed by me) deemed it necessary to take a break and visit the used bookstore. Something we'd not done in almost two months.

The first thing we noticed, as we were perusing the shelves, was the prices had gone up. Books that had once been priced at $4 to $6 were now, fairly uniformly, being priced at $10 and $12.  Still a bargain, considering they're twice that at the regular bookstore, but this meant we had to be a bit more choosey in order to maintain our book buying budget. And, I suppose, everyone is feeling that pinch. I overheard one woman tell a friend that she could buy the same book online for less, so she put it back.

We wondered if this was just specific to the section in which we were looking, so we spread out & sure enough, we were hard pressed to find a $4 book that wasn't a paperback (and even the paperbacks had risen in price).

If there is prescribed meaning to the rise in prices, I couldn't tell you what it was.  It could be a new business model, they could be taking advantage of the Holiday season and the fact that used books at $6 or at $10 are still cheaper than $24. Or it could be the pinch of the eReader finally taking its toll on the used sector. Although, I have to say, there was still quite a bit of traffic in the store & a long line at check out.

For the money, I got fewer books and ended up putting some back, but I did find another first printing of Denis Johnson's Tree of Smoke (without the National Book Award Seal) - generally a $75-$100 value in fine/fine condition (unsigned).

Also found was a first of Alan Furst's A World at Night (Random House, 1996). This had clearly been in someone's collection. Not only was it wrapped in Brodart, but it was well taken care of. I've seen recent listings for between $40 and $105 for this title in fine/fine condition (unsigned). (which just makes me sad to think that someone sold it to the used bookstore for $2 or $4 in store credit).

AND, I was able to score a second copy of Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass (first American Edition), in very good condition - again, generally listing from $75 to $100.

In addition to the collectibles, I found a few books to add to my reading pile, including a never opened Drood by Dan Simmons, a massive tome of suspense, Christopher Moore's You Suck, and a couple of barely read steampunk novels: a YA novel called Worldshaker and Stephen Hunt's The Kingdom Beyond the Waves. - should keep me well entertained through the holidays.

Overwhelmed with Book Buying Gift Lists

In reading my Twitter bits this morning (since I've not yet ventured out to get the paper), I'm noticing EVERYONE linking to SOME bibliophile gift list. And, being the collector I am, I thought why not make it easier & put them all in one place:

• The Mother of all Book Gift Lists (complete with Covers for those visual perusers): LA Times 2010 Books Gift Guide
• NY Times: 
• Notable Crime Books of 2010
• Notable Children's Books of 2010
• Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2010
• 2010 Graphic Books
• 10 Best Books of 2010
• 100 Notable Books of 2010
• The New Yorker: Book Bench Holiday Gift Guide (Books and more)
• Collected Editions: Comic Book Gift Guide 2010
• The Daily Beast: Holiday Book Guide (slide show)

I'm sure there'll be more to come as the day/week progresses...


As for me, the books on my list this year include:

1. The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Mark Twain
2. The Millennium Trilogy Box Set, Stieg Larsson
3. Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People, Amy Sedaris
4. How to Read the Air, Dinaw Mengestu