Well, dear readers, did you know that the word taco is ocat spelled backwards? Did you know that the word enchilada is adalihcne spelled backwards? Right now, I am very full from eating spelled forwards foodstuffs such as one beef taco and two cheese enchiladas. And just so you know, beef spelled backwards is feeb. I speak of Mexican food because last night I had a lovelier than lovely supper with my book dealer pals David and Nancy Aronovitz. We went to Don Cuco’s in Glendale, where we stuffed ourselves silly, after which we stopped by Mystery and Imagination Books to pay our respects to Malcolm and Christine. It was a really fun evening. Prior to that, I’d gotten up early, and then made my way to the Pasadena Book Fair. The last three fairs there have been disasters, with very few dealers and even fewer attendees. This one, put on by others, was great – lots of dealers, a bigger room, and attendance was very good. I saw lots of dealer pals, did a couple of deals that netted me a couple of very nice books, including a signed copy of Cole Porter’s early 1950s book of lyrics, inscribed to gossip columnist Mike Connolly (he had a column in the Hollywood Reporter for years). I looked at a lot of stuff including the most extraordinary copy of an Elmer Gantry first edition, probably in the world. The book looks virtually new without a single blemish anywhere, like it just came out of a box of never touched books. It was breathtaking, as was its price. An excellent copy of this book even at the highest of the high end might cost a couple thousand bucks. This copy? Fifteen thousand dollars. The dealer who has it is one of those who price everything like that. And I guess they do well enough that they don’t care if the damn thing sells or not – no one, not even the most discerning and wealthy collector in the world would ever pay four or five times more than a book’s worth. But, oh, was it pretty. I hung out there for about three hours and then I just got antsy and left. I picked up one count them one package and an important envelope, and also gave the interim helper some recently received orders. I answered some e-mails, we set rehearsal times for Monday and Tuesday to re-block the Linda and Gregory show, and then it was time for me to toddle off to the Dale of Glen.
After dinner, I came home, but just read a few book catalogs that I’d picked up and a copy of Firsts Magazine. Otherwise, I just relaxed and played on the computer.
Other interesting books I saw: A copy of the first US edition of Ethel Lina White’s The Wheel Spins, which is the basis for Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes, a book I’ve never ever seen before. Pristine copies of The Manchurian Candidate, The Moviegoer, The Robe (an impossible book to find in anything more than lousy condition – this copy was flawless), a lot of Harry Potter books, the Twilight Saga (these books are actually decreasing in value now – they were very hot for a while, but, like the Da Vinci Code, they were very much flavors of the month. At its height, first editions of The Da Vinci Code were going for over a thousand bucks. Now they can be had for fifty bucks), The Searchers (another book that’s very hard to find in decent condition), Night Of The Hunter (ditto), and a beautiful copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles first edition (lacking the dust jacket, but gorgeous on its own). Prices, as always at these fairs, were on the high side, but dealers were dealing so I don’t think anyone was paying the asking price. The one nice thing about these fairs is that the dealers are real book people and there are no eBay-like idiots there. But I just wish that some of them would get real and understand that in this economy they need to rethink some of their pricing inanity.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really need to get a good night’s sleep.
Today, I may go back to the fair for an hour or two, just to hang out and check out a couple of tables that I missed because my eyes just get too tired to look anymore. Then I have a work session with a twelve-year-old and her folks, after which we’ll probably go somewhere fun and get a bite to eat. After that, the rest of the day and evening are mine all mine.
Tomorrow, we rehearse at Miss Linda Purl’s house in the morning for about three hours. Prior to that, I announce the two new Kritzerland titles and I’ll hopefully be printing out a LOT of orders. After rehearsal, I’ll grab a bite to eat, proof more of the book and then watch a motion picture or two. I heard back from proofer number one – she loved the book and said she has very few corrections to grammar and typos and stuff. She thought there were really funny things, and she thought the crime itself was very interesting, and was captivated by the way in which Miss Hofstetter set about investigating it. So, that was all very nice to hear. Tuesday, I have a work session at eleven, then I have to meet with the gal who will be the new helper – the interim helper will be training her to use the computer and the postage program. This will make everything much easier, I think. The interim helper will stay on for this next shipment of the two releases, because I want to be certain it’s done correctly.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, maybe go back to the fair, have a work session, eat something light but fun, and then watch a motion picture or two. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, thinking of all the lovely books I saw and got to handle lovingly.