01/21/04 WED:
---Here today from Meisha Merlin:
Asprin, Robert & Jody Lynn Nye MYTH ALLIANCES, Meisha Merlin, 9/03, new 14.00

Huff, Tanya RELATIVE MAGIC, Meisha Merlin, 9/03, 1st, (fantasy stories), new 16.00

Lee, Sharon & Steve Miller THE TOMORROW LOG, Meisha Merlin, 2nd(3/03), (Gem #1), new 16.00

Martin, George R.R. TUF VOYAGING, Meisha Merlin, 9/03, (linked stories; orig: Baen Books, 1986), {hc in dj available @ $30}, new 16.00

---From Stark House:
Rabe, Peter THE BOX/ JOURNEY INTO TERROR, Stark House, 12/03, new 19.95
---No website for Stark House that I can find, but the two novels reprinted were hardboiled Gold Medal pb originals by a top author.

---From Borderlands Press:
Lansdale, Joe R. A LITTLE GREEN BOOK OF MONSTER STORIES, Borderlands, 10/03, 1st edn, one of 500 SIGNED copies, (original stories), new no dj as issued 20.00

---Disc Log:
- Aretha Franklin I NEVER LOVED A MAN THE WAY I LOVE YOU (Xgau: A)
- Schumann SYPHONIES Nos. 1-4; Other Works (Philadelphia Orchestra; Sawallisch, cond.) (3CD) - self-released and on NY Times Best of 2003 list
- Air TALKIE WALKIE - freebie sample for in-store play; too bad my store is always deserted except for me

---Heard from the editor of ARGOSY (which I have in stock):
“Hi all,
I'm very happy to report that Argosy has just gotten a writeup in the
Village Voice.
Here is the link: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0403/hunt.php
Thank you for all the support and I hope that everyone is well.

Best,

Lou Anders, Senior Editor
Argosy Magazine”

---Good to see a new Rock&Roll& by Robert Christgau (Good Morning Little School Girl).
---Also reading James Ridgeway in yesterday’s Village Voice: Pundits Continue Their Attack on Howard Dean.

---Part of the special skills of being an experienced book dealer: being able to figure out who dee-awn-ee dew-awn-ee is (as heard pronounced on the telephone). (Hint: Diane Duane).

---Sampled as computer prompts and cellphone rings, familiarity will breed eventual fondness for that birthpang outcry of Howard Dean. A stroke of in-the-moment genius we should embrace now for its well-meaning but really not unsophisticated sound of possiblity. In the eleventh hour Iowans blinked shamefully and embraced the establishment, showing up in media-frenzy-driven droves to follow the dictates of the latest slick trial-lawyer or war-hero thirty-second spot they watched or the absurd takes of not-much-more-than-thirty-second pundits bent on their own collective jihad to misrepresent and tear down the man not quite totally under the thumb of the incorporated interests that think they should own all our forebrains.
---In that embarassing moment to hear that basic cry of anguish at what has ended up not changing one iota despite the bit of promise that had been tanatalizingly out there but was finally snatched away just as might have been expected all along, I hope Howard Dean does not back away from that moment but carries it further: finally, unlike other candidates, stepping outside the scripting and the orchestration and relying on his own true nature and sympathetic personality to come through, not filtered or adulterated by poll-driven expediency.
---No canned victory speech by John Kerry or carefully orchestrated State of the Union can upstage the ultimate urgency of Howard Dean’s outcry from the outer edges of desperation. At our peril do we turn away with bemusement that from sound coming out of nowhere with no meaning we can readily discern. It was a sound of ultimate meaning emitting from the true place where things rarely come any more, with the media filtration and titration we now allow and allay. I hope New Hampshire shows Iowans that at least there is still somewhere the establishment and convention can still be defied these days, because Iowa sure dropped the ball this time.

01/20/04 TUE:
---Twelve hours on the road roundtrip taking Neil back to college. He slept most of the way, having stayed up most of the night once again working for the Howard Dean campaign. He stayed a day or two late to attend the Iowa caucuses, having worked hard over his semester break on that campaign, specifically writing code for its Internet strategy. I hope the disillusionment over how things turned out is not too severe. All seemed to be going so well, but then, I guess, the established powers reared their heads. Not unlike what happened in the late sixties with winds of change co-opted into breezes of control. But I don't remember ever being all too surprised back then at the way things turned out either.

01/19/04 MON:
---The post office is closed today and I will be out of town tomorrow (driving for twelve hours roundtrip taking Neil back to the Univ of Illinois after the Iowa caucuses, leaving at 5AM).

---Books here today from Random House:
Burroughs, Edgar Rice A PRINCESS OF MARS, Modern Library '03, (Ray Bradbury intro), new 8.95

Chabon, Michael (ed) McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of THRILLING TALES, Vintage, 2/03, (original stories by King, Ellison, Crichton, etc.), new 13.95

Crowley, John DÆMONOMANIA, Bantam, 7/01, {hc in dj still avail. @ 24.95}, new 13.95

Delany, Samuel R. AYE, AND GOMORRAH and Other Stories, Vintage, 4/03, new 14.00

Eggers, Dave YOU SHALL KNOW OUR VELOCITY!, Vintage, 7/03, new 14.00

Shirley, John CRAWLERS, Del Rey, 11/03, 1st edn, (horror novel), new 14.95

Spinrad, Norman THE DRUID KING, Knopf '03, 1st edn, (Vercingetorix; historical fantasy), new in dj 24.95

---Back in stock:
Brin, David, Ph. D. & Kevin Lenagh CONTACTING ALIENS: An Illustrated Guide to David Brin's Uplift Universe, Spectra, 7/02, 1st, (essential companion to celebrated series), new 14.95

Dick, Philip K. GALACTIC POT-HEALER, Vintage, 6th, new 12.00
---THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRITCH, Vintage, 4th, new 12.00

Keyes, J. Gregory THE SHADOWS OF GOD, Del Rey, 2nd, (Age of Unreason #4), new 15.00

Vachss, Andrew THE GETAWAY MAN, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 2nd, new 11.00

---Disc Log:
- NOFX THE WAR ON ERRORISM (Xgau: A Minus)
- Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt GOD BLESS JUG AND SONNY (Xgau: A Minus)
- King Sunny Ade SYNCHRO SERIES (Xgau: B Plus)

01/18/04 SUN:
---Almost non-stop Iowa caucus coverage if you channel surf among the six or so broadcast channels we get here. No cable or it could definitely have it be a newsathon here. It is kind of fascinating to watch. I didn't see Dean's supposed gaffes as gaffes. I guess it's that 'gotcha' mentality. It would be a shame to see him get steamrolled by the punditocrats, after having so legitimately built up such a strong base of support. If he does get sidelined, I hope whoever does get it carries the banner and brings Bush to account for his shameful performance. Or, make that shameless, because people have really been taken for complete idiots by those people. Trouble is, that might be what they are. Not Democrats, of course, but all those bamboozled others.

01/17/04 SAT:
---Text to follow?

01/16/04 FRI:
---Books here today from Simon & Schuster--only a few for cataloguing; mostly special orders for people. The list will come up later--at least that is the plan.

---Received an email from Meisha Merlin that my order is being shipped. Also this from them about their latest:
“Hello folks! I hope the new year is starting off strong for you all!
Here's a short update on things going on here:

First of all, our limited editions of George R. R. Martin's TUF VOYAGING has
just arrived in our warehouse. Those of you who have sold our limited
editions of GRRM's Song of Ice and Fire series, make sure you contact those
customers to see if they will be purchasing TUF from you as well. Whatever
numbers and/or letters of SoIaF you purchased, you have first crack at those
matching numbers or letters for TUF. After Feb 28, we'll be opening up all
the numbers for other buyers (who might not be interested in the SoIaF
series), but we want existing customers to have plenty of time to reserve
their matching number or letter.

Second, we've had to pull A CLASH OF KINGS from the printer as John Howe
requested making a small number of last-minute changes. These changes are
due to us within the next week or so, and as soon as they arrive, the book
will go back to the printer. I'll keep you updated on that.

Third, the first two titles of the year are just one month away! BALANCE OF
TRADE, the new Liaden novel by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, and TO RIDE
HELL'S CHASM, a stand alone fantasy by Janny Wurts, are set to debut at
Boskone (second weekend of February) and will be shipping out to the rest of
the world immediately after that. Both books are hardcover only (with
softcover release following in about 6 months). And don't forget that the first
750 copies of BALANCE ordered by dealers and individuals are personally
autographed by Steve and Sharon. We're rapidly closing in on that number,
so if you've not gotten your copies ordered yet, do so soon!

After BALANCE and CHASM, we have CHAINS OF REDEMPTION in April (the third
and final volume of Selina Rosen's ass-kickin' Chains trilogy), and in May
we have the debut of three absolutely amazing novels: UNREAL CITY by Daniel
Abraham, DRAGON'S TONGUE by Laura J. Underwood, and THE BOOK OF JOBY by Mark
J. Ferrari (one of the major artists in the fantasy field). There will be
more info on those in the coming months.

As always, if you need anything or have any questions, feel free to drop me
an email. Take care, all, and have a great year!

Alan Siler
Meisha Merlin Publishing, Inc.
www.meishamerlin.com

Available in February in Hardcover:
Balance of Trade (Sharon Lee and Steve Miller)
To Ride Hell's Chasm (Janny Wurts)”

01/15/04 THU:
---Word from Gauntlet:
“SOLICITATION FOR IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE BY RAY BRADBURY

Gauntlet Press is now accepting orders for Ray Bradbury's IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, edited by Donn Albright. The book (455 pages in an oversized 8 x 11 format) contains four screen treatments of the 3-D cult classic written by Bradbury. While another writer was brought in to finish the script, Bradbury received script credit and for the most part the film followed his final screen treatment. Cover art is a Bradbury oil painting. Besides the screen treatments there are many other items making this a unique package, including previously unpublished short stories. For complete details and a peek at the cover art go to the Gauntlet Press website at www.gauntletpress.com. Note: There will be no other version of this book other than the Gauntlet signed limited.

The book comes in two states:

750 copy numbered edition (signed by Bradbury). The cover price is $125.

52 copy lettered edition: Besides an elegant traycase the lettered edition contains additional material, including a partial script from "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms," which Bradbury never finished. In each book there is a signed print of the Bradbury oil painting. Signed by Bradbury. $500.

We expect to ship the book in April. Please provide numbers as soon as possible. You can adjust those numbers as the publication date nears.”

---Discount I can give on the $125 edition would be 20% to members of discount plan, if pre-ordered. The usual discount I give on Gauntlet Books is 10%. That $500 edition would be no discount, but I could throw in free shipping if the full amount were to be prepaid.

---Looking for info on Ghost Story Press, found this at The Haunted Bibliophile, which looks like it has some good information about the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, Newcastle Fantasy, Ash-Tree, Ghost Story Press, and more. But alas, I could find no direct link to GSP itself to find out about a book someone is asking me if I ever got ("They Might Be Ghosts" by David Rowlands).

---My postmaster informs me I will have to pay the one-time imprint fee again if I don't use my bulk-mail permit at all for two years. So--I take that as an incentive to get another print catalog out this year. Since the fees are yearly, I better get started now, while it is still January. After taking more than a year off, I am kind of looking forward to doing it again.

01/14/04 WED:
---Book shipment from Cambrian arrived today, including a new one: SPONDULIX by Paul Di Filippo. I will post the listing later--at least that is the plan.

01/13/04 TUE:
---Shipment from Wesleyan arrived today with many in their Early Classics of Science Fiction series. Listings to follow.

01/12/04 MON:
---Heard from Flesh & Blood Press, which I don’t yet carry:
“Dear Chris,
I'm writing on behalf of Flesh & Blood Press. Do we currently supply your bookstore with our stock (books and the award-winning, FLESH & BLOOD magazine)? If not, feel free to peruse our website listed below.

Sincerely,
Jack Fisher
Flesh & Blood
Editor-in-chief

2002 Bram Stoker Award Nominee
Winner of the 2001 Writer's Digest "Zine Publishing Competition"
Winner of the 2000 Jobs in Hell "Best Genre Fiction Magazine of the Year Award"

Join the F&B Mailing List: fleshandbloodpress-subscribe@yahoogroups.com”

---Also heard from Night Shade:
“Hi all,
Exciting news all around today, including great news for all Wellman fans!

Night Shade is kicking off a series reprinting Manly's pulp novels. The first two are due out in August, Giants from Eternity and Strangers on the Heights. $25 apiece for the trade editions, and there will be a 150 copy limited edition that will be a slipcased set of both books, bound in leather and with a matching ribbon bookmark, as well as additional art signed by the artist.

Also in August, we'll be releasing a new novel from Lucius Shepard, Viator. It's going to be good good stuff, as per usual from Lucius.

In May, look for a trade hardcover edition of Bubba Ho-Tep, by Joe R. Lansdale and Don Coscarelli. And if you have a chance to see the movie, do it! It's a wonderful film, and Bruce Campbell makes a badass Elvis.

Look for The Collected Jorkens vol. 1 and Rhys Hughes' New Universal History of Infamy in the next couple of weeks.

The second Hodgson volume is at the printer now, and is expected out in early March.

The limited edition of The Thackery T. Lambshead Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases is coming along well, with only about five more signatures left to gather. So hopefully it'll start shipping soon.

Midnight Sun ltds are shipping, and we hope to have the rest shipped before the end of the month.

We should have slipcases for the Lettered edition of Kage Baker's The Empress of Mars in a week or so, and they'll ship out immediately. Red World of Polaris lettereds are also due very soon.

Speaking of slipcases, we have a new supplier, and it looks like he's going to do a great job, as well as being pretty timely. So hopefully we can get those Wellman 5-volume set slipcases here before too long. I know you've all been patient, but these will be getting done.

That's about it for now,
Jason Williams
Night Shade Books”

---As well as Tartarus Press:
“Dear Chris,
Just a brief note to let you know that the new (third) printing of Tales of Horror and the Supernatural by Arthur Machen has now been delivered to us from the binders. Please let me know if you would like any copies. This edition has been re-set and is in the large format of some of our most recent books, now at 415+xiii pages, printed on 130 gsm cream acid-free paper, head and tailbands, silk ribbon marker, and has the design of "The Death of Helen Vaughan" stamped on the boards. It's full price is now £35.

All the best
Ray”

01/11/04 SUN:
---Text to follow?

01/10/04 SAT:
---Text to follow?

01/09/04 FRI:
---Putting together an order to Random House (Bantam Doubleday Dell, Knopf, Ballantine, Del Rey, etc.). Already sent ones today to Client Distribution (mostly Graphic Novels from Dark Horse, if they are still carried through CDS) and Trafalgar Square (UK books of titles not available in US edns). Mostly these are for specially-requested items and to replace books sold from the catalog. I have too many publishers I need to get orders out to, so I can’t spend time delving through their latest offerings for more to get, much as there might be worth getting. These orders are quite easy to get ready to send, although you might not think so from how long it takes me to get them out. I am tempted to send them all out at once in quick succession. But that is not a real good idea--because then I have to go through all the cataloguing and sorting out of who gets what--and the getting it all finally paid for--that it can end up being another too long a while before next orders ever get sent.

01/08/04 THU:
---Here today:
CEMETERY DANCE #47, '03, (Gary A. Braunbeck, Joe Bob Briggs, David J. Schow, T.M. Wright), new 5.00

---Disc Log:
- Dionne Warwick THE VERY BEST OF (Xgau: A)
- POP MUSIC: The Early Years 1890-1950 (2 CD) (Xgau: A)
- The Carter Family CAN THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN (Xgau: A)

01/07/04 WED:
---Here today from Hippocampus:
Joshi, S.T. PRIMAL SOURCES: Essays on H.P. Lovecraft, Hippocampus ('03), 1st edn, (first major selection of author's Lovecraftian essays; probed with penetrating insight), new $15

---Disc Log:
- Michael Torke ORCHESTRAL WORKS (6CD)

---I see that my listings on biblio.com are back up.
---Always nice to see a new Consumer Guide to take a further bite out of my personal pocketbook.

01/06/04 TUE:
---Just updated entry for 12/23/03, with listing for new Arkham House book (SELECTED LETTERS OF CLARK ASHTON SMITH).

---Heard from biblio.com support:
“Hello Chris,
It seems our system was not sure if your format was compatible (we are not sure why). We have reset it to compatible and will reprocess it tonight. You sometimes think that computers have their on mind. I apologize for the inconvenience. Your listings should show tomorrow. Let us know if you see anything amiss.”
---Either a personable template or an actual human response!

01/05/04 MON:
---From Prime Books:
Cisco, Michael THE TYRANT, Prime ('03), (dreamlike masterpiece), new in dj 29.95

Lewis, D.F. WEIRDMONGER: The Nemonicon, Prime ('03), (Synchronised Shards of Random Truth & Fiction; A Retrospective Showcase of Work first published from 1987 to 1999), new 19.95

Pearlman, Daniel MEMINI, Prime ('03), (a science fiction novel; the brain-damaged lording it over the mentally sound), new in dj 29.95

Pratt, Tim LITTLE GODS, Prime ('03), (debut collection of stories; Michaela Roessner intro), new in dj 29.95

VanderMeer, Jeff THE DAY DALI DIED, Prime ('03), (poetry and flash fiction; showcases talent for both epiphany and precise detail; 124 pages), {hc in dj still avail. @ 21.95}, new 9.99

Zivkovic, Zoran THE BOOK/THE WRITER: Two Novels, Prime ('03), (yarns with an Echeresque elegance), {hc in dj still avail. @ 29.95}, new 17.95

---Back in stock:
VanderMeer, Jeff CITY OF SAINTS AND MADMEN, Prime, 7/02, "1st edn", (contains about twice as much material as the earlier trade pb), new in dj 40.00

---Also here today:
TALEBONES: A Magazine of Science Fiction & Dark Fantasy #27, win/03, (Jack Cady, Don Webb, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, G.O. Clark, Mark Rich, Ilsa J. Bick; Kevin J. Anderson interview), new 6.00

---Got bogged down again waiting for Neil to return from his dental appointment, figuring he would come home after another 24 hours at Dean Headquarters in Des Mones. But, although I had some food ready for him to eat, when I figured he would come home, he still has yet to return four hours later. At least I didn’t get to take his car and run the couple of errands I was planning. I feel like I have offered up my only son to the sacrificial altar Howard Dean. I hope it appeases the evil gods holding sway these days.

---Am looking up a few ISBNs for an order to Pocket/Simon & Schuster/Scribners/iBooks et al.

---Found out from a prospective customer that my Jan 1 upload of my biblio.com books got ‘SKIPPED’ instead of ‘COMPLETED’, so I had no books in my inventory. I have performed another upload. I wonder what happened.

---Sent out an order to Meisha Merlin for a few things in my order file. I should have checked on what they may have done lately that I didn’t already know about or had not taken heed of, but I really don’t feel the pressing need to be larding in books that I don’t know for sure if people are hankering after getting from me.

---Disc Log:
- Wire SEND (Xgau: A Minus)
- Mamani Keita & Marc Minelli ELECTRO BARNAKO (Xgau: A Minus)
- IT’S A WEIRD WORLD AFTER ALL (eMusic comp download)
- Taj Mahal THE BEST OF TAJ MAHAL (Xgau: A)

---And rec’d email inviting me to join the Alan Moore fansite and receive monthly highlights of news and projects associated with comic book legend Alan Moore.

01/04/04 SUN:
---Text to follow?

01/03/04 SAT:
---Text to follow?

01/02/04 FRI:
---I am inquiring about the order I thought I placed a while back to Borderlands Press for A LITTLE GREEN BOOK OF MONSTER STORIES by Joe Lansdale.

01/01/04 THU:
---Happy new year! I am trying to get off to a good start. After not adding to my biblio.com listings in a while, I have just uploaded books through Pow-, including Popular Library paperbacks.

12/31/03 WED:
---Sending an order to Wesleyan for a slew, including the books in their Early Classics of Science Fiction series.

---Disc Log:
- THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA RECORDINGS OF MILDRED BAILEY (10CD)

12/30/03 TUE:
---Here today:
ARGOSY #1, 1-2/04, (assortment of literary splendours and marvels complete in two volumes and housed in a very handsome slip-case; Moorcock novella, Delany interview; more), new 12.95
---I notice that the same outfit that publishes Argosy also has an interesting-looking publication called International Studio, as well as a translation of Kai Meyer’s MYTHWORLD series and a comic by James Owen called STARCHILD.

---Disc Log:
- The Plastic People of the Universe 1997 (Xgau: A)
- MOTOWN: The Classic Years (2CD) (Xgau: A Plus)

12/29/03 MON:
---Text to follow?

12/28/03 SUN:
---Text to follow?

12/27/03 SAT:
---I am endeavoring to resuscitate my standing order for MYSTERY SCENE magazine or at least catch up on the ones I missed (since #76). Latest one, I see, is #82.

---Disc Log:
- PIANO BLUES
- DAD GET ME OUT OF THIS: The String Quartet Tribute to Warren Zevon - proof that WZ did not waste his talents when he diverged from his classical-music training
- Philip Glass MUSIC FROM THE THIN BLUE LINE

12/26/03 FRI:
---Text to follow?

12/25/03 THU:
---Today is Christmas!

12/24/03 WED:
---Text to follow?

12/23/03 TUE:
---Here today from Arkham House:
Smith, Clark Ashton SELECTED LETTERS OF CLARK ASHTON SMITH, Arkham House '03, 1st edn, new in dj 35.95
---I notice on the AH website that “CAS [is] temporarily out of stock”. Does this mean a second printing already?

---Disc Log:
- Amy Rigby TIL THE WHEELS FALL OFF (Xgau: A Minus)
- Kaito U.K. BAND RED (Xgau: A Minus)
- Abbey Lincoln THE WORLD IS FALLING DOWN
- Stevie Wonder FULFILLINGNESS’ FIRST FINALE (Xgau: A Minus)

12/22/03 MON:
---New book from Ash-Tree here today: THE CASEBOOK OF MILES PENNOVER: Volume One by Margery Lawrence. Listing to follow. I guess my re-order for a bunch of Ash-Tree titles I had run out of reached them too late to come with this; or else they never got my re-order--a possibility because I usually get an email reply but have not received one this time.
---As usual for when I travel for a couple days or more I am having trouble triaging what most needs to be done and I end up sitting around reading my pile of new-reading (Sunday NY TIMES from yesterday as well as Saturday's, fat Winter Fiction issue of THE NEW YORKER, newsmagazine THE WEEK, and a new UTNE READER just today, for example.)

12/21/03 SUN:
---I was too tired to deal with email when I got home last night, even though I hate to let the spam build up even for half a day. This was two whole days. Orders through biblio.com are starting to show up at a pretty good clip, so that is exciting--because these people are interested in the type of books I normally carry; whereas the books I list on half.com are mostly ones I happened to have but did not feel like listing in my regular catalog, often because they were not the type of books I normally carry,
---Probably won't see Neil much over this break, as with Thanksgiving. His routine then was to get up in the middle of the afternoon, grab a quick meal, head out to Dean Headquarters in Des Moines to work on their computer system and not come home until they closed the office for the day; which could sometimes be fairly late, but not late by Neil standards. His plan today, I believe, is to do a major re-launch of the DeanSpace software he has been helping write the code for. I can't say his time would be better spent hanging around the house here.

12/20/03 SAT:
---Spent the day driving Neil back from Urbana-Champaign--a nearly six-hour drive. This is the first time we have done it just about straight through, without stopping to eat somewhere along the way. We headed out sometime after 1pm and got home just before 7pm. Neil had his last exam in the morning and had a bit of stuff-collecting to do to get ready to leave. A Christian group is using his dorm over break so he had to take that into account in deciding how to leave the room. He has a lot of miscellaneous computer and electronics parts that he has scavenged, so his room looked pretty chaotic; very few books in evidence, however: I hope he didn't try to scrimp by without the requisite textbooks.

12/19/03 FRI:
---Spent the day driving to Urbana-Champaign to pick up Neil to bring him home for Christmas break. We ate dinner at a great Vietnamese restaurant. Neil looks good--growing a beard to go with his long hair--and it sounds like he has negotiated his final-exams well enough to maintain his eligibiility.

12/18/03 THU:
---Looks like I should have been more canny with that SILVERTHORN hottie mentioned a couple days ago, since the copy I had is now snapped up. Makes me think I could have held out for much more than $20!
---New book from Tartarus here today (STRANGE TALES). Listing to follow.

12/17/03 WED:
---A whole bunch of books here from Prime Press today. Listings to follow.

12/16/03 TUE:
---Here today from Sarob Press:
Glasby, John THE SUBSTANCE OF A SHADE, Sarob, 10/03, new no dj as issued (pictorial boards) 45.00

Maynard, L.H. & M.P.N. Sims THE SEMINAR, Sarob, 9/03, 1st, (brand new horror short novel; 116 pages), {hc in dj still available @ $37.50}, new 16.95

---Letter rec'd:
"Haven't received a catalog of yours in some months. Has it been so long since I ordered from you that I've been dropped of the mailing list? Very sorry if that is the case. Please put me back on the list and I'll try and make it up to you."
---My reply:
"You have not been dropped from the mailing list, unless everyone has, because I have not put out a new catalog in a year. My laziness and increased reliance on the Internet to keep going have apparently been redirecting my efforts."

---Disc Log:
- my CD COMP 4
- THE SPECIALTY STORY: Discs 3 &4 - erstwhile gospel gets a little richer with Little Richard
- Thelonious Monk THE COMPLETE RIVERSIDE RECORDINGS Vols. 6 & 7 (2CD)

---Spotted the review of a couple new Ursula K. Leguin books--Changing Planes and the Kalpa Imperial translation published by Small Beer--in VILLAGE VOICE today.

12/15/03 MON:
---Was just moving a few boxes around and one that was in the way I brought upstairs to list on half.com--a bunch of publishers-edition hardcovers by Piers Anthony, Orson Scott Card, David Eddings, Alan Dean Foster, Stephen R. Donaldson, and Gene Wolfe in pretty good condition and mostly first editions; but they look like books I am all too familiar with and probably still have most of them for sale as "new" copies anyway. These I listed mostly for $5 each, but one looked like a real hottie: SILVERTHORN by Raymond E. Feist. Prices being asked ranged from $100-140, I believe. But last copy sold was for $20, which is what I listed mine for. Maybe I could have sold it for the big bucks, but we'll see if it even sells now.

12/14/03 SUN:
---Just uploaded another batch from the catalog to biblio.com, bringing me through Poe- in the alphabet, and including Pocket Books paperbacks, which were a bit of a test of my resiliency in keeping going with this project.

12/13/03 SAT:
---Books here from Wheatland. Info to follow.

12/12/13 FRI:
---Text to follow?

12/11/03 THU:
---I just revised Monday's listing to elaborate on books from NESFA and Small Beer that arrived.

12/10/03 WED:
---Added to bookmarks: Violet Books proprietressed by Jessica Amanda Salmonson; also, L.W. Currey and his www.biblioverify.com; and Lawrence Person’s Lame Excuse for a Book Catalog and I also notice his Lame Excuse for a webpage, which looks like it might bear further scrutiny. We know LP as the publisher of the magazine NOVA EXPRESS, where he has impressed me with his acuity on more than one occasion. But what I was trying to find out is where to order for a customer:
Locke, George. A spectrum of fantasy, volume III : acquisitions to a
collection of fantastic literature, 1994-2001, together with additional
notes on titles covered in the first two volumes and an index to all
three volumes from Ferret Fantasy (2002).
LP had a copy listed for sale at $145, but I was looking for the publisher himself.

---We were under a blizzard warning last night, but I doubt actual conditions fulfilled the requirements to be so categorized. Winds were mighty strong--which reminds me the garbage man just took ours and left the empty can at the end of the driveway. I better go out and bring it in before it is borne by the wind into the next county.

12/09/03 TUE:
---After a few days working on forgetting the procedure--like I did with my AOL-hosted website, which hasn't been touched since 1999--I added another batch to my biblio.com listings last night, getting through Pha- in the alphabet for hardcover and misc. softcover authors (having started at Mic-). And the paperbacks up are through Perma now--almost 900 listings now.

---Just edited 11/24/03 post to list new-arrival from Necro Publications and back-in-stock item from Hippocampus (THE BLACK DIAMONDS).

---And now I have added to the entry for last Friday, reflecting the arrival of a new book from Midnight House. And I notice that the previous one never made it to an actual posting, so I will go about trying correct that omission. The new post (with another new arrival from the SFBC) and a George C. Chesbro re-arrival from Apache Beach can be found in the 08/18/03 entry, now revised. Which also shows me that a batch of books from Apache Beach that had come in a few days prior never got posted either. Now that I have my old Sony ES CD player hooked up to the Klipsch THX computer speakers with sub, instead of my portable player here upstairs, I am enjoying listening for the difference--which means working on this Internet business; and which also means getting a chance to play a little bit of catch-up posting blog entries.

---Okay, that batch of Apache Beach books is now posted and buried in the archives (08/15/03). There was also a Golden Gryphon book in that day (BUDAYEEN NIGHTS). Now I am getting tired of this putting up old posts business--enough for now! But I see that I have dug myself into quite a hole.

12/08/03 MON:
---Books here today from NESFA:
Bujold, Lois McMaster ETHAN OF ATHOS, NESFA ('03), (author’s third novel; orig: 1986; adds Nightingale foreword), new in dj 23.00

Oliver, Chad FAR FROM THIS EARTH: Selected Stories of..., Volume 2, NESFA, 8/03, 1st edn, (introduction by Priscilla Olson; 472 pages), new in dj 24.00
---A STAR ABOVE IT: Selected Stories, Vol. 1, NESFA, 8/03, 1st edn, new in dj $24

---Back in stock:
Brown, Fredric FROM THESE ASHES: The Complete Short SF of…, NESFA, 2nd(7/02), (Barry N. Malzberg introduction; 693 pages), new in dj 29.00

Bujold, Lois McMaster DREAMWEAVER'S DILEMMA, NESFA, 4th(4/02), (stories & essays; reprint of limited hardcover edition published 2/96), new 12.00
---SHARDS OF HONOR, NESFA, 2nd(8/03), (Verkosigan #1), new in dj 22.00
---THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE, NESFA ('01), newly edited edn, new in dj 25.00

Clement, Hal THE ESSENTIAL…, Volume 1: TRIO FOR SLIDE RULE & TYPEWRITER, NESFA, 2/99, 1st edn, (contains Needle, Iceworld & Close to Critical; three of author's most important hard SF novels 518 pages), new in dj 25.00
---THE ESSENTIAL…: Volume 2: MUSIC OF MANY SPHERES, NESFA, 2/00, 1st edn, (17 stories; Ben Bova introduction; 506 pages), new in dj 25.00
---THE ESSENTIAL…: Volume 3: VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY SIR ISAAC NEWTON, NESFA, 9/00, 1st edn, (The Mesklin novels: Mission of Gravity & Star Light; & the shorter fiction; lecture demo, essay; 465 pp), new in dj 25.00

Martin, George R.R. QUARTET: Four Tales from the Crossroads, NESFA, 9/01, new 15.00

Tenn, William HERE COMES CIVILIZATION: The Complete Science Fiction of…, Volume II, NESFA, 2nd(1/03), (novel and stories; 547 pages), new in dj $29

Williams, Walter Jon FRANKENSTEINS and Foreign Devils, NESFA, 12/00, (Solip: System; Wall, Stone, Craft, etc.; Dozois intro), new 14.00

---And Small Beer:
Rosenbaum, Benjamin OTHER CITIES, Small Beer, 11/03, 1st edn, (a collection of fourteen gems; 42 pages), booklet, new $5

Rowe, Christopher BITTERSWEET CREEK and Other Stories, Small Beer, 11/03, one of 500, (one original, others reprints from Realms of Fantasy; 62 pages), booklet, new 5.00

---Sent order to Gauntlet for Matheson’s COLLECTED STORIES (although I think I may have ordered it already, back before it was officially announced).

---Disc Log:
- Buck 65 MAN OVERBOARD (Xgau: A Minus)
- THE LONG ROAD TO FREEDOM: An Anthology of Black Music (5CD)
- Thelonious Monk THE COMPLETE RIVERSIDE RECORDINGS Vols. 2 & 3 (2CD)

12/07/03 SUN:
---Neil got his name mentioned in an article in The New York Times Magazine today.

12/06/03 SAT:
---Text to follow?

12/05/03 FRI:
---Here today from Midnight House:
Rice, Jane THE IDOL OF THE FLIES and Other Stories, Midnight House '03, one of 500 numbered copies, (Dziemianowicz intro; Rockhill afterword), new / dj $40

---Disc Log:
- THE DISCO YEARS, vol. 4: LOST IN MUSIC (Xgau: A Minus)
- fun compilation from Sweden rec’d last May
- Todd Snider LIVE: NEEAR TRUTHS AND HOTEL ROOMS (Xgau: A Minus)
- Orhcestra Baobab PIRATES CHOICE (2 CD) (Xgau: A Minus)

---Heard from Andy Watson at Cambrian Publications responding to my inquiry about SPONDULIX by Paul Di Filippo. Sounds like it will be ready in a couple weeks:
"The completion date from the printer slipped to Dec 12,
so you would receive shipment probably early in the
week of Dec 22. Cutting it uncomfortably close to Xmas,
for any customers who might have been hoping to give
SPONDULIX as a gift. Sorry about that.

Thanks for noticing that SPONDULIX is appearing at
long last, after two years of delays. I'm at my wit's
end for an effective way to advertize it, though. Any
suggestions? Any zines or web sites that have worked
well for you?"

---I will need to check to see if I need more copies of Cambrian's previous titles still available, which Andy was kindly enough to remind me of:
"PKD's GATHER YOURSELVES TOGETHER, and/or the other two Di Filippo novels I've
done (dwindling inventory, but still a few JOE’S LIVER
in the ltd edition hardcover, and a similarly shrinking
supply of the CIPHERS trade paperbacks)."

---Indeed, we caught another two or three inches of snow and I had to get out and do more shoveling. But I guess that is not too unique a situation to be in. This time, although the wind is more driven, it was not such a big deal for me. I just have to walk to the post office and back and after that I can stay inside the rest of the day, hopefully getting some work done and not succumbing to the temptation to sit around and read.

12/04/03 THU:
---Snow shoveling yesterday did a number on my back, but not half as bad--so far--as sometimes in the past. I guess I forgot what all that bending over and lifting could do too early in the morning. If we get enough more snow tonight that I have to do it again tomorrow, I might be in trouble.

12/03/03 WED:
---Note added to latest printout of info for Discount Plan:
Note: Since my catalogs after #144 have been on hiatus, existing memberships as of Jan 2003 are still good, even if they are expired. Also, the $15 membership fee is good for two years now (maybe more). Catalog inventory is being put up on the web at .

---Disc Log:
- System of a Down TOXICITY (Xgau: HM*)
- Björk VESPERTINE (Xgau: A Minus)
- O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (Xgau: Choice Cut)
- Faudel BAIDA (Xgau: A Minus)
- Missy Elliott MISS E...SO ADDICTIVE (Xgau: HM***)

---Had to put in a session with the snow shovel so Amy could get her car out of the driveway this morning. Maybe three inches of heavy wet snow overnight I wish I could just let melt, as it probably will pretty soon. I think I will have to walk to the post office. If I get a lot of snow caked to my bicycle it would not be good for it. In the past I always rode it, even through snow--but then I had a rusted chain too.
---Now that I have shoveled the driveway, the deck, and the sidewalks, all I need is to make that trek to the post office and after that I can stay in the rest of the day. I look out the window now at a nice scene of snow caked on the branches of the trees and bushes. It would probably be good to get out in the countriside today too, but I figure snow-shoveling was enough exercise for one day. And I have much yet to do.
---I am glad I do not have to go out today for my dental appointment. Yesterday’s was a bit unpleasant but not unbearably so. The worst is when the novacaine wears off, as it did last evening; but all feels okay now. A temporary crown is in place while the permanent one is being crafted. I need to go back in a couple weeks for completion of the procedure. I wish this tooth business weren’t necessary, but I guess I have to expect things to happen every once in a while. I am lucky it wasn't something worse this time.

12/02/03 TUE:
---Here today:
Jens, Tina (ed) CTHULHU AND THE COEDS or KIDS & SQUIDS, Twilight Tales [contents and sample story available by following link to publisher], 2nd edn(4/03), (newly redesigned edn; mythos tales; Friesner, Dedman, Stross, etc.), new 15.00
---This looks like a lot of fun. Members discount is only 10% on this one (and probably other Twilight Tales books, if I ever get any). There are three other anthologies from them (or her): Bood & Donuts, Book of Dead Things, and Freaks, Geeks & Sideshow Floozies; as well as single-author collections by Martin Mundt, John Weagly and John Everson; plus eight chapbooks and various “memorabilia” like t-shirts and buttons.

---Disc Log:
- Dismemberment Plan THE DISMEMBERMENT PLAN IS TERRIFIED (Xgau: A Minus)
- “THE ENGLISH CONNECTION” (Purcell, Young, Lawes, Jenkins, Locke)
- Evanescence FALLEN (Xgau: B Minus) - victim of Christgau’s Thanksgiving 2003 Turkey Shoot, burned out of curiosity last summer from borrowed copy inadvertantly left in computer by previous user; don’t worry, record label, this did not cost you a sale.

---I have just now been quickly adding skeletal posts for the several days I missed from regular blogging over Thanksgiving recess. I will try to edit them to add a bit more material later. Turns out I need to go back to the dentist this morning to start getting a crown put on the broken tooth. Big expense--about the same as if we were to pay for being on the family plan for dental insurance, available at Amy's work--but it would be better not to have to pay out either way. Better a tooth than lots of other things it could have been, I suppose. A first-time experience for me, getting a tooth crown. I hope it doesn't turn out to be a root canal, as my dentist says can occur in about one in four such cases. And I hope I can get some serious work done when I get back home later this morning.

12/01/03 MON:
---Got in at dentist at 1PM--the perfect time to make me take still another day off from ever getting anything more accomplished. To kill the time I ran my 8-mile route. Should have sat down at the computer and processed books and orders, but I had missed two days of running already, and pretty soon it will be all too easy to take days on end off, when the winter wind will start to whip down from the North Pole and the easy choice will be to stay inside.

11/30/03 SUN:
---Broke a tooth eating a sticky homemade blueberry muffin. Actually it must have already been broken and just waiting for something sticky to extract it from whatever was still holding it, because it seemed like the piece of tooth was already in the muffin when I discovered it. The void feels mighty strange to my tongue. No pain in the location or trouble chewing, but I guess I better check with the dentist tomorrow. One more thing to keep me from my appointed rounds after going too lax over vacation--as usual.

11/29/03 SAT:
---Am taking it way too easy these vacation days. I did finally get the batch of paperbacks that includes Paperback Library up on biblio.com today. The process of bringing books up to post is slowing down now that I have 700-plus listed, but I should keep at it, at least for a few minutes each day.

11/28/03 FRI:
---No book shipments all week, but it is not bad to catch a breather here now, I guess. Still plenty of things I am not doing that I should be doing.

11/27/03 THU:
---Ate Thanksgiving meal of quorn patties with gravy and various side dishes with mother-in-law in Des Moines. It was a pleasant change of pace--and about the most we got to see of Neil, since he has been spending so much time over his break at the Dean headquarters in DM. I got a little more reading done in my book (still White Noise by Don De Lillo) thanks to the peaceful afternoon, without all the distractions of home.

11/26/03 WED:
---Pasted up an updated 8-page New Arrivals for photocopying and inserting with books in packages. I need to change the title from New to Recent, because the list includes books from as much as almost a year ago, when last print catalog went out. The list changes virtually daily as books come and go. There is another page-worth that could be printed too, but nine is such an odd number. I wanted to see how expeditiously I could get the paste-up done, and it only took the length of time for ten songs to play on the Stax-Volt Singles collection that was on--and those were short songs. That included getting a batch photocopied and cut in half and folded. Now I can get my day's packaging done. Tomorrow is some kind of holiday--a good time to give thanks to anyone who bothers to read this stuff and especially ones who bother to order books based on what they find here.

11/25/03 TUE:
---No books here today, but I did hear from NESFA that my order is in hand and all books should be available (hopefully first printings). Also, I sent one to Wheatland for Polyphony 3, the Waldrop book and the other one (probably the best of the lot).

11/24/03 MON:
---Here today from Necro:

Lee, Edward & Patrick Lestewka MOTHER BITCHFIGHT, Necro's Dark Duets IV, 10/03, one of 452 SIGNED copies, (story each by two authors; illustrated; big print), 60-pg chapbook, new 9.95
---In the mood for a(nother) gut-punch?

---Back in stock from Hippocampus:

Smith, Clark Ashton THE BLACK DIAMONDS, Hippocampus ('02), 1st edn, new $15

---Email rec’d:

Hi, Chris,
How sad to see that our old friend Lafferty seems to have become one of the
great forgotten authors of our time. I'm very sorry to see that no one is
stepping in to do more than a few reprints. Do you know if Virginia Kidd
still handles things for his estate? If no one else is willing to do so, I'm
thinking of trying to publish some of his unpublished work, if it can be
made in any way financially feasible.

---My reply:

I am afraid I have not been keeping up on the Lafferty front, but your idea about publishing some of his unpublished work is certainly a welcome one. As far as I know Virginia Kidd or her office is still the agent for his estate. I did get an inquiry from the husband of Ray’s executor a while ago about an idea of selling all the rights to his work in one lump, because apparently it is hard to disperse a relatively small amount of money coming in from royalties among the many of his distant relatives who apparently have claims, since Ray did not have any close heirs. I am afraid I could not be of much help. If you would like this person’s email address, I think I could track it down. I am entangled in the minutiae of this book business. There are lots of greater things I am sure I could be doing, many of them exceeding my grasp if not my reach; but I keep finding myself with ever more to do, even without sending catalogs out any more. Not always exactly what I want to do, but close enough, I guess.

---Disc Log:

- my new CD COMP 11 - Neil’s always leaving the eMac tuned in to OS-X causes me to sweep up my little iTunes projects more often than I might otherwise - this one is kind of draggy a bit here and there, but there is always next time; and the first couple tunes, at least, should have a Parental Advisory notification.
- Björk GREATEST HITS (Xgau: A Minus)
- Jean Grae THE BOOTLEG OF THE BOOTLEG EP (Xgau: A Minus)
- The Section THE STRING QUARTET TRIBUTE TO PINK FLOYD’S THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

---The upstairs eMac always starts up in OS-X in the morning when Neil is home. I only fool around with iTunes or open an email with too much html garbage with OS-X. I still try to hang on to the applications I am used to using that run on OS-9. And for some reason the Internet hookup is twice as fast in Nine. But since the computer started up in Ten, I fooled around with my iTunes stuff a little bit. Made five more CD COMP 9 so I could trash out those songs. I make about ten copies total of the various compilations I come up with, for free dispersal to the wishing and the occasional unwitting. And I now have a test copy of CD COMP 11 to listen to. That gets me off to a pretty slow start for the day. But it was only twelve degrees with windchill down to zero outside this morning when we got up, so I am not looking forward to my bicycle treck to post office a quarter mile away, with outgoing boxes bungee-corded to the carrying rack.

---CD COMP 11:

Supergirl 2:43 The Fugs Electromagnetic Steamboat - The Reprise Recordings (Disc 2) Rock 2001
My Dad's Gone Crazy 4:27 Eminem The Eminem Show Hip Hop/Rap 2002
Wang Dang Doodle 4:24 Koko Taylor Deluxe Edition Blues 2002
Londende 9:35 Orchèstre Vévé Vintage Verckys World
Everything Hits At Once 4:04 Spoon Girls Can Tell Rock 2000
Sad Girl 3:33 Amy Allison Sad Girl Country
Daylight 4:25 Aesop Rock Daylight Hip Hop/Rap 2001
Elephant De Roxanne 4:13 Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor Moulin Rouge Soundtrack 2001
Swingin' 3:58 Blu Cantrell So Blu R&B 2001
The Hangman's Song 3:55 Puerto Muerto The Executioner's Last Songs Volume 1 Country 2002
Venus In Furs [live] 5:17 The Velvet Underground The Bootleg Series, Volume 1: The Quine Tapes [2] Rock 2001
Bard 6:15 Issa Bagayogo Timbuktu World 2001
The Third Bleeding 4:47 Burnt Sugar: The Arkestra Chamber Blood On The Leaf - Opus No. 1 Jazz
Ex Lion Tamer 2:19 Wire Pink Flag Alternative & Punk
Somehow, Someday 4:24 Ryan Adams Gold Rock 2001

11/23/03 SUN:
---I sent paperbacks through Par- (by publisher) up for processing to go in my biblio.com listings. This is the first significant number, with the Paperback Libraries, so I will get a taste of how it will be when I run up against publishers like Tor and Ace.

11/21/03 SAT:
---Stayed up to 2AM picking Neil up at the bus station in Des Moines last night, home from Illinois for Thanksgiving break. That is way past when I usually get to bed, so I was tired today. Neil promises to spend most of his waking time working on the computer systems at the Dean headquarters in DM. It looks like he survived most of another semester of the college life.
---I did manage to get packaging done to have outgoing ready for the post office before 9:30, when the desk closes. Also, later, I made it up to 658 entries at biblio.com, taking me to Park in the alphabet.

11/21/03 FRI:
---I now have 518 listings up on biblio.com, comprising Mic- to Obr- in the alphabet. I also changed the shipping template to reflect my actual shipping charges (for non-discount-plan orders).
---I edited the post for Monday to reflect that day's new-arrivals and whatnot.

11/20/03 THU:
---Here today:
WORMWOOD #1, Tartarus Press '03, (A journal dedicated to writings about fantasy, supernatural and decadent literature; articleson Meyrink, Eddison, Bramah, Ligotti, etc.), new $13

---Disc Log:
- Handel TAMERLANO (3 CD)
- The Fever PINK ON PINK (Xgau: A Minus, but no link that I could find on Christgau’s website yet)

---Those listings on biblio.com are slippery beasts. I noticed a bunch of tabs I left out between title and description, causing the price field to register as zero. I found a bloc of listings that were afflicted, but I have little confidence I found all the problem spots. I can't get so caught up in that project again today. I have lots of longstanding business I really ought to make a major effort to get caught up on. But it is fun to finally be getting the catalog on-line. So far only Mic- to Nix- has been uploaded, though--424 items. It looks like 14,000 may have been a conservative estimate for an eventual number. One problem for future work: titles that start with 'the' come up under 't'. I wish articles like 'the' and 'a' could be ignored when listings for books starting with certain title letters are brought up. Well, it is certainly a work in progress.

11/19/03 WED:
---Text to follow?

11/18/03 TUE:
---Excellent shipment here today from Small Beer and Old Earth:
Clute, John SCORES: Reviews 1993-2003, Beccon '03, 1st edn, (428 pages; index), new $27

Davidson, Avram LIMEKILLER, Old Earth ('03), 1st, (the Jack Limekiller stories; Shepard & Beagle intros), new in dj $30

Emshwiller, Carol THE MOUNT, Small Beer, 2nd, (allegorical novel; alien invasion), new 16.00
---REPORT TO THE MEN'S CLUB, Small Beer ('02), 1st edn, (stories), new 16.00

Gorodischer, Angélica KALPA IMPERIAL: The Greatest Empire That Never Was, Small Beer ('03), 1st edn, (translated by Ursula K. Le Guin), new 16.00

Link, Kelly (ed) TRAMPOLINE: An Anthology, Small Beer ('03), 1st edn, (OA), new 17.00

---Back in stock:
Smith, Edward E., Ph.D. CHILDREN OF THE LENS, Old Earth, 2nd('01), new 15.00
---GALACTIC PATROL, Old Earth, 2nd('01), (in Lensmen series), new 15.00
---GRAY LENSMAN, Old Earth, 4th('02), (Lensman #4; Clute foreword), new 15.00
---SECOND STAGE LENSMEN, Old Earth, 2nd('01), (#5; Clute foreword), new 15.00

Steele, Allen ALL-AMERICAN ALIEN BOY, Old Earth ('96), (stories), new 15.00
---RUDE ASTRONAUTS, Old Earth '93, 1st US pb, (stories), new 15.00

Vukcevich, Ray MEET ME IN THE MOON ROOM: Stories, Small Beer '01, 1st edn, (weird, wonderful; by turns whimsical and unsettling; unique), new 16.00

---Disc Log:
- Madonna AMERICAN LIFE (Xgau: HM**)
- my CD COMP 4 - now starting to wear out its welcome a little bit, except a few ever-pleasers
- Art Pepper LIVING LEGEND

---It was starting to get to be a bit of a thankless chore logging onto my information at biblio.com to see if my book uploads had become listed, always finding a blank. But now there are listings! I guess I can proceed--gradually--to continue with the remaining 13-or-14-thousand-plus that could eventually go up. For now I just have Mic- to Mye- in the alphabet (and the rest of the M's in publishers for paperbacks) uploaded, but if it is working out I look forward to putting up more. Hopefully I won't become obsessed by the project. There are already too many things off by the wayside that should be being taken care of.

11/17/03 MON:
---Here from Earthling:
Clark, Simon & Tim Lebbon EXORCISING ANGELS, Earthling, 10/03, 1st edn, one of 776 SIGNED copies, (original horror novella; 87 pages), new in dj 35.00

Smith, Michael Marshall MORE TOMORROW & Other Stories, Earthling, 10/03, 1st edn, one of 1026 SIGNED copies, (Stephen Jones intro; 487 pages), new in dj 40.00

---And from TTA in the UK, finally catching up a bit with my forsaken standing order, except unfortunately TTA #32 came and went before it ever got here:
CRIMEWAVE #7: The Last Sunset, TTA '03, (head and shoulders above every other mystery magazine in look, content and tone; cutting-edge; Sallis, Christopher Fowler, etc.), new 12.00

THE FIX: The Review of Short Fiction #4, TTA '02, (the world’s only dedicated review of short fiction; Ed Gorman, Brian Aldiss) • ---#5, '02, (Van Pelt, di Filippo) • ---#6, '03, (interviews, new publishers, commentary) • ---#7, '03, (which writers are the best in bed; more), new each, $5

THE THIRD ALTERNATIVE #31, sum/02, (Alan Moore, Michael Marshall Smith, Jeffrey Ford interviews) • ---#33, win/03, (Aldiss story & interview) • ---#34, spr/03, (Alan Wall) • ---#35, sum/03, (John Connolly, China Miéville) • ---#36, aut/03, (Lucius Shepard novella, etc.), new each, 7.00

---Good to see TTA has been getting even better without me the past couple years. I guess they had a few problems with USA distribution, causing my standing order to lapse. All at once, now, this is an impressive-looking batch.

---This has been here for a while, but I criminally neglected to catalog before now:
Boston, Bruce SHE WAS THERE FOR HIM THE LAST TIME, Miniature Sun/Aphelion ('02), one of 200 SIGNED copies, (15-page poem), attractive booklet, new 5.00
---another, one of 26 lettered copies, new 7.00

---This has arrived too, courtesy of Skeptics Society & Skeptic Magazine (Devoted to the Investigation of Extraordinary Claims and Revolutionary Ideas and the Promotion of Science and Critical Thinking):
Helms, Randel McCraw WHO WROTE THE GOSPELS?, Millennium, 2nd, new 14.95

---A return from a customer who writes: “I was somewhat disappointed with the quality of the books. I guess at the price involved I expected something more. These are more on the order of what you would expect to receive from the SF Book Club.”:
Farmer, Philip José THE WORLDS OF TIERS, Tor, 12/96 & 12/97, the two, vg-f in djs 45.00
---List price for the pair would be $57.90. Maybe that is too much, but you do get all six novels. If these are shoddy bookmaking, then all Tor books are crummily made; because these look okay to me. Not exactly Tartarus Press, maybe, but this is mass-market bookmaking. The paper-covered boards maybe could take a cloth shelf-back to make them better-looking. I would still list these copies as new, but in my mind they are now used copies. They are probably not still available from the publisher anyway, but I would be less shocked if they were than if they were bound with cloth shelf-backs.

---Disc Log:
- CD COMP 10 - just compiled, my own thing of some of the music I have heard recently, available free by request

---Still no inventory showing up on biblio.com. I wonder if there is a problem with the way my listings were formatted. [Later: it finally all came up; looks good for a start]

11/16/03 SUN:
---Text to follow?

11/14/03 FRI:
---Here today from PS Publishing:
Bisson, Terry DEAR ABBEY, PS, 8/03, 1st edn, one of 800 SIGNED copies, (novella; introduction by Brian W. Aldiss), {hc in dj available @ $40}, new 16.00

Hand, Elizabeth BIBLIOMANCY: Four Novellas, PS, 10/03, 1st edn, one of 700 SIGNED copies, (Lucius Shepard intro), new in dj 50.00

Jones, Stephen (ed) BY MOONLIGHT ONLY, PS, 9/03, 1st edn, (new "Not at Night" series, vol. 2; 10 stories strange and deadly), new in dj 50.00

Shepard, Lucius FLOATER, PS, 9/03, 1st edn, one of 900 SIGNED copies, (short novel; introduction by Jeffrey Ford), {hc in dj available @ $40}, new 16.00

---From Night Shade:
Smith, Clark Ashton RED WORLD OF POLARIS: The Adventures of Captain Volmar, Night Shade ('03), limited edn, (for completist; 115 pages), new in dj 35.00
---This is sold out at the publisher, but it looks like at the moment I may have a couple copies yet unspoken for. One was released from reserve because the customer considered this too juvenile and unworthy a work, a scraping too deep from the steamer trunk of unpublished CAS. On the other hand, you could look at it as a future difficult title for the CAS completist that will certainly fetch higher prices. Indeed, I would not be surprised if it didn’t already have listings higher than the published price.

VanderMeer, Jeff (ed) ALBUM ZUTIQUE #1, Ministry of Whimsy ('03), (surreal & decadent), new 12.99

---Back in stock:
VanderMeer, Jeff VENISS UNDERGROUND, Night Shade ('03), 1st edn thus, one of 750 SIGNED copies, (adds afterword and new story), new in dj 40.00

Wagner, Karl Edward MIDNIGHT SUN: The Complete Stories of Kane, Night Shade '03, 1st edn, (companion to Gods In Darkness, which collects the novels), new in dj 35.00

---Also today, I bagged and shelved those miscellaneous softcover new arrivals I listed a couple days ago. I hope I can find them again if and when they get ordered.

---Disc Log:
- THE BYRD EDITION 6: The Cardinall’s Musick - dirgy
- The Go-Betweens SPRING HILL FAIR (2CD) (Xgau: A Minus) - new “expanded” version
- Bettie Serveert LOG 22 (Xgau: A Minus)

11/15/03 SAT:
---Saw myself listed as one of five new booksellers on biblio.com for about half a day, before more booksellers came on to take my place. My upload was still not showing any books in their system, however. Word is it might take as many as 72 hours. Once I get something up there that will be fine. I go months without a print-catalog "upload" and somehow the older catalogs can hold up pretty well as far as still having inventory listed that I still have in stock.

---CD COMP 10:

My Ride's Here 3:41 Warren Zevon My Ride's Here Rock 2002
Wogs Will Walk 4:53 Cornershop Handcream For A Generation Alternative & Punk 2002
Evergreen (Love Theme from"A Star Is Born") 3:06 Barbra Streisand The Essential Barbra Streisand (Disc 1) Pop 2002
Birdland [live] 9:42 Patti Smith Land (1975-2002) (Disc 2) Alternative & Punk 2002
Fantastic Voyage 2:58 David Bowie Lodger Rock 1979
Love Over & Over 4:07 Kate & Anna McGarrigle Love Over And Over Rock 1982
City Song 2:28 Imperial Teen On Alternative & Punk 2002
Siri 5:06 Samba Mapangala & Orchestra Virunga Ujumbe World
You're My Girl 4:41 Neil Young Are You Passionate? Rock 2002
Like A Kiss That Never Ends (Como Un Beso Que Nunca Se Acaba) 12:48 David Murray Like A Kiss That Never Ends Jazz 2000
Turn On / Tune In / Drop Out 4:44 The Fugs Electromagnetic Steamboat - The Reprise Recordings (Disc 1) Rock 2001
Nullarbor Song 4:27 Kasey Chambers Barricades & Brickwalls Country 2002
What A Wonderful World 2:23 Joey Ramone Don't Worry About Me Alternative & Punk 2002

11/13/03 THU:
---Just added posts to Monday and Tuesday of this week. Have now prepared 220 listings from prospective Catalog 145--giving them inventory numbers and and inserting tabs, but at this point not changing anything else much. This ought to be enough to see if I can get started with an account on biblio.com.

11/12/03 WED:
---I tell you what, I am enjoying the idea of putting my catalog text out there in cyberspace more than the prospect of issuing another printed version. Where the titles could possibly be googled by anyone who might actually be after them is where I would like them to be--out there, at least somewhere. It may be a little bit of extra work right now, but I am hoping it will be worthwhile. Thusfar I have 186 items from prospective Catalog 145 ready to upload--just shy of the 200 required to get started on biblio.com.
---About ten seconds before Amy left the house this morning I mentioned what I am doing and showed her the text I had so far, and she quickly surmised that I am doing it all wrong--that I am using software that is outdated; that I don’t have it in the proper format and if I did it won’t work right the way I am doing it. No doubt I will have hurdles to try to negotiate that I am not now aware of. I admit I am not the pointiest arrow in the quiver, but I still have hopes I can get a decent start here pretty soon.

11/11/03 TUE:
---Still working on the inexhaustible pile of small press magazines and chapbooks. Am up to 136 items ready to upload to biblio.com. And some14,000 to go. Wouldn’t it be easier to come out with a new catalog? More profitable too, I get the feeling.

---Well, here is the list of what I just finished newly cataloguing:
misc. softcovers:
ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE, 10-11/01, (Double Issue; Silverberg serial, part 1 of 3; Jack Williamson, Swanwick, Steele, William Sanders, Simon Ings, Andy Duncan, Robert Reed, Charles Stross, Cherry Wilder), vg-f 2.50
ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE, 7/02, 8/02, vg or better each, 1.25
BARE BONE #1, '01, (fiction; Derek M. Fox, Yvonne Navarro, etc), perfectbound, f $5
Breiding, G. Sutton HALLUCINATING JENNY, Perihelion Broadside #2, Miniature Sun ('00), unsigned PC copy, (2-page poem), f 1.50
DARKLING PLAIN: Speculative Fiction #2, fall/01, (Simmons interview; Alan Dean Foster, Bruce Boston, Martha A. Hood, Jeff Carlson and Nikolai Gogol), vg-f 6.00
De Winter, Corrine A DARK RIDE, Black Arrow ('01), (poetry), booklet, vg-f 2.50
DREAMS & NIGHTMARES #61, 1/02 • ---#62, 5/02, (speculative poetry), vg-f each, 2.00
FANTASIA: An Anthology of Fantastic Fiction and Poetry, Springbeach'98, (UK publication; 60 pages), bklt, vg $3
FOUNDATION #58, sum93, (featuring John Clute on The Encyclopedia of SF), vg-f 5.00
FRISSON: Disconcerting Verse #22, sum/01, vg-f 2.50
FUTURES: The Anthology of Short Tales for Story Lovers #26, 12/01-1/02, vg-f 3.00
---4-5-6/02, also listed as Issue #26, (Hitchcock fiction by Henry Slesar, more), vg-f $3
HADROSAUR TALES #5, ('98), (SF stories, poetry; Keith Allen Daniels, Lenora K. Rogers, Wayne James, etc.; 136 pages), perfectbound, vg-f $4
Hensley, Chad WHAT THE CACODAEMON WHISPERED, Flesh & Blood, 5/01, chapboo, f 4.00
HORROR GARAGE #4, ('01), (Sex, Death, Rock ‘n’ Roll; Original Dark Fiction by John Shirley, Lorelei Shannon, Bruce Holland Rogers, Gerard Houarner, C.A. Gardner; nonfiction by NormanPartridge; more), vg+ 5.00
HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION, THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF…, 2/01 • ---4/01 • ---6/01, (market reports, shoptalk, etc.), vg each, 2.00
HWA NEWSLETTER, 3/01, (Richard Laymon memorial issue), vg-f 5.00
Jacob, Charlee SKIN, Perihelion Broadside #3, Miniature Sun, ('00), unsigned PC copy, as new $1
Kiernan, Caitlin R. CANDLES FOR ELIZABETH, Meisha Merlin, 5/98, 1st, bklt, vg-f $4
Link, Kelly & Ray Vukcevich 2 CREEPY STORIES, Small Beer, 4/02, (ltd. edn), bklt, vg+ 6.00
MAIN STREET RAG, sum/01, (gritty; Gwendolyn Brooks interview, more), vg-f 3.50
MOOREEFFOC #5, fall/01, (Fiction in the mythic tradion; Spooky Issue), vg+ 3.00
NOT ONE OF US #14 (9/95), John Benson, (stories and poems outside the norm; radical empathy issue), vg+ 2.50
Pronzini, Bill NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT, Walker '00, 1st pb, (psychological suspense), vg-f 7.50
Ragan, Jacie DEADLY NIGHTSHADE, Flesh & Blood '01, 1st edn, INSCRIBED, booklet, vg-f 3.00
REALMS OF FANTASY, 10/99, (medieval gaming, Gahan Wilson on HPL), vg+ 4.00
RHYSLING ANTHOLOGY, THE 2001… , SFPA, (‘01), (Best SF, F & H Poetry of 2000),vg- f $5
SCHUYLKILL, spr/01, (Creative and Critical Review from Temple University), f 2.00
Schwader, Ann K. WEREWOMAN, Nocturnal ('90), (poems), booklet, vg+ 3.00
SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS OF AMERICA BULLETIN, THE… #153, spr/02, (Case of the Missing Paperbacks) • ---#154, sum/02, (Nebula Awards Issue), vg each, 3.00
SPACE AND TIME #96, fall/02, (SC Lofton, Trey Barker, Kendell Evans, Charlee Jacob; Goingback interview), vg-f 4.00
SPECULATIVE POETRY, THE MAGAZINE OF…, spr/01, vg-f 3.00
STAR*LINE: Newsletter of the Science Fiction Poetry Assoc., #25.4, 7-8/02, vg-f 1.00
STAR*LINE: Newsletter of the Science Fiction Poetry Assoc., 24.4, 7-8/01, vg or better, f 1.00
TALEBONES #22, fall/01, (Van Pelt; Simmons interview) , vg-f 3.50
TALEBONES #24, spr/02, (William Barton, Van Pelt, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Sallis; Turtledove interview), vg-f 3.00
TWINK #23, ('01), (fine fanzine; Religion in SF, part 2; listings, LOCs, etc.), vg+ 2.00
VanderMeer, Jeff LYRIC OF THE HIGHWAY MARINER, Nocturnal ('91), (poems), booklet, vg+ 6.00
WEIRD TALES #323, spr/01, (Keith Taylor), vg+ 3.00
winter-damon, t. & randy chandler MAN CRUEL, Cyber-Psychos AOD, pre-release edn for World Horror ‘00, INSCRIBED, bklt, vg-f $5
WORLD HORROR CONVENTION 1999, (program book; Campbell, Bishop), vg-f 8.00
WORLD HORROR 2000, (convention program book; Ellison, Straub, etc.), vg-f 8.00

---Disc Log:
- Shania Twain THE WOMAN IN ME (Xgau: HM*)
- Lou Reed THE RAVEN (Xgau: B Plus)
- Derek and the Dominos LAYLA (Xgau: A Plus)

11/10/03 MON:
---Here today:
Brown, Alice THE EMPIRE OF DEATH, Ash-Tree '03, 1st, (strange stories; Salmonson intro), new in dj 45.00

White, Jon Manchip ECHOES AND SHADOWS, Tartarus Press '03, 1st, (tales of the supernatural), limited to 300 copies, new in dj 45.00

---Prometheus Books has sent a couple nonreturnable sample books I will offer here:
Harris, Melvin INVESTIGATING THE UNEXPLAINED, Prometheus '03, 1st, promo-tional edn, (Psychic Detectives, The Amityville Horror-Mongers, Jack the Ripper, and Other Mysteries of the Paranormal; reveals the unromantic truth), f 5.00

Nickell, Joe LOOKING FOR A MIRACLE: Weeping Icons, Relics, Stigmata, Visions & Healing Cures, Prometheus, 2nd('03), promotional edn, (fair minded and raises important questions about truth and religious belief), f 5.00

---Worked a bit more on getting up to 200 entries for an initial biblio.com account. That is with two catalog-pages worth of material converted. When all is said and done, it might be 13 or 14,000 listings. Hmmm. What am I getting myself into this time?

---Disc Log:
- Barbra Streisand THE ESSENTIAL… - thought maybe I ought to have one disc by this icon of kitsch--and I will admit to having some fun listening to this
- The Fugs ELECTROMAGNETIC STEAMBOAT: The Reprise Recordings (3CD) - lots of fun listening to this

11/09/03 SUN:
---Posting that info from a catalog page, I found it took a while for Blogger to assimilate the input. So, I do not think I will keep that up. Soon enough, I hope, the results will be available on biblio.com. Then, if it works out initially, I hope I can keep adding stuff on a regular basis, until maybe I can get everything put there. I fear, however, that the massiveness of the undertaking will manifest itself before I get very far along.

11/09/03 SUN:
---Sent a second batch of listings, this time “miscellaneous softcovers” from up from downstairs for conversion to format that will hopefully be appropriate for upload to biblio.com:
Middleton, Haydn SON OF TWO WORLDS, Available Press/Ballantine, 7/89, (imaginative reconstruction of Celtic saga fragments), new 5.95
MIDNIGHT GRAFFITI #3, spr/89, (Stephen King special section, Rex Miller story) • ---#4, fall/89, (a special look at dinosaurs; Branham, Schow, Lansdale & Bradbury stories; Rice, Nolan features; Sturgeon interview concludes) • ---#5, spr/90, (Ellison, Jeter, Collins, Garris, Campell, Gerrold, Gein) • ---#6, win/90-91, (apocalypso issue; Simmons interview; Somtow, Charnas, Laymon, Brandner, etc.) • ---#7, fall/92, (Garton, Rex Miller, Schow; Matheson interview), new each, 4.95
---win/94-5, (special issue; Barker, Ellison, Matheson, Miller, etc.), new 8.95
MIDNIGHT SHAMBLER #3, 7/96, Necronomicon, (Robert M. Price [ed]) • ---#4, 11/96, (Schwader, Schweitzer, Tierney) • ---#5, Eastertide/97, (Cannon, Schwader, Thomas, Schweitzer) • ---#6, Lammas/97 • ---#7, Hallowmas/97 • ---#8, Eastertide/98 • ---#9, Lammas/98 • ---#10, Hallowmas/98 • ---#11, Eastertide/99, (Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. [ed]), new each, 4.50
MIDNIGHT ZOO, vol. #2, Issue #2, ('92), (Watt-Evans, VanderMeer, Addleman, Wisman, Linda White; Datlow interview), new 4.95
---vol. 3, Issue #1, ('92), (Malis, Saplak, Tilton, Cynthia Ward; Addleman interview), vol. 3, Issue #2, ('92), (Wisman, Higa, Patrick, Goode; Mayhar interview) • ---vol. 3, Issue #3, ('92),(Exciting Horror, SF, Fantasy, & Science Fact) • ---vol. 3, Issue #4, (Boston, Schweitzer, Keith Allen Daniels, Zelazny interview), new each, 4.50
Miéville, China KING RAT, Tor, 2nd, (subterranean London; debut), new 14.95
---PERDIDO STREET STATION, Del Rey, 3/01, 1st US edn, new 18.00
---THE TAIN, PS, 12/02, (M. John Harrison intro; 89 pages), new 14.00
THE MILFORD SERIES: POPULAR WRITERS OF TODAY, Borgo, (author studies): #22, A POETRY OF FORCE AND DARKNESS: THE FICTION OF JOHN HAWKES by Eliot Berry (5/79) • ---#28, THE RAINBOW QUEST OF THOMAS PYNCHON by Douglas A. Mackey (3rd[9/89]), new each, 13.00
(Miller) Winter-Damon, t. REX MILLER: The Complete Revelations, TAL '93, one of 500 SIGNED copies, (interview, bibliography, overview, profile), new 9.95
Miller, Ron BRADAMANT: The Iron Tempest, Timberwolf, nd, (16 hours of the definitive female butt-kicker!), compact discs, as new (shrinkwrapped) 20.00
---another of the prceding, cassette tape version, 11 cassettes in 2 cases, f 15.00
---and another, the CD-ROM version, MP3 and Windows Media, f (probably) 10.00
---BRONWYN #1: Palaces & Prisons, Timberwolf, 2nd edn('01), (fantasy), vg-f 6.00
---FIREBRANDS: The Heroines of Science Fiction & Fantasy, Thunder's Mouth '98, (art book; incisive text by Pamela Sargent), new 19.95
Miller, Sasha LADYLORD, Tor, pre-4/96, ADV. UNCORRECTED PROOF, vg-f 8.00
Millhauser, Steven THE KNIFE THROWER and Other Stories, Vintage, 3/99, new $12
---MARTIN DRESSLER, Vintage Contemporaries, 5th, new 12.00
Milne, John ALIVE & KICKING, No Exit/Four Walls Eight Windows, 9/99, new 10.95
Minatoya, Lydia TALKING TO HIGH MONKS IN THE SNOW: An Asian American Odys-sey, HarperPerennial, 5th('96), (growing up bicultural Americal), new 13.00
Mintz, Catherine FIRST LIGHT, tomorrowsf/Vivisphere ('00), (stories), new 14.00
Misha PRAYERS OF STEEL, Wordcraft Speculative Writers Series #1, '88, (author's first collection of enigmatic prose; pens by Ferret), new 5.00
---RED SPIDER WHITE WEB, Wordcraft of Oregon ('99), Speculative Writers Series #20,1st pb (& 1st US), (this edn adds a brief intro by John Shirley), new 12.00
Mitchison, Naomi SOLUTION THREE, Feminist Press '95, (fascinating visionary novel on ethics of tempering with gender; Susan M. Squier afterword), new 10.95
Mixon, Laura J. PROXIES, Tor, pre-9/98, ADVANCE UNCORRECTED PROOF, f 6.00
Modesitt, L.E., Jr. THE DEATH OF CHAOS, Tor, pre-9/95, (Recluce), PROOF, vg-f $5
---FALL OF ANGELS, Tor, pre-6/96, UNCORRECTED PROOF, vg-f 5.00
---OF TANGIBLE GHOSTS, Tor, pre-10/94, PROOF copy, vg-f 5.00
---THE ORDER WAR, Tor, pre-1/95, UNCORRECTED PROOF, (Recluce), vg-f 5.00
---THE WHITE ORDER, Tor, pre-5/98, UNCORRECTED PROOFS, vg-f 5.00

---This makes some 71 listings, taken straight from my catalog listings.

11/08/03 SAT:
---Word from Wheatland Press:
“Dear Chris,
I wanted to let you know that I have three new titles
available.
Polyphony 3
Greetings From Lake Wu (Stories by Jay Lake with
illustrations by Frank Wu)
Dream Factories and Radio Pictures - Howard Waldrop
(This is a collection of most of Waldrop's film and
television stories; it originally appeared as an eBook
from Electric Story in 2001, but this is the first
print edition)

Full information, including tables of contents, are
available at the Wheatland Press Website at
www.wheatlandpress.com

Thanks!

Best wishes,
Deborah Layne”

---Sent my listings for next hardcover page after the last one in Catalog 144 up to the Internet (home) computer for conversion to format appropriate for listing at biblio.com--at least that is my hope. They want at least 200 books to start with. I now have forty. I had to add inventory numbers and separate the author, title, and description with tabs. It was not too tough a process, but it would be more involved if I were to re-consult the books to amplify listings. I might have more to say about certain books and give fuller descriptions when listing on-line. But for now I will just try to get enough listed as quickly as possible, and maybe add more information later. Looks like it will be a fun process. I am not sure how successful this foray will be, but at least it will enable me to have the books’ availabilty be known somewhere.

---Just edited 08/13/03 post to add then-newly arrived book listings.

11/07/03 FRI:
---Here today (on sale the tenth):
Card, Orson Scott THE CRYSTAL CITY, Tor, 11/03, 1st edn, (Tales of Alvin Maker #6; Return to the Magical America That Might Have Been), new in dj 25.95

11/06/03 THU:
---My inquiry with Tartarus Press if my standing order included their new journal Wormwood, received this reply:
“Dear Chris,
You are very welcome to copies of Wormwood as a part of your standing order.
We get copies next week and I'll put them in the post for you.
I'm not sure whether it will have people beating down your door for copies,
but the "Times Literary Supplement reviewed "The House of the Hidden Light"
today.”

---Email from Japan:
“I'M WAITING FOR AN NEW CATALOG!
IT WILL BE A BIG ONE?”

---My reply:
“Good to hear from you. Sorry about not putting out catalogs at all lately. I have hopes of getting back to it next year. No sense taking out a bulk mail permit for this year, since I haven't bought one yet so far. It should be about the size as #144, since that is the size that weighs exactly the right amount for optimum postage-cost efficiency. But if I still have all the things hanging over me that still need to get done, who knows. Maybe I am transitioning into complete e-commerce. It probably would not be too tough to get all my inventory on-line and searchable, and that is something you might have expected me to have done already.”

---Email from Germany:
“ The day befor yesterday the second M-bag from you arrived (you shipped them
four weeks apart, but they got here only seven days apart. Hmm, was there a
race on the Atlantic ocean? What happened out there?). Too my big surprise
you included a CD ("COMP 7" - stands for CHRIS' OMINOUS MUSIC PROJECT -
maybe?). I really like the songs, even if I don't know the performing
artists - not one. Thanks!”

---Comp equals simply compilation or complimentary or complimentary compilation. Free by request or if I am sent a disc it can be my way of reciprocation. Not very creative, but I enjoy them, and I enjoy sharing them. CD stands for compact disc or Chris Drumm. Pretty slick, eh?

---Just added a few more books I didn't know what to do with otherwise to my half.com listings. This ought to do it for the ones I had sitting around out in the open. I will be on the lookout for more books squirrelled away somewhere, as well as overstocks. Mainly, I guess, this will involve new books. For used and collectible books maybe I should look into getting an ABE or Bibliofind account--as the transition seemingly continues into cyberspace.

---Disc Log:
- Jon Langford and His Sadies MAYORS OF THE MOON (Xgau: A Minus)
- Koffi Olomide BEST OF KOFFI OLOMIDE (2CD) (Xgau: A Minus)
- The Go-Betweens BRIGHT YELLOW BRIGHT ORANGE (Xgau: B Plus)

11/05/03 WED:
---Just added a bit of info to Monday listing, mentioning my newly restored listings on half.com. And I just added another ten titles. These are not the kind of books I usually sell, but if you want to check them out, go to http://shops.half.com/cdrummbks.
---I have now added even more to the Monday (11/03/03) listing, as well as one for 10/30/03 now too.

11/04/03 TUE:
---Here today:
Bailey, Dale THE RESURRECTION MAN'S LEGACY, Golden Gryphon '03, 1st edn, (literary fantasies; author's first story collection; Malzberg intro), new / dj 24.95

---Email rec’d from Canada:
“Hello Chris,

it has been quite a while since I received a e-mail update (not to mention a
paper catalogue of course).

Have you stopped sending updates and are now relying solely on your weblog
or have I been dropped from you mailing list?

Thanks.”

---My reply:
"No, of course, you haven't been dropped at all. I am just getting lazier and more easier distracted as time goes along. And yet orders keep piling up somehow. I think I will try to send email updates again and more regularly. Just short ones to indicate books as they come in, starting with the above. Perhaps I will try to work some in retroactively as well, but I will dispense with the pastes from publishers websites. When these go up on my weblog they will have links to their official descriptions, if I can find any."

---Disc Log:
- Lyrics Born LATER THAT DAY
- The Section THE STRING QUARTET TRIBUTE TO MOBY
- NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL MUSIC 14 - since I don’t listen to hit radio, this, with its 20 Chart-Topping Hits, serves as my footdip into what is going on. Maybe it is aimed at a different target audience than what I am a part of, but I would rather indulge in this stuff than try to gain pleasure from, say, the latest Songbook entry from Rod Stewart. At least that’s the theory. After listening, I can’t say I couldn’t have done without it, but a few tunes do stick in the head. Maybe that is not such a good thing, though. Certainly better than the brief forays into the Country Music Awards during commercials watching West Wing (while taping The O.C.).

11/03/03 MON:
11/03/03 MON:
---Here today:
Baker, Kage THE ANGEL IN THE DARKNESS, Golden Gryphon Chapbook #3, '03, 1st edn, (Company novella; 82 pp), one of 500 SIGNED copies, (new 15.95

Duncan, Dave IMPOSSIBLE ODDS, Eos '03, 1st edn, (Kings Blades), new in dj 24.95

Grinspoon, David LONELY PLANETS: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life, Ecco '03, 1st edn, (our quest for connection with the cosmos), new in dj 25.95

Holding, Elisabeth Sanxay LADY KILLER/MIASMA: Two Complete Mystery Novels, Stark House, 10/03, (1929 & '42 psychological suspense; intro), new 19.95

Maguire, Gregory MIRROR MIRROR, Regan/HarperCollins '03, 1st edn, (fairy tale novel), new in dj 24.95

---Resuscitating my moribund bookseller account with half.com, I already received a couple orders. Here I am now listing books I don’t carry ordinarily that have happened to come in, usually gratuitously. Formerly I tried it with a few overstocked titles. These didn’t particularly sell, but I don’t know how long they had me “on vacation”. We’ll see if this is something I continue with. ---I am informed that:
“You can now recommend buyers visit http://shops.half.com/cdrummbks. This link will take buyers to a new and improved page where only your items are showcased. Build customer loyalty by directing them to your personal Half.com Shop!”

---I am seeing about ordering a book for a customer from Heavy Metal, called PROHIBITED BOOK.

---Fighting a losing battle to keep up this blog with the entries I propose to post, I just added an easy one--some info to the 10/20/03 posting--with three books catalogued that day (two from Eos and one Night Shade).

---Disc Log:
- Wes Montgomery THE COMPLETE RIVERSIDE RECORDINGS Vols. 1 & 2 (2CD)
- Samba Mapangala & Orchestre Virunga UJUMBE (Xgau: A Minus)
- David Murray LIKE A KISS THAT NEVER ENDS
- Kasey Chambers BARRICADES & BRICKWALLS (Xgau: A Minus)
- Eminem THE EMINEM SHOW (Xgau: A Minus)

11/02/03 SUN:
---Text to follow?

11/01/03 SAT:
---Text to follow?

10/31/03 FRI:
---Text to follow?

10/30/03 THU:
---Here from PGW:
Ashley, Mike (ed) THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF LOCKED-ROOM MYSTERIES AND IMPOSSIBLE CRIMES, Carroll & Graf '00, (J.D. Carr, Hoch, Pronzini, Block, etc.; 532 pages), new 11.95
---This is technically maybe a re-arrival. The last copy I had was listed as used.

Moorcock, Michael THE LIVES AND TIMES OF JERRY CORNELIUS: Stories of the Comic Apocalypse, Four Walls Eight Windows, 9/03, (adds new intro by author), new 15.00

Sturgeon, Theodore AND NOW THE NEWS…: Volume IX: The Complete Stories of…, North Atlantic '03, 1st, (Foreword by David G. Hartwell), new in dj 35.00
---It doesn’t look like there is a link to info about the book at the publisher’s website at the present moment, but there are links to the other volumes available (that I probably still have too).

---From Sarob Press:
Maynard, L.H. & M.P.N. Sims THE SEMINAR, Sarob Press, 9/03, 1st, (weird horror story; 116 pp), new in dj 37.50

---And this back in stock, although it is OP (the publisher happened across an extra copy just when I belatedly tried to re-order it; I guess he thought my timing meant that I was supposed to get it):
Gift, Theo NOT FOR THE NIGHT-TIME, Sarob Press, 8/00, (Dalby intro), new in dj 32.00
---and at somewhat lower a price than what I had it listed at earlier ($39.95). But only this one copy here to sell.

10/29/03 WED:
---Text to follow?

10/28/03 TUE:
---Text to follow?