Monday, June 04, 2007

Happiness is...

... managing to get two books I've been slavering over despite the shortage of funds.

Fortunately, I managed to get a hardbound copy of Joe Hill's first novel, Heart-Shaped Box, at a cheaper rate thanks to the fact it was the UK edition. The difference? Around 50 percent off the US price.

On the other hand, the Logorrhea book will look nicely with the Thackery Lambshead Guide Bantam trade-paperback I traded my hardbound edition for with dean.

In other news, I don't think I can make any coherent posts at the moment thanks to a rather sluggish brain. So will take a lie down first, alrighty? Right, off I go...

On a side note, andrew eldritch commented a very valid point on my statement that "A book-collector's duty is never done."

This is so true. It's almost like the movies. I don't know if you've ever felt this way, but given my tastes, there are months when no good movies are coming out, and I itch to enter a theatre. Then, when funds are running low, the ones I've been anticipating open within weeks of each other.

I've been on the hunt for a few of the newer mass-market releases from last year (Nova Swing, Daughter of Hounds, etc.), but none are showing up at all. I'm getting the sinking sensation that if they show up here, they'll do so at more or less the same time, requiring me to splurge. Or just want to splurge, if my finances don't improve.

Sing it, my friend. *applauds*

34 comments:

Andrew said...

Not only is the UK edition of Heart-Shaped Box cheaper, it also sports a better cover. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. It's "mainstream horror" done well, and a pretty strong debut that I'd place second to Sarah Langan's.

Incidentally, why do you prefer the TPB of The Thackery T. Lambshead... book to its hardcover?

Finally, do you have The State of the Art? The Night Shade TPB is available at Powerbooks Megamall, going for PhP 900+ though...around twice more than the Orion edition that might still be available in A Different Bookstore branches.

banzai cat said...

Well, it certainly is more interesting than the US cover. Which did you get the last time, btw?

Likewise, what did you like about Langan? Was about to get a copy of her book last weekend but a read of the first two chapters didn't exactly inspire me. Is it really that good?

As for the Lambshead, heh I think I just have a fixation for TPBs. And I just preferred the TPB cover to the HC. I dunno. *shrugs*

On the other hand, am trying to stick to Banks' Bantam Spectra editions for a uniform look-- despite the fact that most of this stock are usually found as 2nd-hand nowadays. Heh you should know, with your fixation on same covers. ;-)

Lastly, ironically, just as I managed to get these two books, I found out NBS Shang has copies of Elizebeth Hand's short story collections. Arrgh. A book-collector's duty is never done.

Andrew said...

Joe Hill:

I got the US hardcover of Heart-Shaped Box. The one you have is more relevant to the novel, the one I have is more "reflective" of its "mainstream horror" status. I can't wait for the release of 20th Century Ghosts this year!


Sarah Langan:

The Keeper is loaded with atmosphere, not an easy thing to do for a horror novel. The funny thing, however, is how this is because she takes her time to build up the characters and the setting before the "horror elements" kick in.

In that regard, it's unlike Heart-Shaped Box, which has a much faster pace, but the bleakness is there from the start. If you don't want to buy The Keeper, I have an extra copy here that I can hold for you until we can meet.


The Thackery...

The trade paperback does have a slightly nicer cover. But with format, I love hardcovers. Trade paperbacks are okay, if they weren't so expensive, and mass market paperbacks are garbage...though I sometimes have no choice in the matter.


Iain M. Banks:

Oh, I perfectly understand having a uniform look. This is why I didn't buy the Night Shade trade paperback of The Algebraist back then, despite my love for one of my favorite publishers.

Still, my going after the Orion UKs made it an easier task. Let me know what else you're missing, even if I haven't really been hitting BookSale lately.


Elizabeth Hand:

Oh my God, which Elizabeth Hand? Is it Saffron and Brimstone? (Well, not that I have any of her collections.) I wonder how much those are...


A book-collector's duty is never done.

This is so true. It's almost like the movies. I don't know if you've ever felt this way, but given my tastes, there are months when no good movies are coming out, and I itch to enter a theatre. Then, when funds are running low, the ones I've been anticipating open within weeks of each other.

I've been on the hunt for a few of the newer mass-market releases from last year (Nova Swing, Daughter of Hounds, etc.), but none are showing up at all. I'm getting the sinking sensation that if they show up here, they'll do so at more or less the same time, requiring me to splurge. Or just want to splurge, if my finances don't improve.

banzai cat said...

Haha! Truer words have never been spoken! Mind if I quote you on that? ;-)

As for Ghosts, really? They're coming out with another run? Great! I really want to get a copy of that one.

Re The Keeper, heh that would be cool. How about a trade? Lemme see what I can give you... (Have you read the King/Straub Black House? I think I have an extra copy around here somewhere...) And how come you have an extra copy of Langan?

I'm more forgiving of mmpbs as most of the time, authors don't have that privilege of being published in HC or TPB. But right now, the TPBs coming out look absolutely lovely so TPBs rank high on my aesthetic list at the moment.

On Banks, yeah I was almost tempted to get The Algebraist Nightshade edition given that it's not part of his Culture books. But alas, there are other books am still trying to get so that goes to the backburner at this time.

Which leads to Hand and yes, it's Saffron and Brimstone. One thing I'm amazed is that NBS is getting a lot of small-press stuff. Hell, two years ago, you wouldn't see hide nor hair of those copies around. Thank goodness for the wonders of international shopping.

Andrew said...

Quote me, by all means. I often do that with your words!

That's what I heard about 20th Century Ghosts--out as a William Morrow hardcover this October. Here's hoping for a better cover for the "less conventional" Joe Hill fictions.

(Then again, I doubt we're getting that, as evinced by the covers of their recent HCs like Heart-Shaped Box and Three Days to Never. Have you found a copy of the latter, by the way?)

I don't have Black House, and I haven't read The Talisman either. To be honest, I'm not as interested in the earlier book--is it necessary to read it before Black House?

If you do find the Deighton novel I've been looking for, that would be okay. Or any of the other stuff I've been trying to hunt down in various BookSale branches (Campbell's The Nameless, etc.).

I bought the Langan during the last Book Fair and later won a signed copy. I have to confess I'm giving you the unsigned copy, but more because the signed one has my name on it anyway!

As for TPBs, I think you're right about the "improving quality." There's a "kind" that I like, which basically uses the same paper as hardcovers. But there are some that just basically use the MMPB paper, and those I find overpriced, at least over here.

I'm pleasantly surprised that more and more good titles are coming out in Powerbooks and NBS (no Mamatas novels yet though...or are there?).

In contrast, I haven't been happy with Fully Booked lately. Their copy of Alastair Reynolds's Century Rain--which I thankfully already own--is that lousy US paperback from Ace instead of the UK ones from Orion I like (and which they have for his other novels).

FB hasn't been getting some of the newer Orion Masterworks either, unlike NBS, which at least has the Rudyard Kipling collection.

In fact, I've been hoping that FB bring in the Orion paperback of Nova Swing, too...but no, they aren't. *sighs*

banzai cat said...

zsYay! Good to know about that Ghosts is coming out. The way things are going, I'll eventually run out of Holy Grails to go after, which is good.

As for the Powers book, no sign on the radar which is fine with me since I've still a number of Powers books to go through (his Last Call trilogy for one). Have you read any of his other stuff? Though I wonder if the mmpb of Three Days is on the horizon, hmmm... (A google check says December 1 this year. Maybe I'll get lucky and local store will have it by then.)

For Black House, yeah it's a sequel to The Talisman though to be honest, I haven't gotten around reading the former yet. But I do remember liking the latter and it's got King double-teaming with Straub so what's not to like? ;-)

Ironically, that reminds me that I seem to have been bitten by the HC bug such that am thinking of filling up the missing King books my father has on his bookshelves.

Btw, can you give me the link to the missing stuff on your shelves again, esp the Campbell stuff? I can't seem to find it on your LJ. I've seen a number of Campbell stuff around but you were out of touch by that time. In any case, will see what I can do for a good trade for the Langan. :-)

On TPBs, one thing that gets me wincing is the poor quality of paper Prime books uses, which is sad since their books and covers are really great. But take the bad with the good I suppose. No sign of Mamatas but I think booktopia still has a copy of his MUG on their shelves. Jeffrey Thomas' Deadstock (of Monstrocity fame)is also now available at Powerbooks thanks to Solaris. One more to shoot for, alas...

Also no sign of Harrison's Nova Swing (I'd think chiles would know more) but I have seen mmpb of Light, which looks nice. Too bad I already have the UK tpb edition already.

On a last note, weirdly enough, I checked out Langan's LJ and she sounds nice that it makes me feel guilty that I'm not buying a copy of her book myself. Sheesh, the wonders of internet technology where your authors' lives are now easily available to read about.

banzai cat said...

Crap, I think I might have seen The Nameless before (and I can't remember where). :-(

skinnyblackcladdink said...

hmm. methinks i can make big bucks smuggling books from these here aquixotic shores...

Andrew said...

skinnyblackcladdink:

That is indeed a great idea, and I only wish that was easier for me to do. I do worry that I may just end up getting high off my own supply though.


BC:

Lucky you. I don't think I'll EVER run out of Holy Grails. *sighs*

I've only read the following Tim Powers novels: Declare, The Anubis Gates, The Drawing of the Dark, and Three Days to Never. The only other novel of his I own is Expiration Date, but I haven't gotten to that yet. You've read more than I have, if I recall correctly.

As for Campbell, it's basically just The Nameless, Needing Ghosts, and The Overnight that I'm looking for among his "old" novels.

(BTW, I think I have an extra copy of The Influence.)

I'm on the lookout for the short story collections I don't have. The ones I do have are: Alone with the Horrors, Ghosts and Grisly Things, and Dark Companions.

Thanks for the heads-up on Booktopia. I emailed Rowena to ask if the Mamatas is still in stock. And oh yes, I've seen Deadstock but have yet to buy a copy. There's another Solaris title I'm interested in, too: the George Mann anthology.

Where have you seen Light? And is this the US paperback? I think I'd like to point out its availability to people.

banzai cat said...

skinny: I concur with andrew. :-)

andrew: Funny enough, we're on par with the Powers book except that I haven't read his latest and you haven't read On Stranger Shores (an intelligent Pirates of the Caribbean).

On the other hand, I think I'll have a easier time looking for the Campbell books. In my mind, everytime I see a Campbell, I automatically tag it. Kinda subconscious thing I do with spec fic books. *shrugs*

As for the Solaris book, are you getting the SF antho? Looks good but am holding out for their fantasy antho. In for a penny, in for a pound, yes? (That and I'd also like to get some of their other stuff, like Bitterwood. Cheers to new publishers!)

The Light mmpb is currently available in Fully-Booked shops if I remember correctly. As for Nova Swing, heh I see from Amazon it hasn't been published in TPB yet. Are you aiming for the HC?

Andrew said...

Thanks in advance for the lookout for Campbell's stuff. Again, don't hesitate to let me know how I can reciprocate.


Tim Powers:

How many of his books do you have still unread on the shelves? I didn't realize we were more or less "on par" with regard to Powers's novels.

I was trying to remember whether it was On Stranger Shores or The Stress of Her Regard that you read, and I guess you answered my question. Still, I could have sworn you read Dinner at Deviant's Palace, too. Must be someone else then.

I'm also keenly interested in Strange Itineraries. I read his story "Through and Through" online, and that was rather good, even if I prefer the one other Powers story I read--"Itinerary."

(I do have some of his short fiction collaborations in James P. Blaylock's Thirteen Phantasms... collection, but that remains unread. Not enough time!)


Solaris:

Since I've emailed Booktopia and ask them to please-oh-please reserve the Mamatas for me, I think I'll hold off buying the Solaris SF anthology in the meantime.

In any case, I think I'd much rather get Deadstock. I'd like to read something by Jeffrey Thomas other than his A Nightmare on Elm Street novel (which actually isn't as bad as I feared it would be, testimony to his talents as a writer).


M. John Harrison:

I'll keep an eye out for Light so I can recommend it to people. That certainly is a fantastic book, in every sense of the term. This reminds me that I do want to pick up The Centauri Device soon, too. FB-Gatewayno longer has it in stock though.

As for Nova Swing, I was thinking of getting the Orion paperback, which I swore came out at the same time as their hardcover (apparently part of their usual business strategy). For some reason, there are three listings now on the Orion site: the hardcover and a £9.99 paperback from November 2006, AND a £7.99 paperback coming out in November 2007.

It looks like there are now at least two books coming out near the end of this year. I knew I was right about good books coming "not single spies but battalions"...and that fills me with sorrow!

skinnyblackcladdink said...

del ray will be publishing Nova Swing, with a cover that beautifully contrasts their ed of Light. (i personally prefer the Orion covers, but that's just me.)

as even nat'l bookstore carries the del ray edition of Light, i'm sure Nova Swing will eventually hit your shores.

Nova Swing's status on the lists almost ensures that it'll get more bookstore time than most other Harrison books (except maybe The Centauri Device, being on the SF Masterworks list).

as much as i enjoyed TCD, it's really best left for those who wish to devour absolutely everything Harrison. his prose is already pretty much all there, but the material is cheezy to the max, right down to the pulpy politics and the self-destructive-ego-gratifying fantasy-actualization ending. but being part of the SF Masterworks series pretty much ensures it'll keep getting put on the shelves.

and yea, i'm offering my services as book-smuggler. sadly, i won't be back till later this year (Octoberish, i imagine), so check back with me before then if you still haven't gotten your book fix.

i'm just aching for an excuse to get more copies of Nova Swing.

absolutely lovely book, and my last 'genre' read.

Anonymous said...

nice pusaket!

you are yet another proof that literati/artists and cats go together.

banzai cat said...

andrew: For Powers, the only stuff I haven't read is the aforementioned Last Call trilogy. I'm still figuring out whether to read the damn thing straight or chop it up. :-D

And nup, haven't read Deviant's (though I've seen copies here and there); no interest in that one. But I'm aiming to get a copy of Blaylock's Phantasm so hopefully, a shipment of books is coming my way with one in it.

Heh am currently also reading Thomas' Monstrocity, which is set in the same place as Deadstock. Still needs polishing but has lot of potential so might get his latest as well.

On the other hand, I suppose I've been burned with the SW such that am leery of getting media-related books. Ah well...

skinny: Heh you know more Harrison than I do.

How much are books there nowadays? I can barely remember when I was there (in my younger days) and I didn't get pocketbooks then. But lemme guess, a tad bit pricey, yes?

tessa: Halloo! Welcome aboard!

And you've gotten me mixed up with my cousing, Hemingway Cat. Now there's a feline who really mixes with the literati. ;-)

Don said...

Oh God, this has gone way too long :D

I was looking for any Harisson book when I was in Manila but I only found The Centauri Device, which I didn't get anyway. I was really excited about having Things That Never Happen or Light but I didn't find any.

I also found that TPB copy of Heart SHped Box at FB Greenhills. I remember Sir Andrew pimping it at his blog but I didn't buy it.

All my Banks books are the Orion editions so the rest should also be Orion editions. Most of the Banks books I find are Orion editions anyway.

One baffling thing about them though is that they differ in prices. I found a TPB of The Algebraist in FB North Edsa for 400+ while the one I found in FB Greenhills was 600+! (Have you guys seen a copy of Excession?)

Heh, saw that Kipling book in NBS Superbranch. Was really tempted to get it. Is it really good?

Don said...

skinny: book smuggler, eh? Heh. Will you sumuggle me some VanderMeer books?

Don said...

and yes, Sir Andrew, I'll be printing Mamatas' Move Under Ground anytime soon (good lord! I can't believe this is available online!)

skinnyblackcladdink said...

df: i've a copy of excession in one of the boxes back home.

VanderMeer is as hard to find here as he is back home. i'll see if i can still dig up Veniss at one of the shops, but the only one i'm sure will be available is Shriek, which by god ought to be there by now. (the hardback came out within weeks of publication, and i got my copy from powerbooks.)

bc: some books here are just a teeny tad pricier than books back there, but more or less the same, and my privelege card at kino blunts the edge. (i refuse to do the proper calculations, dammit.)

oh, and by the by, for the month of june, us card holders get 20% off on just about anything, methinks, so if you want me to get you something for sure, tell me now.

Andrew said...

skinnyblackcaddink:

I finally saw the US TPB of Light, and while I like the cover flaps, I'm not really into those uncut edges. So while I don't like the cover of my copy of Light much either, I prefer it and wouldn't mind picking up the same edition for Nova Swing. Here's hoping FB brings that in.

(I must confess that I do think I'll pick up the first copy of Nova Swing that pops up my way anyway, despite all I've said above.)

Thanks as well for the comments about The Centauri Device. I think I pretty much fall under your description of "those who wish to devour absolutely everything Harrison."


banzai cat:

I have a tendency to read such books straight, but you may have different habits. (That's the reason why I haven't read my Mervyn Peake yet, incidentally.)

Good luck with acquiring the Blaylock. Do you remember when Powerbooks branches all over were carrying it? I was broke then, and by the time I was ready to buy it, they were all gone, making me both want to curse as well as chat with the people who bought it. Thankfully, I found a copy in Booksale last year.

As for Thomas, I've read a couple of Punktown stories, and my impression is that they work better in the short form. I really loved those, incidentally. Still, I think Thomas can pull off the novel-length works quite well, too.

On the other hand, I suppose I've been burned with the SW such that am leery of getting media-related books. Ah well...

Is SW Star Wars? If by media-related books you mean the ...Elm Street title by Thomas I mentioned, while it IS good, I wouldn't have bought it. Still, I get curious about certain media tie-ins, like those Batman books by John Shirley and Alex Irvine.

Andrew said...

der fuhrer:

I don't know when you were in Metro Manila, but there was a time last year when stacks of Viriconium were available in FB-Rockwell. Booktopia still has their one remaining copy, too.

I've never seen Things That Never Happen over here, but I remember the first time I saw Light was in NBS. I didn't get it then, it disappeared, I cursed to the high heavens, and years later found a copy in FB-Gateway.

If you'd gotten that TPB of Heart-Shaped Box, you would have had the same cover as BC's. Anyone know the price difference between that and the hardcover? If it's minor, you may want to opt for the latter.

I was "late" getting into Banks, so my editions are the Orion new covers, too. I got four of them in A Different Bookstore's booth at the last Book Fair: Excession, Inversions, Feersum Endjinn, and Against a Dark Background. ADB is pretty much the best source for the Orion editions of Banks's SF novels.

As for The Algebraist, for a long time, I kept seeing a copy of it that was "smaller" than the regular Orions. I know there's one out there that has the same dimensions, but until I see one, I'll hold off from buying it. I still have to read the last two novels I got from the Book Fair anyway.

And oh, FB has WEIRD pricing. I bought Christopher Priest's The Prestige for around PhP 479, and as much as I want to read The Glamour, I hate the fact that the exact same edition goes for more than PhP 700.

As for Kipling, I have stories by him here and there, still unread, though I hear his fantastic work is supposedly very good. When I do get around to reading him, I think I'll opt for his spy novel Kim.

Finally, VanderMeer...I've never seen a copy of Veniss Underground here, but hardcovers of Shriek: An Afterword were available in several stores the last time I visited them.

The only book of his I own is City of Saints and Madmen in the Tor UK hardcover, which I got during a 50% sale in FB-Rockwell, back when they were still on the ground floor. When the American TPB was released, however, a lot of stores had a lot of it in stock, both Powerbooks and FB anyway.

skinnyblackcladdink said...

FYI, the latest TPB of City of Saints unfortunately does not include the jacket story included in the 'original' (actually the third or fourth iteration, i think, if i have it right) Tor hard and soft cover eds. however, Mr VanderMeer states that the *contents* of the latest TPB is definitive, and contains a few tweaks for consistency.

hey eld, can you check that 'UK Tor' thing? feeling too lazy to google hehe. my ed is back home in a box (inaccessible, as i noted earlier, til around october) and i'm curious about it...Jeff, after all, lives in the US. the geography of Saint's publishing history is not something i'd previously considered.

Andrew said...

I also hear that the latest TPB of City of Saints and Madmen already decrypts the formerly-encrypted story, an understandably practical decision, I think. Do you know why the jacket story wasn't included though?

What I call the UK Tor hardcover is this 2004 release. I'm not sure how accurate this Wikipedia entry is, but it refers to this as "the third edition."

(If I rightly recall, I bought this in 2005, and it's the same copy that BC has...right?)

Anyway, maybe I should have referred to it as "the Pan-Macmillan/Tor UK hardcover," which is how VanderMeer called it in this two-part article from a few years ago.

skinnyblackcladdink said...

yup, i got what you called the UK Tor...and yeah, there's the decrypted story in the Pan MacMillan (i think. or was it del ray?) TPB, but there's still that encrypted bit in the end where the code changes. i haven't been able to decrypt that...it's probably as simple as the rest of it, with some modification, but the first time i did it, i think i made some basic mistake and gaffed it...i'd actually had enough of the madness at the time, mushroom on the brain, and i haven't been able to get back to it.

not sure why they left out the jacket story; i'm guessing it has something to do with the particular rights to that story or something; it might also be the format -- smaller book, unreadable 'cover story'...it certainly isn't the soft-cover format as there's now a softcover ed of the ed you have -- which is large format, matching the hardback in size.

banzai cat said...

fuhrer: Hmmm, interesting to note that Vandermeer's Shriek in paperback will be out by July 10 this year. Unfortunately, I don't have the money to spring for a hardbound so hopefully, if this comes out locally in PP, will definitely get this one.

Actually, you guys raised an interesting question that I've always had to grapple: when does buying a favored book balance with a book that you're not really interested in? For example, I like Fritz Leiber but I can never get myself to get his SF stuff. Same thing with Avram Davidson's Ursus of Thule (no matter how hard-to-find his stuff is) and Arturo Perez-Reverte's Queen of the South.

On the other hand, getting all the Masterworks books is a luxury that I can't afford. *sigh*

P.S. You can stand reading online material?

P.P.S. Sorry if I haven't been texting you back lately. My temp phone sucks big time and I always keep running out of load.

P.P.P.S. Your bill for the books is P135 by the way.

P.P.P.P.S. Good luck on your thesis!

skinny: Thanks man! Though am thinking if I should just spring for the paperbacks whose hardbounds I can't spring for (i.e. the Vandermeer). Of course you'll only be back by October but one thing I've learned about book-collecting is patience. ;-)

Besides, you still owe me coffee. :-D

andrew: Hah, I can't even read a single book straight, so I don't think I can handle the same for a series. (The last time I did that was with Tad Williams' SF series. Boy, the withdrawal symptoms after that was harsh.)

Ironically, I know what you mean about the Blaylock. I once saw a copy in NBS Superbranch sale section but didn't get it. Next time I checked, it was gone. On the other hand, I also know what you mean about missing out on copies. Am still berating myself for not picking up the i-books edition of Jack Vance's Dragon Masters.

Yes, was referring to Star Wars. Am also curious about Shirley and Irvine's contributions but monetary matters forbid me from taking my curiousity that far. (Which is the only good thing about that, I think.)

The UK edition's HB and TPB prices difference is a hundred bucks only, with the former the cheaper one ironically. You can get the HB at Powerbooks while the TPB is only available at Fully-Booked.

Oh and the HB of City of Saints is definitely prettier than the TPB (the story in the cover notwithstanding). Still, the ed of the ed of the ed is starting to confuse me! :-)

Don said...

Here we go again..

BC: Er..yeah, no problemo. Will probably spring back to Manila this June. All my friends keep on backing out so I have to cancel (One thing I realised is that I can never stand travelling alone).

Skinny: Saw copies of Shriek in Powerbooks but the Vandermeer books I've been wanting are Veniss Underground and The City of Saints and Madmen (does anyone want to sell me that edition with the Jacket story?). Plus, also that Lambshead book since its, erm, well, kind of related to me course. Heh.

Sir A: Nup, I didn't get the Joe Hill book but I'm still planning to since you guys have been pimping it rather heavily (hehe). And no, I've never been to Rockwell since I think I'm too uncool to even set foot into it. The same thing goes with Booktopia sans the uncool expo. Banzai Cat was offered to take me there though.

During my recent visits to FB, I've noticed that all the books I've been wanting to buy are either out of stock or unavailable. It really pisses me off since I have to save a lot of money for a Manila trip :D

Don said...

BC: Maybe when the other book is a rare one or just appears like once in a lifetime. If your favored books are always available, then snag the less favored one. Who knows, maybe you'll end up enjoying it.

Or did I get your question right?

Nup, I can never stand reading online. I can, but only for a couple of minutes. If I can, I'd rather print all yer entries than read them online. But that leaves me off the links.

skinnyblackcladdink said...

what's all this business about the Shriek paperback coming out in July 10? it's been out for months...

banzai cat said...

fuhrer: Heh you really gotta not limit your runs to the Cubao and Megamall bookstores. Book-quests are really full-day expeditions.

skinny: Is that the UK edition? The one I saw listed in Amazon with the July 10 date was the US edition.

Andrew said...

skinnyblackcladdink:

Did you buy every single edition of City of Saints and Madmen that you could find? Would you want to? I'm just wondering.

In any case, I should really find the time to read this soon. After all, I'm "prohibiting" myself from buying Shriek: An Afterword until I do!

(As a not-quite-aside, I'm struck by how many authors you like that I haven't gotten around to reading yet, because I'm looking for the right time to do so. Aside from VanderMeer, there's also Mieville and Peake. And while I've started on Things That Never Happen, I've only read a mere handful so far.)


banzai cat:

when does buying a favored book balance with a book that you're not really interested in?

While this sounds like I'm depriving myself, especially if the work in question is--as you put it--"favored," I usually don't pick up something I'm not interested in reading. Not enough money, not enough time, not enough space, etc.

And although you were asking der fuhrer if he "can stand reading online material," and I'm absolutely certain that I won't ever be able to get you to do this yourself, I must say that I'm glad I have the ability to read something onscreen, whether computer monitor, PDA, or even mobile phone. Sometimes, it's necessary!


Why did you get "withdrawal symptoms" after reading Tad Williams in one marathon go? Was it because your immersion in that world was so deep? I tend to go for this kind of saturation approach, though not exactly straight-through all the time.

For example, though I read the three books that make up Le Carre's The Quest for Karla one after another, I read Straub's Blue Rose Trilogy in three consecutive weekends (rather than days).

As for missing out on books, it gets positively Hellish when the books in question are limited editions that were already expensive in the first place but whose market value still shoots up like mad when they go out of print.

Regarding Star Wars, I've read the first novel in the New Jedi Order series and liked it a lot. But there's just too much to acquire, and I'm sure the quality will be variable given the different authors.

I guess the most I've spent reading media tie-ins would be Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels, but I only read the ones Christopher Golden was involved in. (Sadly, I'm not that interested in his "original work," though I hear he's not a bad writer.)

Hellboy interests me, too, because of the writers involved: Brian Hodge and Tim Lebbon have written novels, and the anthologies include people like Poppy Z. Brite, Tom Piccirilli, etc. You know, "eldritch00 writers"!


der fuhrer:

Like what BC said, you really should spend a day hitting bookstores and whatnot. I sometimes do that, but not as often as I want to.

I can only assume that your demand for such an invasion is much higher, and don't worry, from what I know of you, you're certainly cool enough to hit FB-Rockwell and Booktopia. (The latter is a haven!)

I'll try to keep an eye out for a HC of City of Saints and Madmen for you, though I'm not sure how successful that hunt will be.

Maybe you can contact those bookstores and have them order books for you a month or so before you hit Manila. Or if you can't go, ask how much it will cost if they deliver the titles to you.

(And damn, I should work on my Booktopia orders, too...oh wait, that costs money I don't have. *curses*)

And oh, since you have trouble reading online, I'm glad you read my blog entries. They do tend to ramble, don't they? But I work hard on my links, so it's much appreciated!

Don said...

BC: Er.yeah I'been trying to do that, I even convinced my friends for an overnight trip so I can spend days hunting for books (that got cancelled). The problem is with the bidget too.

Plus, no one I know could tell me how to find/get to Booktopia.

Sir A: Heh, thanks.

Well sometimes, your entries do. But they're really useful anyway :D I limit my online reading to blogs and profiles but really, only the bookmarked blogs at my links are the only ones I read. There are so much crap out there heh.

skinnyblackcladdink said...

eld: y'know, Shriek can be read just as well as an introduction to Ambergris...

nope. only got the Tor hardcover and the Pan softcover...and the latter only because it contains revisions/slightly different versions of the Tor text.

there was a time when i used to not only buy all the editions of a beloved book i could find, but multiple copies as well (lending, reading, keeping in suspended animation for posterity...any excuse i could dream up)...don't ask how i managed that, because, honestly, though i wasn't that wide a reader then, still, the economics of it baffle me today.

as for my reading...probably because i was never satisfied with what might be called the 'mainstream' of 'genre', if you see what i mean. dragonlance/tolkien/lewis really were just a phase for me (though lewis was, perhaps, the most resonant, resilient; however, the facile religious allegoricalness of The Last Battle turned me off Narnia pretty much forever), and now i can't bring myself to even care to pick-up a multi-volume doorstop...

bc: er, didn't check. didn't want to keep my hands on it too long; might've tempted me to get it as a 'reading' copy (see above).

banzai cat said...

fuhrer: well, you've seen booktopia. what do you think?

skinny: hehe that reminds me of our long-time ago debates. and there's no such thing as not enough books (or editions!).

Don said...

Amazing, man!

But again, too many books, so little money :(

banzai cat said...

Too true. :-)

Am thinking of other bookshops you can check out but I think you've got that well-covered already.