Latest finds and a suggested book

Greetings and Happy Holidays!

Made my monthly trip to a favorite used book store in Wisconsin today. Wish all
bookstores had employees who didn't know much about books, although I realize
you can't know everything about all of them.
However, today's find was Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"
which most used book dealers should be at least mildly aware of. Spotted a copy
priced at $40. While this book wasn't big on my list, I knew it was an
important book in a first edition. Sure enough: not price-clipped, ex-library
or remainder, and stated "first "printing." I didn't know all of the points for
this book, but what the heck. When I got home I checked the internet for
points, and this copy has them all. Its a first edition/first printing. Either
the employees didn't know anything about the book, or they thought they had a
latter printing (which has different color stain on top of page ends), but they
sold it to me for $40 and the average asking price from the major bookdealers I
use as sources on the internet is $400 in the condition mine is in (no defects
of any kind and appears unread). Also got a first edition of Isabel Allende's
"The House of Spirits" in similar condition for $10.
The book I would like to suggest to those of us here who both collect and like
to read about books (which is most of us) is Carlos Ruiz Zafon's "The Shadow of
the Wind." Just out this year and found it on a remainder table. Per the flap:
a father is trying to cope with his son who is having serious problems at the
end of World War II in Spain. He decides to introduce him to a secret society
he belongs to: the Cemetary of Forgotten Books, an organization of rare book
dealers just like the father. He tells his son to pick out a book from the vast
secret holdings, and whichever book he picks will become very special to him.
The kid picks one, loves it, and decides to get all of that author's works. But
somebody is mysteriously destroying everything that author published, and as
the child grows older he begins an investigation. The result is "murder, magic
and madness." I've read a couple of chapters: its excellent and just the thing
for anyone who likes to read about rare books, people who sell them and have a
bit of mystery mixed in to boot.
Happy collecting, bookscouting and reading!
Les

"BookEditions" wrote...
The book I would like to suggest to those of us here who both collect and
like
to read about books (which is most of us) is Carlos Ruiz Zafon's "The
Shadow of
the Wind." Just out this year and found it on a remainder table....

That one is still on the regular shelves around here (St. Louis) and has
gone into multiple spell check printings /spell check. I read it and
enjoyed it.

A couple of other biblio-mysteries out this year are "Codex" by Lev Grossman
and "The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason. I liked the
latter, and it was a bestseller (riding the coattails of "The DaVinci Code")
and has been through many printings, but I think some readers were
disappointed that "Rule of Four" is more "biblio" and not so much
"thriller." I haven't gotten to the Grossman book yet.


--
Jon Meyers
(To reply, lose
your way)