Book Hauls!

[J-Sun]

The Zelazny title is one I've ordered three times before. The first one got lost in the post, the second one vanished soon after it arrived and the third one was defective and had to be sent back. Wonder what's going to happen this time?

Not sure any book is worth that but at least it's a good one you're trying so hard to get. I had trouble with that one, myself, as I spent most of my life looking for "...And Call Me Conrad" - only to find out that that was only its magazine serial title and that I should have been looking for This Immortal. Anyway - hope it works out for you this time. Fourth time's the charm and all.

 

[nomadman]

Not sure any book is worth that but at least it's a good one you're trying so hard to get. I had trouble with that one, myself, as I spent most of my life looking for "...And Call Me Conrad" - only to find out that that was only its magazine serial title and that I should have been looking for This Immortal. Anyway - hope it works out for you this time. Fourth time's the charm and all.

Cheers. Part of my problem I admit is that I'm picky about which edition I want, and when ordering online the cover pic can sometimes be different from the actual cover that arrives. I'm nothing if not persistent however...

 

[GOLLUM]

The Dog Said Bow Wow by Michael Swanwick
253 by Geoff Ryman
The Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
King Rat by China Mieville
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
This Immortal by Roger Zelazny.

I've never read Gaiman before, so I imagine those two are good places to start. The first Swanwick is a collection and contains some pretty fun pieces. The Zelazny title is one I've ordered three times before. The first one got lost in the post, the second one vanished soon after it arrived and the third one was defective and had to be sent back. Wonder what's going to happen this time?

I think I have all of those except the Swanwick story collection.

If you like Swanwick's fiction, Subterranean Press published a lovely retrospective edition of his fiction entitled The Best of Michael Swanwick. It's well worth getting.

I have essentially Neil's entire collection to date.. American gods is Neil's best work of adult fiction. Neverwhere..um are you talking the book or the graphic novel or for that mater the BBC TV series? I'm guessing the companion book to the series, which is quite good but not one of his absolute best. The TV series was a bit patchy but had some interesting moments and something you may wish to purchase after reading the novel as it includes Neil's commentary on the DVD edition. The series was in fact inspired in part by Gene Wolfe, who is someone Gaiman has collaborated with in the past.

For what it's worth, I always recommend American Gods as Neil's best adult fiction to date, The classic Sandman is the obvious one to recommend in the graphic novel category, Fragile Things for his best collection and Coraline definitely his best so-called children's work...the recent film was very good too. A second choice in the children's category would be The Graveyard Book, which a couple of years ago won the prestigious Newberry Medal, as I understand it, the highest award a children's author can win in the US for an 'outstanding contribution to children's literature'. This was the work Neil read out on his last visit to Melbourne..he also possesses a fine narrative voice to go with his multitude of other talents...and I don't know how much credence you give to 'the author the person versus the author their work' but he's also one of the most decent people I've met in terms of his treatment of fans and professional ethos in general.

King Rat is an entertaining and well written novel but not one of China's best IMO. Sorry don't mean to name drop but he's another I've met (perhaps you've run into him too on occasion?) and again a very engaging person as well as one of the most articulate authors I've heard...a very smart guy. I'm guessing you have read some of Melville's work before. If not definitely head to Perdidio Street Station next along with The Scar. Some of his more recent efforts have a been a little hit and miss but overall still of a good quality.

I've found Ryman to be generally good...it's a while since I've read anything of his in my collection, whist Zelazny is generally always worth a look. I don't think I've read my copy of Immortal yet though. Anything by Shirley Jackson is worth reading IMO. Some of her shorter fiction is very good as well. You may want to check out the recent penguin edition 'The Lottery and other stories' if you haven't already.

Cheers.

 

[nomadman]

Neverwhere..um are you talking the book or the graphic novel or for that mater the BBC TV series?

The book. I remember watching the series an age ago; I must have been in my early teens at the time and was quite struck by its rather nightmarish surrealism. Flashes of it still stick with me today, most notably a grotesque toad-like fat man who ate porcelaine and was impossible to escape from once he got on your trail.

Cheers for the other recommendations.

 

[GOLLUM]

The book. I remember watching the series an age ago; I must have been in my early teens at the time and was quite struck by its rather nightmarish surrealism. Flashes of it still stick with me today, most notably a grotesque toad-like fat man who ate porcelaine and was impossible to escape from once he got on your trail.

Cheers for the other recommendations.

Yep that would be Mr. Croup who dines more particularly on T'ang Dynasty porcelain... His associate assassin is Mr. Vandermar whose preference is for live animals. A particularly memorable Yin and Yang 'odd couple' in the TV series as I recall.

You will definitely want to check out Sandman, it's one of the cornerstone series in the development of the modern graphic novel ( on a par with Alan Moore's Swamp Thing).

Another recommendation for China (no relation to T'ang) is his short story collection Looking For Jake, slightly mixed but overall of a fairly high quality.

I shall watch out for your comments on Neverwhere.

Cheers.

 

[dask]

Library freebie, 1950 first paperback printing. Nice stiff covers for a mass market pb. Also got a book club hb of Norah Lofts' short stories but the cover ain't worth the pixels.

 

[Diggler]

I picked up Dreadnought by Cherie Priest. Shamefully I haven't gotten Clementine yet.

Also bought Master of His Fate by J. Maclaren Cobben. It's an early romantic SF novel from 1890.

 

[Extollager]

This is a collection of essays by a good Tolkien scholar. I have her three earlier books on Tolkienian themes (A Question of Time, Splintered Light, Interrupted Music)and have read all or most of each with admiration.

The cover art for this book is by Ted Naismith, another of those popular Tolkien artists whose work I don't care for.

 

[dask]

LECTURES ON THE HARVARD CLASSICS edited by William Allan Neilson, 1914 hb --- looks like a first printing though it doesn't say so --- publshed by P.F. Collier and Son. Essays on History, Poetry, Science, Philosophy, Biography, Prose Fiction, Criticism And The Essay, Education, Political Science, Drama, Voyages And Travel, Religion. Whew! The fun never stops. 490 pages. $0.99 at Salvation Army.

THE KING'S CAVALIER by Samuel Shellabarger. Found this on the twenty-five cent table. No idea who this guy is, no dust jacket and no real idea what it's about except it's some kind of historical romance. Looks well written and could be good. Hardback, published by Little Brown and Company, copyright MCML --- anyone good with Roman Numerals?

 

[J-Sun]

copyright MCML --- anyone good with Roman Numerals?

I think that's 1950.

 

[AE35Unit]

I think that's 1950.

Yep thats it!
M=1000
C=100
L=50
If a lower value precedes a higher value it is deducted from it. And if the lower value appears second it is added to the higher value.

Hence M,1000
CM, 100 off 1000= 900
Add 50 (L)

 

[dask]

Much appreciated. Thank you both.

 

[Diggler]

Dead in the West, The Night Runners, Bubba Ho-Tep and A Fine Dark Line by Joe R. Lansdale. All of them were 99c each on Amazon Kindle at the moment.

 

[dask]

LECTURES ON THE HARVARD CLASSICS edited by William Allan Neilson, 1914 hb --- looks like a first printing though it doesn't say so ---

Wrong! It may look like a 1st but doing some self-destructive snooping on google I found an earlier edition from 1909. Hmmpf. Still worth $0.99.

 

[Connavar]

10 Years of the Caine Prize for African Writing (inspired by reading Things Fall Apart)
Merkabah Rider: The Mensch with No Name by Edward M.Erdelac

 

[dask]

Today is the first day of this year's library Leap Year Book Sale. All books, unless otherwise marked, are a dollar each. Not working right now going to a book sale is probably the last thing I should have done, but there are always certain titles I'm willing to pay at least a buck for and I actually found one of them today, the Stegner. The other two looked worth the money and truth is I've only been off work for three days so I'm not completely destitute yet. Besides if I waited for half price day on Thursday these three would almost certainly be gone. There were a lot of irresistible books there and I'm almost certainly going to go back Thursday and pick carrion, working or not.

 

[dask]

Went back and found one more:

It's hard to determine the year this book came out. All it says is the translation is copyrighted 1930 and the illusrations 1949. Still, quite a find for the cost of half a cup of coffee. The dust jacket shows slight wear probably from repeated ogling but the pages look unmarred by the hands of man. I'm surprised no one picked it up before me.

 

[J-Sun]

I have the Sheffield (I had to pay 3.98 for mine! (though it was new and not a library book)) and the Boccaccio (though I have the one translated by Musa/Bondanella). I understand the Aldington is supposed to be older but very good. Odd cover, though. And they always say "unexpurgated!". I'm never sure if they are properly advising you it isn't a bowdlerized version or if they're trying to entice you with risque reading. IIRC (been awhile) there's some stuff that wouldn't pass the Hayes Code but nothing too out there. We were glad to be alive and had to repopulate, y'know? Anyway - good finds. I don't know Stegner and haven't really read much Faulkner but I suspect they're all good finds.

 

[dask]

One of the reasons I got the Boccaccio was Rockwell Kent's name on the cover. I'd never heard of him until last night when one of his original paintings was featured on Antiques Roadshow and valued between $250,000 and $350,000. I've always wanted THE DECAMERON but deffered for one reason or another. Now the time and price seemed perfected in rightness.

 

[Connavar]

Its annual book sale in Sweden late February as usual and i just made my best second hand book haul ever!


The Napoleon of Notting Hill (Oxford World's Classics) by G.K Chesterton
The Master of Ballantrae & Weir of Hermiston (Wordsworth Classics) by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Woman in White (Wordsworth Classics) by Wilkie Collins
The Gift of the Magi and Other Stories (Penguin 60th special) by O. Henry
The Secret sin of Septimus Brope (Penguin 60th special) by Saki

Each cost a sale price of 10 kronor which is barely 1£.