Browsers' Bookstore
Browsers' Bookstore |
|
|
Search our inventory! |
Where low prices meet high quality. |
Past NewslettersPlease note: there is at least a one-month lag time between a newsletter being mailed, and being posted to this website. Email us today to sign up! Browsers' Bookstore Newsletter for October, 2005 STORE NEWS 2006 calendars are here! Stop by to browse our great selection of fine calendars - get all of your Christmas shopping done at once! At the end of September we purchased the entire inventory of a small store on the coast. This means that we have moved up our timeframe for expanding our pocket books section. Look for a new "Mystery Room" coming at the end of October -- if I can get my act together. We're reorganizing everything right now, and it's amazing some of the neat books I've found that were buried in the back, including a rare three-volume set from 1798! Ha, ha, that will teach me to clean up once in a while... CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY Hey, bring the kids down on Hallowe'en for some trick or treating! HUGE BOOK SALE Be sure to go to the Friends of the Albany Public Library book sale on:
Thursday, October 27 -- 10 AM to 6 PM The sale will be held at the Main Library at 1390 Waverly Dr. All proceeds go to the Friends! THIS MONTH'S HIGHLIGHTS I'm really hitting you over the head with expensive books this month. Sorry, but I've tried to throw in a few lower-priced recommendations, as well. Here are the books that stand out for one reason or another from the rest: 1. Grammatical Man: Information, Entropy, Language, and Life. Jeremy Cambell. Trade paperback, $4.99. This was one of my favorite books while I was in my phase of "I want to go back to school to study information theory." This was right after - or perhaps before - my "I want to go back to school to study soil science" phase. These are actually both very interesting fields, and if you don't believe me, read Grammatical Man by Cambell, and Soil and Civilization by Hyams. I still have GM, but gave up my copy of S&C when I realized I could get a few bucks for it. I did the same thing - which I now regret, as I did not take the time to re-read it first - with my old copy of Practical Demonkeeping, by Christopher Moore, which has a rather high value. Which brings us to... 2. Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings. Christopher Moore. First ed., $14.99. This came from my own collection, because I've decided I don't really need to have a complete collection of Moore firsts, after all. The main reason, of course, is space. My prized Terry Pratchett novels are crowding out the few other books on the same shelf. My wife's P. G. Wodehouse collection, below Pratchett, will soon be encroaching upon that same shelf. Moore's Lamb, which is one of the funniest books ever, holds court with the Pratchetts, and the only direction for a potential Moore collection to grow would be into my Christian History section & my "Alternative and/or Conspiracy Theories of the Discovery of America" (need I mention I love that section?) sections (both very full) which are shelved above the fireplace. Which brings us to... 3. Rumford Fireplaces and How They Are Made. G. Curtis Gillespie. $75. Awesome, awesome, awesome!! This is a reprint from 1906 of an essay in "Essays Political, Economical, and Philosophical" by Benjamin, Count of Rumford. The Count wrote an entire essay on, yes, fireplaces. His design is apparently wonderful, and inspired Gillespie to publish this book, in which he has "strewn promiscuously throughout these pages numerous pictures bearing upon fireplaces and mantels." Literally, there is a picture on every page - some quaint drawings, some architectural sketches, some photos. This is my favorite find of the month! 4. A Treatise on Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene. Calvin Cutter. Good condition, $30. Full-leather book from 1850 with lots of drawings. These drawings are acceptable to my eyes, but (I can't find it right now to include it in the newsletter officially, but it's lurking somewhere) we also received a book called something like "Color Atlas of Human Dissection" which is really nasty for medically-queasy people like me. Especially since it has the distinct odor of formaldehyde. 5. In the City of Shy Hunters. Tom Spanbauer. First ed., $12.99. This is the guy who wrote The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon, which is a good book, if a little strange. Hey, that reminds me: I just found otu that Jonathan Franzen, who hit the best-seller list with The Corrections, also wrote The Twenty-Seventh City which I read a long time ago, and is really good. So, there's another recommendation. 6. No Lesser Plea. Robert K. Tanenbaum. First ed., $25. The first solo novel by this hack writer - excuse me, popular author. 7. Object Lessons. Anna Quindlen. Signed first ed., $20. The first novel by this hack writer - excuse me, popular author. 8. The Famous Tragedy of the Queen of Cornwall. Thomas Hardy. First trade ed., $20. Hey, wait a minute, why isn't a Thomas Hardy first edition worth more than twenty lousy bucks? Alas, even the "classic" authors wrote bad books, and Hardy's later books are supposedly not nearly as good as Tess of the D'Urbervilles (of which a first edition is worth thousands...) or Jude the Obscure. So, the lesson here is that a first book by a "hack writer" is as good or better than a late book by a "Literary Giant." Ah, the vagaries of used books.... 9. The Dynasts: A Drama of the Napoleonic Wars. Thomas Hardy. Three volumes, vol. 1 is 1st ed., vol.'s 2 & 3 are 2nd printings. $250. Apparently, Hardy considered this to be his masterpiece, despite lukewarm or worse reviews. These are nice, sharp copies of this set. 10. Chinese Folk Design: A Collection of Cut-Paper Designs Used for Embroidery, together with 160 Chinese Art Symbols and Their Meanings. W. M. Hawley. $35. Beautiful book with bright colors, fantastic illustrations such as "A mysterious mad monk of the Sung dynasty", "Dragon and pearl", or "Unicorn carrying a boy child." However, some of the more simple designs, such as "Carp" or "Flower", are the most beautiful. Dustjacket has seen better days but is now protected by mylar. 11. A Law Dictionary Containing Definitions of the Terms and Phrase of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern, and Including the Principal Terms of International blah blah blah. Henry Campbell Black. 2nd edition, 1910. $200. Where's my typist to finish up this absurdly long title? Fortunately for my little fingers, this classic text (currently in its 8th edition) has made its way into the popular idiom simply as "Black's". 12. A large collection of Heritage Press books. These are, as the phraseology goes, "handsomely bound" editions of classics. They always contain original artwork, and are hardcovers with slipcases. (Some of our recent arrivals are lacking the slipcases, though.) Heritage Press editions make great gifts -- especially for yourself. So, for a price between that of a new mass market paperback ($7) and a new trade paperback ($15), you can get a fancy edition of one of your favorite books. (I have 3 or 4 additional boxes of these in storage which I'll be bringing in . . . someday . . .) 13. Oh my gosh, I almost forgot this awesome one!! A Record of European Armour and Arms through Seven Centuries. Sir Guy Francis Laking. Five volumes, $650. Wow, this book rivals the fireplace one for being my favorite! Over 1500 pages of pictures and history on the subject, and I can't even understand half of the terminology used in here, so it must be good! (I've got to learn about arms & armor so I can use cool words like ricasso, burgonet, umbril, and quillons.) The original set sells for $2000 but this, alas, comes from a professional collector/appraiser who xeroxed the original onto nice semi-glossy pages, then had them bound into five large hardcover books. The pictures, therefore, are lacking in quality compared to the original. Definitely a reference set rather than a collector's piece. In uniform binding, we also have A Record of Armour Sales, 1881-1924 by Francis Henry Cripps-Day. $75. Equally cool, but "only" 327 pages of coolness. BOOK BLOG I've really been slacking this month due to some internal changes we're making -- sorry -- but check it out for ideas of books to read (or not to read.) http://www.browsersbookstore.com/blogger.html BOOK QUOTE OF THE MONTH "I took a course in speed reading, learning to read straight down the middle of the page, and I was able to go through War and Peace in twenty minutes. It’s about Russia." – Woody Allen Enjoy the reading, Scott Givens
|
|
|
Browsers' Bookstore is dedicated to four principles: low prices, high quality, great selection, and fantastic customer service. If we don't have the book you're looking for in stock, please email us and we'll do a free international book search for you, whether you're in Oregon's beautiful Willamette Valley or in the middle of the Australian outback. We can order new books, used books, and almost any out-of-print book.
|