Rob Imes
10-23-2005, 04:12 PM
There's an annual used-book sale that happens in a mall in my area every year. I've been going to it -- when I remember to go -- for the past 20 years and have managed to nab some enjoyable (and occasionally awesome) books there each time. My favorite story about the place is the time, ten years ago, they were selling 1940s issues of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine for 25 cents each.
The book sale is spread over a few days, and today happened to be the final day of this year's sale. If I hadn't happened to glimpse a mention of the sale on the mall's billboard, when passing by the place last night, I would have missed this year's. I looked on the web and a description of the sale indicated that the paperbacks would be a dollar each and hardcovers two dollars, but I figured that the last day of the sale would have lower prices.
I'd come prepared with a list of the "Nick Carter, Killmaster" novels that I don't have, but I only saw one Nick Carter novel and it was one I already had. I had started at the "Mysteries" table and was just looking at the spines of the books, picking one up if it looked interesting, checking the condition (I've become a little picky about that lately -- I'd rather wait and buy a book once in nice condition instead of buying it multiple times in ever-increasingly better condition), and putting the book back. I didn't want to build a stack yet without knowing the prices first.
So, I asked someone, and they told me that the price was $5 per brown paper shopping bag. Put as many books as you wanted in a shopping bag, and the total price would be 5 bucks. So, I got myself one of the brown shopping bags that were stacked on a table for this purpose and started to fill 'er up, quickly trying to find again some of the books that I had just put back. About a half hour later, or maybe less, the lady told me that the price per shopping bag was now only $3. (Well, $3.15 if you count the tax.)
As you may have guessed, I am now at home with a big bag of books to have to go through, which only cost me 3 bucks for the lot. Let's see what I got in my buying frenzy...
By the way, I think I organzied my bag well. I put a hardcover book at the very bottom of the bag for support. It was just the right size to fill the bottom up and act as a base. (As I write this, not having gone through the bag yet, I forget what the book was. It may have been one by James Thurber that I remember getting.) Then I put the paperbacks on top of this hardcover. Two paperbacks side by side were the same size as this one hardcover by itself. So, this made for two gradually-growing rows of paperback books in my bag, with the occasional hardcover added, until it reached near the top of the bag. I'm surprised that the bag didn't break.
OK, so here's the books I got:
PAPERBACKS:
THE ABC MURDERS by Agatha Christie (Pocket Books, 1977)
(1936 Hercule Poirot mystery)
AGATHA by Kathleen Tynan (Ballantine, 1979)
Book based on Agatha Christie's real-life disappearance in 1926, also made into a movie. (Or, "Now a Major Motion Picture," as the back cover says.)
BREACH OF FAITH: The Fall of Richard Nixon by Theodore White (Dell, 1976)
This is actually my 2nd copy of this book. I had bought and started reading another copy many years ago, but I ended up bending the pages back too much and the book fell apart on me. All these years I've been trying to keep the pages together, but now I can just pitch the old one and replace it on my shelf with this one. Theodore White is the author of the "Making of the President" series of books. I think he stopped doing that series after the 1972 book and did this book about Watergate instead.
A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (Bantam, 1988)
Originally published in 1959. I have a radio dramatization of this somewhere, so that's why I bought this.
THE CITY OF LIBERTINES: A Novel of Ancient Rome by W. G. Hardy (Popular Library, 1958)
Got it for the painted cover and the nice thick old-time historical look to it.
THE CONFESSION & SIGHT UNSEEN by Mary Roberts Rinehart (Dell, 1975)
Two novellas, originally dated 1921. Minor cover damage.
THE COSSACKS / HAPPILY EVER AFTER / THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYICH by Leo Tolstoy (Penguin Classics, 1987) Three stories.
CROWS CAN'T COUNT by Erle Stanley Gardner ("writing under the name of A. A. Fair") (Dell, 1966) (originally published in 1946)
DEATH ON THE DOUBLE by Henry Kane (Signet, 1965)
Book says it's a first printing, but the copyright says 1957.
Got it because it says it's a "Peter Chambers Mystery." Peter Chambers had his own old radio drama (click here (http://www.otrcat.com/crimeandpeterchambers.htm) for more on that), so I knew the name of the character but hadn't seen the books before. Oddly enough, I had gotten another Peter Chambers novel in the mail yesterday when an eBay auction I won of Nick Carter novels happened to include a Peter Chambers novel as a freebie.
DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA by Alexis de Tocqueville (New American Library, 1960s?)
DEVIL'S HARVEST by Frank G. Slaughter ("Permabook" 1st printing, Feb 1964)
The original Doubleday version was published the year before. "Permabook" must have been their paperback book division. The shape and format looks just like the Dells of the period. Which is why I got it, great old 1960s-looking paperback.
FARO'S DAUGHTER by Georgette Heyer (Bantam, 1968)
Copyright 1941-42. Looks like an old Victorian romance story based on the cover.
THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON by H. G. Wells (Lancer, 1968)
First published in 1901. I have a BBC radio drama of this story. I'm currently reading another Wells novel, The Island of Dr Moreau.
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES / BUT GENTLEMEN MARRY BRUNETTES by Anita Loos (Vintage Books, 1983)
Contains the two 1920s novels.
HAZEL by Ted Key (Bantam Books, 5th printing, circa late 1950s)
Reprints of panel gags about the maid (later a TV series) from the Saturday Evening Post 1943-46.
THE LITERATURE OF THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE 1485-1660 edited by Hardin Craig (Collier Books, 1962) (orig. published 1950)
It's an analysis of the works, not the works themselves.
THE MAKING OF KUBRICK'S 2001 (Signet, 1970; 4th printing)
Edited by Jerome Agel, who also produced the Carl Sagan book listed a little bit below. Surprisingly thick book, with a "96-Page Photo Insert" (like the cover says). "2001" is one of my top 5 all-time favorite movies, so I was glad to get this.
MOONRAKER by Ian Fleming (Signet, 9th printing, Sept 1963)
A little beat up but passable.
THE MURDERER INVISIBLE by Philip Wylie (Popular Library, 1959?)
Originally published in January 1931. Looks like people in our dimension are attacked by some invisible man from the fourth dimension. By the author of "Gladiator" which helped inspire Superman.
OTHER WORLDS by Carl Sagan (Bantam, 1975)
A heavily-illustrated book about outer space.
PUDD'NHEAD WILSON by Mark Twain (Bantam Classic, 1981) Introduction by Langston Hughes.
THE RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: Early detective stories collected and edited by Hugh Greene (Penguin Books, 1971)
This book looks fascinating, reprinting old detective stories from the turn of the century.
THE TIGHT WHITE COLLAR by Grace Metalious (Dell, 1962)
From the author of "Peyton Place." I bought this just for the way it looks; I love Dell covers from the 1960s. Nice condition, too.
TO THE NORTH by Elizabeth Bowen (Penguin Books, 1986)
Originally published in 1932. This is a little bigger than a regular paperback size, more like an "Oprah's Book Club" size paperback.
WEIRD HEROES VOL. 7: EYE OF THE VULTURE by Ron Goulart (Byron Preiss, 1977) Illustrated by Alex Nino.
WHY ARE WE IN VIETNAM? by Norman Mailer (Berkley, 1972)
Originally published in 1968. This is a novel, despite the title.
(My post continues in part 2 below...)
The book sale is spread over a few days, and today happened to be the final day of this year's sale. If I hadn't happened to glimpse a mention of the sale on the mall's billboard, when passing by the place last night, I would have missed this year's. I looked on the web and a description of the sale indicated that the paperbacks would be a dollar each and hardcovers two dollars, but I figured that the last day of the sale would have lower prices.
I'd come prepared with a list of the "Nick Carter, Killmaster" novels that I don't have, but I only saw one Nick Carter novel and it was one I already had. I had started at the "Mysteries" table and was just looking at the spines of the books, picking one up if it looked interesting, checking the condition (I've become a little picky about that lately -- I'd rather wait and buy a book once in nice condition instead of buying it multiple times in ever-increasingly better condition), and putting the book back. I didn't want to build a stack yet without knowing the prices first.
So, I asked someone, and they told me that the price was $5 per brown paper shopping bag. Put as many books as you wanted in a shopping bag, and the total price would be 5 bucks. So, I got myself one of the brown shopping bags that were stacked on a table for this purpose and started to fill 'er up, quickly trying to find again some of the books that I had just put back. About a half hour later, or maybe less, the lady told me that the price per shopping bag was now only $3. (Well, $3.15 if you count the tax.)
As you may have guessed, I am now at home with a big bag of books to have to go through, which only cost me 3 bucks for the lot. Let's see what I got in my buying frenzy...
By the way, I think I organzied my bag well. I put a hardcover book at the very bottom of the bag for support. It was just the right size to fill the bottom up and act as a base. (As I write this, not having gone through the bag yet, I forget what the book was. It may have been one by James Thurber that I remember getting.) Then I put the paperbacks on top of this hardcover. Two paperbacks side by side were the same size as this one hardcover by itself. So, this made for two gradually-growing rows of paperback books in my bag, with the occasional hardcover added, until it reached near the top of the bag. I'm surprised that the bag didn't break.
OK, so here's the books I got:
PAPERBACKS:
THE ABC MURDERS by Agatha Christie (Pocket Books, 1977)
(1936 Hercule Poirot mystery)
AGATHA by Kathleen Tynan (Ballantine, 1979)
Book based on Agatha Christie's real-life disappearance in 1926, also made into a movie. (Or, "Now a Major Motion Picture," as the back cover says.)
BREACH OF FAITH: The Fall of Richard Nixon by Theodore White (Dell, 1976)
This is actually my 2nd copy of this book. I had bought and started reading another copy many years ago, but I ended up bending the pages back too much and the book fell apart on me. All these years I've been trying to keep the pages together, but now I can just pitch the old one and replace it on my shelf with this one. Theodore White is the author of the "Making of the President" series of books. I think he stopped doing that series after the 1972 book and did this book about Watergate instead.
A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (Bantam, 1988)
Originally published in 1959. I have a radio dramatization of this somewhere, so that's why I bought this.
THE CITY OF LIBERTINES: A Novel of Ancient Rome by W. G. Hardy (Popular Library, 1958)
Got it for the painted cover and the nice thick old-time historical look to it.
THE CONFESSION & SIGHT UNSEEN by Mary Roberts Rinehart (Dell, 1975)
Two novellas, originally dated 1921. Minor cover damage.
THE COSSACKS / HAPPILY EVER AFTER / THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYICH by Leo Tolstoy (Penguin Classics, 1987) Three stories.
CROWS CAN'T COUNT by Erle Stanley Gardner ("writing under the name of A. A. Fair") (Dell, 1966) (originally published in 1946)
DEATH ON THE DOUBLE by Henry Kane (Signet, 1965)
Book says it's a first printing, but the copyright says 1957.
Got it because it says it's a "Peter Chambers Mystery." Peter Chambers had his own old radio drama (click here (http://www.otrcat.com/crimeandpeterchambers.htm) for more on that), so I knew the name of the character but hadn't seen the books before. Oddly enough, I had gotten another Peter Chambers novel in the mail yesterday when an eBay auction I won of Nick Carter novels happened to include a Peter Chambers novel as a freebie.
DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA by Alexis de Tocqueville (New American Library, 1960s?)
DEVIL'S HARVEST by Frank G. Slaughter ("Permabook" 1st printing, Feb 1964)
The original Doubleday version was published the year before. "Permabook" must have been their paperback book division. The shape and format looks just like the Dells of the period. Which is why I got it, great old 1960s-looking paperback.
FARO'S DAUGHTER by Georgette Heyer (Bantam, 1968)
Copyright 1941-42. Looks like an old Victorian romance story based on the cover.
THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON by H. G. Wells (Lancer, 1968)
First published in 1901. I have a BBC radio drama of this story. I'm currently reading another Wells novel, The Island of Dr Moreau.
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES / BUT GENTLEMEN MARRY BRUNETTES by Anita Loos (Vintage Books, 1983)
Contains the two 1920s novels.
HAZEL by Ted Key (Bantam Books, 5th printing, circa late 1950s)
Reprints of panel gags about the maid (later a TV series) from the Saturday Evening Post 1943-46.
THE LITERATURE OF THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE 1485-1660 edited by Hardin Craig (Collier Books, 1962) (orig. published 1950)
It's an analysis of the works, not the works themselves.
THE MAKING OF KUBRICK'S 2001 (Signet, 1970; 4th printing)
Edited by Jerome Agel, who also produced the Carl Sagan book listed a little bit below. Surprisingly thick book, with a "96-Page Photo Insert" (like the cover says). "2001" is one of my top 5 all-time favorite movies, so I was glad to get this.
MOONRAKER by Ian Fleming (Signet, 9th printing, Sept 1963)
A little beat up but passable.
THE MURDERER INVISIBLE by Philip Wylie (Popular Library, 1959?)
Originally published in January 1931. Looks like people in our dimension are attacked by some invisible man from the fourth dimension. By the author of "Gladiator" which helped inspire Superman.
OTHER WORLDS by Carl Sagan (Bantam, 1975)
A heavily-illustrated book about outer space.
PUDD'NHEAD WILSON by Mark Twain (Bantam Classic, 1981) Introduction by Langston Hughes.
THE RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: Early detective stories collected and edited by Hugh Greene (Penguin Books, 1971)
This book looks fascinating, reprinting old detective stories from the turn of the century.
THE TIGHT WHITE COLLAR by Grace Metalious (Dell, 1962)
From the author of "Peyton Place." I bought this just for the way it looks; I love Dell covers from the 1960s. Nice condition, too.
TO THE NORTH by Elizabeth Bowen (Penguin Books, 1986)
Originally published in 1932. This is a little bigger than a regular paperback size, more like an "Oprah's Book Club" size paperback.
WEIRD HEROES VOL. 7: EYE OF THE VULTURE by Ron Goulart (Byron Preiss, 1977) Illustrated by Alex Nino.
WHY ARE WE IN VIETNAM? by Norman Mailer (Berkley, 1972)
Originally published in 1968. This is a novel, despite the title.
(My post continues in part 2 below...)