Book Hauls!

Hmm...I prefer to think of a book haul as the result of a (preferably unplanned) visit to a charity/thrift shop, car boot/jumble/garage/yard sale (or for our continental posters) "brocante", or even a second hand book shop and finding a bundle of books that you've always wanted to read, or that elusive copy that you need to fill your collection, or a valuable book - and preferably at a nice low price.

Unfortunately, thanks to the internet, this is a rare event these days (since sellers know what they have) - and in any case practically any book can be had, at a price, from on-line sellers.

However, with that in mind, I recently received a nice bunch of books I purchased, on-line, from a variety of sources ranging from two quid (incl. p&p) up to 15.

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Some of the above have been on my list for a while, some were bought on the basis of this site's "Book Recommendations" thread*. I'm particularly pleased with the Silverbergs as it means I now have all his novels except The Planet Killers (and judging by the price I saw on AbeBooks it's likely to remain a gap in my collection) and all his short stories (those that have been published in a collection).

(* aka "Book Search")
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And I seem to have twice as many as I thought ;-) not sure what happened there! (pity I can't edit my post).

Fall of the Towers is missing (I think I was reading it when I took the photos so it was out of the pile) and that was a great read. Brain Wave was flawed but a fun read. Currently reading the Pohlstars collection; didn't think much of The Sweet, Sad Queen of the Grazing Isles, but liked The High Test, Spending a Day at the Lottery Fair (although it could have been more" of a story), Second Coming and Enjoy, Enjoy (although I saw the ending coming a mile off).
 
Matteo -- I haven't seen the cover art for those editions of the wonderful C. S. Lewis space trilogy before! Those are books central not only to my enjoyment of imaginative fiction but to my thinking. I don't "collect" editions of them, but it's interesting to see issues of them that are new to me.

I love the look of the simple, classy Voyager Classics releases from 15 years ago --

[URL='http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjn-taWuL7MAhWMloMKHXiFBeAQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abebooks.co.uk%2Fbook-search%2Ftitle%2Fthat-hideous-strength%2Fauthor%2Fc-s-lewis%2F&bvm=bv.121070826,d.amc&psig=AFQjCNHegKCRPQxyr_EPZOHYlnR-QPj1QA&ust=1462383221997801'][/URL]
 
Matteo said:
However, with that in mind, I recently received a nice bunch of books I purchased, on-line, from a variety of sources ranging from two quid (incl. p&p) up to 15.
Click to expand...

Let me guess; the van Vogts were the two quid ones? He is a vastly undervalued and hardly collected author. I picked up a signed first edition in beautiful condition for under 20 quid a couple of years ago.

My haul of the day wasn't really a haul, more of a rescue mission. My second daughter came home from school today full of ire and indignation that the headmaster had thrown half of the school's library away. Literally just dumped it in the rubbish. (Not even the recycling bin but in the one headed for landfill.) So we went up with the car and she climbed in to the dumpster and pulled out as many books as we could. A couple of hundred I would guess. It had been raining any many of them were too wet to salvage. Most of them will be going to a local charity shop, some are staying on our shelves, one or two are heading for eBay.
 
Extollager said:
Matteo -- I haven't seen the cover art for those editions of the wonderful C. S. Lewis space trilogy before! Those are books central not only to my enjoyment of imaginative fiction but to my thinking. I don't "collect" editions of them, but it's interesting to see issues of them that are new to me.

I love the look of the simple, classy Voyager Classics releases from 15 years ago --
Click to expand...

The trilogy has been on my "must read" list for years but I just never got around to it. When I saw the covers I couldn't resist. They're a little bit "trippy" aren't they? The artist is not credited inside but as far as I can tell from the signature on the cover of VTV and THS is G.R. Boldeno.
 
JunkMonkey said:
Let me guess; the van Vogts were the two quid ones? He is a vastly undervalued and hardly collected author. I picked up a signed first edition in beautiful condition for under 20 quid a couple of years ago.

My haul of the day wasn't really a haul, more of a rescue mission. My second daughter came home from school today full of ire and indignation that the headmaster had thrown half of the school's library away. Literally just dumped it in the rubbish. (Not even the recycling bin but in the one headed for landfill.) So we went up with the car and she climbed in to the dumpster and pulled out as many books as we could. A couple of hundred I would guess. It had been raining any many of them were too wet to salvage. Most of them will be going to a local charity shop, some are staying on our shelves, one or two are heading for eBay.
Click to expand...

You're correct but for the wrong reason (I suppose). Actually they were one quid - as were quite a few of the others (though not the Silverberg obviously!) in the two photos below the CS Lewis books. The other pound came from dividing up the postage. As you can see, they're read - some several times - but in very reasonable condition. And so I can recommend taking a look at Brian Ameringen's site (Porcupine Books Homepage) where you'll find his "Paperback Room" stuffed with books for quid. There's nothing particularly rare there (though I did get the Ransom trilogy for 6 quid) but there's bound to be something you're looking for.

Your story about your daughter's school library is shocking! Her schoolmates' loss and your gain I suppose (and the charity shop). I can (just about) understand getting rid of them but just dumping them? And not even recycling?
 
Matteo said:
And so I can recommend taking a look at Brian Ameringen's site (Porcupine Books Homepage) where you'll find his "Paperback Room" stuffed with books for quid.
Click to expand...

Oooooh Ta!

Matteo said:
Your story about your daughter's school library is shocking! Her schoolmates' loss and your gain I suppose (and the charity shop). I can (just about) understand getting rid of them but just dumping them? And not even recycling?
Click to expand...

I know. Sometimes the lack of joined up thinking when it comes to recycling is staggering. The school is proud (well whoever writes the newsletters we get) is proud of their Green Eco flag and yet they happily do dumb ass things like this.
 
JunkMonkey said:
Oooooh Ta!

I know. Sometimes the lack of joined up thinking when it comes to recycling is staggering. The school is proud (well whoever writes the newsletters we get) is proud of their Green Eco flag and yet they happily do dumb ass things like this.
Click to expand...

My pleasure.

And your second remark is priceless! Although...I've scanned through the link(s) and I don't actually see the word "recycling" - and there a LOT of words...!
 
Well I found a copy of 'How To Write' by Gertrude Stein.. and it is virtually unreadable. Wot a weird weird word-scramble it is. Really strange. I'm awed by the oddness of it. There were some rockstar bios too, but most of them got left out in the rain. *
 
Star Wars: Bloodline.

For some reason, i ended up with three copies. :(
 
I went to a library book sale and picked up a few things.

Classics:

Man and Superman (1903) by George Bernard Shaw. This edition includes not only the play, but a long introduction in the form of a letter to somebody named Arthur Bingham Walkley, as well as an appendix entitled "The Revolutionist's Handbook and Pocket Companion by John Tanner, M.I.R.C. (Member of the Idle Rich Class)." John Tanner is one of the characters in the play.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1945) by "R. A. Dick" (Josephine Aimee Campbell Leslie.) This is, of course, the source of the fine 1947 film, as well as the 1968-1970 sitcom.

Science Fiction:

A couple of novels: Vor by James Blish (1958)

Recalled to Life (1972 revision of the 1962 original) by Robert Silverberg. The author states in the preface that his famous award-winning novella "Born With the Dead" is "virtually its sequel."

A couple of single-author collections:

Beyond (1960) by Theodore Sturgeon.

Shards of Space (1962) by Robert Sheckley.

Half a dozen anthologies.
 
Isn't it great when you find bargains in books and come home loaded down and elated.
Happy days.
 
Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry 1925, just chucked next to a bin, it was, a big tome written by 32nd degree mason guys. It is bathroom reading now... Also some Archie comix digests...*
 
Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Mountain Shadow by Gregory David Roberts
The Traitor by Seth Dickinson
 
I just had a right result.

Iain Banks The Quarry, James Herbert's Ash and Peter F. Hamilton's Great North Road.

£1 each at the Brixton Pound shop. :)
 
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