Any book collectors here?

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mmcdonald64
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Any book collectors here?

Post by mmcdonald64 » May 20th, 2010, 7:33 pm

I have a good used bookstore just a stone's throw from my house and go in there when I can to browse. A few years ago I found a nice second printing of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. In researching it, I was disappointed that it wasn't a first printing, but found it had an interesting history nonetheless. It was printed during WWII, and even the publishing companies had to ration their paper, so they had reached their limit but still needed more copies of the book. To that end, they contracted with another publisher to finish printing, but those books had a completely different binding. So, I was able to tell that mine was from the original publisher because it's a green cover/binding.

Today, I was looking for something good I could give away as a contest prize on my blog. I found what could be an early, but not first edition of Tom Clancy's The Hunt For Red October. I've ruled it out as a first edition due to the dust jacket having eight blurbs on the back instead of six, but there's little information regarding how to decide if it has any value. I paid only a dollar for it, so no matter what, I got a bargain, but if it's only worth five bucks, it's kind of a lame prize. lol.

I also found Congo, by Michael Crichton. Inside it says, Copyright 1980, by Michael Crichton, but no other numbers or anything. And there's no dust jacket.

I can't complain though, because all told, I bought those two books, plus another hardcover, and three paper backs for a grand total of $5.38.

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Mira
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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by Mira » May 21st, 2010, 7:58 pm

This is cool hearing you talk about it.

I'm not a collector, but I appreciate the care that goes into book collecting. The hunting, the finding. I love to look at other people's collections. :)

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mmcdonald64
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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by mmcdonald64 » May 22nd, 2010, 6:45 pm

I'm not much of a collector. I only have the two I mentioned. I've thought it interesting though and growing up, my dad had a complete set of Mark Twain books he'd received from his father. The set didn't all come out at once, as they had different dates, but I'm thinking that the publishing company that printed them must have done a few volumes a year from about 1902-1910. Unfortunately, two of the books were ruined when our basement flooded.

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Bryan Russell/Ink
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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by Bryan Russell/Ink » May 23rd, 2010, 12:29 pm

Sort of. I had a used bookstore, and still sell from home. So I've come across lots of interesting stuff... but mostly to sell. I really like rare books, but I don't have a huge urge to collect them myself. Maybe I just need the money more. :) I love old books, but the ones I keep I usually do so because of the book itself, because of a connection as a reader rather than a collector. And I really love new, almost mint books. Sharp pages, tight binding, good paper...
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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by Harper Karcz » May 23rd, 2010, 3:10 pm

I collect, but somewhat halfheartedly because I don't have a lot of extra space in my house! Also, I'm well acquainted with my natural inclination to get obsessed with things, so as long as I keep my book collecting as sort of a side hobby, I can keep myself from getting fully immersed in it to the point of spending too much of my spare time (read: writing time) on eBay and in used bookstores.

I do have a few great finds, though. Some first printings of Philip Roth and John Cheever's more famous books, as well as first editions of *most* of John Updike's books, save for the elusive RABBIT, RUN. (It was selling on eBay for a couple grand *before* Updike's death. My best hope is running into a copy at a used bookstore or estate sale, maybe, but no luck so far.) When I got more interested in children's and YA lit a couple years ago, I started a collection of first printings of Printz Award winners, and I now have most of those. I also have some great copies of Newbery Award winners from the 70s onward.

My mother-in-law is ten times the collector I am, though, and she's looking to downsize her house and her collection sometime soon. The husband and I will likely be inheriting some Faulkner books and -- be still my heart -- a very early edition of THE CATCHER IN THE RYE. Gotta get a new bookshelf (or display case!) very soon.
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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by midenianscholar » June 28th, 2010, 10:29 am

I don't seriously collect, but I love old books and I have an 1800's version of Pride and Prejudice, which is my pride and joy.

There's a professor at my college who collects, but he has a funny way of treating his books. I barely touch my old ones for fear they will break apart. He brought in a 1800's illustrated Idylls of the King and was flipping through the pages to show us the pictures. One of the pages came out. I covered my mouth to suppress my gasp of horror. The professor went, "Oh." He shrugged, stuffed the page back in, and continued flipping through the book.

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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by EMC » July 8th, 2010, 5:46 pm

I'm not a collector per se, but I am a bibliophile. I can't help myself picking up books in charity shops - 'it's for chaar-iii-teee', therefore it's a GOOD DEED, and not at all cos I'm a book whore. I have restricted myself to only buying books I know I'll read again and again - mostly. Today's purchases were 'The Power of Now', 'The Time Traveler's Wife', because I LOVE that book, but don't get me started on her sequel, and 'The Death and Life of Charlie St.Cloud', just cos. (It was an aberration to my normally strict book buying policy.)

When I'm rich I shall buy books like there's no tomorrow. I nearly picked up a very old copy of J.D. Salinger short stories, but I didn't, although now I'm thinking I should have. Sigh. Back to the store tomorrow. :)

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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by Emily White » July 8th, 2010, 8:02 pm

Oh yes! I collect school books from the 19th century and earlier. I specifically like the science textbooks (of course the English school readers are fascinating, too). I have one collection that talks about life on Mars and how our telescopes have caught even the day to day doings of the Martians. They're very fun!
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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by Marla Warren » July 8th, 2010, 10:46 pm

I collect Michael Crichton's works. There are the books he wrote under pseudonyms, and the leather bound Franklin First Editions. But I'm also finding short stories and articles he published in magazines. Crichton published a short story in Playboy in 1968 under the name Jeffery Hudson, which is the pseudonym he used for the novel A Case of Need, published the same year.

My favorite place to find books is Ebay, because many sellers have no idea what they are selling. I got Crichton's very first novel--Odds On by John Lange--for an unbelievable price. Caveat vendor.

The best place to look for collectible books is http://www.abebooks.com The website has links to thousands of secondhand and rare book dealers. I've found things there that I've never been able to find anywhere else.
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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by Heather B » July 9th, 2010, 1:02 am

Although I'm dreaming of the day I'll have a spare 30,000 to buy a first edition Pride and Prejudice, I'm not a collector. The books I buy I either love the content or the covers. If a book has a good cover I'll buy it even if I never intend to read it.

Weird, yes. But I'm not the only one.
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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by sierramcconnell » September 1st, 2010, 3:49 pm

I used to collect books but I ran out of room and felt sad about all the books that didn't have anyone to love them. So I gave a lot away to the library so they could be used and have friends. (Yes, I'm a sap.)

So now I have books that I like. Artbooks. Angel books (I LOVE ANGEL RESEARCH and FICTION.). Books on wild things such as what to eat in the wild, animals, wolves, and spiders. Books on Victorian things, Victorian fashion, and Steam Trains (WHOO~!). Books on random things for my book, such as drinks (for the bartenders), how to play poker, gardening, decks, and etc. I also have some Graphic Novels left over from when I was a manga fan, but that's fallen off over time.

Ooh, ooh, we should have pictures. It would be grand.

I also have a journal fettish. I LOVE JOURNALS. (And pajamas, but this is just about books. Now if I could find Pjams with books on them, dear God I'd be in Heaven...)

I also have a lot of mini-books for the ABJD family. They love to read, as well. XD (Dolls have to be literate, too!)
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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by rose » September 2nd, 2010, 11:44 am

I loved The Bookman series by John Dunning, which uses the profession of book collecting as the background for each mystery and I would be a serious collector, if only I had the room, the money, the time. My best find: a book of poetry by Edna St. Vicent Millay that was, judging from the signature inside the front cover, once owned by Vachel Lindsay.

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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by One of the Mad Ones » September 9th, 2010, 8:43 pm

I'm not a collector in the sense that I hunt down rare books, but I am definitely the kind of reader who has to own what I read, so my library is ever-growing. I had a nice surprise when I purchased copy of Carole Maso's GHOST DANCE from Powell's online - not only was it in perfect condition for $4, but it was also signed by her! She has become my favorite writer in the past year, so this was a huge deal to me.

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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by Jenemb » September 18th, 2010, 2:45 am

Somehow I've started a collection of old medical books. I have no interest in medicine particularly, I just love the look of them- the typeset, pictures, and binding. My favourites are "British Pharmacopoeia 1932", which tells you how to make a tincture of laudanum, "The Book of Nature" from about 1912 with helpful advice to newlyweds about marital relations - including advice to the girls that you might not like it but you have to put up with it - and "Embalming, Theoretical and Practical" which I love for the title alone.

I'm fairly specific about the sort of medical books I'll collect - the more bizarre and outdated the information, the more I want it.

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Re: Any book collectors here?

Post by Down the well » September 19th, 2010, 5:25 pm

Jenemb wrote:Somehow I've started a collection of old medical books. I have no interest in medicine particularly, I just love the look of them- the typeset, pictures, and binding. My favourites are "British Pharmacopoeia 1932", which tells you how to make a tincture of laudanum, "The Book of Nature" from about 1912 with helpful advice to newlyweds about marital relations - including advice to the girls that you might not like it but you have to put up with it - and "Embalming, Theoretical and Practical" which I love for the title alone.
Those books sound fascinating to me. What fabulous research material! I would have bought them too.

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