After quite a while resting on my more or less laurels (past listings) it's time to get a move on and put up some more listings. My goal is five books every day from now on. This should be achievable, but not according to my past performance.

These books get listed in three places: on Amazon, Biblio, and Half. Books without ISBNs (older books) generally will not be listed on half. My prices might vary between these three places. Amazon and Half tell me competing prices, so I peg mine on them. Thus, if the lowest price for Deadly Percheron is $98 on Amazon, I might peg mine at $95. If it weren't my only copy maybe I'd be more reasonable. In fact, I think my Biblio listing is more reasonable.

Going forward (and possibly backward), links to titles of books will send you to the main Amazon listing. My listing will be somewhere amidst the other maybe 237 listings. This is where my photo of the book can be seen, which will probably be a better one than the one Amazon features. Half doesn't let me attach my own photo—at least I don't think it does. Photos are also at biblio. Lots of older listings still don't have photos. Nor updated prices.

I've been lousy at selling direct via email. Sorry about that, if you've tried me. Listing through the major portals keeps me honest—also prompt and reliable.

Monday, July 14, 2003

06/30/03 MON:
---This arrived today:
Gilchrist, R. Murray THE BASILISK and Other Tales of Dread, Ash-Tree '03, 1st, (weird tales from turn-of-the-century writer; Pelan & Roden [eds]), new in dj 45.00

---Music played:
- Wire SEND (Xgau: A Minus)
- Led Zeppelin HOW THE WEST WAS WON (3-disc)
- Northern State HIP HOP YOU HAVEN’T HEARD (Xgau: A)
- J.S. Bach MAGNIFICAT, CANTATA BMV 10

6/29/03 SUN:
---Text to follow?

06/28/03 SAT:
---Received the originals for me to run off on my copier:
Stephensen-Payne, Phil & Gordon Benson Jr. (compilers) A. BERTRAM CHANDLER: Master Navigator of Space, Galactic Central Bibliography for the Avid Reader Vol. 3, 3rd revised edn(5/03), (a working bibliography), new 4.50

---A couple from Sarob Press:
Davies, Alison L.R. SMALL DEATHS, Sarob, 5/03, 1st, one of 200 copies, (short horror stories; Graham Joyce intro; 81 pages), new in dj 35.00

Robins, G.M. (Mrs. Baillie Reynolds) THE RELATIONS AND WHAT THEY RELATED & Other Weird Tales, Sarob, 5/03, (reprint of 1902 edn), new in dj 42.50

---This email from Sarob came in a while ago (perhaps of interest with regard to the above):
“Hi Chris

I need to advise you of some important changes to our previously announced schedule. We are to be making our contemporary titles available in quality paperback editions as well as limited and/or deluxe hardcover. We are also moving to full colour covers before the end of this year. We've been able to negotiate improved cheque conversion fees and have actually been able to reduce some $US prices. Here is our revised, and now fully complete, 2003 schedule :

May 2003 SMALL DEATHS a collection by Alison L R Davies LIMITED 200 sewn H/B copies @ £21 / $35. Cover & Frontispiece Art by Lara Bandilla. Author Photograph by Vince Brotheridge. Introduction by Graham Joyce.

May 2003 THE RELATIONS AND WHAT THEY RELATED & Other Weird Tales by G.M. Robins (Mrs Baillie Reynolds) (Richard Dalby's 'Mistresses of the Macabre' series Vol 6) Introduced by Richard Dalby. LIMITED to 200 sewn H/B copies @ £25 / $42.50

The two May books will hopefully ship together.

June 2003 THE HOUSE OF THE WOLF a novel by Basil Copper LIMITED 150 sewn H/B copies @ £25 / $42.50. 52 SIGNED*/LETTERED DELUXE H/B copies @ £48 / $80 (bound in buckram with marbled endpapers, blocking to front boards & silk bookmark. No slipcase) *signed by author and both artists. 250 P/B copies @ £10.95 / $18.95. Wrap-Cover Art by Randy Broecker & Interior illustrations (x 5) by Stephen Jones. Introduced by the author, with an afterword by Stephen Jones. Previously published in the USA by Arkham House. First UK and P/B publication.

July 2003 THE SEMINAR an original novella by LH Maynard & MPN Sims LIMITED 150 sewn H/B copies @ £22 / $37.50. 35 SIGNED/NUMBERED DELUXE H/B copies @ £45 / $75 (bound in buckram with marbled endpapers, blocking to front boards & silk bookmark. No slipcase). 250 P/B copies @ £9.95 / $16.95. Cover & Interior Art by Richard Lamb.

Sept 2002 THE SUBSTANCE OF A SHADE a BUMPER ALL NEW collection of seventeen supernatural horror stories by John Glasby Introduced by Richard Dalby. Colour Cover Art by Paul Lowe. Limited 150 sewn H/B copies. 26 SIGNED /LETTERED DELUXE H/B copies. 300 P/B copies. FULL DETAILS SHORTLY.

October (Halloween) 2003 MIRROR OF THE NIGHT a collection of ten of the very best of E C Tubb's horror & supernatural stories Introduced by Philip Harbottle. Colour Cover Art by Richard Gray. Limited 150 sewn H/B copies. 26 SIGNED/LETTERED DELUXE H/B copies. 250 P/B copies. FULL DETAILS SHORTLY.

Thank you.

Robert.”

---Received a slick Donald M. Grant brochure. The lead book in the flyer is BRADBURY: An Illustrated Life, A Journey to Far Metaphor by Jerry West (signed lettered $1,000; signed numbered $310; trade edn $34.95).
---Another book I notice that I haven’t carried: A GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS by Henry Hardy Heins for $106.
---Then there is the business about another Stephen King lottery to see who gets to fork over for THE DARK TOWER V: WOLVES OF THE CALLA. Don’t know if I can help anyone out in getting that one; but other Donald M. Grant books, I am overdue in sending them an order. Discount to members of discount plan would be 20%.

---Music played:
- The Capricorns IN THE ZONE (Xgau: A Minus)
- Delta Dart FIGHT OF FLIGHT (Xgau: HM**)

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (06/27/03 FRI):
---I see that I listed Tartarus’s MASQUES AND CITADELS by Mark Valentine as MASQUES AND CANDLES in cataloguing. Pretty careless of me.

---Email sent:
“I looked for the 3-vol. Buchan set from Thistle you mentioned. Is that Thistle & Shamrock? I see a number of volumes they carry or publish, but couldn't figure out which were the 3 volume set.”

---Received a big bunch of catalogs from The Perseus Books Group, distributed by HarperCollins: Basic Books, Basic Civitas Books, Counterpoint, Da Capo, PublicAffairs, Running Press, Westview Press. Not much science fiction or genre material, but plenty of books absolutely worth reading.

---Music played:
- Erykah Badu MAMA’S GUN (Xgau: A)
- Bob Marley & The Wailers KAYO (Xgau: A Minus)
- Babyface A COLLECTION OF HIS GREATEST HITS (Xgau: A Minus)
- Jackie Wilson REET PETITE AND OTHER CLASSICS
- LYRICIST LOUNGE 2 (Xgau: A Minus)

Here is my 6/26/03 email update with links substituded for pastes of book descriptions from publishers’ websites. I am running way behind in putting out my listings, so lots of these books heve been here for months. Indeed, I am overdue to send another order to Trafalgar Square (see below), but that is the case with a whole host of publishers now.

---A batch of books from UK-book distributor Trafalgar Square, which represents an impressive array of imprints, including HarperCollins UK, Random House UK, Time Warner UK, Transworld (Bantam Doubleday Corgi etc.) UK, Orion, Macmillan UK (Pan etc.), etc. etc. I assume these only include titles where there is no USA edition available, but this looks like it is going to be a nice place to look for books I have hitherto been unable to obtain. Discount on these is 30% for members of the discount plan. For starters:
Grubb, Davis THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, Prion/Film Ink, 3rd('01), (movie tie), new 13.00

Holt, Tom THE FIRST TOM HOLT OMNIBUS: Flying Dutch and Faust Among Equals, Orbit, 2nd('02), (two hilarious comic fantasies in one volume; 570 pp), new 13.95
---THE SECOND TOM HOLT OMNIBUS: My Hero and Who's Afraid of Beowulf?, Orbit '02, (two hilarious comic fantasies in one volume, again; 566 pp), new 13.95

Noon, Jeff AUTOMATED ALICE, Black Swan, 2nd, (wild psychedelic vision), new $13
---NYMPHOMATION, Black Swan '00, (exquisitely grimy fable), new 13.00
---PIXEL JUICE, Black Swan,2nd, (50 stories; wholly new kind of storytelling), new $13
---I can’t find Black Swan on the internet to add links to that publisher.

---The rest are mass-market pbs and will be listed in next new-arrival batch. There were a great many Terry Pratchett titles available, as well as multiple titles by Robert Rankin, Stephen Lawhead, Chris Bunch (Sten series), and Julia Gray, if those authors are of interest to anyone out there. I stopped short of getting the books from these authors. Pratchett sells well for me, but I was not up to figuring out which titles would be best to get.

---A couple stragglers from PGW (North Atlantic, , Underwood, Carroll & Graf, etc.):
Fenner, Cathy & Arnie Fenner (eds) SPECTRUM 9: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Underwood '02, (art), {hc in dj available @ $35}, new 27.00
---Always an extremely impressive and well-wrought compilation.

Shepard, Lucius VALENTINE, 4 Walls 8 Windows '02, (a piece of miniaturist eroticism; 181 pages), new 11.95

---Back in stock:
Maupassant, Guy de THE DARK SIDE: Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, Carroll & Graf, 2nd('97), (new translations; Ramsey Campbell foreword), new 10.95
---Couldn’t find a link to this title on publisher’s website

Sturgeon, Theodore BRIGHT SEGMENT Volume VIII: The Complete Stories of…, North Atlantic '02, 1st, (written in the years 1953-55; Foreword by William Tenn), new in dj 35.00

Willeford, Charles THE WOMAN CHASER, Four Walls Eight Windows/No Exit, 10/01, new 12.95

---I am still getting the Cemetery Dance magazine but still not their new-release books any more (due to unfriendly bookseller terms, etc., etc.). The latest issues:
CEMETERY DANCE #41, (Phil Rickman, Steve Vance, Brian A. Hopkins, Christopher Nolan) • ---#42, (Nancy A. Collins, Charles L. Grant, Piccirilli, Tessier) • ---#43, '03, (Campbell, Cave, Gorman, Joyce, Raisor, new each, 5.00

Wednesday, July 9, 2003

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (06/26/03 THU):
---Rec’d postcard from Ken Whitman & Associates. “Representing the best in fantasy art”. I hope their best customer wasn’t Saddam (re his collection of Rowena originals).
---Also a postcard from Viz graphic art publisher (distributed by PGW, a regular supplier) promoting their CASTLE IN THE SKY series from the creator of the Academy-Award winning SPIRITED AWAY, which I liked as a DVD except for the strident voice of the heroine the Disney crew dubbed in.
---Moving on from the postcards received...

---Read an interesting op-ed piece in Wednesday’s NY TIMES by William Gibson about George Orwell on the day he would have been 100 years old, saying that Big Brother may be watching but we are watching Big Brother, due to the “transparency” of information in today’s infostructure. The omnipresent cameras in London and the Total Information Awareness initiative are not the fulfillment of Orwellian prophecy, posits Gibson. Big Brother was a 1948 invention and we “…live today with stranger problems.” Gibson says, “…Orwellian scrutiny is no longer a strictly hierarchical, top-down activity, but to some extent a democratized one.” We are watching the watchers. Nice thought.

---Here now:
Lovecraft, H.P. LETTERS TO ALFRED GALPIN, Hippocampus ('03), 1st edn, (287 pp), new 15.00

---Music played:
- Neil Young HARVEST (Xgau: B Plus) - 31 years old now; how many times have I heard it, but it will never be too many; should A/B it with the vinyl LP I know I have here somewhere.
- Earth, Wind & Fire OPEN OUR EYES (Xgau: A Minus)

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (06/25/03 WED):
---Thunderstormy day.

---Music played:
- Burnt Sugar THAT DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU KNOW (3 disc; Xgau: A Minus, HM***, HM)
- TAFELMUSIK: A Baroque Feast

06/24/03 TUE:
---A pile of used paperbacks on my desk to catalog brings the total toward next insert sheet page list to one shy of the 70 when I print out. About time I refreshed that thing.

---Sent email update concerning Subterranean:
“Here are the last Subterranean books that have come in since the publisher seems to have had a falling off in their desire to send me shipments. Maybe overwork or other factors, but my inability to get a response about a couple titles I pre-ordered and never got (and were sold out) or received months late, or titles received that I did not order, has caused me to tell them to cancel my account. Even that did not get a response, so I am assuming they prefer to sell direct to individuals rather than through bookstores--or at least through me. I guess they are doing well enough to not need me. All the Subterranean books I still have is 20% discount to members of the discount plan. I will try to work up a list of their OP titles that I still have and will offer at the same discount from original retail price. Forthcoming titles I guess I will not be carrying. Kind of unfortunate, because many of them sound pretty good. If they ever get back to me with something I can work with, then maybe I will get their books again. Until then I recommend their direct-sales program with discounts to customers on their emailing list.

---Some new ones from Subterranean (which should maybe change its name to Steamertrunkian--just kidding):
Blaylock, James P.THE MAN IN THE MOON, Subterranean '02, 1st edn, one of 1026 SIGNED copies, (original version of The Elfin Ship with autobiographical afterwod and the first Langdon St. Ives steampunk story; Tim Powers intro), new in dj 40.00

Bloch, Robert THE LOST BLOCH Vol. Three: CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS, Subterranean '02, 1st edn, one of 776 copies SIGNED by editor Davud J. Schow and it looks like by cover-artist Bernie Wrightson, or I should say someone named Bruce, but I can’t find anyone with that given name among the participants, (the novella here is Dr. Holmes’ Murder Castle with five otherwise unreprinted short stories; appreciations by Douglas E. Winter and widow Eleanor Bloch), new in dj $40
---The printrun on this is 500 fewer than the previous volume, though, so it could be that Vol. 2 is still well to be had. Can’t say that about Vol. 1, however.

Brite, Poppy Z. THE VALUE OF X, Subterranean '03, 1st edn, SIGNED, (mature work), new / dj $35

Ketchum, Jack PEACEABLE KINGDOM, Subterranean '02, 1st edn, one of 626 SIGNED copies, (stories; author talks about his readers in his intro; 382 pages), new in dj 40.00

Kiernan, Caitlin R. TRILOBITE: The Writing of Threshold, Subterranean '03, one of 552 SIGNED copies, 94-page chapbook, new with added CD inspired by works of Kiernan 14.00

Partridge, Norman THE HOUSE INSIDE, Subterranean '03, 1st edn, SIGNED, booklet, new 12.00

---Back in stock:
Lansdale, Joe ZEPPELIN'S WEST, Subterranean, 6/01, 1st edn, one of 1500 SIGNED copies, (a Lansdalean holiday into weirdness and camp), new in dj 40.00


---Received this email of interest:
“Hi Chris,

you might still remember me, though it's been a couple of years since I've actually had the money to buy anything from you! But as it goes, the money's been going to a good place -- I now have a small press operation with my wife Kathleen here in the midwest, and am coming out with my first title.

It's a solid (fantastic!) title that's an easy sell -- it'll sell itself. A collection of short fiction by Charles Willeford, THE SECOND HALF OF THE DOUBLE FEATURE, with essentially all out-of-print material (no overlapping with MACHINE IN WARD 11, which is easily available), including seven previously unpublished stories.

The book will be available "officially" on 8/15/03, but in order to make some buzz beforehand I'm offering copies to selected independent bookstores in a couple of weeks' time. It's a 5.5x8.5 size trade paperback, 240 pages, retailing at $17.95.

http://www.sendwit.com/willeford-full.jpg

I will also bring out a hardcover edition in the near future, which includes all of the trade ed and in addition Willeford's complete published poetry, and some 40-50 unpublished poems. Retailing around $35-$38, most likely (I haven't finished the layout so I don't have the page count, which will determine the cost).

The book will be reviewed by Ed Gorman in Mystery Scene, Woody Haut in Crime Time (who will also have advertising for it), and in addition Publisher's Weekly and some major newspapers have tentatively promised reviews... so I'm expecting good media coverage.

And as this is done with help from Sean Wallace of Prime/Cosmos/etc, it's essentially the same deal as all of his ventures. If you're interested, let me know. I'll be happy to provide any additional information you would like. Thanks in advance!

best, -Juha.

--
JT Lindroos
wit's end publishing
www.sendwit.com
Forthcoming: The Second Half of the Double Feature by Charles Willeford
jt@igc.org

---Music played:
- Jurassic 5 POWER IN NUMBERS (Xgau: HM*)
- Amy Rigby TIL THE WHEELS FALL OFF (Xgau: A Minus)

06/23/03 MON:
---Kind of humid today, but no thunderstorms yet. Actually things have been on the dry side around here. [Later: no longer the case, for thunderstorms and rainfall, which both have been most plentiful.]

---Sent in a re-order for Night Shade books, notably most of the Wellman volumes, which I am out of. [Later: they have arrived as well as the first volume in their Hodgson series]

---Email update sent:
“Tracking down the publisher Stark House for a customer, I stumbled on the distributor for a couple more hard-to-find (for me) imprints: Aphelion from Australia and Swan Press (which I assumed took a dive long since). But now, a nice little pile of books:
---From Stark House:
Blackwood, Algernon INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES, Stark House, 2nd, (classic fantasy from a master storyteller; intro by Tim Lebbon), new 16.95
---PAN'S GARDEN: A Volume of Nature Stories, Stark House, 4/03, (orig: 1912; Mike Ashley intro), new 17.95

Constantine, Storm CALENTURE, Stark House, 2nd, (© 1994; adds 2001 intro; a fever dream of a book), new 17.95
---THE ORACLE LIPS: A Collection, Stark House ('99), 1st, one of 1000 SIGNED copies, (vivid, exotic imagery; Moorcock intro), new in dj 45.00
---SIGN FOR THE SACRED, Stark House, 1/02, 1st US, (new intro, also the original first draft of the beginning of the novel, when it was called Prophet Dancer; and the opening pages of an aborted sequel titled Death by Sweetness; 557 pages), new 19.95
---THE THORN BOY & Other Dreams of Dark Desire, Stark House, 12/02, new 19.95

---I can’t find a website for Stark House, but you could try Storm Constantine’s for more information.

---From Aphelion:
Broderick, Damien THE SEA'S FURTHEST END, Aphelion '93, 1st, (SF novel), new 10.00

McMullen, Sean CALL TO THE EDGE, Aphelion '92, (nine stories of the near-possible by award winning author), new 10.00
---MIRROR SUN RISING, Aphelion '95, (Souls of the Great Machine pt 1; 306 pp), new 10.00
---VOICES IN THE LIGHT, Aphelion '94, (Souls of the Great Machine pt 2; 332 pp), new 10.00
---at least that is what the above two volumes appear to be. The second one says “Coming Soon: The Miocene Arrow, Book Three of Greatwinter”)

Turner, George A PURSUIT OF MIRACLES, Aphelion '90, (stories), new 10.00

Williams, Sean & Shane Dix THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER, Aphelion Ascendency '95, (The Cogal #1; Prophecy: The Promised Lands; military SF), new 10.00

---And this one I already had in stock:
Hails, Ian McAuley BACK DOOR MAN, Aphelion '92, (near-future Australia), new $10

---These are all described at eidolon.net/aphelion/books.htm.

---From Swan (and it is great to have a way to get these books again; I just wish there had been more of them):
Effinger, George Alec MAUREEN BIRNBAUM, BARBARIAN SWORDSPERSON: The Complete Stories, Swan, 6/93, 1st edn, (“Preppy SF”; parody; humor; Resnick intro), new 10.00

Barrett, Neal, Jr. SLIGHTLY OFF CENTER: Eleven Extraordinarily Exhilirating Tales, Swan, 10/92, 1st edn, (five never-before-published; Lansdale intro), new 9.50

---A few from Gryphon (as opposed to Golden Gryphon):
Fearn, John Russell THE GENIAL DINOSAUR, Gryphon, 1/03, 1st US, (Dinosaur #2), new 15.00
---A THING OF THE PAST, Gryphon, 1/03, 1st US, (Dinosaur #1), new 15.00

Kurland, Michael IMAGES CONCEITS & LOLLYGAGS: A Motley of Stories, Gryphon, 3/03, 1st edn, (stories; introduction by Richard A. Lupoff), new 20.00
---Described at www.gryphonbooks.com:

---A $40 hc is also available, but I don't have it in stock.

Lovisi, Gary SOUVENIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES: Collected Articles on the Canon and the Pastiches, Gryphon, 12/02, 1st edn, (articles that run the gamut of Holmes collectables in book form), new 15.00
---(ed) PULP CRIME CLASSICS, Gryphon, 1/03, 1st edn, (presenting a baker’s dozen of classic hard-boiled pulp stories from the rare and collectable crime digest magazines of the 1950s and 1960s by Morris Hershman, Michael Avallone, Arnold Marmor, Jules Archer, Hal Masur, Tedd Thorney, Dan Sontup, Bruce Cassidy), new 20.00

PAPERBACK PARADE #58, 11/02, (Andrew Vachss & Hal Ellson; Artist Robert Bonfils; Chester Himes & Gil Brewer; News; Letters; Ads; More!) • ---#59, 4/03, (Ann Bannon, Jim Thompson, Mexican vintage pbs, Peff; News; Letters; Ads; More!), new each, 8.00

---Back in stock:
Dent, Lester THE SINISTER RAY, Gryphon, 10/87, 1st, (Lynn Lash, Scientific Detective pulp adventure stories by Creator of Doc Savage), new 9.95

Fearn, John Russell THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE, Gryphon, 8/01, (Golden Amazon #13), new 15.00

Lovisi, Gary THE SEXY DIGESTS: A Survey, Checklist and Value Guide to the Sexy Exploitation Pin-Up Digest Paperbacks of the 1950s, Gryphon, 9/01, 1st edn, new 25.00

Lupoff, Richard A. BARSOOM: Edgar Rice Burroughs & the Martian Vision, Gryphon, 9/01, (reprint of 1976 Mirage Press edn; new intro by author), new 16.00

Tubb, E.C. EARTH SET FREE, Gryphon, 4/99, 1st US edn, (=SPACE HUNGER), new 15.00

Vaughan, Ralph E. PROFESSOR CHALLENGER IN SECRETS OF THE DREAM-LANDS, Gryphon, 5/97, 1st edn, (a science fantasy adventure), new 9.95
---SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE TERROR OUT OF TIME, Gryphon, 1/02, 1st edn, (mix of Doyle and H.P. Lovecraft), new 15.00

Williamson, Jack THE BLUE SPOT & ENTROPY REVERSED, Gryphon, 5/00, 1st edn, (first book edition of two lost classics from 1937 Astounding), new 20.00

---Also just sent another order to Wildside. Last two were filled quite expeditiously. Third time would be a charm. Mainly special orders for customers and a couple replacements for sold out items. But the special orders I ordered extras for the catalog, maybe a dozen more titles.

---Email sent:
“Great to hear from you. I am afraid I don't have those Subterranean books. I have had difficulties with them so I decided not to carry their subsequent publications. Here is what I am sending about it:
“I am not carrying future Subterranean releases, due to their failure to ship a couple of my recent orders and letting books slip out of print without my getting any, despite my having ordered them. They have not responded to several of my emails.”
I still haven't had a catalog since December (#144). E-commerce is keeping me more than busy as it is, it seems, especially with my getting old and slow. Fooling around with my weblog doesn't help, but it is fun and certainly cheaper. But I do regret the loss of contact with non-computer-users.
Here is what I have by Crowley. In hc:
Crowley, John ANTIQUITIES: Seven Stories, Incunabula '93, 1st edn, vg-f in dj $100
---DÆMONOMANIA, Bantam, 8/00, 1st, new in dj 24.95
---NOVELTY: Four Stories, Foundation/Doubleday, 5/89, 1st edn, f in dj 45.00
and I notice that I do have THE TRANSLATOR but never got it catalogued (no wonder it sits on the shelf).
Misc. Softcover:
Crowley, John LITTLE, BIG, Perennial, 2nd('02), (very great fantasy novel), new 15.95
---OTHERWISE: Three Novels by…, Perennial '02, 1st thus, (548 pages), new 15.95
(---) Andre-Driussi, Michael & Alice K. Turner (eds) SNAKE'S HANDS: A Chapbook About the Fiction of John Crowley, Sirius Fiction '01, corrected 2nd printing, (Harold Bloom preface; Ansley, Clute, Disch; interview), new 5.00
(have the Wildside reprint of this last on order now).
Did you get all those C.J. Cherryhs read?”

---Here is that listing I apparently neglected when it came in some months ago (no wonder it hasn’t sold):
Crowley, John THE TRANSLATOR, Morrow '02, 1st edn, new in dj 24.95

---Music played:
- Beethoven “EMPEROR” CONCERTO (Claudio Arrau, Bernard Haitink) - old vinyl LP
- Neil Young ROAD ROCK, Vol. 1 (Xgau: B Plus)
- Benny Goodman KEN BURNS JAZZ
- Stephen Malkmus S/T (Xgau: A Minus)
- KRS-One A RETROSPECTIVE (Xgau: A Minus)
- Aceyalone ACCEPTED ECLECTIC (Xgau: JACKDAW)
- Ani Di Franco RECKONING/REVELLING (2 CD) (Xgau: B Minus)

06/22/03 SUN:
---I had been hoping to get a new printed catalog ready to go out to the printer this weekend but things still haven’t coalesced enough for that to happen. I seem to be sliding down a slippery slope where the more I let time pass the more I get used to letting time pass without deciding to get it done.

---Music played:
- Charley Pride RCA COUNTRY LEGENDS (Xgau: A Minus)
- Frank Strozier COOL, CALM AND COLLECTED
- THE BEST OF GAP BAND: 20th Century Masters, The Millennium Collection (Xgau: A Minus)
- THE BEST OF ABC: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection (Xgau: A Minus)

06/21/03 SAT:
---Went to DM farmer’s market this morning, picking up produce for the week--a pretty good deal when considering that Amy is in charge of seeing to it that we eat what we buy. I should be more helpful in that regard but ever since we became vegetarian and thus disposed of many of my standby recipes, my contribution on the cooking end has languished. Since I still do all the dishwashing, which is worse when all are home, I pull my weight. In winter I still have a few things I can cook, when it behooves someone to get something started in the morning or afternoon (soups, chilis, or stews). But in the summer when cold and light-weight fare works best, Amy takes over. She even brought in a large haul of green beans from the garden today.
---On the way to the farmer’s market we had to stop by the Animal Rescue League to drop off the couple more kittens we mangaged to get in our trap. Now we have taken all four kittens and their aunt (actually, older sister). And we have taken three raccoons across the lake to Jester State Park. There are two more stray cats living under our deck that we would like to get rid of. These cats are not particularly friendly but they do beg for food. They bother the birds and they threaten to proliferate even further. The female brings a bevy of tomcats around, getting in fights, causing our housebound neutered male to get all worked up and cause trouble. The trap seems to be working well. Best thing we ever bought! I am finding out that I have trapper blood in my veins.

---Music played:
- The Beatles #1
- Avison CONCERTI FROM OPUS 9
- THE DISC OF MUSIC & NATURE (companion to THE BOOK OF MUSIC AND NATURE)
- Telemann SONATTAS
- Mott the Hoople MOTT (Xgua: A Minus)
- The Waco Brothers ELECTRIC WACO CHAIR (Xgau: A Minus)

6/20/03 FRI:
---Text to follow?
BOOKCELLAR NOTES (06/19/03 THU):
---From a publisher new to me (in Ft. Lauderdale):
Emerson, Ray THE RIDDLE OF CTHULHU, Llumina ('03), (©1997 as The Charybdis Memorandum; the Old Ones are bent on destroying Mankind), new 18.95

---Still have orders to get out. I was hoping to run off another catalog and do layouts this weekend to take the printer next week, but it is still looking like I could be spending my time filling orders. [Later note: catalog didn’t happen yet.]

---Music played:
- Abbey Lincoln THE WORLD IS FALLING DOWN
- Kaito U.K. BAND RED (Xgau: A Minus)

Tuesday, July 1, 2003

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (06/18/03 WED):
---Never got the downstairs computer turned on. Thunderstorm just when I was going to get started.

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (06/17/03 TUES):
---Am starting to run to the north more on the bike trail these days to get more shade. Temps in the eighties probably with decent humidity. Really not unpleasant but the cumulative effect of the house not cooling down as much overnight may have us in place for a torrid summer. The benchmark forty minutes for the five-mile to the north, that I used to routinely breach, is still three or four minutes away. But I think if I had gotten an earlier start today, when it was cooler and the sun at a lower angle, I may have shaved a minute or two off my time. I really did feel like I was slowing down the second half of the run. The heat getting to me, as it can do quite easily given my sweating propensity. Then again, if I had started earlier I might have ran to the south, where the hills are just a bit less steep. After that I had to spend some time trying to clip the hedge. Although officially a “dwarf lilac” hedge, it has grown mighty tall. I whacked away at what I could reach, but I could hardly detect much difference. Amy, spending all morning on the sides, is a different story. It has to happen all at once for me, because after a few minutes I am done.

---Music played:
- Roger Lasley DINNER ON THE GROUND (not a guitar afficianado, but I continue to be delighted by the felicity of these arrangements; by the way, I have these for sale @ $15)
- The Descendents SOMERY (Xgau: A Minus) - with 28 tracks I am glad I am not getting this from Steve Jobs - as if any SST CDs are in his empirical. (“I wanted her cherry, I got sour grapes.”)
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs FEVER TO TELL (Xgau: B Plus)
- Michael J. Schumacher ROOM PIECE
- Philip Glass THE MUSIC OF CANDYMAN

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (06/16/03 MON):
---Received solicitation from Gothic Press for ROBERT AICKMAN: An Introduction by Gary William Crawford. Here is a paste of the text of the description from their catalog:
“ROBERT AICKMAN: AN INTRODUCTION, Gary William Crawford. Robert Aickman was one of the most important writers of ghost stories in the last century.  His personal, deeply felt ghost stories were consummately poetic.  Very much feeling a sense of twentieth century Angst, he wrote subtle, disorienting spiritual journeys.  This book is an overview of his life and works. 80 pages. $20.00”

---Books from Tartarus have arrived. New ones:
Onions, Oliver GHOST STORIES, Tartarus, 2nd('03), (Rosalie Parker intro; 459 pages), new in dj 55.00
Valentine, Mark MASQUES AND CANDLES: More Tales of The Connoisseur, Tartarus '03, 1st, SIGNED, (the sleuth of the singular), new in dj 45.00

---And these back in stock:
Barker, Nugent WRITTEN WITH MY LEFT HAND, Tartarus '02, new in dj 45.00

Hughes, Rhys STORIES FROM A LOST ANTHOLOGY, Tartarus '02, 1st, new in dj 45.00

Lorrain, Jean NIGHTMARES OF AN ETHER-DRINKER, Tartarus '02, new in dj 45.00

Sarban THE SACRIFICE and Other Stories, Tartarus '02, one of 350 copies, (four novella-length stories, two of which appear here for the first time), new in dj 45.00

---Music played:
- CYBEROCTAVE sampler (freebie CD) - wouldn’t play on my CD player (maybe it is a DVD, I will have to try upstairs--turns out it was cracked)
- Fred Eaglesmith RALPH’S LAST SHOW (2 CD) (Xgau: A Minus)

06/15/03 SUNDAY:
---Father’s day.
---Had to sleep on and off most of the day, ineffectual when awake, thanks to raccoon trap being full again at 3AM.

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