I am now officially a Bookseller

I just spent 3 hours this afternoon selling (or trying to sell) my paperback fiction books. My son decided he wanted to sell some of his books as well. He ended up playing at the park with Dad, while I manned the table. So for my first time out as a book seller, I sold exactly 5 of my books, and 2 of my sons - and made $3.00 total.

We just set a table up outside on the street. I wasn't too fussy about the prices - it's more important that I get rid of them as I have too many books. I was charging 50 cents for my books, and a quarter for the kids books.

Next time I think I will have more hard back books (going for $1) and more non-fiction books. Actually I enjoyed myself, just being able to sit in the sun (wearing a cap and suntan lotion) and reading a cheap novel.

The Know-It-All - Interesting Facts from the Encyclopedia Britannica

Having finished Among the Gently Mad, I am now reading The Know-It-All. He's reading all 30 plus volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

I'm thinking AJ's book editor missed a factual error. It is the editors job to prove every fact as being correct, right? Anyway, under B for Bell on page 24, AJ writes, The worlds largest bell was built in 1733 in Moscow, and weighed in at more than four hundred thousand pounds.

Even I know that bells are not built - they are CAST!!! I think I might have learned that from one of my favourite movies. National Treasure starring Nicolas Cage and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Or I may have learned that many years ago when I was forced to learn about the American Revolution in my very boring high school history class.

Under B for Book on Page 26, AJ writes The United Nations defines a book as a text that is at least 49 pages long. If that is true - then what does one call all the childrens texts sitting on the shelves in my sons room? The vast majority of them are less than 49 pages. If they are not books - then what are they? I need to start training my 5 year old to call them by another name. Because the UN says they are not books anymore.

Among the Gently Mad by Nicholas Basbanes - Book Review

Well I finished the book Among the Gently Mad. Its the first Basbanes book I have actually finished and it was VERY interesting.

All sorts of interesting comments, and tips on how to collect. One thing I agreed with, was the idea that book collecting was an intellectual hobby. I always knew that I was smart (my IQ is around 125) but I made a few bad decisions, one of which was to not stay at college and do the History degree I have always wanted to do. Now I cannot afford to do a degree. And I am not about to go into debt by taking out a student loan.

Another idea that Basbanes mentioned was that it's ok to collect just what you are interested in, not necessarily what you think will be valuable.

My tastes at this time lean towards History of Science, Elizabethan era (especially the Shakespeare authorship debate), Books about Books, and the Byzantine Empire (330-1430). There are a few other smaller areas of interest, but those are my main ones.

I have very little interest in fiction - although I will read some historical and mystery/thriller type novels. There is one fiction series I would like to collect, and that is John Dunning's Bookman series. About a police officer in Colorado who retires and open a rarebook shop. But still finds himself involved in murders & homicides - usually involving books. I have one book in the series, have read 2 others from the library - but would like to collect & own all of them.

Chapter 4 is called Three Little Words. Those words at the beginning are Rarity, Scarcity & Value. None of which I would need to know about since I will never be able to afford those kinds of books - unless I win the lottery. By the end of the chapter, those 3 words had changed to Two Little Words - Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware). These words I will take heed of.

Chapter five mentions the categories of collecting. Now I know most of you probably already know these, but I'm writing these down for the record, and so I can learn them.

A Major works in Books or Pamphlets
B First Appearence in book form of short stories and poems as well as introductions written in other books
C All known work in Newspapers & Magazines (periodicals)
D Published works in translation
E Anthologies containing the authors works
F Published facsimiles of manuscripts & letters (why not try for the originals?)
G Books & Criticism written about the author
H Newspaper & Magazine articles written about the author

Chapter 7 is my favourite. Its theme is Research, Research, Research. I LOVE doing Research. Basbanes says, and I quote, At every opportunity I get, I like to hammer home my considered belief that the best collectors are the people who know their subjects as well or better than anyone else [...] Unless you are willing to do your homework - to become conversant with the literature in your chosen field, to learn the rudiments of bibliography, to read, for goodness sake - you are doomed to mediocrity.

This is why I think book collecting is an intellectual hobby. Because as a book collector, I cannot just mindlessly purchase books, place them on the shelf, and expect to make a nice big profit when I sell them 5 or 10 years later.

I've already been jolted out of this thinking when I decided it was time to sell my Star trek manuals a few weeks ago. I have 6 of them, and I figured the demand for them would be high, and that I might get maybe $80 if I put them up for auction on e-bay. I received quite a shock when I went looking on ebay to find that none of them were selling for more than $10 each, and most of them had a start price of below $5. Also there were lots and lots of them - so the supply seems to be higher than the demand. My spouse placed a 1986 Ford truck repair book up for auction and it went for $5. The shipping costs were $15.

I'm learning as fast as I can.

The Selected Bibiography at the back of this book was 10 pages of books about books and book collecting. Some of which I now really want to get.

The first book I need to get is John Carters ABC for Book Collectors (which I have read is the best beginners book around). Nicholas Basbanes says that the Ahearns (Allen & Patricia) will not even sell their Collected Books - The Guide to Values to anyone who has not done their basic homework.

I better get started. Thanks for the excellent tips Nick.

Know it All by AJ Jacobs & Among the Gently Mad by Nicholas Basbanes

I splurged on 2 more books yesterday. Since I have been (and am still) reading Players (about Shakespeare) and The Book Nobody Read (About Copernicus) over the last 2 weeks, I decided I needed some lighter reading material. Never mind the huge pile of books on my TBR shelves. I wanted to read something about books. So I splurged.

I started reading Among the Gently Mad last night - and am already past page 120. Its an easy book to read and there are some very good ideas about book collecting. Such as making up a database and keeping accurate records of all your books, and deciding early what subjects or specialities you want to collect in.

Oh yes and I now own all 5 of Nick's Books.
A Splendor of Letters
A Gentle Madness
Patience and Fortitude
Among the Gently Mad
Every Book Its Reader
This Antiquarian craze can really sneak up on you. Four months ago, I'd never heard of Nicholas Basbanes before.






I browsed through this book at the library a few weeks ago, but did not get it out. So now I have my own copy. I read the Wikipedia article, and my impression of Joe Queenan's bad review is simply this. Joe is jealous that he didnt think up the idea of reading the Encyclopedia Britannica all by himself. Or maybe Joe is jealous that someone else actually managed to finish reading the entire encyclopedia. I'll bet Joe tried and gave up after Volume A.

Here is AJ Jacobs website

And for some silly reason this Blog will not allow me to link to Wikipedia.

Memes - What Happened on my Birthday

I have seen a few of these MEMEs around, so I thought I would do one. Besides it helps to keep me awake at this early hour of the morning.

1. Go to Wikipedia and type in your birthdate, no year.
Mine is May 5 (Next Saturday)

2. List 5 or more important and interesting events.
553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins.
(Was that the Gregorian or the Julian calendar?)
1260 - Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire.
(Again - how accurate is this date?)
1862 - Cinco de Mayo in Mexico: Troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla.
1877 - Indian Wars: Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles.
1891 - The Music Hall in New York (now known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
1916 - American marines invade the Dominican Republic.
1925 - Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is served an arrest warrant for teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
1936 - Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
1941 - Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (This date has been since commemorated as Liberation Day)
1961 - Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 3 – Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into space, making a sub-orbital flight of 15 minutes.


3. List at least 5 births.
1818 - Karl Marx, German political philosopher (d. 1883)
1826 - Empress Eugenie of France, wife of Napoleon III (d. 1920)
1926 - Ann B. Davis, American actress (from the Brady Bunch)
1942 - Marc Alaimo, American actor (Gul Dukat - on Star Trek Deep Space Nine)
1942 - Tammy Wynette, American musician (d. 1998) Did she stand by her man?
1943 - Michael Palin, British writer, actor, and comedian - AND TRAVELLER


4. List 3 or more Deaths.
1028 - King Alfonso V of Castile, León, and Galicia
1192 - Duke Ottokar IV of Styria (b. 1163)
1194 - King Casimir II of Poland (b. 1138)
1219 - King Leo II of Armenia (b. 1150)
1309 - King Charles II of Naples
1525 - Frederick III of Saxony (b. 1463)
1821 - Napoleon I of France (b. 1769)


5. List 3 Holidays or Observances.
Cinco de Mayo in Mexico (of course)
Albania: Martyrs' Day.
Denmark: Liberation Day (1945).
Ethiopia: Liberation Day (1941).
Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Taiwan (2006): Buddha's Birthday.

Birthday Party at Folger tomorrow - Reminder

REMINDER!! FOLGER LIBRARY BIRTHDAY

Please read BiblioShakespeare for details

Little House on the Prairie

There was a blurb in my local paper yesterday about the Little House on the Prairie books first being published 75 years ago. The first book published in April 1932 was "Little House in the Big Woods." "Little House on the Prairie" was actually published in 1935.

Little House Books
Little House on the Prairie
Laura Ingalls Wilder

But the Native Americans say that Laura did not mention everything that happened.
Little Laura Ingalls, her sisters and their beloved Ma and Pa were illegal squatters on Osage land. She left that detail out of her 1935 children’s book, Little House on the Prairie, as well as any mention of ongoing outrages—including killings, burnings, beatings, horse thefts and grave robberies—committed by white settlers, such as Charles Ingalls, against Osages living in villages not more than a mile or two away from the Ingalls’ little house.
Books to Avoid

There are a number of new books that have been added to the series. "The Girls of Little House" series chronicles the stories of the women in Laura's family. These include her daughter Rose, her mother Caroline, and also Caroline's mother and grandmother as well.

Old Town in the Green Groves
The Girls of Little House
I love genealogy. I really must try and read these books.
Martha's Books
Charlotte's Books
Caroline's Books
Rose's Books

Laura wrote a number of other books as well as the popular Little House Series.
On the Way Home
West from Home
A Little House Traveler