tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42634186446340209922024-03-13T00:38:13.967-07:00Book*gasmMy obsession with books is herein pronounced. In addition to seeking and collecting books; I also publish, write, alter, blog about, and occasionally pulp them as well. Fortunately, my wife is terribly understanding. Thanks Katystevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-53768500918450586042016-01-04T16:48:00.001-08:002016-01-04T16:49:12.613-08:00a book I wish I owned<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdgegHl9CqJOEUa2P1zUbGWDg93-bhwzzFzEJoZhOhOqDgoRtbUEA0Q9QBWBQlNgZZVktlZ9_v7tv6S6fNchEuDjIysfZsD7DRSWvUM6cREH5p9GFcBCtc5ZhvuQcaNvovThHUOUXnf3E/s1600/tin+book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsdgegHl9CqJOEUa2P1zUbGWDg93-bhwzzFzEJoZhOhOqDgoRtbUEA0Q9QBWBQlNgZZVktlZ9_v7tv6S6fNchEuDjIysfZsD7DRSWvUM6cREH5p9GFcBCtc5ZhvuQcaNvovThHUOUXnf3E/s400/tin+book.jpg" /></a></div>stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-29054196558710515002015-08-07T06:06:00.001-07:002015-08-07T06:09:13.813-07:00Beat Museum, San Francisco, CaliforniaI have had the pleasure of being able to supply <a href="http://www.kerouac.com">The Beat Museum</a> in San Francisco with a number of Beat Generation items over the years. Recently the bought some rare postcards from me as well as books by the subjects of the postcards: Burroughs, Ginsberg, Creeley. I am glad to have been able to continue to their ever-growing collection. stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-33738720018423899782015-08-07T05:54:00.001-07:002015-08-07T05:54:21.629-07:00instantly reclutteredmy life is far from empty. my book*gasm continues to expand and overtake my office. It's almost not fair. But it certainly is consistent with my heavy book intake. Many more come in than go out. Troubling in its accumulative nature. Oi vey!stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-56599819734655307322015-04-09T15:47:00.000-07:002015-04-09T15:47:46.460-07:00i have an office<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76ucAlTjkI8V9RFUZuF5bv-uwnqPSZgUMvAmwqqMI_00qf_z12E27_-L4982-kWYB7dgQfpATvN9XPh42Jb0PyhfmDPeitBrVi7L8c4vil9kCko40LVZT-iovyqBItyvAhwH7qotle3d9/s1600/IMG_3726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76ucAlTjkI8V9RFUZuF5bv-uwnqPSZgUMvAmwqqMI_00qf_z12E27_-L4982-kWYB7dgQfpATvN9XPh42Jb0PyhfmDPeitBrVi7L8c4vil9kCko40LVZT-iovyqBItyvAhwH7qotle3d9/s320/IMG_3726.jpg" /></a></div>
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As of mid-December 2014, I have an office. The office used to be the right half of what used to be the front porch at the house we moved into in Sept. 2009 and bought from the owner in Sept. 2013. It was one of my wife's first BIG projects. The other half of what used to be the front porch is now our "mudroom". This half, my half, is my work space and book shelving unit and (vain) attempt of creating order out of chaos in my life. An attempt to reduce my "little pieces of paper" problem. It's working, to a degree, but it isn't like a witch with a broom sweeps through and unclutters the place - or my brain. It's in incremental stages.<br>
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I have for a number of years used our living space to build a library and conduct a small book selling operation which did, in 4 brief years, help me to pay off my Masters Degree student loans from George Mason University. That's sayin' sumtin'. <br>
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I learned alot along the way. About authors, publishers, Presses, illustrators, etc. That process continues even as my attention from this blog obviously has verged elsewhere. I will talk about my various finds and sales soon. stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-51576790585508907542015-04-09T15:28:00.002-07:002015-04-09T15:28:53.655-07:00chopped<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidEuPNm2SA8fY7v12av-8vpsiDRjczkuXTes0mf1OGI3skZTB9GwU7xCSvbfo1rr7B6Jy79TC2M60__wxRSwlFm5n2AP6QkmXK2ZnRnVSYJU9mWhmfR40bILsP52Ecw3altqSeFbCMlIXW/s1600/IMG_1967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidEuPNm2SA8fY7v12av-8vpsiDRjczkuXTes0mf1OGI3skZTB9GwU7xCSvbfo1rr7B6Jy79TC2M60__wxRSwlFm5n2AP6QkmXK2ZnRnVSYJU9mWhmfR40bILsP52Ecw3altqSeFbCMlIXW/s320/IMG_1967.JPG" /></a></div>stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-16731341185168433102014-12-19T15:17:00.002-08:002014-12-19T15:17:18.480-08:00and then I have something else to write about<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGppKXSnne8WSAffgfnfbhZCOzS3Htt2VDhOmpCk31ntIX6pbcRtgEXsN5s-j3o8Bd9rATGq0Jtou-JISxS50jQRRv-l2ZnW8H3XTp-8P42TCXIumkdimDrJWt0aFfPD8HvdozvC0GN7z/s1600/IMG_3642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGppKXSnne8WSAffgfnfbhZCOzS3Htt2VDhOmpCk31ntIX6pbcRtgEXsN5s-j3o8Bd9rATGq0Jtou-JISxS50jQRRv-l2ZnW8H3XTp-8P42TCXIumkdimDrJWt0aFfPD8HvdozvC0GN7z/s400/IMG_3642.JPG" /></a></div><br>
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We bought this place in Sept. 2013 after living in it as a rental since Sept. 2009 - the whole time we were renting it my wife and I would have conversations about "if we would ever own this place, we would..." Well, after putting a stairwell up into the attic and finishing that space, we tackled our front porch which my wife always to enclose and use the room as a mudroom/an office for me. We started that project in Nov. 2014 and it was finished yesterday. I have begun to take ownership of the space. 7 book shelves, my desk, computers, printers and scanners. Wires and cords and stacks of little pieces of paper AND hundreds and hundreds of books. <br>
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wowstevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-76897448273839344292013-02-08T13:33:00.002-08:002013-02-08T13:33:14.920-08:00great quote“ It’s it strange what happens with old books? They choose you. They reach out to their buyers – Hello, here I am, take me with you. It’s as if they were alive.”
From The Nautical Chart by Arturo Perez-Reverte
Page 53
stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-30609794431223145102013-01-02T10:33:00.001-08:002013-01-02T10:34:22.652-08:00Some books should be electronic, I supposecase in point : <u>Small-Town Restaurants in Virginia</u><br>
Joanne M. Anderson<br>
John F. Blair, Publisher<br>
Winston-Salem, NC<br>
(c)1998<br>
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So, I found this book, in its 3rd printing (2000) and I pondered whether the concept of this book should have been a book at all but the Internet in 1998 hadn't developed nor had people's lateral thinking hadn't developed in such a way to have conceived of doing this interesting idea as a hyper-text. If it were to be re-made nowadays, it should not be printed as a book but as an updatable text. I wonder how many of the restaurants listed in this book are still in operation 13 years later. How many have the same chefs? How have they been reviewed (or flamed?)<br>
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In a case like this, I can see it existing as a "text", ie. e-book.<br>
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As for the book here - it's not here, I pulped it. It's gone.<br>
stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-83646785863888023262012-11-15T11:15:00.000-08:002012-11-15T11:22:02.086-08:00seldom is the daySeldom is the day that I go into a space that sells used books and I can find a copy of <u>On the Road</u> and <u>Howl</u> on the same shelving but it happened today. I also found, for a buck, a 1951 Ben Shahn chapbook of <i>A Partridge in a Pear Tree</i> printed by the Museum of Modern Art. It's too nice to give to my little Tasmanian Devils. I will keep it for myself.<br>
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I was on Youtube today, casually looking over their videos on book scouting and it was slim pickings. One person dismisses using a smartphone to check value of book, another praises them. Are these people aiming their presentations toward rookies? Are they gearing their videos toward clueless fucks who don't actually READ books but are only in it for the money? I was not sure. <br>
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I am sure that I won't be checking out those videos anytime soon.<br>
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Look - I will say the same thing about getting into the world of used books that I told my sons about drug use: it's not for everyone. Not everyone can handle it.<br>
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I am interested in the hunt. I know enough to know that I don't really know enough. Always more Presses to learn about, more authors to research. More titles to find. More sets to complete. Or realize when it's time to cut bait. Start a fresh collection. Discover a forgotten author. A uncollected Press.<br>
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There is always more to learn and to know. The adventure is half the goal.<br>
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The other half is finding places for your little treasures. I am not a hoarder, if I were, well, I would have nothing but Ex-wives. I have a great wife and she is very supportive of my "gentle madness". She does challenge me to cleanse (my shelves) and I am willing to do that from time to time. If the price is right. I can always fill the open space with new treasures, right?<br>
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And now, we are approaching the end of the year - the perfect time to unload.<br>
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Still, it's been a good day so far. Nice pick up. I can replace a 1970 23rd printing of <u>Howl and other poems</u> with a 1959 8th printing. Staple-bound copy at that!
stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-17705032942085330862012-08-30T12:53:00.000-07:002012-08-30T12:53:53.643-07:00the man with bad Steins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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He collected Steins because she said she was a genius. He repeated himself in action as she repeated herself in words. But he grew tired of her repetitions of brilliance and her near surface existence, and one day realized all the books he had of her were defective and not great. The condition of the books reflected the condition of his thoughts of her. He did not think of her brilliance or her genius, but of the lack of money he would ever make from the bad copies of her books he now had.<br>
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Shortly afterwards he began to feel better about himself and his own otherwise repetitions of book buying and selling, once, that is, that he left the stack of bad Steins in the alleyway three streets over in the middle of a night when he was "out for a stroll". He donated them to the world, and the world accepted the donation because <i>the world is round</i> and that was the only title by Stein which ever did anything for him.
stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-3913803294934191942012-08-05T17:27:00.001-07:002012-08-05T17:27:30.516-07:00ghost in an old paperback<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I don't remember where I first learned of Alfred Bester, but somewhere along the line, I did. I found <i><u>The Stars My Destination</u></i> about the same time I was reading another of his better known books, <u><i>The Demolished Man</i></u>. Unappreciated, but there is a strong percentage of the books that I read which are by unknown or unappreciated. Under appreciated. Under read. <br>
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My copy of <u><i>The Stars My Destination</i></u> is a 1957 first. But it's now much beaten, brown-pages, falling apart as I read it. When I finish it, I will be purging it. There won't be anything left. If a book has a piece of the soul of its author in it, am I killing him by recycling his book?<br>
<br>stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-19683797127126839972012-06-21T04:41:00.002-07:002012-06-21T04:41:22.647-07:00no name poets on ebayI love it how on Ebay people post chapbooks of poetry by unknown or regional poets at prices greater than books by well known and established poets. As if no names are better or more valuable, or everyone knows who these people are.<br>
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humorousstevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-41268994573357125962012-06-16T10:43:00.000-07:002012-06-21T04:38:56.023-07:00changeable mind"last yesterday" as my 4 year old son would say, I went to a local library intent on finding a specific book in their "valuable" book room ($2.00 per book instead of .50 per book) and I looked down and on the bottom shelf, obscured by other books, I saw a book - picked it up and there in my hands were a first paperback edition of Tokyo-Montana Express by Richard Brautigan which I gladly paid for with the goal of tripling my money - at least. <br>
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Then, Katy May read me a section she liked, and I really liked it as well. So, this morning I took it off of my Amazon listed books and put it in my living room bookcase for further reading. <br>
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Brautigan was under-appreciated during his lifetime.<br>
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I ping-pong on Brautigan, changing my opinion of him almost routinely. I collect him, purge him, collect him again. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0ouUI4-VBhPDFFG5zzYvNEkdMS4DF7BFEL2YAe041WH4IhdOXSa4ZB25vpatQS2uSOtAvbYjVttZA_zXC0Yf7wnOPu1htE_eFQ2pd6fZpyC1ISOLcE-cK85mUV8Q63megbhK_a-kW7Cj/s1600/tokyomontana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0ouUI4-VBhPDFFG5zzYvNEkdMS4DF7BFEL2YAe041WH4IhdOXSa4ZB25vpatQS2uSOtAvbYjVttZA_zXC0Yf7wnOPu1htE_eFQ2pd6fZpyC1ISOLcE-cK85mUV8Q63megbhK_a-kW7Cj/s200/tokyomontana.jpg" /></a>
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I am going to have to read more of his work. That's what it comes down to.stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-69554184187124473132012-06-08T06:33:00.001-07:002012-06-08T06:33:06.899-07:00dreams and realitiesIn my dreams now I am scouting for books. I dreamt last night of being in Portland, Maine or rather going <i>to</i> Portland, Maine and looking for books at flea markets, used goods stores, second-hand shops. In the dream, I wasn't finding anything special but - I was looking. I also had to hurry since I had to fly to Seattle later in the day and look there for books as well. <br>
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In my waking life, books are keyboard clicks away. Easy to find, too easy. Of course, half of the search - the physical search is the handling of a book. The thrill of discovery. The validation of a decent sale. Like when I found a copy of a local history book in Pennsylvania that was signed by both authors, and to have it sell for over $100.00. That's cool. That's why I do it. Rescuing unwanted books and finding better homes for them. Like place orphans into good homes. Similar in a way.<br>
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The down side of electronic pursuits is when a book, say <u>Minutes to Go</u> by Burroughs, Corso, Gysin, and Beiles comes from across the pond (England) and there's a note written on the inside front cover saying that this is not the copy I want. I want the hard-bound version from 1957(1959?) and not this Beach Books paperback edition with flimsy cover. Shucks! Is that true? Is the very rare hard-bound first edition that much better? I am glad to have any copy of this book. It's an important document in the history of "cut-up". For that alone, it's worth having - but is this copy really that inferior? Would it have made a difference if I had handled the book before buying it? The book has a provenance, it's an association copy. Did someone warn Michael Butterworth that he had the wrong copy? The note goes on to suggest a different book. The note, I failed to mention, was on the inside front of the book.<br>
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stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-30152271158014762662012-05-08T15:01:00.000-07:002012-05-08T17:34:17.838-07:00The Straight PurgeI go from extreme to extreme, bingeing and purging with books instead of food, putting on weight and then peeling it off by unloading a bunch of old HBs. To no avail, really. I feel about the same once the rush of purchase or purging is over. I mean, sometimes I feel good about an odd book that sells for a good deal of money but my house doesn't add or subtract rooms just to suit my mood of the moment. It's just as well. I disgorge books almost as quickly as I acquire them. <br>
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Mao's little red book, for instance. Why get this? It was printed in Communist China in 1971. It wasn't signed by Mao (that would have been too cool). Unlike Vietnam, a country that the US fought a war with, China, while being a global power from its beginnings, is less of a draw at the moment. I felt that the market for stuff from the 1960s was strong, there was a lot of interest, but it's selective. China isn't really hot - or Mao isn't - or this book isn't. But I guessed, and guessed wrong.<br>
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If I owned a bookstore, I could fudge my bad guesses with plenty of good ones, but being a book scout doesn't offer me the advantages of hoarding (for some future day when everyone comes crashing through my walls with money galore, wanting everything I own). A bookstore owner is a slave to his/her location. I resist that sort of restriction. It goes with the territory. <br>
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I like my freedom to NOT do it as much as the having the freedom to drive 3 hours to go booking in a town in a different state. But so much freedom can be too much freedom, undirected "freedom" can be maddening. And of course, one man's treasure is another man's <i>junk</i>stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-35594568533101519542012-03-24T17:48:00.002-07:002012-06-08T06:11:57.369-07:00used booksale at local libraryI went<br />I looked<br />I came home empty-handed<br /><br /><br />Yes, it's true. How is this possible? Well, even the "good" books were average. Nothing there was remarkable or especially valuable. I was fairly familiar with the stock of books there as I volunteer at this very library and have handled most of what I saw. I didn't need to get any more books, so I didn't get any more books. <br /><br />that's how it's possible. I hit a brick wall. I saved my fifty cents for another day. <br /><br />I am as shocked as you are, but that's how it is now. I have peaked. Leveled out. Of course, I got home and there was a sale to deal with. A book I got from one of the "freebie" book sites, Bookmooch - PaperbackBookswap - etc., sold on a different site (Amazon). So, that was a nice little +/+ moment. Patti Smith <U>Early Works 1970-1979</u>. I don't collect Patti Smith, per se, but I do have some of her earlier stuff. Chapbooks. Limited runs. Philly-connections. <br /><br />A handful of years ago, I went to a similar booksale in a nearly library and rationalized that since I was there I should get something. Because I am in this library twice a week volunteering my time and effort already, I didn't feel the same twinge of guilt or remorse or civic duty. I basically wanted to see the booksale in action and it was pretty pitiful. It's a good thing that none of the <i>other</i> volunteers recognized me. I was there stealth and I left without notice. <br /><br />Another day, another sale. Nothing new in. Not bad at all.stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-66733191898778057082012-02-28T06:35:00.004-08:002012-11-15T11:00:26.750-08:00a book I have re-readokay, okay; yes, it's true. I have re-read some books. In this case, I have to admit that I have a soft spot of <u>Possession</u> by A. S. Byatt. In fact, I am re-reading it right now. 5th or 6th time, already. Why? Well, it isn't the romance aspect to it even though I am a hopeless romantic. It's the element of discovery. The way in which the <i>discoveries</i> present themselves and are dealt with. The level of excitement involved in the chase, the search, the journey. Both internally (within the characters) and externally (within the material being pursued and the relevance being uncovered - revealed)<br /><br />When I first read this novel I was already well on my own way of finding interesting books with peculiar markers, or postcards, or letters left in them. I not only could visualize these events happening in real life but to some extent, had already experienced them in my own. More often than not, I made no attempt to follow up on the inscriptions or names on my piece of paper, nor call any left-behind telephone number (the ones without area codes were most amusing). Unless the book was signed by a famous person, contained details of that person's life; for example, when I found the small trove of books from Norman H Pritchard's personal library. All signed by him. His copies of text books or books he had read (and left notes in). Often I find threads of research that I don't wish to follow, not that they won't lead anywhere but I don't want to invest any time or energy in the trail myself. But then whom? I am the one with the appropriate copy, with the unique inscription, with the knowledge of a particular providence. <br /><br />Is that enough? Who would care? Some grad student who is working on their dissertation on a related or perhaps near identical topic; yes, absolutely. What are the chances of that? I don't want to guess. It's not my purpose. Or maybe that is why I keep looking, collecting, and investigating as I do. Maybe it is in part my purpose. <br /><br />That is certainly why I keep re-reading <u>Possession</u>. There is something in the story that intrigues me. The layers of discovery and the meanings UNcovered. I am hooked. While I enjoy the "bibliomysteries" of John Dunning's Cliff Janeway series, they are primarily detective novels. <u>Possession</u> is something else. It's more akin to Arturo Perez-Reverte's <u>The Club Dumas</u>. The thing surrounding it all is called A BOOK. The whole thing is called "a book". Writing, printing, publishing, binding, selling, re-selling, trading, archiving and/or pulping. The life cycle of a book is the life cycle of human existence as well. Books are human creations. Written by and for humans. They explain our condition and situation on this spinning marble. They comfort and amaze us, they terrify and cause us to burn them - over the endless course of time. But we continue to write and publish, and some of us continue to collect copies of them. That has to mean something. And, of course, it does.stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-82931111087739826322012-02-12T14:48:00.001-08:002012-02-28T06:35:26.782-08:00The Collapse of Work by Clive Jenkins & Barrie Sherman<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQvJlYsS76599PKoBnEBoeMlpnQ5SiGu_UEOUN2oa537AbOKvjI96J88DUOSx2e4EMEWEvBd0qalNtmOOhNx7v9G4RlwaqXM5vited93gRke_2f76wctats2b74CitlB5LT5-tirqquPD/s1600/Jenkins+Sherman.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 202px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQvJlYsS76599PKoBnEBoeMlpnQ5SiGu_UEOUN2oa537AbOKvjI96J88DUOSx2e4EMEWEvBd0qalNtmOOhNx7v9G4RlwaqXM5vited93gRke_2f76wctats2b74CitlB5LT5-tirqquPD/s320/Jenkins+Sherman.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708385084416132882" /></a><br /><br />Sometimes it is the providence of a book that is the remarkable (or notorious) element of it. In this case, the copy of <u>The Collapse of Work</u> by Clive Jenkins and Barrie Sherman (1979) was inscribed and signed by Mr. Jenkins to a "Congressman Frank Thompson". I wondered about this Congressman, and did a Wiki-search for him and yep, he existed : BAM! Abscam! A crooked Congressman. Well, shucks <br /><br />That happened in 1980 so this book likely reached him in 1979 when the book was released (by Eyre Methuen, printed in Great Britain in 1979) So, EX-Congressman Thompson served 3 years in Federal prison and then <i>retired</i> to live out his life in Alexandria, VA. Interesting, that's where I found this copy. In the library donation bin. <br /><br />If this Congressman had not left office in disgrace, perhaps this book would be worth something. As it is, the title of the book is a bit ironic: He was part of the group of Congressmen who had a funny idea of what constituted "work".stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-18491471268528734262012-02-10T07:10:00.001-08:002012-02-10T07:23:34.662-08:00maybe my specialty is "the quirk"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiutYN53BJ4DYCPMl75vXG0S5i6K5GNcqAZd7icUu8nXDCyldOHyFUsDM1cvt6ax4DTw2NUL_i_M_EpIpSj0CSVgS9jIpKDMfWFj333NvwXnMS-7aHEjFMxhlITX4_nXkH-VClBYRMmBzHg/s1600/rockabilly.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 209px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiutYN53BJ4DYCPMl75vXG0S5i6K5GNcqAZd7icUu8nXDCyldOHyFUsDM1cvt6ax4DTw2NUL_i_M_EpIpSj0CSVgS9jIpKDMfWFj333NvwXnMS-7aHEjFMxhlITX4_nXkH-VClBYRMmBzHg/s320/rockabilly.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707525163653549634" /></a><br />maybe when it comes down to it that despite my interest areas what I am really good at is what I call "the quirk" : the bizarre, unusual, weird, definitely <i>out-of-the-main-stream</i> items. Like <u>What it was was Rockabilly</u> which I found at the local library. I sold it to a University collection for $28.95. <br /><br />I don't remember libraries selling books so OUTRIGHT in their buildings but maybe they always have. At the least, it has evolved from semi-annual book sales at libraries to "on-going" sales. I don't recall seeing the change, but it definitely has occurred. Quirky books like this one are nothing like the norm; they are eye catching for people like me who is out there scouting for "the other". <br /><br />I recently went to a Thrift store that wrote the price of each book on the spine in China marker. Ugh. I left without purchasing a single thing. No thank you.stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-8992442347441324322012-02-08T08:32:00.000-08:002012-02-08T08:39:25.419-08:00frustrated journeys<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5JtYGCN-B2FCNJC90Bb6PXe4boblfHXb6ijIPEu367Sd65IcQWuU0Lm0UZRQk5hYR98aNiZ0NVnOxo5OSBzNX9-gQ_6y3y4XL4Dbcrtv1fSLzCIXxxbOsSXkqrTagmZ6OGV8u3A7TBhF/s1600/constance+smith.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5JtYGCN-B2FCNJC90Bb6PXe4boblfHXb6ijIPEu367Sd65IcQWuU0Lm0UZRQk5hYR98aNiZ0NVnOxo5OSBzNX9-gQ_6y3y4XL4Dbcrtv1fSLzCIXxxbOsSXkqrTagmZ6OGV8u3A7TBhF/s320/constance+smith.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706805204402264162" /></a><br />I go to used bookstores, libraries, thrift shops, etc. <br /><br />I can not find any Beat Books or Brautigan, or Hunter S Thompson. It's frustrating as hell. I envision these moments of discovery as though they were episodes of some reality TV show about book scouts (ha ha ha) and the reality never matches the fantasy. I do, however, find rare WWII books like <u>Evidence in Camera</u> published in Great Britain in 1958 and signed by the author. And I sell it for $48.00. That fantasy makes for a nice reality. <br /><br />But I thrive on the what seems to be very elusive stuff. I don't care a spit for most of the books out there (and seemingly neither does anyone else, which is why there are so many copies of them out there) <br /><br />Someday! SOMEDAY!stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-69936472039306957112012-02-05T08:02:00.001-08:002012-02-05T08:02:45.046-08:00when one loves books<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4oCsxi_JGmt6h7F8ykm0Y0c5Yi-uAV71hIiCus7SW00hXKntiV50rbpGeHLP-Eale6LFRKBtiZk3BaqCNZKJHdsQ0P9-pxMgYVXiwUjyz12H-i8YqXmMuoshcFTfr0q8CHr4z_hl3IT-U/s1600/love-books.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 249px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4oCsxi_JGmt6h7F8ykm0Y0c5Yi-uAV71hIiCus7SW00hXKntiV50rbpGeHLP-Eale6LFRKBtiZk3BaqCNZKJHdsQ0P9-pxMgYVXiwUjyz12H-i8YqXmMuoshcFTfr0q8CHr4z_hl3IT-U/s400/love-books.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705682611987889938" /></a>stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-24344006911386959542011-09-28T06:24:00.000-07:002011-09-28T06:44:23.519-07:00A mountain of booksA mountain of books fell on me. Not literary, thankfully. But it certainly feels like that's what happened. One minute, it seemed, I was going with the flow and the next I have hundreds more books in my house and not many are leaving. WTF!!!! Okay, I found a few new place to dig for books. Not telling where until I am done mining them myself but they are close-by and untapped. I actually found a Hunter S Thompson book at one of the places! At the other place I found an ARC of JOHN KEROUAC's first novel. That's worth some loot!<br /><br />At the same time, I feel a bond with every small press and unknown publisher out there who made great books that no one has ever heard of or read. The marketplace that is American can be a cruel bitch, heartless and downright cold. Audiences are fickle and uneducated. Writers are decades or centuries ahead of their "fans", if they are lucky to have fans. <br /><br />And so it goes. A book runner, a scout, doesn't have the luxury of sentiment though. He looks for a book that will pay for his rent or his addiction. My addiction is the hunt, the moment of discovery, the pursuit. I don't NEED books. I desire them though. Greatly desire them. On days when it's raining though, I linger inside and climb my mountains. Reaching the peaks, I wonder how much higher I can build them!stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-42230738377416072962011-09-27T06:27:00.000-07:002011-09-27T06:28:28.768-07:00i sent my fictional accounts elsewhereOrange Backpack<br />OBstevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-57564558590063875552011-08-25T06:16:00.000-07:002011-08-25T06:29:35.009-07:00to my humbly captive audienceover the past few years I have been bubbling an idea around in my head to write about an individual who was a book scout (married and stay-at-home dad) who makes some particularly foolish decisions that lead him and his family into harms way. International intrigue, spy networks, that sort of rot.
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<br />i wanted to figure out if having an using a real blog in a fictional enterprise is kosher. It seems to be so -
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<br />we are on.
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<br />My own "book fetish" as it were was only unleashed in 2001 when I spent the summer working at a recycling center outside of Philadelphia a few days a week. I was paid very minimally - except that I was also allowed to take donated books as part of my "pay". I gained a lot of weight that summer. No, I didn't get fat but the farmhouse where I was living at the time began to fill up with books. A lot of books. Dozens at a time. Paperbacks, mostly. The classics and oddballs. I was amazed what people dumped at the Center. Books that Auntie Em or Ralphie Boy had their closets, or attics, or basements -
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<br />I watched in horror as others at the Center ripped off the covers of Hard Bounds and toss the pages in with old newspaper for pulping. It was like they were killing defenseless animals. Of course, some of the books were mildewed, soiled, highlighted, water logged. BUT STILL! On principle alone I started to "save" books. I vowed to find homes for them somewhere. Used bookstores. Then a few years later, online. stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263418644634020992.post-57256274230010783652011-08-19T07:00:00.000-07:002011-08-19T07:02:37.917-07:00the reason I asked.......is because I am working on a novel with some real-world elements in it and I wanted some idea of how do prepare for the possibility that people reading the novel would then click onto the real sites and blogs
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<br />would it generate interest in things that I (or the main character) find interesting?stevenallenmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14932125917162881440noreply@blogger.com0