Many independent book stores and publishers have what amounts to their own book of the month club. You either pay a yearly fee for a set number of books, or join for free and pay per book. These are usually great deals, and for those of us who find it difficult to choose which book to read (or collect) next, it's great - because the choosing is left to someone else.
Book Passage, an independent bookstore in California, has an ever growing First Editions Club. For the cost of the book plus $8 s/h, you are sent one signed, first edition book a month. Some of their past selections have included The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (2006 Booker Prize), The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (2007 Pulitzer), Rachel Kushner’s Telex from Cuba (2008 National Book Award finalist), In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin (a Pulitzer finalist), and Paul Harding’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Tinkers. In the case of Tinkers, the publisher ran a limited edition in hard cover solely for Book Passage's First Editions Club.
McSweeney's, Dave Eggers' publishing company (also out of California), has what they call a "Book Release Club." For $100/year you can receive the next eight books on McSweeney's publishing docket (shipping is included). Certainly a great deal if you consider that most of the books list for between $24 and $45. A list of this year's books can be found here.
Powell's Books has a subscription club called indieSpensable that "delivers the best new books, with special attention to independent publishers. Signed first editions. Inventive, original sets. Exclusive printings.... Every six weeks, another installment to read and admire." The cost is $39.95 per shipment (which includes s/h in the U.S. Add $12 s/h outside the U.S.) and they're sold in 3, 6, or 12 shipment chunks. The current pick is a signed first edition of Per Peterson's I Curse the River of Time (in a slip case designed for Powell's).
The Tattered Cover, in Denver, has an Autographed Book Club that delivers their monthly selection to you. They also allow you two refusals per year, and after the 10th purchase, the next book is free.
Alabama Booksmith, in Birmingham, has a similar program to the Tattered Cover's, in that they send you a signed first edition each month, you have the option of refusing two per year, and you get one free per year. Their Signed First Edition Club has picked a number of award winning authors lately.
Harvard Bookstore also has a Signed 1st Editions Club that, according to its Web site, "offers members [each month] a signed first printing of a recently published book, selected for both its literary merit and potential collectability."
In fact, a lot of larger independent bookstores are starting these types of book clubs to attract the collector and guarantee some sales at a time when even the large chains are buckling under financial pressure, so check with your local independent book store to see if they offer similar book clubs. You'll be rewarded with award winning books that are valuable collector's items, and be helping to keep independent book stores afloat.
Labels: book clubs, book collecting, first edition, signed
