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I think collector books count as wonderful so I've been posting mine, but if that is frowned upon I'll take the feedback. I enjoy the weird books more than anything, but this thread moves slow, and nobody I know in RL gives a gently caress about my collection.
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Jun 24, 2020 06:51
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No, please continue to post books! I love seeing other people's books, shelves, and collections. I purposefully let this thread move slower by keeping most of my crazy non-book content confined to the Vantasm magazine thread, (although there is still plenty of crossover).
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Jun 24, 2020 14:18
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ĦĦĦATTENTION!!! I don't know what's happening with the future of this site, but if everything goes to poo poo (or even if it doesn't), feel free to contact me at: GutterPhoenixUSA -AT- gmail I also signed up on discord, but I don't really know how that works yet.
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Jun 24, 2020 18:45
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You should have a tumblr or something. edit: actually a twitter account would be better imo. Though it wouldn't be great for the magazine stuff. wa27 fucked around with this message at 22:08 on Jun 24, 2020 |
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Jun 24, 2020 21:56
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I'm still hoping that the SA forums can continue to exist, because this is the best place on the whole internet. However, just to be safe, I am working on a website that will contain some of the same material posted in the book thread, magazine thread, and Chick tract thread. And a bunch of other stuff too: https://weirdandwonderfulbooks.webstarts.site/ Obviously, this is a work in progress. Please be patient, as all of my computer skills are self-taught, so I don't really know what the gently caress I'm doing and only figure things out by trial and error. (Also, just as an FYI - I bought the domain "www.weirdandwonderfulbooks.com," but I'm not going to start paying for web hosting until I get most of the sub-pages put together, so that link on the main page doesn't go anywhere yet.) Thanks to everyone for your support!
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Jun 25, 2020 20:05
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SquareSpace is apparently pretty easy to get started with.
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Jun 26, 2020 01:20
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Lazyhound posted:SquareSpace is apparently pretty easy to get started with. Good to know. I'll look into that. It looks like the crisis has been averted, and Jeffrey of YOSPOS will be taking over Something Awful, so this thread can continue as usual. Hooray!! I'll still be working on that website I mentioned, but it will be more of a supplement to this thread rather than a replacement. I also have at least 1,000 books I need to sell in order to clear up shelf space for new books, so I'm hoping to set up a store where I can sell those cheap.
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Jun 26, 2020 16:23
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Gutter Phoenix posted:I also have at least 1,000 books I need to sell in order to clear up shelf space for new books, so I'm hoping to set up a store where I can sell those cheap. *desire to know more intensifies*
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Jun 26, 2020 17:36
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queserasera posted:*desire to know more intensifies* My fiance and I probably have at least 5,000 books between the two of us. That would be awesome if we had the shelf space for them all, but we do not. It is time for another one of our semi-regular book purges, and I thought I'd try selling some of them for cheap to people who might actually appreciate them instead of selling them to Half Price Books for pennies, or donating them to the bloodsuckers at Goodwill. I'll let you know when I get the website store up and running. Content:  
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Jun 26, 2020 19:13
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Oh no, Gutter Phoenix selling books when we already need to do a shelf purge of our own oh no
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Jun 26, 2020 22:30
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This one came in today. Nocturne was released in 1997, so this has been shrink-wrapped for 23 years or so.  However, as cool as this is, I'll likely open it up because you really shouldn't leave books in shrink wrap.
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Jun 30, 2020 00:38
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Ornamented Death posted:This one came in today. Nocturne was released in 1997, so this has been shrink-wrapped for 23 years or so. That's rad! I don't know that I've ever seen a bonus package thingamabob used as a promotion for a book. Seems more common with stuff like booze or cigarettes. In any case, it's neat!
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Jun 30, 2020 00:47
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I just picked up a signed, limited edition copy of The White House Years by Henry Kissenger. I mean gently caress that dude but I can't deny he wasn't instrumental in the 20th century world order. For every trash limited edition Warhammer 40k I pick up I gotta get a "respectable" book for the collection too.
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Jun 30, 2020 16:08
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D-Pad posted:I just picked up a signed, limited edition copy of The White House Years by Henry Kissenger. I mean gently caress that dude but I can't deny he wasn't instrumental in the 20th century world order. For every trash limited edition Warhammer 40k I pick up I gotta get a "respectable" book for the collection too. Please post a picture if you can! Kissinger is a monster and a traitor to the human race, but no one can argue he didn't make an impact on world history.
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Jun 30, 2020 16:17
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Gutter Phoenix posted:Please post a picture if you can! I will definitely post pics when it comes in. In the meantime, my Suntup artist gift edition of I Am Legend just got delivered. This is my first Suntup I have bought but drat do they put out some amazing editions. Their lettered and numbered series are insanely cool, but expensive and hard to get. If you haven't seen them before go browse the Suntup Press website. The prices on eBay are in the thousands for their lettered and numbered series.      
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Jun 30, 2020 18:35
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I'm torn on Suntup. On the one hand, I salute Paul for making the books he wants to make. On the other hand, I feel he's all but abusing the people on the numbered/lettered train; you will never convince me a bunch of genre nerds scooped up copies of The Bridges of Madison County for any reason other than to keep their letter. Same with paying $350 for a goddamned short story.
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Jul 1, 2020 01:24
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I like hand-bound letterpress too so I checked out that guy's site and hoo boy. Is it possible for a bibliophile to do hand-bound letterpress as a business and not be a condescending wanker about it?
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Jul 1, 2020 01:51
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Ornamented Death posted:I'm torn on Suntup. On the one hand, I salute Paul for making the books he wants to make. On the other hand, I feel he's all but abusing the people on the numbered/lettered train; you will never convince me a bunch of genre nerds scooped up copies of The Bridges of Madison County for any reason other than to keep their letter. Same with paying $350 for a goddamned short story. It's a great business model. If somebody dropped a million or two in my lap I would probably start something similar. He does excellent work creating the editions, but yeah I wouldn't care enough about keeping my letter to buy stuff I didn't want. I did some back of the napkin math and it prints money.
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Jul 1, 2020 01:56
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Check out this custom press I found called Dragon Rebound Editions. They take first edition books (so far only Stephen King) and rebind them with a custom binding. They find first editions with bad quality jackets but good quality pages to do this. These are cool as hell. Check out the Cujo:
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Jul 1, 2020 06:43
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D-Pad posted:Check out this custom press I found called Dragon Rebound Editions. They take first edition books (so far only Stephen King) and rebind them with a custom binding. They find first editions with bad quality jackets but good quality pages to do this. These are cool as hell. Check out the Cujo: That's also Paul Suntup, by the way.
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Jul 1, 2020 11:29
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Ornamented Death posted:That's also Paul Suntup, by the way. Yeah I didn't realize that. The dude is talented. I would love to do what he does. Edit: How much do you think it costs Suntup for a release? 1984 had: 26 Lettered @ $2,950 250 Numbered @ $675 1000 Artist @ $120 Total = $365,450 What do you imagine his margin is on something like that? He's doing three new titles for 3rd quarter this year so if he keeps that up he is doing about $4 million in revenue a year. He's also doing art prints of his covers, but I'm not sure how well those sell. I would have to think these things are expensive to produce, but at the prices he is getting his margin has to be high. I also doubt he employs more than 1-2 people, and it may just be him. As a project manager I could see how one person could coordinate everything you'd need to do to get these out the door for the most part by yourself with maybe some part time help for customer service or something. Maybe I am underestimating the effort, I am sure it is a ton of work but it's mainly coordinating with artists, suppliers, and printers that he starts probably at least a year ahead of release. I'm just really interested in the business model here. D-Pad fucked around with this message at 17:21 on Jul 1, 2020 |
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Jul 1, 2020 16:50
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I don't think I've ever seen the actual cover before:
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Jul 2, 2020 13:21
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D-Pad posted:Yeah I didn't realize that. The dude is talented. I would love to do what he does. I used to work as a printer, but it's been well over a decade, so I have absolutely no clue how much stuff costs these days. My fiance works for a major publisher, but doesn't deal with the manufacturing aspect at all. Small press stuff is a real niche industry, and I don't know anyone who works in it anymore. 1276 copies is a pretty small print run, and that increases the cost of every individual book since most of printing costs come from the set-up and overhead. Honestly, I have no idea what their costs would be. I love small press stuff and handmade books, but they are really expensive so I don't have many. If anyone has knowledge of that field, please share it here!
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Jul 2, 2020 16:03
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D-Pad posted:Check out this custom press I found called Dragon Rebound Editions. They take first edition books (so far only Stephen King) and rebind them with a custom binding. They find first editions with bad quality jackets but good quality pages to do this. These are cool as hell. Check out the Cujo: This is rad, but seems like it'd attack the books next to it on the shelf! It reminds me of an old Feederz record that had a sandpaper cover so it'd wreck any album stored next to it (on purpose). 
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Jul 2, 2020 16:05
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3D Megadoodoo posted:I don't think I've ever seen the actual cover before: LOL! I've never heard of this.
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Jul 2, 2020 16:06
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Gutter Phoenix posted:It reminds me of an old Feederz record that had a sandpaper cover so it'd wreck any album stored next to it (on purpose).
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Jul 2, 2020 16:16
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The Kins posted:The Australian band TISM also experimented with different types of hostile album packaging, although not to the same extent. One of their albums, the cover was sealed on all of the sides so you had to destroy it to get the actual record. On another, all of the text on the cover was in Chinese. On a third, the cover was made to look like it was by a completely different, fictional band, a 1950s doo-wop group called Machiavelli And The Four Seasons, complete with fake song list on the back. Ha! That's great. I've never heard of TISM, but will be looking into them...
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Jul 2, 2020 16:19
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D-Pad posted:What do you imagine his margin is on something like that? Most everything Paul produces is handmade AND uses handmade components so his costs are substantially higher than what even most specialty publshers deal with.
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Jul 2, 2020 16:48
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I learned about this book by US Attorney General Bill Barr's dad in the LOL at Trump thread:    It doesn't sound wonderful, but it sure sounds weird. And horrible. Gutter Phoenix fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Jul 2, 2020 |
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Jul 2, 2020 19:37
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Gutter Phoenix posted:Please post a picture if you can! Got it today  
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Jul 2, 2020 23:42
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I actually sold these last night, but I figure I can still share the photos. Swan Song by Robert McCammon, signed/numbered edition by Subterranean Press:   bonus weird reflection  And Boy's Life by Robert McCammon, signed numbered edition by Subterranean Press:   
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Jul 7, 2020 00:20
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Now for an episode of "Ornamented Death Collecting Pointers." So with collecting most things, mint-in-packaging (or some derivation) is considered a good thing. Everyone knows all those vinyl Pop! figures are worth more when they're unopened! This is not the case with books. Previously I posted some photos of Ed McBain's Nocturne still sealed in a package with a paperback copy of Killer's Choice and indicated I was going to open it because it wasn't good to leave them in shrink wrap. There are two major reasons why this is the case. The first, and probably more severe of the two, is that the shrink wrap can trap moisture. This can ultimately lead to mold, and if your book gets mold, you need to toss it because mold will absolutely spread from book to book and, on a long enough timeline, ruin your entire collection. If there is substantial worth to the book, there are professionals that can treat the mold, but a) that's very expensive and b) you're still going to take a significant hit to the value of your book. Just as a point of reference, I have books worth thousands, and if any of them ended up with mold, I'd almost certainly just pulp them than go through the hassle and expense because it's just not worth it until you're talking values of tends of thousands. Thankfully mold was not the issue I encountered in this case. The other major concern is that the shrink wrap can contract and damage the book. Much like everything in the world, expansion and contraction are caused by changes in temperature. Expansion is not a huge deal except that it could potentially let dirt get between the book and the shrink wrap. Contraction, though, can be a huge problem. You wouldn't think some flimsy rear end plastic would be strong enough to crunch a hardcover book, but you'd be wrong. For example...   It's hard to get decent lighting in this room. Also Kermit is judging all of us. Anyhow, as you can see, there's some crinkling to the dust jacket. No biggie, right? Hell, Amazon does worse to dust jackets whenever they ship me a "new" book! Well...   At some point this package was stored in a cold place and the shrink wrap contracted enough to crunch in the corner of the book. There was some evidence the opposite corner had some stress applied, but paperbacks give a little better than hardcovers so there's no real damage to the paperback. There's also a remote chance this was caused by a drop, but the shrink wrap was undamaged and while it's strong enough to do this kind of damage, shrink wrap will almost always tear from the abrasion of a drop. So in conclusion, if you get a book that's covered in shrink wrap, tear that poo poo off. It offers almost no protection and is very likely to damage your book over time. If you're concerned about the dust jacket, you want to invest in mylar dust jacket protectors, such as those produced by Brodart or Gaylord.
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Jul 7, 2020 01:58
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Good stuff above! Jason Starr continues to be my favorite living author. Here is a new short story collection:  More soon. Stay tuned.
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Jul 15, 2020 17:30
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More from my bookshelf...   Found this copy of Gray's Anatomy just lying around at a hole in the wall coffee shop around 10-15 years ago.They had obviously gone to a bookstore giveaway bin or Goodwill or something to fill their tables and shelves...all sorts of old crap just piled around all the used couches and beat up straight-backed chairs. The staff did not care whether I took it with me or not.    Let me know if you have any requests about particular body parts.  Empire, one of Mrs. Pershing's old college texts...it's a general history of what life was like for both the colonizer and the colonized over the years. The cover image is what keeps me from getting rid of it...I wonder what they're telling these tribesmen about that picture. The book doesn't say!  This is the...largest book I've ever bought. Found it in the art book section of my local shop and carried it out with both hands like the Ten Commandments. Cosmos: A Field Guide appears to be unrelated to the Cosmos TV show.   Lots of pretty stuff in this one.    Here it is with a 5lb freeweight for scale...  ...and rare photos of the formation of the Goatse Nebula 
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Jul 17, 2020 20:11
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^^^ Good stuff! I have some books to post here soon, but maybe not today. In the meantime I wanted to post part of this depressing email I got from RE/Search books:     Please support them if you can. They are one of the best.
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Jul 17, 2020 23:25
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Thank you for linking this. I picked up a copy of Incredibly Strange Films.
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Jul 20, 2020 03:44
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queserasera posted:Thank you for linking this. I picked up a copy of Incredibly Strange Films. I learned about a lot of crazy and amazing movies from that book. Just thinking about it makes me want to watch Basket Case. 
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Jul 20, 2020 07:38
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I just bought Mannix's two books from RE/Search (not the nice signed editions, but still). Looking forward to those!
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Jul 20, 2020 08:11
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Daniel P. Mannix' books are great. He was interested in all sorts of random, esoteric stuff. I can relate to that. If nothing else, you'll learn how to swallow swords and eat fire! (Please don't actually try to do so, but if you do, take pictures!)
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Jul 20, 2020 20:33
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Thanks for the Re/Search link, I only had one book from them (the William Burroughs one in softcover). Just picked up Incredibly Strange Films, San Francisco by Yoshi Yubai and the Kustom Japan car book. My unread pile is getting bigger by the day...
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Jul 22, 2020 17:50
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