in a web of glass, pinned to the edges of vision

Colubra Knows Books.

colubra

4/6/04 04:03 pm

Today found a book I'd idly considered buying for a while. Found it at a used shop for $95. It's a first edition of a 2nd novel by a now-rather-successful novelist, and it's signed. This is the one that turned him from 'dabbler' into 'big gun'.

So I got book back to office, turned around and looked it up on alibris.com. It's selling out there for $15 more than I paid-- in a NON-first edition, UNsigned.

14% appreciation in 20 minutes. Daamn.

• Current Mood: amused
• Current Music: 'Baby Plays Around', Elvis Costello

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• redshrike

  4/6/04 04:51 pm (UTC)

  

  you know why i love seeing posts like this from you?
  
  it's because you're the best kind of bibliophile: you buy a book because you like it and you recognize its value. you collect books not (feel free to correct me if i'm wrong) in order to re-sell them and get the thrill of profit, but because those are books it pleases you to have around.
  
  i became aware of the difference largely when hanging out with comics collectors (of both kinds), but on the text side of things, you're the best example i know of this sort of collector.
  
  and in its own way, it's sort of like me posting about a tasty, pretty meal i just made. :) it's a personal pleasure for you, and makes me glad secondhand.

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  • colubra

    4/6/04 04:56 pm (UTC)

    

    I actually tend to buy books because I want durable editions of them. It's just very hard to get DURABLE editions of some books without getting PRICEY ones.

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    • durability

      redshrike

      4/6/04 05:01 pm (UTC)

      

      ...hmm, but isn't that a recognition of its value? the point still being that the fun of getting the book at a better price than you might have is secondary to the joy of having the book.
      
      thanks for the distinction, though.

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      • Re: durability

        colubra

        4/6/04 05:12 pm (UTC)

        

        Well, the first copy of Little, Big that I bought was probably the cheapest. it's a hardcover bookclub one; not worth much, bought for the durability. I honestly LOATHE the cover they put on it. But it ain't going anywhere anytime soon.
        Prattleprattleprattle. ;)

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  • eldritch00

    4/7/04 12:23 am (UTC)

    

    Oh God. I hate those "mercenary" collectors who buy several copies of comics for purposes of reselling.
    
    colubra, what book was this?

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    • colubra

      4/7/04 07:58 am (UTC)

      

      I am not identifying it publically, because I want to retain my sanity while people are in the same room with it without me there watching. ;)

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      • eldritch00

        4/8/04 05:53 am (UTC)

        

        *speaks in a Monty Python accent*
        
        "Oh, you're no fun at all!"

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    • colubra

      2/10/05 02:44 pm (UTC)

      

      Now that this is about a year later....
      was going through old entries, found this question, and figured I could safely answer.
      Tad Williams' The Dragonbone Chair.

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• feyandstrange

  4/6/04 06:39 pm (UTC)

  You da man!
  
  And frankly, it's a joy to see people going all gooey and "I'm da man!" over a BOOK (or any art, really) instead of tech or a new car or whatever other silly consumerism of the week it is, and for the appreciation of the art as much as or more than for the "collector value" or the "must collect things" mindset. (Durability just means you want to keep the art around.) Books rock.
  
  

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