02/07/04 SAT:
---A little ways through the cataloguing of Leisure books, a new list of new-arrival paperbacks is completed:
3 • • NEW ARRIVALS (& re-arrivals): 10/8/2003—2/7/2004 • •
Signet 19101 Bachman, Richard (=King) THE REGULATORS, 2nd, g-vg 3.00
Arrow 91600 Blish, James ANYWHEN, '78, (stories), g-vg (foxing) 4.00
Panther 04344 Blish, James DOCTOR MIRABILIS, '76, (Roger Bacon novel), vg 4.50
Ace F- 105 Boucher, Anthony (ed) THE BEST FROM F&SF: 5th Series, nd, g-vg 4.00
Vintage V294 Bradbury, Ray THE VINTAGE BRADBURY, 9/65, (orig), g-vg 5.00
Pocket 82866 Carter, Angela HEROES AND VILLAINS, 2nd, (future noble savage), vg 4.00
Dell pb 5154 Carter, Angela THE MAGIC TOYSHOP, 10/69, (bizarre horror), g-vg 5.00
Leisure 4898 Clark, Simon DARKNESS DEMANDS, 7/01, (...your eternal soul), new 5.99
NEL 76601 Clark, Simon THE NIGHT OF THE TRIFFIDS, 4th, (sequel), new 8.95
Leisure 5055 Clegg, Douglas THE INFINITE, 10/02, (a cavalcade of nightmares), new 5.99
Berkley 18571 Cussler, Clive VALHALLA RISING, 8/02, (Dirk Pitt thriller), g-vg 2.00
Ace pbk 00631 Dietz, William C. BY BLOOD ALONE, 5th, (Legion #3), new 6.99
Ace pbk 00981 Dietz, William C. DEATHDAY, 10/02, (alien-invasion tale), new 7.50
Del Rey 45921 Dietz, William C. HALO: THE FLOOD, 7th, (Xbox game novel), new 6.99
Ace pb 48040 Dietz, William C. LEGION OF THE DAMNED, 13th, (future warfare), new 6.99
Ace pbk 00217 Dietz, William C. THE FINAL BATTLE, 7th, (Legion of Damned seq), new 6.99
Baen pb 3560 Drake, David (creator) FOREIGN LEGIONS, 9/02, (shared-world), new 7.99
Leisure 4967 Etchison, Dennis THE DEATH ARTIST, 2/02, (stories), new 5.99
Quartet 1239 Farmer, Philip José BLOWN, '75, (An Exorcism: Ritual #2), g-vg 6.00
Quartet 1219 Farmer, Philip José THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST, '75, (Ritual #1), vg 4.00
Dell pb 5817 Goodgold & Carlinsky MORE TRIVIAL TRIVIA, 9/66, (game craze), vg 3.50
Pap Lib 66683 Gow, Gordon SUSPENSE IN THE CINEMA, 9/71, (critical guide), vg 4.50
Orbit 8278 Haldeman, Joe TOOL OF THE TRADE, '88, (SF-spy novel), vg+ 3.50
Avon 67975 Haldeman, Joe WAR YEAR, 12/84, (vivid Vietnam war novel), vg 4.00
Ball 42342 Hamilton, Laurell K. A CARESS OF TWILIGHT, 3/03, (fantasy mys), new 7.50
Ace A- 27 Harmon, Jim THE GREAT RADIO HEROES, nd, (all the immortals), g-vg 5.00
Leisure 5074 Hautala, Rick BEDBUGS, 3/03, (effectively crafted shockers), new 5.99
Signet D2539 Heinlein, Robert A. BEYOND THIS HORIZON, 2nd(8/64), vg 3.00
Leisure 4793 Hoffman, Barry BORN BAD, 11/00, (transcends the simpleminded), new 5.99
Orbit 949 Holt, Tom ONLY HUMAN, 3rd('03), (dazzling comic fantasy), new 9.95
Orbit 988 Holt, Tom SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN SAMURAI, 4th('02), new 9.95
Orbit 687 Holt, Tom WISH YOU WERE HERE, 2nd('01), (comic fantasy), new 8.95
Leisure 4966 Jacob, Charlee THE SYMBIOTIC FASCINATION, 2/02, (debut), new 5.99
Wordsworth 053 James, M.R. COLLECTED GHOST STORIES, '92, (647 pages), vg 6.00
Spectra 57891 Jeter STAR WARS®: Hard Merchandise, 8th, (Bounty Hunter #3), new 6.99
Pocket pbk 04155 Knaak, Richard A. DIABLO #1: Legacy of Blood, 5/01, (game tie), vg 3.00
Lucas 38438 Lucas/ Glut/ Kahn STAR WARS®: The Star Wars Trilogy, 26th, new 7.99
Lancer 73508 Mark, Ted A HARD DAY'S KNIGHT, '66, (orig; Man from O.R.G.Y.), vg 4.00
Lancer 73488 Mark, Ted THE 9-MONTH ORGY, 6th(11/66), (Man from O.R.G.Y.), vg+ 3.50
Berkley X1389 Mark, Ted THE SQUARE ROOT OF SEX, 5/67, (swinging novel), vg 4.00
Spectra 57342 Martin, George R.R. A STORM OF SWORDS, 2nd, (Ice & Fire #3), new 7.99
Spectra 58446 McCarthy, Wil THE WELLSTONE, 3/03, (wit-superscience blend), new 6.99
Tor 34512 McMullen, Sean EYES OF THE CALCULOR, 12/03,(Greatwinter 3), new 7.99
Baen 31963 Moon, Elizabeth CHANGE OF COMMAND, 12/00, (military SF), new 7.99
Baen 31964 Moon, Elizabeth SHEEPFARMER'S DAUGHTER, 12/00, (#1), new 1.99
Leisure 0012 Oboler, Arch OBOLER OMNIBUS, 2/71, (kaleidoscope of madness), vg 5.00
Leisure 4979 Piccirilli, Tom GRAVE MEN, 3/02, (orig; historical fiction), new 4.99
NEL 03298 Pratchett, Terry THE DARK SIDE OF THE SUN, 3/78, g-vg (foxing) 3.00
Tuttle 0319 Rampo JAPANESE TALES OF MYSTERY & IMAGINATION, 22nd, vg-f 5.00
Ball 44368 Rice, Anne BLACKWOOD FARM, 4th, (Mayfair Witches/Vampire), new 7.99
Panther 04289 Rushdie, Salman GRIMUS, '77, (epic fantasy of vaulting imagination), vg 5.00
Avon 50575 Simak, Clifford D. WHY CALL THEM BACK FROM HEAVEN?, 6/80, vg+ 3.00
Dell pb 18006 Sturgeon, Theodore THE STARS ARE THE STYX, 10/79, (stories), vg+ 5.00
Sphere 8214 Sturgeon, Theodore VENUS PLUS X, 2nd, (landmark modern SF), vg+ 3.00
Dell pb 12648 Sturgeon, Theodore VISIONS AND VENTURERS, 11/78, (stories), vg 5.00
Leisure 5097 Tem, Melanie THE DECEIVER, 5/03, (visceral terror), new 6.99
Del Rey 33970 Tolkien, J.R.R. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, 128th, (movie), vg+ 3.00
Del Rey 32581 Tolkien, J.R.R. THE SILMARILLION, 47th, (deeper-past legends), new 7.99
Del Rey 33971 Tolkien, J.R.R. THE TWO TOWERS, 121st, (#2; movie), vg+ 3.00
Del Rey 35711 Tolkien, J.R.R. UNFINISHED TALES, 30th, (lost love), new 7.50
Coronet 19830 Vance, Jack THE ASUTRA, 2nd('77), (Durdane #3), g-vg (foxing) 2.50
Simon Puls 86014 Vornholt, John ANGEL: Seven Crows, 7/03, (orig; Buffy TV tie), new 6.99
VGSF 05281 Watson, Ian STALIN'S TEARDROPS, '92, (stories; wreaks havoc!), vg+ 6.00
VGSF 05163 Watson, Ian THE FLIES OF MEMORY, '91, (far-out stuff), vg+ 6.00
Spectra 58377 Williams, Liz EMPIRE OF BONES, 2nd, (bold and provocative SF), new 5.99
Spectra 58374 Williams, Liz THE GHOST SISTER, 2nd, (anthropological puzzle), new 5.99
Leisure 5060 Williamson, Chet SECOND CHANCE, 8/02, (hurled back to 60s), new 5.99
Bantam 58051 Willis, Connie PASSAGE, 4th, (journeys into the afterworld), new 7.50
Tor 34358 Yolen, Jane WHITE JENNA, 1/04, (Tor Teen edn; Great Alta #2), new 6.99
---Since this is the third, it means I will have to come up with a new set of package insert sheets. About time, too!

---Okay, here are the rest of the Leisure Books that came in:
• • NEW ARRIVALS (& re-arrivals): 2/7/2004 • •
5082 Cave, Hugh B. THE RESTLESS DEAD, 1/03, (orig; horror), new 5.99
4962 Clark, Simon DARKER, 1/02, (horror; the unseen evil), new 5.99
5076 Clark, Simon STRANGER, 10/03, (exciting, gory, sharp, bloody), new 6.99
4766 Clegg, Douglas MISCHIEF, 9/00, (something terrible at Harrow), new 5.99
5142 Clegg, Douglas THE HOUR BEFORE DARK, 9/03, (horror), new 6.99
4640 Collins, Max Allan MOMMY'S DAY, 9/99, (inspiration for movie), new 4.99
5078 Crowther, Peter THE LONGEST SINGLE NOTE, 4/03, (fearsome), new 6.99
5069 D'Ammassa, Don SERVANTS OF CHAOS, 12/02, (horror), new 5.99
4977 Devereaux, Robert CALIBAN and Other Tales, 3/02, (orig), new 5.99
4952 Feehan, Christine DARK LEGEND, 1/02, (paranormal romance), new 5.99
4907 Girón, Sèphera HOUSE OF PAIN, 8/01, (down in the basement), new 5.99
5085 Girón, Sèphera THE BIRDS AND THE BEES, 11/02, (no let up), new 5.99
4567 Hoffman, Barry EYES OF PREY, 8/99, (urban nightmare), new 5.50
5096 Jacob, Charlee HAUNTER, 2/03, (hardcore horror), new 5.99
5040 Ketchum, Jack RED, 8/02, (includes the novella The Passenger), new 5.99
4916 Laymon, Richard IN THE DARK, 9/01, (special Koontz intro), new 6.99
4850 Laymon, Richard THE TRAVELING VAMPIRE SHOW, 3/01, new 6.99
4988 Lee, Edward CITY INFERNAL, 4/02, (takes you on a tour...of hell), new 5.99
5110 Moore, James A. UNDER THE OVERTREE, 10/02, (they bite), new 5.99
4483 Piccirilli, Tom HEXES, 2/99, (horror; the girl screamed again), new 5.50
4921 Piccirilli, Tom THE LOWER DEEP, 10/01, (steam-heated witchery), new 5.99
5174 Sarrantonio, Al TOYBOX, 9/03, (stories; Lansdale intro), new 6.99
5084 Wright, T.M. LAUGHING MAN, 2/03, (orig; horror), new 5.99

---Digging out from record amounts of snow (for month so far, probably), but all my work keeps getting drifted over. A metaphor there somewhere.

---Disc Log:
- Sonny Rollins DON’T STOP THE CARNIVAL
- THE SPECIALTY STORY: Disc 2
- Sonny Rollins SUNNY DAYS, STARRY NIGHTS

02/06/04 FRI:
---Another morning begun with a session of snow-shoveling--this one as much as any yet. My back ain’t gettin’ used to it.

---Books here today from Leisure Books and Night Shade (including new Rhys Hughes and Jorkens Vol. 1). Listings to follow.

02/05/04 FRI:
---I just edited the 01/29/04 post with listing of THE SWORD OF ZAGAN and Other Writings by Clark Ashton Smith, in that day from Hippocampus--plus a couple other things.

02/04/04 WED:
---Edited 01/19/04 post, listing books here then from Random House, or at least the tpbs and hcs. The mmpbs will wend along when another batch is ready for info dispersal.
---Site added to my bookmarks: DarkEcho Horror.
---Also: McSweeney’s Internet Test.

02/03/04 TUE:
---Word from Golden Gryphon about a new one it looks like should be here soon:
“Greetings from the Gryphon:

TWO TRAINS RUNNING, by Lucius Shepard, is now available!

In early 1998, Lucius Shepard – winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World
Fantasy Awards – embarked on a new journey, riding the rails throughout
the western half of the United States, his “neighbors” the disenfranchised,
the homeless, the punks, the gangs, and, yes, even the joy riders. He then
gathered together these facts, along with rumors and innuendoes, and
melded them into his fiction, thus creating this unique collection of fact and
fiction entitled Two Trains Running. In addition to the original Spin Op-Ed
piece, this volume also contains two novellas written in Shepard’s award-
winning inimitable style: “Over Yonder” and “Jailbait,” published here for the
first time.
In “Over Yonder,” suffering alcoholic Billy Long Gone chases a stranger,
who supposedly stole his dog, onto a black train – a train like no other Billy
had ever seen or rode: a living train. The train passes through strange,
arabesque, monster-infested landscapes as it journeys to Yonder – a likely
paradise where a few hundred hobos live within the confines of a majestic
tree in apparent peace and tranquillity. But every paradise has its price,
and in Yonder, peace and tranquillity breeds complacency and . . . startling
deaths.
A hardcore tale of deception, lust, revenge, and murder, “Jailbait” takes
us into the seedy underbelly of rail yards and train hopping: Madcat, who
functions best in a whiskey-induced haze, must decide between solitude
and companionship when he meets up with Grace, an under-aged runaway.

Two Trains Running
by Lucius Shepard
cover art by John Picacio
ISBN 1-930846-23-1 / $22.95 (Trade hardcover)
112 pages”

---Email rec’d:
“Hi Chris,
I haven't received a catalog or email update from you in a while now, so
I was wondering if you are planning to sell exclusively through Biblio.
You have been one my favorite book sources, and I'd like to keep
ordering from you, but I was not sure if I should try the Biblio site or
wait for a catalog or email listing from you.”

---My reply:
“I am really trying to get print catalogs back going. I only have a portion of my inventory up on biblio.com so far and there is not as easy to browse through everything as a print catalog, I don't believe. Plus so many people don't want the expense and bother of email, and I can hardly blame them with all the spam and worms out there. I will send you my latest Recent Arrival printout (10 pages presently). It might be a little much to paste into this email. Check out my weblog for more recent things incoming. Also, I should be sending out an email update with a quick rundown of what has arrived since last update. If you are not in my mailing list for that, let me know if you want to be there."

---Disc Log:
- Kinks SLEEPWALKER (vinyl from 1978) (Xgau: B)
- Henry Purcell AIRS & DUETS with Lyrichord Early Music Bonus CD (2CD)

02/02/04 MON:
---Email sent (reply to someone in Finland who is studying for a PhD in HP Lovecraft studies):
“Good to get your email. You probably haven't missed any catalogs because it has been over a year since I issued one. I have been getting along with email and incipient web presence. I hope to put out some catalogs (#145+) this year, but a few things I need to get done first.
For now, here is what I have in stock by HPL now. HC:
Lovecraft, H.P.LORD OF A VISIBLE WORLD: An Autobiography in Letters, Ohio '00, 1st, (Joshi & Schultz [eds]; compelling reading), new in dj 49.95
---MYSTERIES OF TIME AND SPIRIT: The Letters of H.P. Lovecraft and Donald Wandrei, Night Shade ('02), 1st edn, (Lovecraft Letters Vol. 1), new in dj $40
---SELECTED LETTERS III: 1929-1931, Arkham House, 2nd('97), new in dj 25.95
---SELECTED LETTERS IV: 1932-1934, Arkham House '76, new in dj 22.95
---SELECTED LETTERS V: 1934-1937, Arkham House '76, new in dj 22.95
(---) Connors, Scott (ed) A CENTURY LESS A DREAM: Selected Criticism on H.P. Lovecraft, Wildside '02, 1st edn, new no dj as issued 49.95
(---) Joshi, S.T. H.P. LOVECRAFT & LOVECRAFT CRITICISM: An Annotated Bibliography, Wildside, nd, (reprint of 1981 work), new no dj as issued 49.95
(---) Shreffler, Philip A. THE H.P. LOVECRAFT COMPANION, Greenwood, 3rd, (offers a roadmap through Lovecraft's nightmare), new no dj as issued 62.95

SC:
Lovecraft, H.P. THE ANCIENT TRACK: The Complete Poetical Works of…, Night Shade '01, 1st edn, (Joshi [ed]; 557 pp), {hc in dj available @ $40}, new 20.00
---THE ANNOTATED…, Dell, 5th, (edited by S.T. Joshi), new 13.95
---THE ANNOTATED SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE, Hippocampus ('00), 1st edn thus, (edited, with intro & commentary by S.T. Joshi), new $15
---THE BEST OF...: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre, Del Rey, 24th, (introduction by Robert Bloch), new 10.00
---THE DREAM CYCLE OF...: Dreams of Terror and Death, Del Rey, 7th, (collects the entire Dream Cycle created by HPL; Gaiman intro), new 11.00
---THE DUNWICH HORROR: Complete and Unabridged READ BY ROBERT M. PRICE, Necronomicon Audio ('97), 2-cassette set, new 14.95
---FROM THE PEST ZONE: The New York Stories, Hippocampus ('03), 1st edn, (lengthy biographical intro & story notes; Joshi & Schultz [eds]), new 15.00
---FuBAR vol. 3 nos. 1, 2 & 3, 4-5/86, #190 of 200, (“Cats and Dogs”, “At the Root” & “The Materialist Today”; essays by HPL), 3 booklets as a set, 20.00
---HISTORY OF THE NECRONOMICON, (Strange Co.), folded sheet (4 pages), vg $1
---THE H.P. LOVECRAFT CHRISTMAS BOOK, Necronomicon, 9/91, Second Edition, 1st printing, (illustrated by Jason Eckhardt; 12 pages), new 1.95
---another copy of the preceding, 2nd(10/87), new 1.50
---LETTERS TO ALFRED GALPIN, Hippocampus ('03), 1st edn, (287 pp), new 15.00
---LETTERS TO RICHARD F. SEARIGHT, Necronomicon, 7/92, 1st, new 9.95
---MORE ANNOTATED LOVECRAFT, Dell, 2nd, (Joshi & Cannon [eds]), new 13.95
---POLARIS, (Strange Co.), folded sheet (4 pages), as new 1.00
---SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LETERATURE, Dover ('73), (Bleiler intro), vg+ 7.50
---THE TRANSITION OF…: The Road to Madness, Del Rey, 10/96, 1st edn, vg+ 7.50
---another copy of the preceding, 5th printing, (Hambly intro; Palencar illus), new $11
--- & others TALES OF THE CTHULHU MYTHOS, Del Rey, 10/98, new 12.00
(---) Bell, Joe (comp. & ed) FUBAR #6, 4/87, (revised reprint of FuBar #1), f 6.00
---(comp.) HOWARD PHILLIPS LOVECRAFT: THE BOOKS (4): 1915-1986, Soft Books, 2nd(2/87), (63-page bibliography), f 5.00
(---) Davis, Sonia H. THE PRIVATE LIFE OF H.P. LOVECRAFT, Necronomicon, 4/85, (memoir by Mrs. H.P. Lovecraft), 3rd(11/92), new 4.95
(---) Faig, Kenneth W., Jr. THE PARENTS OF HOWARD PHILLIPS LOVECRAFT, Necronomicon, 7/90, 1st, (includes HPL family tree), new 5.95
(---) The Friends of H.P. Lovecraft THE H.P. LOVECRAFT MEMORIAL PLAQUE, Necronomicon, 12/90, 1st, (chonicles efforts to dedicate monument), new $5
(---) Joshi, S.T. PRIMAL SOURCES: Essays on H.P. Lovecraft, Hippocampus ('03), 1st edn, (first major selection of author's Lovecraftian essays), new 15.00
(---) ---A SUBTLER MAGICK: The Writings and Philosophy of H.P. Lovecraft, Wildside '99, 3rd Edition, (the definitive critcal guide), new 19.95
(---) Squires, Richard D. STERN FATHERS 'NEATH THE MOULD: The Lovecraft Family in Rochester, Necronomicon, 2/95, 1st, (forgotten ancestors), new 7.95
(---) Van Hise, James (ed) THE FANTASTIC WORLDS OF H.P. LOVECRAFT, Van Hise, 1/99, 1st edn, (selections from the fanzines; well-illustrated), new 17.95
LOVECRAFT COLLECTOR, THE NEW…, Necronomicon '93-98, nos. 1 to 26, (except #7), (odds & ends on HPL; biblio tidbits; news, etc.), new each, 1.50
LOVECRAFTIAN HORROR CALENDAR, THE 1995…, Artefact ('94), (12 Months of All-New Cthulhu Mythos Art by Koszowski, Borkowski, Eckhardt. etc.), new 9.95
LOVECRAFTIAN HORROR, TALES OF… #5, Eastertide/97 • ---#6, Lammas/97 • ---#7, Hallowmas/97 • ---#8, Eastertide/98• ---#10, Hallowmas/98 • ---#11, Eastertide/99, new each, 4.50
LOVECRAFT STUDIES #25, fall/91 • ---#28, spr/93 • ---#30, spr/94 • ---#32, spr/95 • ---#33, fall/95 • ---#34, spr/96 • ---#35, fall/96 • ---#36, spr/97 • ---#37, fall/97 • ---#38, spr/98 • ---#39, sum/98 • ---#40, fall/98 • ---#41, spr/99, new each, 5.00
---#42-43, aut/01, Hippocampus, (rigorous, accurate, penetrating criticism), new $12

MMPB:
BallAF 02427 Carter LOVECRAFT: A Look Behind Cthulhu Mythos, 2/72, g-vg $4; vg 6.50
Del Rey 32945 Lovecraft, H.P. AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, 21st, new 5.99
Beagle 95123 Lovecraft, H.P. THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD, 8/71, fr-g 2.00
Del Rey 33105 Lovecraft, H.P. THE DOOM THAT CAME TO SARNATH, 26th, new 6.99
Carroll & Graf pb 0445 Lovecraft, H.P. THE LOVED DEAD and Other Revisions, 2nd('99), new 4.95
Del Rey 33661 Lovecraft, H.P. THE TOMB and Other Tales, 21st(9/93), new 5.99
Carroll & Graf 408 Lovecraft with Derleth THE LURKER AT THE THRESHOLD, 8th, new 4.50
Carroll & Graf 769 Lovecraft with Derleth THE WATCHERS OUT OF TIME, 6th('96), new 4.95
Del Rey 33779 Lovecraft THE DREAM-QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH, 26th, new 5.99
“

---Disc Log:
- The Flaming Lips YOSHIMI BATTLES THE PINK ROBOTS (Xgau: HM***)
- Swedish comp from last August
- Sonny Rollins NUCLEUS

---Bigtime snow shoveling this morning, but not half as bad as prognosticated. The stuff was a half foot or so deep but dry and fluffy. Local school has a snow day. Guess I will have to walk to the post office today (instead of ride my bicycle).

02/01/04 Super(bowl) Sunday:
---Heard from Neil. He is going to that O'Reilly Digital Democracy Teach-In in San Diego next week. Turns out he was sent a V.I.P. pass he doesn’t want to pass up. And I can’t blame him. He thinks it might be a good place to find an internship or something. He does seem to be going places. There was an AP story that ran in a lot of newspapers yesterday or maybe today where he received prominent mention.

01/31/04 SAT:
---Just read You Say Deserter, I Say More Dessert... by Michael Moore. I didn’t pay much attention to the uproar about him calling Bush a deserter at a Wesley Clark campaign function, but I wondered what the big deal was. I thought Bush’s less than heroic guard service got covered when he pulled that aircraft-carrier stunt, but I suppose that wasn’t the mainstream media doing the covering. And I don’t suppose actual coverage will seep in with all the spin now either. Maybe I should have let Tom Brokaw or John Krautheimer bring me up to speed instead of MM himself, but Michael Moore seems to be doing more of his investigative-journalism homework than most of his colleagues in the profession.

01/30/04 FRI:
---Neil called last night, wanting something, of course--to go to San Diego Feb 9 for the O'Reilly Digital Democracy Teach-In. It looks like a pretty decent thing, but I don’t know how we can wangle it.

01/29/04 THU:
---Here today from Hippocampus:
Smith, Clark Ashton THE SWORD OF ZAGAN and Other Writings, Hippocampus ('04), 1st edn, (juvenilia; Joshi intro; Dr. W.C. Farmer [ed]), new $15

---Order out to NESFA today.

---A couple books that have been sitting around uncatalogued until today:
Anderson, Poul GOING FOR INFINITY: A Literary Journey, SFBC ('02), new in dj 8.99

Smith, E.E. "Doc" CHRONICLES OF THE LENSMEN vol. 1, SFBC, nd, new / dj 14.99

---Disc Log:
- Fever Tree CREATION (vinyl LP from 1969) - another from way back when I doubt ever made it to CD, but it still rings a bell when I play it today. Later: checking in the All-Music Guide I see that at least one CD by Fever Tree is available now--a best-of entitled San Francisco Girls. I hate to buy CDs for nostalgic reasons, but that might be fun. Doubtless I have everything on vinyl somewhere, because that was one of those crazy psychedelic groups I followed faithfully.
- Kaito THE MONTIGOLA EP (Xgau: A Minus)
- The Naysayer PURE BEAUTY (Xgau: A Minus)
- Fax Label AMBIENT COMPILATION 2

01/28/04 WED:
---Just updated entry from a week ago (01/21/04) with Meisha Merlin, Stark House and Borderlands books new-arrival listings. I notice a couple MM titles I should have ordered but apparently did not. They still owe me a title from my order, so maybe I can get these added onto another shipment.

---Darn cold here again today, but I imagine that is the case in a lot of places.

01/27/04 TUE:
---Am working on an assortment of odds and ends that have been commanding my intention if not my attention for a long time now, including finding out about a book from Headpress entitled CREATURES OF CLAY for a customer.

01/26/04 MON:
---Here today from Edgewood: ALCHEMY #1. Can’t find a web presence, but google brought up this from someone’s blog:
“We were lucky enough to receive a copy of the beautiful first issue of Alchemy in the mail from Steve Pasechnick at Edgewood Press. I can't emphasize enough what a great-looking magazine this is, and all the stories look wonderful to boot -- new work from Alex Irvine, Theodora Goss, Carol Emshwiller, and more. I might also say this is a departure from most genre fiction magazines in that it features FOUR stories by women, out of a total of six. Buy it directly from Steve at PO Box 380264, Cambridge, MA 02238; the price on the spine is $7. I couldn't locate a website at the moment; however, I'm sure it'll be available some other places as well.”
---Indeed!

---I estimate it at four inches of snow this morning. Since it is supposed to get frigid cold overnight, I tried to trudge my five-mile route on the bike trail this morning. It was slow going but probably used some muscles my normal so-called stride has learned to bypass. I am glad I don't have to drive a car anywhere today.

---Among other things, am working on a long-too-delayed order to Leisure Books (Dorchester Publishing) now.

01/25/04 SUN:
---Word from Darkside Press about a book not here yet, but sounding like it might be soon:
“New book from Cleve Cartmill:
You're receiving this note because you've ordered Midnight House books in the past, and while this new collection by Cleve Cartmill is from our SF imprint, there is certainly enough fantasy/horror content that I thought you might find it of interest:
The name Cleve Cartmill is synonymous with the "Golden Age of Science Fiction". For over a decade beginning in 1941 Cartmill received equal billing with the more famous names of the era such as Heinlein, Simak, Hubbard, and de Camp. His novellas and novelettes were frequently the lead features of Astounding Science Fiction and Unknown Worlds. Best known today for the famous "atom bomb" story "Deadline", Cartmill's impressive oeuvre of fantasy and science fiction has appeared only sporadically in anthologies and with the exception of the paperback Space Scavenger, has never been collected in book form. This is the first of a projected five volume set that will collect all of Cleve Cartmill's fantastic fiction. From the fantasies such as "The Bargain" and "Age Cannot Wither" to the dystopian future shown in "With Flaming Swords", this collection presents a selection showcasing the range of this unjustly neglected master of fantastic fiction.”

01/24/04 SAT:
---Text to follow?

01/23/04 FRI:
---After a big slowdown or quasi-temporary stoppage in adding to my listings on biblio.com, I just posted through Pul-, including the tedium of giving all the issues of Psychotronic Video and Pulphouse Magazine separate listings. That brings the listings up from Mic- to Pul-, including mass-market paperbacks with publishers in that range.

---Living in Iowa I thought I ought to come up with at least a few comments from my perspective, muddled as that may be sometimes, regarding the big-news caucuses here recently. Hence my comments a few days ago. I can't be following current affairs as closely as I should if I want to be a spouter offer, but I probably end up being exposed to some things that most people, unfortunately, miss (and vice versa). I will try to continue posting these diatribes sometimes. They should come under the heading "fountainpennings", because if I transcribed what I write in my longhand journal (as I did here), such things might be more common on this weblog. I do think it might be more interesting than if it were just a straight bookseller site--kind of more into the spirit of what a blog should be--even if I come across poorly.

---Meanwhile, I appreciate receiving this response:
"Greetings Chris!
I've been following your political comments with great interest this week. I often succumb to despair when witnessing the spin that mainstream media puts on political events, so I very much appreciate your sharp observations. I have the feeling that Dean may be down, but he is not out yet. We'll see."

01/22/04 THU:
---Text to follow?

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.