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.

Friday, May 28, 2004

05/28/04 FRI:
---Took the scenic route back to Polk City from Columbia--avoiding Hwy. 63 like the plague. Indeed northern Missouri is a scenic place. The roads were smooth but windy and hilly--and void of other traffic. It was a picture-perfect day and I had plenty of time. One concern about getting back was to dump all the spam email that would have accumulated since the last time I dealt with it on Tuesday, in case my in-box was getting too full to accept legitimate emissives. That was about the third thing I did when I got back. I hope nothing legit got bounced. Now I have to catch up--not that I was even close to being caught up enough to allow for a few days being taken off as it was. I like to think I am not the electric company or the cable guy, so maybe I can claim a little leeway--but I think the amount of leeway I have been taking has become out of hand. I will try to get back to work now!

05/27/04 THU:
---We drove back from Sikeston to Columbia, where I left my parents for their return to California. I still had a five-hour drive back to Polk City, so I looked up an old friend thereabouts and cadged a night's sleep and conviviality--another contact I am glad I restored. I think I ended up actually sleeping better on his couch than in either of the motel rooms the previous two nights.
05/26/04 WED:
---Everything went well in our travels--at least as well as could be expected under the circumstances. My father did well in the speech he was concerned about giving. I was touched by the nice reception I received--the hitherto wayward relationship who had not stayed in touch. Back when I was a kid I saw a bit of Uncle Manny, Aunt Pat, and cousins Jennifer and Susan, but not at all since. Still, they were as nice as could be. I know they are going through a tough time. I am really glad I didn't let that last thread of contact be cut. I will try to make sure it continues to not stay cut. A big shame it had to come at Manuel's funeral.

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

05/25/04 TUE:
---Made it through another stormy night without meeting our final doom. Others hereabout have been more greatly inconvenienced, so our luck held out through this go-round. The rest of the workweek promises a nice drying out period, so I am glad for that. The tornado siren down the street went off only twice yesterday evening--versus four or five times a couple nights before--and the power was out for about three hours. Kind of relaxing sitting there in the dark for a while. The two or three inches of rain piledriving into our leaky frontporch windows had subsided by then, sopping just about the full complement of my old-towel supply. Nothing else too crazy I can see from it so far. But after all this rain it might take a couple days for it to make the sump pump have to do its job. It has not been run in years and I have not tested it as I should--so there’s still a chance of being victimized!

---After hastily posting the above, I headed out for a few days on the road. Met my parents in Columbia, MO, then drove together down to Sikeston, MO for the funeral services of my uncle Manuel Drumm. My father had to give one of the speeches, so he was understandably apprehensive as well as upset over the loss of his brother. Combine that with concerns over his own health, as an octogenarian, and it was a dicey situation at times.

Monday, May 24, 2004

05/24/04 MON:
---Have been posting bare-bones posts to fill up the past week. We are looking at a "very dangerous" weather situation for tonight, so that has me on another adrenalin drip.
05/23/04 SUN:
---We survived the onslaught of tornadoes popping up all over the place. A more-than-three-inch deluge of rain overnight has me cranking up the basement fans and dehumidifiers. So far so good, but more of this I could do without. The worst part is the weathercasters on TV with their nonstop fancy radar--certainly heightens the apprehension.
05/22/04 SAT:
---Text to follow.


05/21/04 FRI:
---Here today from Norton:
Leithauser, Brad (ed) THE NORTON BOOK OF GHOST STORIES, Norton ('94), 1st edn, (surprising gathering of writers redefines the genre; 430 pp), new in dj $25
---I wonder why this is showing up only now, all by its lonesome; but it is welcome no less. I also wonder how successful a re-order would be.

---Amy, sleuthing the Internet for news about Neil’s doings came up with an article in The Mercury News (San Jose) that mentions him, where he is working for CivicSpace Labs as co-founder and “lead engineer”.

---Finally have twelve pages of “Recent Arrivals” to print out. The list is always in such a state of flux that I am sure if I don’t get these sheets reduced and laid out immediately I will have to reprint them again. I was waiting for a nice even number. Every time I would get close a host of deletions would occur.

05/19/04 WED:
---Here today from IPG (Golden Gryphon, BenBella, Tachyon):
Brunner, John THE SHEEP LOOK UP, Benbella, 6/03, (Brin intro), new 15.95

Finch, Shiela READING THE BONES, Tachyon, 9/03, 1st edn, (Xenolinguist novella expanded to novel length), new 14.95

Gerrold, David THE MAN WHO FOLDED HIMSELF, BenBella, 7/03, (21st Century Edition; Sawyer intro; afterword by phllospher Dr. Geoffrey Klempner), new 13.95

Lansdale, Joe R. BUMPER CROP, Golden Gryphon '04, 1st edn, (Mo’ Joe Nightmare Stories; previously uncollected or collected in limited manner), new / dj 24.95

Lorrah, Jean BLOOD WILL TELL, BenBella, 4/03, (vampire novel; paranormal romance), new 14.95

MacLeod, Ian R. BREATHMOSS and Other Exhalations, Golden Gryphon '04, 1st edn, (vivid worlds, sheer strangeness, real people), new in dj 24.95

Stross, Charles THE ATROCITY ARCHIVES, Golden Gryphon '04, 1st edn, (Ken MacLeod intro; originally serialized in Spectrum SF), new in dj 24.95

Swanwick, Michael FIELD GUIDE TO THE MESOZOIC MEGAFAUNA, Tachyon, 2/04, 1st edn, (15 stories on dinosaur themes; 32 pages), booklet, new 8.95

VanderMeer, Jeff SECRET LIFE, Golden Gryphon '04, 1st edn, (stories; Jeffrey Ford intro), new in dj 24.95

Yeffeth, Glenn (ed) TAKING THE RED PILL: Science, Philosophy and Religion in The Matrix, BenBella, 4/03, 1st edn, (mind-expanding thrill ride; Gunn, Sawyer, etc.; Gerrold intro; index), new 17.95

---Back in stock:
Effinger, George Alec BUDAYEEN NIGHTS, Golden Gryphon '03, 1st edn, (foreword and story intros by Barbara Hambly; near-future cyberpunk), new in dj 24.95
05/20/04 THU:
---Finally got around to assembling those package insert sheets. Lots of fun that was.

05/18/04 TUE:
---Ran eight miles, went to the store for provisions...big waste of time!

Monday, May 17, 2004

05/17/04 MON:
---Book here today from Necro: SUCCUBI by Edward Lee (tpb, $19.95). Originally published in 1992, blurbed as “unrelenting, erotic, and thrillingly perverse.”

---Got a start working on the next batch of listings to post to biblio.com, which will take me through Rohan in the alphabet, including Roc paperbacks. I hope I don’t take as long this time to actually get the upload ready.
---Posted new paperback arrivals (see 05/13/04, 03/15/04 and 02/28/04). One I haven’t listed yet I checked the pricing in ABE and saw the cheapest copy there for $35 with others at $40 and above. It was one in the Vampire Series by Robert Lory. Maybe I will try out a listing on eBay. I will have to get Amy to bring me up to speed on using the scanner, so I will have an image to upload--if that is the norm for selling on eBay.
05/16/04 SUN:
---Vacuum-cleaned the house, ran five miles, mowed the lawn...

---Disc Log:
- Oumou Sangare OUMOU (2CD) (Xgau: A)
- Ladysmith Black Mambazo RAISE YOUR SPIRIT HIGHER (Xgau: ?)
- SUPER MAMA DJOMBO (Xgau: A Minus)

05/15/04 SAT:
---Received both April and May issues of LOCUS today. I better go through them while at the computer, because I see books listed and reviewed I maybe ought to put in my order file--such as the Hugo nominees. I have been falling increasingly out of touch with what is being published, the less I bother to find books to order from publishers that aren’t already in my order file.

---Disc Log:
- Duke Ellington THE TREASURY SHOWS, Vol. 1 (2CD)
- Basement Jazz ROOTY (Xgau: A Minus)
- Thelonious Monk THELONIOUS HIMSELF

Friday, May 14, 2004

05/14/04 FRI:
---When I went to try to do a little catch-up on blog entries, to at least have a little something for possible backfill later, I noticed www.blogger.com was quite transmogrified--something which I guess is endemic to the Internet. Old sites are stale sites. There are plenty of abandoned efforts out there. I am not sure all the bugs are out of this version, but checking into it a bit I notice I can enable a comments feature. So maybe now if anyone wants to make any comments they can do so. I haven't necessarily wanted this to always be a one-way street, so I welcome any comments that anyone might think of to post. In that spirit maybe I will try to be a little more comment-worthy in my postings. Certainly a lot occurs to comment on, but I don't want to be just uttering things which are obvious and probably ill-informed, not that that stops anyone. Anyway, it looks like another fun little thing to have be out there.

---Working on new package insert sheets now that I have three pages of new-arrival paperbacks printed out. Maybe I will include info on the new Golden Gryphon books I expect to be here any day now.

---Ran five miles in best time since last December (44:34). The coolness of the air this morning--probably in the low 40s and overcast--was the chief enabling factor.

05/13/04 THU:
---Woke up at 4am to the tune of thunder and lightning, so I will be running tired today.

---Still have the mountain of undone things to do, but I got an urge to break open one of the boxes of used books that are sitting around here unopened since they first arrived. That was not the plan, but I never seem to have a good opportunity to catalog books, when I always have ones that are already sold, or are new books which take up more of my inventory capital. Not that cataloguing books is not the most fun for me. Sometimes I get caught up in the books, and it takes longer than it should to do the cataloguing, but it is probably educational.

---Which brings another batch of paperbacks catalogued to print out for insert sheets:
3 • • NEW ARRIVALS (& re-arrivals): 3/15/2004—5/13/2004 • •
DAW 33 Akers (=Bulmer) TRANSIT TO SCORPIO, 12/72, (Dray Prescot), g-vg 2.00
Aspect 61195 Barnes, Steven ZULU HEART, 2/04, (alternate American slavery), PR, f 4.00
Aspect 61159 Benford, Gregory IN THE OCEAN OF NIGHT, 2/04, (Galactic Center 1), f 4.00
DAW 23 Brunner, John THE STARDROPPERS, '72, (>Listen! The Stars!), vg+ 3.50
Roc 45949 Caselberg, Jay WYRMHOLE, 10/03, (psychic investigator), f 4.00
Del Rey 27358 Clement, Hal STARLIGHT, 2nd(2/78), (sequel to Mission of Gravity), vg-f 3.00
Aspect 61135 Dart-Thornton, Cecilia THE BATTLE OF EVERNIGHT, 1/04, (#3), PR, f 3.00
Ace pb 94000 De Lint, Charles YARROW: An Autumn Tale, 10/86, (orig), vg-f 5.00
Ace F- 427 Delany, Samuel R. THE EINSTEIN INTERSECTION, ('67), (orig), vg 5.00
Pap Lib 52357 Dexter, William CHILDREN OF THE VOID, 10/66, vg-f 5.00
DAW 69 Dickson, Gordon R. THE PRITCHER MASS, 9/73, vg 2.50
Zebra 662 Douglas, Gregory A. THE NEST, ('80), (huge Cape Cod mutants), vg 2.00
Avon 80325 Drake, Asa THE LAIR OF ANCIENT DREAMS, 7/82, (hist. fantasy), vg+ 3.00
Del Rey 30080 Eddings, David CASTLE OF WIZARDRY 5/84, (orig; Belgariad #4), g-vg 2.00
Aspect 61360 Gallagher, Diana G. SMALLVILLE: Shadows, 9/03, (TV tie), PR, f 3.00
Perma M4172 Gold, H.L. (ed) THE THIRD GALAXY READER, 5/60, vg 3.00
Aspect 61392 Grayson, Devin & Flint Dille BATMAN: Rose of Sin Tzu, 11/03, (game), f 3.00
DAW 387 Henneberg, N.C. THE GREEN GODS, 5/80, (Cherryh trans), vg-f 3.00
DAW 39 Herbert, Frank THE BOOK OF..., 3rd, vg+ 2.50
Signet E9403 Herbert, James THE DARK, 9/80, (it came like a malignant shadow), vg 2.50
Roc 45919 Hogan, Lee ENEMIES, 4/03, (sequel to Belarus), f 4.00
Aspect 61359 Holder, Nancy SMALLVILLE: Silence, 11/03, (orig; TV tie), f 4.00
Del Rey 31138 Houarner, Gerard Daniel THE BARD OF SORCERY, 5/86, (amulet), vg+ 3.00
DAW 368 Huntley, Tim ONE ON ME, 1/80, (orig; salty SF satire), vg 2.50
DAW 244 Jakes, John THE BEST OF JOHN JAKES, 6/77, (orig), vg+ 4.00
DAW 343 Jeter, K.W. MORLOCK NIGHT, 6/79, (orig; Time Machine's return), vg+ 6.00
Zebra 933 Johnstone, William W. THE UNINVITED, ('82), (horror), g-vg 1.50
DAW 557 Kapp, C. THE LOST WORLDS OF CRONUS, 12/83, (Cageworld 2), vg-f 3.00
DAW 134 Klein, Gerard THE MOTE IN TIME'S EYE, 1/75, (Richards trans), vg+ 3.00
DAW 93 Klein, Gerard THE OVERLORDS OF WAR, 3/74, (Brunner trans), vg 2.50
Roc 45939 Knight, E.E. WAY OF THE WOLF, 2nd, (Vampire Earth #1), f 3.50
DAW 157 Kurland, Michael THE WHENABOUTS OF BURR, 7/75, (orig), vg 3.00
Del Rey no # Kurtz THE HISTORIES OF KING KELSON, nd, 3 volumes, BOXED, vg 7.50
DAW 50 Lafferty, R.A. STRANGE DOINGS, 4/73, (stories), g-vg 4.00
DAW 239 Lake, David J. THE RIGHT HAND OF DEXTRA, 4/77, (orig), vg+ 3.00
DAW 223 Lake, David J. WALKERS ON THE SKY, 12/76, (orig), vg+ 3.00
DAW pb 1332 Laumer, Keith DINOSAUR BEACH, 5th, (time-travel SF), vg 2.00
DAW 184 Lee, Tanith DON'T BITE THE SUN, 2/76, (orig), vg+ 4.00
DAW 380 Lee, Tanith SABELLA, OR THE BLOOD STONE, 4/80, (vampire), vg-f 4.50
DAW 530 Lee, Tanith SUNG IN SHADOW, 5/83, (orig; heroic fantasy), vg-f 4.50
DAW 87 Leiber, Fritz THE BOOK OF FRITZ LEIBER, 1/74, (author's picks), vg+ 6.00
DAW 164 Leiber, Fritz THE SECOND BOOK OF FRITZ LEIBER, 9/75, (orig), vg+ 6.00
Aspect 61318 Lowachee, Karin BURNDRIVE, 10/03, (return to Warchild universe), vg-f 3.00
Aspect 61077 Lowachee, Karin WARCHILD, 3rd, (first-novel contest winner), vg-f 3.00
Aspect 60964 McArthur, Maxine TIME PAST, 5/02, (sequel to Time Future), vg-f 3.00
Timescape 83692 McIntyre, Vonda N. THE ENTROPY EFFECT, 6/81, (orig; Star Trek), vg 3.50
Roc 45910 Mitchell, Syne THE CHANGELING PLAGUE, 2/03, (DNA rewriting), f 4.00
Roc 45879 Morehouse, Lyda FALLEN HOST, 2nd, (A.I. who dreams of Mecca), f 3.50
Pocket 81131 Nim, P.S. DOUBLE MOBIUS SPHERE, 12/78, (orig), vg-f 3.50
DAW 400 Norton, Andre LORE OF THE WITCH WORLD,9/80, (orig; stories), vg+ 5.00
DAW 390 Norvil, Manning (=Bulmer) CROWN OF THE SWORD GOD, 6/80, vg 2.50
DAW 260 Norvil, Manning (=Bulmer) DREAM CHARIOTS, 10/77, (Odan), vg+ 3.00
Warner 36155 Reeves-Stevens, Garfield DREAMLAND, 6/91, (horror), vg 3.00
Avon 35774 Robinson, Frank CHILDREN OF THE DRAGON, 1/78, (slashing epic), vg+ $3
Bantam S3851 Serling, Rod THE SEASON TO BE WARY, 9/68, (spinetingler), vg-f 5.00
Timescape 41383 Stallman, Robert THE BEAST, 9/82, (The Beast #3), vg-f 3.00
Pocket 82958 Stallman, Robert THE ORPHAN, 3/80, (orig; The Beast #1), f 5.00
DAW 140 Swann, Thomas Burnett THE NOT-WORLD, 2/75, (orig), vg+ 4.00
Zebra 1434 Teweles, Claude THE STALKER, 10/84, (orig; death in disguise), g-vg 1.75
Roc 45915 Turtledove, Harry RULED BRITANNIA, 9/03, (alternate history), f 4.00
Berkley S1767 Wallace, Ian DR. ORPHEUS, 11/69, (Croyd), g-vg 3.00
Charter 72850 Walters, R.R. THE RITUAL, 7/80, (pulsing with sensual horror), vg+ 2.00
DAW 5 Wollheim & Saha (eds) 1972 ANNUAL WORLD'S BEST SF, ('72), vg+ 4.00
DAW 53 Wollheim & Saha (eds) 1973 ANNUAL WORLD'S BEST SF, 3rd, vg+ 3.00
DAW 288 Wollheim & Saha (eds) 1978 ANNUAL WORLD'S BEST SF, 5/78, vg-f 3.50
DAW 337 Wollheim & Saha (eds) 1979 ANNUAL WORLD'S BEST SF, 5/76, vg 2.50
DAW 384 Wollheim & Saha (eds) 1980 ANNUAL WORLD'S BEST SF, 5/80, g 2.00
DAW UJ1427 Wollheim & Saha (eds) WORLDS BEST SF: Series Two, 4th, (1973), g-vg 2.00
Signet 13647 Wood, Bari LIGHT SOURCE, 12/85, (high-voltage chase thriller), vg 2.00

---Makes a third sheet, so I will have to get a new batch ready now. I notice that I never posted the listings for the first and second sheets. I have done so now and they can be found at the posts for 02/28/04 and 03/15/04.

---Disc Log:
- Gaby Kerpel CARNABAILITO (Xgau: A Minus)
- HOUND DOG TAYLOR: A TRIBUTE (Xgau: A Minus)
- LIVING CHICAGO BLUES: Volume 1 (Xgau: A Minus)

---Just did a long-delayed further upload to my biblio.com listings, bringing it now from Mic- to Roberts in the alphabet. This current batch, I noticed, contains a number of Mike Resnick books. Next time it looks like a bunch of paperbacks (from publisher Roc).
05/12/04 TUE:
---Text to follow.

05/11/04 TUE:
---What is my excuse today? Well, I ran 6.5 miles and then mowed the lawn, figuring this to be the one dry day of the week.

---Disc Log:
- Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali A BETTER DESTINY (Xgau: A Minus)
- Luna CLOSE COVER BEFORE STRIKING (Xgau: A Minus)
- Brother Ali SHADOWS ON THE SUN (Xgau: A Minus)

05/10/04 MON:
---Text to follow?

---Disc Log:
- my CD COMP 26 (as usual, available for the asking to anyone who wants it; I enjoy these things myself perhaps to an unhealthy degree; it is a chance at least to really listen to a few tracks that might not get heard when they go by in the background--and hear them in a different context than when they were on their original CD; often for the lyrics as much as the tune; given the number and quality of CDs that pass by my ears and the facility I have to make great-sounding compilations with a degree of ease, it ends up being something that I quite enjoy doing)

05/09/04 SUN:
---Mother’s Day.

---Disc Log:
- Wendy Carlos SONIC SEASONINGS (2 CD)

05/08/04 SAT:
---Some barely-used books I catalogued:
hardcovers:
McDevitt, Jack OMEGA, Ace, 11/03, 1st edn, misbound with pages out of order, else vg-f in dj 6.00
---It looks like all pages are there and it would not make a serious impediment to reading the book--just the second bloc of 32 pages is transposed with the first; if this were a postage stamp it might be worth something!
Merril, Judith (ed) THE 11th ANNUAL OF THE YEAR'S BEST S-F, Delacorte (66), 1st, vg 8.00
Merril, Judith (ed) THE 5th ANNUAL OF THE YEAR'S BEST S-F, Simon & Schuster '60, 1st, gvg $6

book club:
Asimov EARTH IS ROOM ENOUGH 3.00
Boyd THE LAST STARSHIP FROM EARTH 3.00
Heinlein STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND (uncut edn) 5.00
Merril (ed) 10th ANNUAL EDITION: THE YEAR'S BEST S-F 3.00

misc. softcovers:
Baird, Alison THE STONE OF THE STARS, Aspect, 2/04, 1st, (Dragon Throne #1), PR release laid in, f $6
Brunner, John THE SHEEP LOOK UP, Benbella, 6/03, (Brin intro), f 10.00
Clement, Hal NEEDLE, Equinox/Avon, 4/76, (SF Rediscovery #20), vg+ 5.00

---Disc Log:
- Mamani Keita & Marc Minelli ELECTRO BAMAKO (Xgau: A Minus)
- Wire SEND (Xgau: A Minus)

Friday, May 7, 2004

05/07/04 FRI:
---Here today from Gryphon: PAPERBACK PARADE #61 & PRIMAL SPILLANE (Early Stories: 1941-1942).

---And word from Golden Gryphon:
Greetings from the Gryphon:

SECRET LIFE, by Jeff VanderMeer, is now available!

In Secret Life, VanderMeer’s newest short fiction collection, readers
can return to the world of Ambergris, where the author has set five of these
stories, including “Corpse Mouth and Spore Nose,” a new story written
exclusively for this volume. But Jeff VanderMeer is a man of many worlds,
as reflected in his travels and in his fiction: “Balzac’s War,” set in the same
milieu as the author’s first novel, Veniss Underground, is a harrowing,
powerful far-future novella that pits brother against brother in a landscape
ravaged by war with Earth’s newly sentient human-made species. In
thirteenth-century Cambodia, a lone artist is torn between his love of his
craft and his unspoken love for a woman in “The Bone Carver’s Tale.” In
“The Emperor’s Reply” and “The Compass of His Bones,” in seventeenth-
century Peru, the last Incan Emperor, having brutally fallen at the hands of
the Conquistadors, seeks his revenge. Every summer you can join us at
“The Festival of the Freshwater Squid,” in Sebring, Florida, to observe the
annual mating rituals of the mayfly squid.
With personal notes by the author detailing each story’s genesis, and an
Introduction by Jeffrey Ford, a New York Times Notable Author and winner
of the World Fantasy Award for Golden Gryphon Press collection, The
Fantasy Writer’s Assistant and Other Stories.

SECRET LIFE
by Jeff VanderMeer
cover art by Scott Eagle
ISBN 1-930846-27-4 / $24.95 (Trade hardcover)
305 pages

---And also from Golden Gryphon:
Greetings from the Gryphon:

BREATHMOSS AND OTHER EXHALATIONS, by Ian R. MacLeod, is now
available!

Trade edition: $24.95
Limited, signed edition: $100.00

The acclaimed short fiction of Ian R. MacLeod combines fantasy, science fiction, and horror
in an astonishing range of settings where the strange and the real intermingle in fresh,
humane, and endlessly surprising ways. In “Breathmoss,” nominated for the Hugo award, a
young girl must cope with love and family ties when an ancient space pilot appears on her
home planet in a wildly distant universe where men are nearly extinct. In “Verglas,”
nominated for the Locus Poll award, a father must decide whether to leave his humanity and
join his family by going native on a remote ice world. During WWII an eighteen-year-old
girl gains the reputation of being “The Chop Girl” (winner of the World Fantasy Award,
nominated for the Hugo award) – a death flower, notorious for bringing death to any airman
she dates. But what happens when the chop girl meets a famously lucky flyer, the one who
always returns? A distinguished composer helps a young girl seemingly lost in a forest, who
teaches him that there is magic in the world he has been ignoring, especially near “The
Noonday Pool.” An alcoholic scientist finds himself the last person still to be looking for
extraterrestrial life. All common sense and evidence argue that his quest is hopeless, but
even death holds promise in “New Light on the Drake Equation.” The ritually blinded
members of a religious order are responsible for bringing sunlight to a star-encompassing
world. But Isabel finds the constraints of her duties burdensome, and seeks love and
knowledge in a near-endless library to become the tragic and redemptive heroine of “Isabel
of the Fall.” In an alternate history, England loses WWI, and succumbs to fascism. Jews and
gypsies are relocated to islands off the coast of Scotland, and homosexuals are offered
“treatment” at camps. As events unravel toward a history-shaking moment, the story is told
from the perspective of an aging historian and homosexual, a one-time friend of the
deceptively charming fascist leader. Resounding with Englishness, filled with visions of
Oxford and London as they nearly were, all the horrors of repression and a society in denial
are brilliantly examined in “The Summer Isles,” winner of the World Fantasy Award and
nominated for the Hugo award.

The limited edition is signed by both author Ian R. MAcLeod and artist Bob Eggleton, and
is numbered (1-100). This edition is only available directly from Golden Gryphon Press.

BREATHMOSS AND OTHER EXHALATIONS
by Ian R. MacLeod
cover art by Bob Eggleton
ISBN 1-930846-26-6 / $24.95 (Trade hardcover) $100.00 (Limited hardcover)
309 pages

05/06/04 THU:
---Word from Haffner Press:
I FINALLY have slipcases and can begin filling back orders for the
limited editions of SPIDER ISLAND (Williamson #4) and Brackett's MARTIAN
QUEST.

Do you have any interest in your customer base?

All best,

Stephen Haffner
Big Poobah
HAFFNER PRESS

05/05/04 WED:
---A couple shipments from UK publishers here today. From Tartarus Press:
Lindsay, David THE HAUNTED WOMAN, Tartarus '04, (orig: 1922; Douglas A. Anderson afterword), new in dj 50.00

---From PS Publishing:
Greenwood, Gary JIGSAW MEN, PS, 1/04, (novella; Chadbourn intro), {hc in dj still available @ $40}, new 16.00

Lebbon, Tim CHANGING OF FACES, PS, 1/04, (novella; Simon Clark intro), {hc in dj still avail. @ $40}, new 16.00

---Back in stock:
Baxter, Stephen RIDING THE ROCK, PS, 9/02, 1st, SIGNED, (novella; Benford intro), new 16.00

Hand, Elizabeth BIBLIOMANCY: Four Novellas, PS, 10/03, 1st edn, new in dj 50.00

Jones, Stephen (ed) KEEP OUT THE NIGHT, PS, 10/02, 1st, (new Not At Night #1), new in dj 65.00

---Disc Log:
- J.S. Bach INVENTIONS, SINFONIAS, LITTLE PRELUDES
- Piet Kee AT WEINGARTEN (Pachelbel, Walther, Bach, etc.) - organ (played on Klipsch computer speakers with subwoofer turned up to test the house foundation)
- Orlando Cachaito Lopez CACHAITO (Xgau: A)

05/04/04 TUE:
---Catalogued a few quasi-used pbs today:
Warner Aspect 61195 Barnes, Steven ZULU HEART, 2/04, (alternate American slavery), PR, f 4.00
Warner Aspect 61159 Benford, Gregory IN THE OCEAN OF NIGHT, 2/04, (Galactic Center #1), f 4.00
Roc 45949 Caselberg, Jay WYRMHOLE, 10/03, (psychic investigator), f 4.00
Del Rey 27358 Clement, Hal STARLIGHT, 2nd(2/78), (sequel to Mission of Gravity), vg-f 3.00
Warner Aspect 61135 Dart-Thornton, Cecilia THE BATTLE OF EVERNIGHT, 1/04, (#3), PR, f 3.00
Warner Aspect 61360 Gallagher, Diana G. SMALLVILLE: Shadows, 9/03, (TV tie), PR, f 3.00
Warner Aspect 61392 Grayson, Devin & Flint Dille BATMAN: Rose of Sin Tzu, 11/03, (game), f 3.00
Roc 45919 Hogan, Lee ENEMIES, 4/03, (sequel to Belarus), f 4.00
Warner Aspect 61359 Holder, Nancy SMALLVILLE: Silence, 11/03, (orig; TV tie), f 4.00
Roc 45939 Knight, E.E. WAY OF THE WOLF, 2nd, (Vampire Earth #1), f 3.50
Warner Aspect 61318 Lowachee, Karin BURNDRIVE, 10/03, (return to Warchild universe), vg-f 3.00
Roc 45910 Mitchell, Syne THE CHANGELING PLAGUE, 2/03, (DNA rewriting), f 4.00
Roc 45879 Morehouse, Lyda FALLEN HOST, 2nd, (A.I. who dreams of Mecca), f 3.50
Timescape 41383 Stallman, Robert THE BEAST, 9/82, (The Beast #3), vg-f 3.00
Timescape 41382 Stallman, Robert THE CAPTIVE, 3/81, (The Beast #2), vg-f 3.50
Pocket 82958 Stallman, Robert THE ORPHAN, 3/80, (orig; The Beast #1), f 5.00
Roc 45915 Turtledove, Harry RULED BRITANNIA, 9/03, (alternate history), f 4.00

---I think I should list most of these on half.com, since they are virtually new and have high cover prices.

---Disc Log:
- THE COMPLETE STAX/VOLT SOUL SINGLES Volume 2: 1968-1971 (Disc 9)
- THE HISTORY OF TOWNSHIP MUSIC (Xgau: A Minus)
- AMERICAN POLKA (Xgau: B Plus)

Monday, May 3, 2004

05/03/04 MON:
---Sitting here catching up on over a week’s blog entries. Probably a waste of time setting up Christgau links and listing my disc log, but wasting time is what I am a particular expert at.

05/02/04 SUN:
---Mother-in-law’s 80th birthday dinner here today. Later in summer there will be an extended-family get-together for the occasion.

05/01/04 SAT:
---Text to follow?
04/30/04 FRI:
---Here today from Five Star:
Robinson, Spider GOD IS AN IRON and Other Stories, Five Star '03, new 13.95

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn THE RETRIEVAL ARTIST and Other Stories, Five Star '03, (Hugo-nominated novella set in universe that sanctions murder), new 13.95

Sheckley, Robert UNCANNY TALES, Five Star, 7/03, 1st edn, new in dj 25.95

Spinrad, Norman DEUS X and Other Stories, Five Star, 9/03, 1st edn, new in dj 25.95

Zahn, Timothy STAR SONG and Other Stories, Five Star '02, new 13.95

---Disc Log:
- Philip Glass EARLY KEYBOARD MUSIC
- Silkworm LIFESTYLE (Xgau: A Minus)

04/29/04 THU:
---A few pbs I catalogued today:
Del Rey 30080 Eddings, David CASTLE OF WIZARDRY 5/84, (orig; Belgariad #4), g-vg 2.00
Zebra 933 Johnstone, William W. THE UNINVITED, ('82), (horror), g-vg 1.50
Tor 51048 Pike, Chris THE SEASON OF PASSAGE, 8/93, (horror), g-vg $1
Warner 36155 Reeves-Stevens, Garfield DREAMLAND, 6/91, (horror), vg 3.00
Zebra 1434 Teweles, Claude THE STALKER, 10/84, (orig; death in disguise), g-vg 1.75
Signet 13647 Wood, Bari LIGHT SOURCE, 12/85, (high-voltage chase thriller), vg 2.00

---Disc Log:
- Art Pepper LIVING LEGEND
- my CD COMP 25 (free for the asking - if you want to hear it too)

04/28/04 WED:
---Back in stock from Arkham House:
Bloch, Robert FLOWERS FROM THE MOON and Other Lunacies, Arkham House '98, 1st edn, (early stories from Weird Tales and Strange Stories; Price intro), new / dj 25.95

Derleth, August HARRIGAN'S FILE, Arkham House '75, (SF stories), new in dj 15.95

Lovecraft, H.P. AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, Arkham House, corrected 9th, (2nd in 3-vol. set of definitive Lovecraft; James Turner intro), new in dj 27.95
---DAGON and Other Macabre Tales, Arkham House, corrected 9th printing, (third in 3-vol. set of definitive Lovecraft; Joshi [ed]), T.E.D. Klein intro), new / dj 27.95
---THE DUNWICH HORROR and Others, Arkham House, corrected 11th printing, (definitive texts; S.T. Joshi [ed]; Bloch intro; #1 of 3 vol. set), new in dj 27.95
---THE HORROR IN THE MUSEUM and Other Revisions, Arkham House, Corrected Fifth Printing, (supplementary collection; Joshi [ed]), new in dj 27.95
---MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS, Arkham House ('95), 1st edn, new in dj 32.95

Malzberg, Barry N. IN THE STONE HOUSE, Arkham House '00, 1st edn, (author's first new collection of short stories in almost 15 years), new in dj 25.95

Smith, Clark Ashton SELECTED LETTERS OF…, Arkham House '03, 1st edn, new in dj 35.95

---Disc Log:
- Palancar EMERGE
- Palancar ELYSIUM PLANITATIA
- Palancar UNION
- Palancar MOMERATH (2CD)
- Palancar CAUSALITY
---Spacy stuff obtained at behest of customer in Sweden. The discs are too cheap ($7.99 each) to resell (no room for reseller discount), but they do not sound cheap. Planetarium fare and perhaps nothing to focus the mind on except perhaps in altered state.

04/27/04 TUE:
---Have had a request for a book from Medium Rare:
Teratologist
ISBN: 0972915710
Hardcover
Edward Lee,
Wrath James White
$30.00
Softcover
$10.00

Teratologist: A billionaire obsessed with the idea of offending God so extremely in order for God to confront him abducts the most grievously genetically deformed people he can find. Then he sets out and kidnaps priests and nuns forcing them to have sex with the deformed. Photographs of the sex-acts are sent to newspapers, the internet becomes flooded with these images; a church-damning scandal ensues. It's some of the most distasteful erotic horror ever written.

---I have asked the publisher for ordering info, but am not sure I want an answer.

---Disc Log:
- THE ROUGH GUIDE TO PARIS CAFE MUSIC (Xgau: B Plus)
- Orchestra Baobab SPECIALIST IN ALL STYLES (Xgau: A)
- The Gil Evans Orchestra OUT OF THE COOL

04/26/04 MON:
---Rec’d a catalog a couple days ago from Five Star, a division of Gale, which seems to be publishing some interesting SF titles. I had a few in my order file and was planning to get an order out eventually, but I haven’t always had the best luck with Gale--a library-oriented publisher with expensive books and short discounts. Now it looks like I might fare a bit better with Five Star. I couldn’t find the titles that were in my order file in their catalog, but there were some others that looked promising. I will save their forthcoming titles for another order, so as not to have them be trickling in by ones and twos. Here is what I am trying for now: ARISTOTLE AND THE GUN / de Camp, DEUS X AND OTHER STORIES / Spinrad, IMMERSION AND OTHER SHORT NOVELS / Benford, UNCANNY TALES / Sheckley, GOD IS AN IRON / Spider Robinson, RETRIEVAL ARTIST / Rusch, STAR SONG / Zahn.

---Speaking of orders, I still haven’t rec’d the one I sent to Warner a while ago. Maybe I will have to initiate inquiries.

---Email sent:
Things are starting dry out here. Looks like I will have to haul out the lawnmower later today.
To answer your question about Poul Anderson's GOING FOR INFINITY (first published in 2002), quoting from the dj copy: it is "both a celebration and a memoir of Anderson's distinguished sixty-year career in sf & fantasy. Along with several Hugo and Nebula Award-winning stories, Anderson also shares autobiographical musings and fond memories as he looks back at a lifetime spent crafting many of sf's most memorable adventures." (416 pages)
I don't believe I did try for:
> Daniel Rothman's Yes, Philip, Androids Dream Electric Sheep is for a modified
> clarinet that is played and sounds idiomatically but is also a computer
> interface. In this work, tuned clarinet multiphonics are filtered and used
> in a feedback situation. The CD is available through CDeMusic.org, an online
> music resource for new music. If this is not the information you need,
> please don't hesitate to write back. Can you tell us where you found out
> about this CD?
> Los Angeles River Records
unless it was when you first asked and I did not receive a reply. At any rate, it looks like maybe I could get it through CDeMusic.org. Are there any others from this outfit you might be after?
I have added your new orders to my order file. I hope I can get a few of them sent out soon. Thanks!

Yours,
Chris

---Disc Log:
- Lou Reed THE RAVEN (Xgau: B Plus)
- Johannes Regis TWO MASSES
- my CD COMP 24 (free for the asking - if you want to hear it too)

04/25/04 SUN:
---Text to follow?

---Disc Log:
- Johann Friedrich Fasch OVERTURES & CONCERTO
- Shania Twain THE WOMAN IN ME (Xgau: HM*)
- my CD COMP 4 compiled a little over a year ago - keeps cropping up in the rotation and I probably still have a couple I could send out if anyone wants to hear it

04/24/04 SAT:
---Email rec’d:
Chris,

I hope the AOL address is a good e-mail address but, anyway, I've found
myself picking up your booklets (non-Lafferty) and reading and enjoying
them. I've picked up as much as is reasonable and now it seems that I
should be seeing if you are still selling any or have any available.

And I found your BLOG and would like to get on your mailing list.

So, if you are still kicking, just let me know as you can. Since we worked
together I've become a travelling consultant and am taking a month off now,
between jobs. My computer crapped out on me and I've just spent all weekend
rebuilding it from XP on up - whew.

So take care, I'm glad (or hope) you are still around in "da biz" and etc.

Peace,

---My reply:
Great to get your email. Sorry about my delay in responding. I need to get better at keeping up with things as they come in. Sure, I am still in the book business, but I seem to be slowing down. My initiatives seem to be going off on tangents quite a bit. I have added your email to my updates list. Pretty soon I need to get something new out there, generally just ticking off new arrivals since last update. For anything more peripheral you need to visit my blog. I have a lot of entries I need to add in for the archives. Eventually I hope to get around to it.
I still haven't been doing any new Drumm Booklets. I have one for Don Webb that has been in the computer for a while: I just need to go through his copy-edits and drag the pages around to where they need to be for printout-ready usage. But there are always these pesky loose ends to try to tie.

Yours,
Chris

---Disc Log:
- Spoon KILL THE MOONLIGHT (Xgau: A)
- The Du-Tels NO KNOWLEDGE OF MUSIC REQUIRED (Xgau: B Plus)

04/23/04 FRI:
---Email rec’d from Necro:
Hey, Chris. Are you still around? I emailed you a while back about copies of
the new Ed Lee book I have MESSENGER. All original, hardcover, signed and
numbered. Since it's not a trade I didn't send the usual copies and was
wondering if you wanted any. I also have the new anthology DAMNED with
Ketchum, Lee, Hodge, Piccirilli and more. $50 list. Let me
know if you'd like any of these titles. I'll be doing a lot of shipping next
week.

Later
Dave B.
--
David G. Barnett
Necro Publications/Bedlam Press/Fat Cat Design

---My reply:
Dear Dave:
Sorry about my failure to respond. I meant to, but I guess it got caught in the current. I should probably just stick with having my standing order be for paper editions. I will query my depleted-by-lack-of-print-catalogs-being-sent-lately constituency about the hardcovers and let you know if I need any.

Yours,
Chris

---Disc Log:
- Madonna AMERICAN LIFE (Xgau: HM**)
- THE COMPLETE STAX/VOLT SOUL SINGLES Volume 2: 1968-1971 (Disc 6)
- Derek and the Dominos LAYLA (Xgau: A Plus)
- Shaver THE EARTH ROLLS ON (Xgau: A Minus)

04/22/04 THU:
---I’ve let too many days slide by without even minimal blog entries posted. There is some information I have been saving up, but just haven’t had the chance or inclination to get it done. I hope to go a ways toward getting caught up now.

---Disc Log:
- Steve Earle JERUSALEM (Xgau: A Minus)
- Orchestra Super Mazembe GIANTS OF EAST AFRICA (Xgau: A Minus)
- THE COMPLETE STAX/VOLT SOUL SINGLES Volume 2: 1968-1971 (Disc 8)

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