4/29/03 TUES:
---Received from THE PROGRESSIVE:
"This week at www.progressive.org you'll find the alarming, the outrageous,
and the inspiring.
Editor, Matt Rothschild reviews the alarming steps being taken by Ashcroft,
and the rest of the Republicans as they continue to trample on our civil
liberties at home while Bush plays schoolyard bully around the globe.
You'll find "The Ashcroft Raids," "The Anti-Sex Party" and "Don Corleone
Bush."
You'll be outraged by the latest installment of "McCarthyism Watch." CBS
is airing a miniseries in May called "Hitler: The Rise of Evil," but the
man who was producing it is out of a job for speaking his mind.
But, I think you'll take inspiration from Elizabeth DiNovella's interview
with comedian, actress, and activist Janeane Garofalo."

---Added to bookmarks:
- Gutenberg Project (for downloads of public domain literature; I have printed out pages 1-20 of PHARSALIA by Lucanus of some 246 total that I now have in a word-processing document; the ways I can think of to go off on tangents!)

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/28/03 Mon):
---Not many extra comments lately to put up here. A few orders that have gone too long unprocessed have been occupying my worktime lately. I am still jotting in my fountainpen notebook at odd moments but I still haven’t taken the time to transcribe anything, if there is even much worth transcribing. I will continue to put up dates to maybe go back and fill in later.

---Email from a formerly not-online customer in Germany:
Hi Chris,
It's been a long time since I heard from you. The last catalogue I recieved was # 144 which arrived at 12 / 27 / 2002.
Did # 145 got lost in the mail ? I hope you're still in business....
Best Wishes
P.S. I am online now. (finally)
---My response:
Great to hear from you online. I have been delayed getting Catalog 145 out. I decided to try to get caught up with a few things I have allowed to slide too long before putting out a new catalog. Meanwhile business generated by my email updates and newish weblog keeps me busy and the cashtrickle continuing. Can I add you to my email update list?
---I wish I could get in touch with everyone by email or on the web. That seems to be the way things are going.

---CDs played today (combined with Friday’s when I did some work but generated now cellar notation):
- Alpha Blondy THE BEST OF ALPHA BLONDY (Xgau: A)
- The Libertines UP THE BRACKET (Xgau: A)
- Blue Oyster Cult AGENTS OF FORTUNE (LP, side one) (Xgau: B plus)
- World Saxophone Quartet REVUE
- Bhundu Boys THE SHED SESSIONS (2-CD) (Xgau: A minus)

4/28/03 SUN:
---Text later?

4/27/03 SAT:
---Text later?

4/26/03 FRI:
---Text later?

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/24/03 Thu):

---The in-trickle continues with a couple that look to be good sellers:
Turner, Gary & Marty Halpern (eds) THE SILVER GRYPHON, Golden Gryphon '03, 1st edn, (new stories by Golden Gryphon authors; Book #25), new in dj 27.95

Wandrei, Howard THE EERIE MR. MURPHY: The Collected Fantasy Tales of…[Vol. 2], Fedogan & Bremer '03, 1st edn, (D.H. Olson [ed & intro]), new in dj 35.00
---I can’t find a F&B website per sé, but a Canadian bookseller has done a good job of having one of his pages standing in as one.

---I received an inquiry about what art books I have from Underwood. My list:
Fenner, Cathy & Arnie Fenner (eds) SPECTRUM IV: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Underwood '97, 1st (pb variant), (all color), new 25.00
--- & ---(eds) SPECTRUM 5, Underwood '98, 1st, (best art of year), new 25.00
--- & ---(eds) SPECTRUM 6, Underwood '99, 1st, (best art of year), new 25.00
--- & ---(eds) SPECTRUM 7, Underwood '00, 1st, {hc in dj available @ $35}, new 27.50
--- & ---(eds) SPECTRUM 9, Underwood '02, 1st, {hc in dj available @ $35}, new 27.00
Finlay, Virgil PHANTASMS, Underwood-Miller '93, 1st edn, (weird art), as new 6.00
---WOMEN OF THE AGES, Underwood-Miller '92, (beautiful art book), as new 8.00
Maitz, Don DREAMQUESTS: The Art of…, Underwood-Miller ('93), (1st), as new 7.00

---HC:
Ellison, Harlan “REPENT, HARLEQUIN!” SAID THE TICKTOCKMAN, Underwood '97, 1st trade edn, (illustrated by Rick Berry; deluxe coffee-table edition), new in dj 17.00
Fenners, Cathy & Arnie (eds) SPECTRUM 8, Underwood '01, 1st, (art), new / dj 35.00
Frazetta, Frank LEGACY: Selected Paintings & Drawings, Underwood, 8/99, 1st deluxe limited hc edn, one of 2500 numbered copies, (companion to Icon), {trade edn available @ $35}, BOXED, new in dj 125.00
Jones, Jeffrey AGE OF INNOCENCE: The Romantic Art of…, Underwood '94, (1st), (introduction by Roger Dean), new in dj 29.95
(Discount for MDP members on Underwood--and Fedogan & Bremer and Golden Grphon too, for that matter--is 30%, except "as new" which is 10%)

---The robins won’t have any trouble finding worms today. The bike trail was covered with them, emerging from saturated soil, on my 8-mile run today. I am off schedule from what I had laid out for myself for a training plan, but at least the cold driving rain was conducive after a week’s layoff. The one time I aced the competition in high school JV cross-country (this was 1965) was on a similar day. Being long is only desirable when the winds and rains are trying to drive one backwards. I guess I slice through it a little better than someone a little shorter and a usually a lot fleeter. Not that it is so much fun out there in the dismal dank, but after awhile you get used to it. Certainly a lot more solitude, except for the guy I thought was fishing at Big Creek Lake who hastily whipped it back in and was zipping up as I went by. It wasn’t a fishing rod!

CDs played today:
- Rolling Stones FORTY LICKS (2-CD)
- THE ROUGH GUIDE TO CUBAN SON (Xgau: A minus)

4/23/03 WED:
--It looks like today is the day I will have to mow the lawn for the first time this season. The weather has been about as nice as can be: sunshine, little wind, temps in the 60s. Supposed to be thunderstorms tomorrow, however.

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/22/03 Tues):

---I think it might be better if I placed the CDs Played at the end of the notes.

---An email from Scotland:
hi Chris
The last book catalogue i received was #144 just before christmas. Could you
let me know if i should have received any catalogues since then.

---My reply:
You should have received another catalog by now, but I haven't issued one. I am mired in orders, emails, books to catalog, housecleaning, and whatnot. It seems business keeps chugging along more than I can keep up with even without issuing a catalog. I am trying to get a few things taken care of before I send out another catalog, which invariably puts me up against it worse than ever. But I do hope to get one sent before not too long, and then maybe by then I will be organized enough to get back into a regular routine again.

---New arrivals continue trickling in:
Kiernan, Caitlan R. TRILOBITE: The Writing of Threshold, Subterranean '03, one of 552 SIGNED copies, 94-page chapbook, new with added CD inspired by works of Kiernan 14.00
---and:
POLYPHONY Vol. 2, ('03), (OA; stories that skate gracefully across the boundaries of SF, fantasy, magic realism, & literary fiction; featuring a mix of new and established writers), new 16.95

---A book from SFBC special-ordered for a customer he received as a gift before I got around to getting it:
Clarke, Arthur C. THE COLLECTED STORIES OF…, SFBC, nd, (966 pages), new in dj 14.99
---I wonder if a link to this from the SFBC site would work.

---Amy found a picture of our house on the web.

---Added to bookmarks: ElectricStory.com (Lucius Shepard movie reviews, Waldrop column, etc.)

CDs played today:
- DJANGO REINHARDT - not the Koch Präsent cheapie I was after but a Belgian import; still shows some pretty slick guitar licks
- Roger Lasley WALKING BACKWARDS - another great guitarist (and this is one CD that I also have for sale)
- Shania Twain SHANIA TWAIN

4/22/03 TUES:
---Received word of a new Robert Christgau CONSUMER GUIDE (Not Hop, Stomp: An Easter-season turkey shoot). Tremendously entertaining and perceptive. I missed his usual Thanksgiving column of pans, so this is welcome--and easier on the pocketbook.

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/21/03 Mon):

CDs played today:
- Philip Glass SONGS FROM LIQUID DAYS
- Lois V. Vierk RIVER BENEATH THE RIVER (Tzadik)

---A couple books that have been here a while that I have neglected to catalog:
Cady, Jack GHOSTS OF YESTERDAY: Stories, Night Shade ('03), 1st edn, one of 100 SIGNED with added chapbook, (new and uncollected fiction; a nonfiction piece), new in dj $45
---the regular hc @ $27 and the trade pb at $15 are still available.

Harrison, M. John THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPEN, Night Shade ('03), 1st edn, one of 150 SIGNED with added chapbook, (visionary stories; intro by China Miéville), new in dj $45
---the regular hc @ $27 and the trade pb at $15 are still available.

---Here is the list of forthcoming PS books I forgot to send up:
JUPITER MAGNIFIED Adam Roberts (novella; hc/pb)
IN SPRINGDALE TOWN Robert Freeman Wexler (novella; hc/pb)
DEAR ABBEY Terry Bisson (novella; hc/pb)
INFINITY PLUS TWO Brooke & Gevers (anthology; hc only)
BY MOONLIGHT ONLY Steve Jones (anthology; slipcase/hc)
FLOATER Lucius Shepard (short novel; hc/pb)
CHANGING OF FACES Tim Lebbon (novella; hc/pb)
JIGSAW MEN Gary Greenwood (novella; hc/pb)
BIBLIOMANCY Elizabeth Hand (four novella collection; slipcase/hc)
TOLD BY THE DEAD Ramsey Campbell (collection; slipcase/hc)
FUZZY DICE Paul Di Filippo (novel; slipcase/hc)
GIG James Lovegrove (two interlinked short novels; slipcase/hc)
---For now, the discount to members on these is 15% but the cost of postage is a lot more than other UK publishers ($2.50 per book!), so next update of discounts will list PS at 10%, but an extra 5% will be tacked onto pre-orders.

4/20/03 SUN:
---Easter

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/20/03 Sun):

CDs played today:
- Richard Pryor ...AND IT’S DEEP, TOO!: Disc 8 & 9 (Xgua: A Plus)

---Back in stock from American Fantasy (Garcia Publishing Services) but in a second printing, with variant-color covers from the first edition:
Wolfe, Gene & Neil Gaiman A A WALKING TOUR OF THE SHAMBLES: Little Walks For Sightseers #16, American Fantasy, 2nd, (demented travel tome; 58 pp), new 15.00
---These copies are signed “Best from the Shambles” by artist Randy Broecker.

4/19/03 SAT:
---A story in the local Champaign IL newspaper about son Neil’s spring break activities.

---Bookmarks added:
- Jim Hightower or Jim Highttower Weblog
- Common Dreams

---Received from THE PROGRESSIVE:
“The Iraq war is over, but the occupation of Iraq has just begun and now the
Bush administration has set its sights on Syria, calling it a member of the
"Axis of Evil J.V. team" along with Cuba and Libya.
Editor, Matthew Rothschild, has posted the following commentaries regarding
the occupation of Iraq:
- "And Now the Occupation"
- "Is Mosul the Future?"
- "On to Syria?"

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/18/03 Fri):

CDs played today:
- Grétry SUITES & OVERTURES
- THE ROUGH GUIDE TO THE MUSIC OF NIGERIA AND GHANA (Xgau: A)
- Bud Powell JAZZ GIANT
- Momus 20 VODKA JELLIES (a gift)

---The pile on my desk is almost enough to obscure the computer screen. I need to get it taken down now.

---Amy taking a vacation day today, so unless she can get out to do her gardening I will have to play nice CDs and quietly.

---A couple new ones from PS Publishing (each is published in a signed 800-copy editon, including these of 500 softcovers):
Barclay, James LIGHT STEALER, PS, 12/02, (Stan Nicholls intro; 89 pp), new 16.00

Burns, Cliff RIGHTEOUS BLOOD, PS, 12/02, (two novellas; Lebbon intro), new 16.00

---After a less-than-anticipated wait, Volume 5 of the selected Wellman stories is here:
Wellman, Manly Wade OWL’S HOOT IN THE DAYTIME and Other Omens: The Selected Stories of…, Vol. 5, Night Shade '03, (Wagner intro; Page afterword), new no dj as issued $35
---A while ago I got a call from Night Shade about the availability of slipcases for the set. Cost was predicted as coming in at something like $68 plus shipping, or maybe $75 for just the slipcase. These were to only be available to original subscribers to the set (few in number) and book dealers. Anyone wanting to fork over $75 for one of these, let me know and I will see if I can still latch onto any.

4/17/03 THU:
---Amy left the eMac on System X when she used it last, and I had some CDs to re-shelve, so I ripped a few of the tunes that had been noted and came up with enough for my what I call CD COMP 4. This is just a thing for myself to put in the rotation for songs to be in a different gestalt (occurring with new neighbors) that maybe stand out from other songs on their original discs. All very random and unprogrammed. I listened to the result through the DVD player and I like it. Anyone wanting a copy with their next book shipment, I would be more than happy to toss one in.

4/16/03 WED:
---Amy was starting to complain about the material from the back room accumulating on the front porch. I have been trying to clean out the back room enough to make space for everything, but I took a few days off before the process had proceeded far enough. I ended up today spending a too much of the day assembling the other shelf unit I had obtained and filling it with things stashed on the front porch. Now most of the worst stuff is off the front porch. The back room is still in bad shape but nothing like before. It should make book packaging less of a hassle when I go looking for a suitable box in the back room.

4/15/03 TUES:
---Text to follow?

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/14/03 Mon):

CDs played today:
- RAWKUS PRESENTS SOUNDBOMBING (Xgau: A minus)
- Randy Travis ANTHOLOGY: TRAIL OF MEMORIES (2-disc) (Xgau: A)

---Email from Gauntlet Press:
“SOLICITATION FOR GATEWAYS, NEW REPAIRMAN JACK NOVEL
BY F. PAUL WILSON

GATEWAYS, the newest Repairman Jack novel by F. Paul Wilson is now at the printers for what we anticipate to be a late June/early July publication. Nothing much more has to be said about the book other than we can only print 475 numbered and 26 lettered copies and our last Repairman Jack book (THE HAUNTED AIR) sold out on publication with distributors wanting over 200 more copies than we could provide. Our intention is to serve our customers and dealers first (as we did with THE HAUNTED AIR) and distributors last.

GATEWAYS comes in two states:

575 copy SIGNED numbered limited edition.

26 copy SIGNED traycased leatherbound edition with each book containing an original page from the author's 26 page outline, complete with his handwritten notes. THESE ARE NOT PHOTOCOPIES, but his original outline.

Please Note: We have recently released Richard Matheson's previously unpublished COME FIGYRES, COME SHADOWES which Publishers Weekly compared to HELL HOUSE. Since the review we have received over 200 orders from distributors and while we have ample copies of the book available, it could well sell out within the next few months. If interested, now would be the time to pick up this title.”

---I have the Matheson in stock, but will not be ordering GATEWAYS unless I get some advance interest in it. I did get orders for THE HAUNTED AIR after the fact which I could not supply.

---Still no sign of Catalog 145 yet. I am thinking about sending something scaled down, maybe with just the “New Arrivals”, perhaps photocopied, just to stay in contact with non-computer people. The pile of orders I am trying to reckon with just now is still daunting. I should not be fooling around so much.

---I just printed out the New Arrivals so far for Catalog 145 to run off on my copier and include with shipments. A few orders to non-computer customers are going out now. I thought I ought to think of something to help them have a better idea what is in stock.

4/13/03 SUN:
---Added to bookmarks:
- The Smoking Gun
- This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow
- Wil Wheaton

BOOKCELLAR NOTES (4/12/03 Sat):

CDs played today:
- Morton Feldman STRING QUARTET NO. 2 (5-disc)

---A couple new arrivals catalogued today:
Shepard, Lucius AZTECHS, Subterranean '03, 1st edn, one of 526 SIGNED copies, (112-page short novel), new in dj 35.00

Prichard, Kate & Hesketh THE EXPERIENCES OF FLAXMAN LOW, Ash-Tree '03, (psychic detective; first published 1899; Jack Adrian [ed]), new in dj 41.50