11/30/05 WED:
---Here today from Tartarus:

WORMWOOD #5, aut/05, Tartarus, (Literature of the fantastic, supernatural and decadent; unpublished story by Aickman, Joel Lane on Bradbury, Jeff Gardiner on Blackwood, Richard McNeff on Victor Neuburg, Lykiard on Lowry, Stephen Sennitt on Poe & Hoffman, Adam Daly on Blaise Cendrars), new 15.00

11/28/05 MON:
---A few used books catalogued:
book club ($3 each):

Clarke THE FOUNTAINS OF PARADISE • Clarke RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA

misc. softcovers:

ALGOL/STARSHIP, 21-issue run, #18 (5/72) to #38 (spr/80), (The Magazine About Science Fiction; evolving from mimeo fanzine into slick semiprozine; edited by Andrew Porter; lots of big-name authors), vg-f the set, 50.00
Hoban, Russell RIDDLEY WALKER, Washington Square Press, 6/82, (tour-de-force), vg+ 7.00
Lethem, Jonathan GUN, WITH OCCASIONAL MUSIC, Tor, 3/95, (tech noir; audaciously assured first novel), vg-f 7.00

---Maybe I ought to make the blogmail biweekly instead of weekly, since I seem to be skipping weeks more often than not. But I still hope to be adding more content more regularly--and I don’t want blogmails to be overly long. Maybe next week I can start getting back to the plan. And thanks to all who have offered commiseration over my bad back. Many of you have had the same experience, as have I off and on over the years. By now mine is almost completely better, but still there are still twinges. No longer can I really use it as an excuse for my laziness. I’ll have to find another one now!

11/27/05 SUN:
---Our Thanksgiving meal today, because Neil didn’t get in until late Friday--airline ticket prices dictating the schedule. My mother-in-law (Neil’s grandmother) showed up too. It was very nice.

11/25/05 FRI:
---Here today from Tor:

Pohl, Frederik PLATINUM POHL: The Collected Best Stories, Tor, 12/05, 1st edn, (A Sci Fi Essential Book; first comprehensive compilation of the best of author’s short fiction; a memorable and unique collection of thought-provoking and entertaining science fiction; Frenkel intro; 464 pages), new in dj 27.95

---Still haven’t placed an order for new Tor books in quite a while. This was from backorder. Seems I double--even triple--ordered it, so there are more copies than I can probably sell. But at least it looks like a good title. Special price, in light of my oversupply: $18.

11/21/05 MON:
---Here today from Sarob:

Copper, Basil SOLAR PONS: The Final Cases, Sarob '05, 1st, one of 275 total copies, (definitive text), new no dj as issued (pictorial boards) 49.50

Crowe, Catherine GHOSTS AND FAMILY LEGENDS, Sarob '05, one of 175 copies, (much-overdue resurrection of long-neglected volume; originally published in 1859; edited & introduced by Richard Dalby), new in dj 45.00

11/17/05 THU:
---Here today from TTA:

INTERZONE #201, 12/05, (slick UK magazine; Richard Calder novella; Di Filippo, etc.), new 7.00

11/15/05 TUE:
---12:05 PM: Snowflakes falling outside. Winter weather advisory has been issued. Blizzard conditions (winds 50-55 mph) expected tonight. We missed the tornadoes on Saturday that skipped by and hit towns 20-30 miles away, but it looks like this might be inescapable.

11/14/05 MON:
---The back is feeling better but it still bothers me to sit at the computer for longer than a twenty-minute stretch--or, of course, to move too many heavy boxes around. Unfortunately, these two things are integral to my job description. So, I’m still not up to par, although I feel fine lying down reading a book or listening to music.
---I missed sending out last week’s blogmail, mainly because there was very little content to send. When new books are not coming in, I try to at least get some of the used books catalogued. Those are always here. But I couldn’t quite get that done in time either.

11/12/05 SAT:
---Here from Necro:

Lee, Edward COVEN, Necro '05, SIGNED, (reprint of 1991 horror novel), new 19.95

---From TOTU Ink:

TALES OF THE UNANTICIPATED #26, 10/05-7/06, (Bigger Words! Bigger Pages!; new subtitle: The Anthology of TOTU Ink), new 8.50

11/11/05 FRI:
---Here is a very well-maintained collection of well-chosen books I have finally managed to catalog:
hardcovers:

Amis, Kingsley & Robert Conquest (eds) SPECTRUM, Harcourt Brace & World '62, 1st US, (A superlative collection by ten masters of science fiction), vg in g dj (price sticker) 15.00
Blaylock, James P. IN FOR A PENNY, Subterranean, 8/03, 1st edn, one of 802 SIGNED copies, (stories, highlighted by never-before-published novella; 182 pages), vg-f in dj 38.00
Blaylock, James P. THIRTEEN PHANTASMS, Edgewood '00, 1st edn, (stories), vg-f in dj 20.00
Bloch, Robert THE EARLY FEARS, Fedogan & Bremer '94, 1st, (brings together all the stories from author’s first two story collectoins, plus three prevously uncollected stories), vg-f in dj 30.00
Boucher, Anthony & J. Francis McComas (eds) THE BEST FROM FANTASY and SCIENCE FICTION, Little Brown '52, 1st edn, vg-f in dj (exceptionally nice copy) 25.00
Boucher, Anthony & J. Francis McComas (eds) THE BEST FROM FANTASY and SCIENCE FICTION: Second Series, Little Brown ('53), 1st edn, vg-f in dj (an exceptionally nice copy) 20.00
Chesterton, G.K. THE FATHER BROWN OMNIBUS, Dodd Mead '83, 1st thus, (all 51 famous detective stories; new preface by Auberon Waugh; 993 pages), vg+ in price-clipped dj 15.00
Counselman, Mary Elizabeth HALF IN SHADOW, Arkham House '78, (1st), (author’s finest spectral fiction), vg-f in dj $35
Davidson, Avram THE ADVENTURES OF DOCTOR ESZTERHAZY, Owlswick ('90), (expansion of 1975 Warner pb; Wolfe foreword; afterword by author), vg-f in dj 45.00
Dick, Philip K. I HOPE I SHALL ARRIVE SOON, Doubleday '85, 1st edn, (uncollected stories; Mark Hurst & Paul Williams [eds]), vg-f in dj 35.00
Everett, Percival AMERICAN DESERT, Hyperion '04, 1st edn, (satirical novel; ultimately a meditation on what it is to be alive), f in dj 15.00
Hawthorne, Julian THE ROSE OF DEATH and Other Mysterious Delusions, Ash-Tree '97, 1st, INSCRIBED (by ediotor), (supernatural tales by son of Nathaniel Hawthorne; Jessica Amada Salmonson[ed]), f in dj 50.00
Israel, Peter I'LL CRY WHEN I KILL YOU, Mysterious2/88, 1st, (mystery about the murder at a science fiction convention of an obnoxious author, who purportedly was modeled after Robert Heinlein), vg-f in dj $15
Keller, David H. THE FOLSOM FLINT and Other Curious Tales, Arkham House '69, (1st), one of 2000 copies, (by way of being a memorial collection; contains author’s three best known and frequently reprinted stories and a cross section of hitherto uncollected tales), vg+ in dj 45.00
Lewis, Matthew THE MONK, Oxford World Classics, 2nd, (cult classic renowned as the definitive Gothic Horror novel; Stephen King intro), f in dj $12
Mead, Leon THE BOW-LEGGED GHOST and Other Stories: A Book of Humorous Sketches, Verses, Dialogues, and Facetious Paragraphs, Werner (1899), g-vg (decorative cloth) $25
Mines, Samuel (ed) STARTLING STORIES, Cassell '54, 1st UK, (Heinlein intro), g-vg 10.00
Oliver, Chad ANOTHER KIND, Ballantine ('55), (1st), (truly exceptional science-fiction stories), vg (no dj, but I have laid in a photo print of covershot of paperback edition) 20.00
Powers, Tim NIGHT MOVES, Subterranean, 1/01, 1st edn, one of 1526 SIGNED copies, (all of author's short fiction), vg-f in dj 40.00
Rucker, Rudy AS ABOVE, SO BELOW, Forge, 11/02, 1st edn, (A Novel of Peter Bruegel), f in dj $12
Salmonson, Jessica Amanda (ed) TALES BY MOONLIGHT, Garcia '83, (1st), (original stories, mainly by new writers; Stephen King intro), vg-f in dj $12
Salmonson, Jessica Amanda JOHN COLLIER AND FREDRIC BROWN WENT QUARRELLING THROUGH MY HEAD, Ganley '89, 1st, SIGNED, (stories), vg-f in dj 26.00
Vance, Jack THE AUGMENTED AGENT and Other Stories, Underwood-Miller '86, 1st edn, f in dj 45.00
Verne, Jules MAGELLANIA, Welcome Rain, 1/02, 1st edn in English, (The First English-Language Edition Ever of the Original “Lost” Manuscript; Intro by Olivier Dumas, President of the Jules Verne Society), vg-f in dj 15.00
Wodehouse, P.G. THE PURLOINED PAPERWEIGHT, Paperweight '86, (wonderfully zany story), vg-f in dj $12

misc. softcovers:

CLASSIC "PULPS", Sperry Mini-Mags '92,101 trading cards - one set, (cute little things; includes an extra of #93: Fantastic Story Magazine, fall/54), f 20.00
Jakubowski, Maxim & Malcolm Edwards THE SF BOOK OF LISTS, Berkley, 11/83, (1st), (A totally biased and delightfully irreverent reference guide to 100 years of science fiction and fantasy), vg+ 7.50
Jerome, Jerome K. FUNNY GHOST STORIES, Little Blue Book No. 1170, nd, very small booklet, vg 8.00
Lansdale, Joe DUCK-FOOTED, Subterranean '03, 1st edn, one of SIGNED copies, 28-page chapbook, f 15.00
LITTLE LULU™: Lulu Goes Shopping, Dark Horse, 11/04, 1st edn, (America’s sweetheart in the comic books; every cartoon story from issues six through twelve of Marge’s Little Lulu), f 12.00
Lobdell, Jared THE WORLD OF THE RINGS: Language, Religioin, and Adventure in Tolkien, Open Court '04, 1st, (eccentric and compelling product of fifty years’ cogitation), f 15.00
Merritt, A. THE MOON POOL, Bison '01, 1st thus, (Commemorative Edition; Silverberg intro; Review of the first edtition; Glossary of the Murian language), f 8.00
Salmonson, Jessica Amanda HAG'S TAPESTRY, Haunted Library ('84), (stories), booklet, vg+ 10.00
Solammen, Doc TANGY BONANZA!, Bedlam/Necro, 9/01, 1st edn, one of 352 SIGNED copies, (freaked-out), f 10.00
Trevanian THE EIGER SANCTION, Three Rivers ('05), (superior suspense), vg-f 10.00
Van Vogt, A.E. THE PLAYERS OF NULL-A, Ariel, nd, (The science fiction classic), vg-f 6.00

---JPEG covershots of the above are on my Catalog Data CD-R (included with shipped orders). Previous folder name: Cataloguings 9-24-05. Current folder name: Catalogueds 11-11-05.

11/10/05 THU:
---Here today from CD Publications:

CEMETERY DANCE #53, '05, (Michael Cadnum story, Stephen King excerpt, Robert McCammon & Melanie Tem interviews, etc.; 120 pages), new 5.00

---And from PS Publishing:

Erikson, Steven FISHIN' WITH GRANDMA MATCHIE, PS, 9/05, 1st edn (pb variant), one of 900 SIGNED copies, (Graham Joyce intro; 90 pages), {hc edn available @ $50}, new 18.00

Ford, Jeffrey THE COSMOLOGY OF THE WIDER WORLD, PS, 8/05, 1st edn (pb variant), one of 800 SIGNED copies, (Jeff VanderMeer intro; 173 pages), new $18

Nazarian, Vera THE CLOCK KING AND THE QUEEN OF THE HOURGLASS, PS, 10/05, 1st edn (pb variant), SIGNED, (Charles de Lint intro; 124 pages), new 18.00

11/02/05 WED:
---Email rec’d from Tartarus:

Dear Chris,
Our new Guide to First Edition Prices is now out.
http://homepages.pavilion.co.uk/users/tartarus/guide.html
Would you like any copies?
All the best
Ray

---Tried to post to blog and send blogmail yesterday, but Internet wasn’t working. Probably something wrong with AOL.

11/01/05 TUE:
---Monthly updating of catalog data files for CD-R burning.

10/31/05 MON:
---The back is gradually getting better, but I am still a ways less than fully capacitated. It would be nice if I could completely dispense with all lifting until a full recovery has been achieved, but my daily routine involves a bit of box moving--or else I would have to completely give up on pulling books for orders to be sent out. A lot of you, I know, might think this has already happened, but I’m still here trying to stay busy. Besides, if I totally laid out until a full recovery, that recovery might leave me with restricted range of motion. Even if it makes me take longer to get better, I still want to try to test the limits of what I can do without undue hurt.

10/30/05 SUN:
---Email from Prime Books:

The Magazine

World Fantasy marks the exciting release of the latest venture from Prime Books, edited by Sean Wallace: Fantasy Magazine, a new quarterly magazine brimming with stories, book reviews, and interviews. Designed by John Klima, with cover art by Socar Myles, the debut issue includes contributions from such authors as Jeffrey Ford, Eugie Foster, Sarah Brandywine Johnson, Nick Mamatas, Megan Messinger, Vera Nazarian, Richard Parks, Holly Phillips, Tim Pratt, Margaret Ronald, Sonya Taaffe, Catherynne M. Valente, Jeff VanderMeer, and Erzebet YellowBoy; an interview with Jeffrey Ford; and professional reviews by Peter Cannon, Stefan Dziemianowicz, Rich Horton, John Grant, Paula Guran, Ann Kennedy, Jeff VanderMeer, Doug Winter, and more, in a hundred-and-twelve pages!

The Publisher and Editor
Prime Books is the publisher of the World Fantasy Award-winning anthology Leviathan 3, and Wallace himself is a two-time World Fantasy Award nominee for editing.

The Praise
"Editor Sean Wallace has stated that the first issue of Fantasy Magazine would be packed full, and that was not a joke. With no less than fifteen stories, this magazine is offering more fiction than many anthologies. And the roster of authors is full of seasoned professionals as well as talented newcomers."—Tangent Online

"Edited by Sean Wallace, Fantasy Magazine is one of the most promising new fiction publications to launch in the field in years. Oriented towards the stylish experimental fantasists and surrealists who make up a substantial part of Wallace's Prime Books stable, FM musters a superb line-up in its inaugural, November 2005 issue."—Locus

The Specifications
Cover: Socar Myles
Cover Link: http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasywrap.jpg
Editor: Sean Wallace
Designer: John Klima
Schedule: Quarterly
Price: $5.95
Size: 8.5 x 11
Print run: 4,000
Page count: 112pp

10/28/05 FRI:
---Word from Fedogan & Bremer:

Dear Chris,

Our latest book, WEIRD SHADOWS OVER INNSMOUTH, a sequel to our 1994 title SHADOWS OVER
INNSMOUTH, is ready to ship. The collection features twelve stories, nine of the original
to this collection, including a new novella by Brian Lumley. As it's earlier namesake, it
is liberally illustrated with art by Bob Eggleton, Les Edwards, Randy Broecker, and Allan
Servoss.

The authors include Ramsey Campbell, Kim Newman, Michael Marshall Smith, Basil Copper, Hugh B. Cave, and Richard Lupoff, among others. The introduction and notes are by the editor,
Stephen Jones.

The retail price is $35.00 for the trade and $120.00 for the limiteds. Considering the infrequency of our schedule lately, we would like to reconfirm your
standing order before shipping. Thank you for your consideration.

Yours truly,
Philip J. Rahman

---Which I have reconfirmed!

10/27/05 THU:
---Email from Gauntlet (where I have not totally given up on ordering, although it may seem otherwise):

SOLICITATION FOR VOLUME 3 OF
RICHARD MATHESON: COLLECTED STORIES

Volume 3 of Richard Matheson: Collected Stories is now at the printer and is expected to be released in early-December by Gauntlet Press. Edited by Stanley Wiater, Volume 3 contains arguably some of Matheson's most famous stories ("Duel" and "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet") along with rarities almost impossible to find in an affordable $16.95 trade paperback. Wiater has provided comments by Matheson after each story. Appreciations include those by Stephen King, Dennis Etchison and Harlan Ellison. The Table of Contents is as follows:

Big Surprise
The Creeping Terror
Deadline
Mantage
No Such Thing As a Vampire
From Harlan Ellison
Crickets
Day of Reckoning
First Anniversary
From Shadowed Places
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
Finger Prints
The Likeness of Julie
Mute
Deus Ex Machina
Girl of My Dreams
The Jazz Machine
From Stephen King
Shock Wave
'Tis the Season To Be Jelly
Interest
A Drink of Water
Therese
Prey
Button, Button
From Dennis Etchison
By Appointment Only
Finishing Touches
'Til Death Do Us Part
The Near Departed
Buried Talents
Duel
From Richard Christian Matheson

$16.95 trade paperback

10/25/05 TUE:
---Email from Mykel Board, an old friend from college thirty-seven years ago, who went on to become a punk rocker, English teacher in Mongolia, and longtime columnist for Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll magazine:

Chris!

I just published two books. I don't think they're up your Sci Fi alley, but if you're interested in adding 'em to your list, I'll try to get a pal's discount from the publishers.

Info at:

http://home.netcom.com/~mykelb6/Meist/meistmain.html

and

http://home.netcom.com/~mykelb6/Daughter/daughtermain.html

Mykel Board
webpage: www.mykelboard.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
"Travel is not a vacation, and it is often the opposite of a rest." -- Paul Theroux

10/24/05 MON:
---Here today from Stark House:

Rabe, Peter BLOOD ON THE DESERT / A HOUSE IN NAPLES, Stark House Noir Classics, 10/05, (two complete thrillers; Gorman & Crider intro; Westlake afterword), new 19.95

10/24/05 MON:
---Finally think I’m recovering from kitchen-remodel nightmare. A second flood in the cellar--occasioned by only partial hook-up of washing machine (leaving drain dangling to floor)--caused me to have to move more boxes than my only-partly-recovered-back from last flood (pipe-burst) could deal with. My mock-heroic efforts saved inventory from harm (books were already well-protected from casual moisture), but left me for a few days with only flat-on-my-back the comfortable position to be in. I am easily knocked off stride even at my best, but this was a real shove. After all of it now it looks like we might have a nice remodeled kitchen to enjoy--gas range instead of electric, no more suspended false ceiling, and everything. Down the road the ordeal part will, I’m sure, be forgotten (until the next project Amy decides to spearhead).