Business Lunch with Mr. Brisco

Ok, our business was driving around playing guessing games and going to toy, game and book stores, but we did have lunch!

I decided to run out to Bud's Games this morning and asked my son if he'd like to ride along. I bribed him with the promise of lunch and a stop at Toys-R-Us. So, while his mother went out to get her hair done, in preparation for a business trip, Brisco and I had a guys day out!

Bud's wasn't what I hoped, but nice folks. Bud opened the business for his son and hangs out with him there. Pathfinder and Warhammer seem to be the games of choice. I'll head out again and spend some time chatting. Like I said, nice folks.

We then went to Johnny Rockets, for hamburgers, fries and milkshakes. Good Stuff! Brisco declared the burger "Good!" So, we'll probably go back.

Then, because we were so close by, I went to Legions Games for the first time in years. I had some initial hopes of it being a useful trip, when I saw a few boxes and shelves of old gaming material. None of it was priced.

The dude said he'd have to look the prices up, but he would take condition into account. Uhuh. I had a strange feeling that I wouldn't be buying anything.

I would have paid the $20 asking price for B1, if hadn't been in such crappy shape. The Queen of the Spiders supermodule was in ok condition, but I literally laughed when he asked $150 for it.

Yeah, dude, I'm sure there's people asking that much for it. But, even if I was impatient, I could still snag a copy for half that. Give me a month and I'd be surprised if I had to pay more than $60.

After listening to a few more idiotic price quotes, Brisco and I bought some cokes and left.

Next was Toys-R-Us. We ran around for a while, till Brisco was done fooling around and ready to head for what he was really after. We discovered that Nintendo DS games were on sale for buy 1, get another for 50% off.

So, two more Mario DS games, joined Brisco's collection. Little dude loves Mario Games.

So, while Mr. Brisco wanted to go home right then, now that he had what he wanted, Toys-R-Us is right next door to 2nd & Charles, the Super, Giant-sized used bookstore. Which, I've since found out is owned by Books-a-Million.

I love 2nd and Charles. And they price their old gaming stuff, to move!

No, dammit, no Cthulhu! But, I've never owned a Deities & Demigods and paid less than $10 for both of these! Score, baby!

I've never played or owned any WFRP stuff! But for $4, I figured, what the hell! It's the HC.

None on ebay, though there's a softcover with a $29 asking price. Amazon has one HC and they're asking $99. There's not enough info to tell what it would really sell for. It's in ok condition. Solid, but certainly not collectible. Very heavy wear at the tips and corners of the boards. It may be ebay bound. If anyone's interested, let me know and I'll send a very detailed description. My ebay rep. is awesome.

I have the SFBC Omnibus edition of Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, but I found this old BCE HC of The Shadow of the Torturer and just had to buy it! It's in beautiful condition and I love the original cover of the first book. My rule of thumb on Conan Pastiches is: If it's not written by de Camp, Steve Perry or Roland Green, I buy em! I have most of the Tor Conan's not written by the above. I was going to collect ALL the Tor Pastiche books, but Steve Perry cured me of that notion. As if his books weren't evidence enough, I once read an interview with old Steve, where he made perfectly clear, his lack of respect for R.E. Howard, Conan and his own pastiche work. I don't think he's ever read Mr. Howard. Asshole.

I blogged about this book the other day! $1.78. It's the BCE HC of the original printing. Which, I think was a pbo. Which would make this the first HC edition.  A "First, Thus" in bookseller lingo. Considering the movie being out, this damn well may be worth ebaying.

After spending a lot of time, a few years ago, heavily into buying and selling on ebay, I just can't look at books quite the same way. If I find something like the above and only kind of want it, it quickly comes down to "just what's it worth to me?" There's a lot of expensive stuff on ebay, that I really, really would like to have.


Our last stop was Publix to pick up a few odds & ends. I snagged myself one more goodie, for the day.

I love Boar's Head Meat & Cheeses!

Regarding the New Pirates Movie, Which I Haven't Seen and Tim Powers, Whom I Haven't Read

I haven't read any of Mr. Powers works, but he's very well regarded and I do own one of his books, which I've been saving for a rainy day. His 1987 novel, On Stranger Tides, was adapted for the new Pirates movie.

Here's some blurbage from Amazon, along with a pic of the first ppb edition:

Starred Review. World Fantasy Award–winner Powers (Three Days to Never) demonstrates a precise control of complex narratives in this reprint of his rollicking and enchanting 1987 novel. Puppeteer John Chandagnac, bound for Jamaica to recover stolen money from his uncle, becomes Jack Shandy after pirates attack his ship and force him to join their crew. Shandy's struggle to accept his new life grounds the story for readers, even as Blackbeard and vodun magicians whisk everyone away to dreamlike lands where the Fountain of Youth itself awaits. The chaotic sea battles sing, though at times key events happen so quickly that they get lost in the shuffle as Jack tries to comprehend where he's going and what's at stake. This dark fantasy tale will appeal not just to pirate fans but also to anyone who appreciates Powers's talent for blending the most unlikely elements into a brilliantly cohesive whole. (Apr.)

So, I'm almost curious enough to pick up the book, which has been reprinted and watch the movie. You know, to see how badly Hollywood fucked with Mr. Power's tale.

The book I own by Tim Powers is The Anubis Gates. A very, well regarded novel:

Author Tim Powers evokes 17th-century England with a combination of meticulously researched historic detail and imaginative flights in this sci-fi tale of time travel. Winner of the 1984 Philip K. Dick Award for best original science fiction paperback, this 1989 edition of the book that took the fantasy world by storm is the first hardcover version to be published in the United States. In his brief introduction, Ramsey Campbell sets The Anubis Gates in an adventure context, citing Powers's achievement of "extraordinary scenes of underground horror, of comedy both high and grotesque, of bizarre menace, of poetic fantasy."

The colonization of Egypt by western European powers is the launch point for power plays and machinations. Steeping together in this time-warp stew are such characters as an unassuming Coleridge scholar, ancient gods, wizards, the Knights Templar, werewolves, and other quasi-mortals, all wrapped in the organizing fabric of Egyptian mythology. In the best of fantasy traditions, the reluctant heroes fight for survival against an evil that lurks beneath the surface of their everyday lives.

Time Travel, ancient Egyptian Wizards, Werewolves, the Knights Templar... that's quite a heady mix! I must read this soon! I picked up the SFBC 50th Anniversary Edition (the ann. was the SFBC's) a few years ago, after reading a ton of fantastic reviews!

So, now I'm all, like, as well received as Mr. Powers' work has been, it's kind of a shame that when Hollywood does discover the fellow, they take his book and shoehorn it into one of their franchise efforts. Ok, pirates and supernatural goings on are involved in both said franchise and the novel. And such an effort could be accomplished with respect and style. But, it's Hollywood and that's not to be expected. I didn't see the second and third Pirates flick. I heard so much bad press about them and while that's not enough to keep me away, especially since I really enjoyed the first movie, it did dampen my enthusiasm enough that I just never bothered to find the time to watch the 2nd and 3rd installments. I think I have them. But, like the many books I haven't gotten around to reading, there's many DVD's, I haven't found time for. I rarely buy DVD's, anymore.

So, if you see the new movie, let us know what you think. And if you've read Mr. Powers' novel, I'd be very interested in your thoughts.

How To Remove Those Stubborn @!%&! Stickers From Your Used Books

If you buy a lot of books from second-hand bookstores, thrift stores, etc., you know that some of these establishments use some very, very stubborn pricing stickers. As opposed to the ones that peal away easily, without a problem. I don't know if they're worried about sticker switching, or if the hard to remove, potentially book-damaging ones are just cheaper.

So, here's a method for easily removing those bloody stickers! It'll work fine with any HC or PPB, which has a glossy or coated cover. I wouldn't try it on really old, papery covers. I've done this bunches and bunches of times and have only damaged a jacket once, doing so. I believe that in this case, the sticker had been on the jacket so long that it may have caused some molecular bonding. If that's the case, you're screwed anyway. Still, you might want to be reticent about doing this with anything really, really valuable. I've use this method confidently with books worth a couple of hundred dollars, so there you are. It worked fine with the one AD&D HC I experimented with.

What you will need: A paper towel and some Lighter Fluid. The Lay's Sweet Southern BBQ potato chips are optional.

1. Spray a decent amount of Lighter Fluid onto the paper towel. Then, quickly, firmly, but gently, rub the sticker, as well as the edges of the sticker. You'll get some fluid on the cover, but don't sweat it. Also, any ink on the sticker will run, so be careful not to rub it onto the cover of the book. As I said above, don't dawdle, because the Lighter Fluid is gonna evaporate, fast.

2. Wipe away any Fluid not on the actual sticker, which hasn't evaporated yet. Wait about 20 seconds. For a really stubborn sticker, you might want to repeat that first step.

3. As gently as possible, lift up an edge of the sticker with your fingernail and carefully start pealing. Do this with other edges, as well. This should be relatively easy, as the integrity of the sticker and glue will have been significantly damaged by the Lighter Fluid. You'll want to be careful of leaving finger nail indentions. You may get a lot off with this first round of applications, or just some. Regardless, you'll probably be left with a mixture of partial paper layers and glue.

4. Apply another Lighter Fluid wipe and wait another 20 seconds, or so. Then run your thumb and/or the paper towel over the area. Most of the remaining offensive material should come off, quite easily. You may need one or two more applications, to remove any remaining glue.

5. That's it! Lighter Fluid may be profitably used, to remove other sorts of stains/material from books. There is an actual commercial product that does this. I think it's called Goo-gone. I've never used it and have no idea how much it costs. Lighter Fluid is cheap!

Turning Trash into Treasure: Recent Awesome Acquisitions from 2nd & Charles

I've blogged previously (and here) about my discovering what may well be the coolest used bookstore in the universe. I recently made a couple of more trips and amassed quite a haul!

Back when I was selling on ebay regularly, I ended up with quite a number of books I really couldn't do much with. I might buy a box of a 100 or so books for $20, having to take the good with the bad. I would then end up selling about 30 for maybe $100, then getting rid of another 30, which weren't worth putting up on ebay, at a local paperback swap. Those latter I would trade for books I needed to complete a series or author collection, which could then be sold.

So, the final 30 or so, would end up in storage. After ebaying for a few years, I amassed quite a collection of dead inventory, that was hard to get rid of. Hardcovers, in particular, were a problem. The nice people at 2nd & Charles were more than happy to take most of that stuff off of my hands and my storage room is now mostly free of Oprah Winfrey biographies, non-collectible Inspirational books from the 1950's and the like! And I was able to turn all that unwanted detritus into some really, really cool stuff!!!

Score!!! I now have three PH's. One for me, one for Jillena and one for the table! I want to get a back-up DMG. I only have one and while the binding is solid, the cover has collected one hell of a lot of wear, over the years.

I already had #'s 3 and 6. Now, I just need to find #7 and my series will be complete!

I've been looking for this Gene Wolfe book! It's a 1st edition, but it's missing the dj. The picture was printed onto the boards, though, which is nice.

I've never read Merritt, but Scott of Huge Ruined Pile, as well as others have recommended him, highly! I'm looking forward to reading this.

Red Sonja, baby! Another series I've been looking for! I just need to find #'s 4 and 6, now!

No idea if these are any good, but there was no way I was going to pass them by!

This is a collection of essays on Conan and S&S literature in general. There are several articles by Fritz Leiber, along with de Camp, Poul Anderson and others.

I've been wanting to read Farmer's World of Tiers series, for a while! I had an older BCE HC with half the series and was looking for it's companion volume, but found the 1 volume omnibus instead! I traded the old half HC in a couple of days later.

I've never played a Warhammer game of any sort, but my Black Library fiction collection is becoming quite respectable. I started collecting these, after seeing my dad's BL collection and thinking "Man, those would look really cool on my bookshelf!"

But, I used to have Bloodbowl! My copy of the game is long since lost, but I hope to enjoy this Graphic Novel.

Don't laugh! The HC omnibus is scarce!

Another author I know a lot of folks don't like. :) I enjoy Donaldson, though, especially the 2nd Chronicles. The Wounded Land is a VG- 1st/1st copy. I'm usually rather picky about condition when buying used books, but that particular book is scarce, usually going for around $40 on ebay, so I was willing to settle. I just need to get the latest book in the 3rd chronicles and my hardcover Covenant series collection will be up to date.

I read the first chapter of the first book of this series, a couple of years ago. I was interested enough to decide to pick it up, one day. 2nd & Charles has a couple of copies of the Eberron Campaign book and I almost bought one. But, I was all like "Will I ever DM 3e again? Nope." Still, I might go back and get it. If I like it enough, I could always convert it.

I've got two of Gary's Gord books, now. The Ru Emerson was picked up, simply because it's the Keep on the Borderlands!

My dad can have his copy of Devil Without a Cause back, now.

I found this in their free bin! The cover is separated from the text block, but the map is present and it's otherwise in great shape! I probably won't even bother re-gluing it! The Historical Campaign Sourcebooks are amongst the few 2e items I'm really interested in collecting. I now have the Vikings and Celts and hope to use them for a second attempt at an Alternate Earth campaign, one day.

Raymond E. Feist Pisses Me Off!!!

A lot of book collecting sites, dealers and what-not will tell you that Book Club Editions aren't worth collecting and that you should shy away from purchasing such editions, for collecting or resale.

As is often the case when so-called experts are involved, this isn't the whole story at all, at all. While usually true, there are exceptions, especially when it comes to Fantasy and Science Fiction. 

If there was never a Trade Hardcover edition of the book issued, then a lot of folks wanting a HC will look for the BCE, assuming one was released. Booksellers often designate these editions as "First, thus," indicating that while it isn't a true 1st edition, it's a first in some sense. There are other types of books so designated, besides the case of BCE Hardcover 1st's.

A good example would be the Star Wars: New Jedi Order books. Only a handful of titles in the 19 book series were released in Trade HC editions and I've seen some of the BCE editions of the ones which were only released in ppb, go for as high as $70 on ebay for a single volume, though $20 or so is more typical for most of the titles. A set of 7 NJO BCE's, all in New condition and featuring two of the rarer BCE's from the series, recently sold on ebay for $250.

When the omnibus hardcover of Glen Cook's first three novels of the Black Company, Annals of the Black Company, first appeared on ebay, it was going for as high as $40. This title wasn't rare enough to sustain such a price, though and after a ton of people dug out their copies to make a quick buck, the price dropped significantly and a decent copy can now be had for $10 - $15, which is about what I sold my extra copy for a couple of years ago.

Another factor which can make a BCE Collectible, is when the original Trade Hardcover has become so valuable, that it's out of the price range of most collector's. For a while, the BCE of Eve Forward's Villains by Necessity was going for about $50, as the 1st edition had skyrocketed to over $200! The last time I checked, the 1st edition had come down in price to a much more reasonable $70  or so. A recent BCE still went for $25.

Which brings me to Mr. Feist. While Magician was re-released in a new Trade HC a few years ago, the BCE of the original release is still going for $25 on ebay. I don't know what the original 1st is going for, but some people are asking ridiculous prices for even the re-released trade.

So, yesterday I went back to my new favorite bookstore and found a copy of Mr. Feist's Magician, a BCE HC in beautiful, unread condition. Someone had taken exceptionally good care of this book, for almost 30 years. One small nick on the jacket, tight hinges, nice, straight boards, etc. As the price was less than five dollars, I quickly snatched it up! In the condition it's in, I could probably get at least $30 on ebay, for the thing. Unless, of course, I decided to keep it.


Spoilers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!






Mr. Feist pisses me off! As a young lad of 16 or so, I was really enjoying reading his first series, which so reminded me of the Most Awesome Game in the World, that I had discovered a year or so, before. I devoured Magician: Apprentice and Master, Silverthorn and was just as thoroughly engrossed by A Darkness at Sethanon. With growing excitement, I tore through the chapters of the series' finale, wondering how, as the climax approached, the heroes would defeat the Valheru.

The piece of shit, deus ex machina ending turned me off of Feist, for good.

I have no idea how Magician would hold up, 26 years later. I don't remember being overwhelmed by the author's prose, but at 16, his ideas certainly fired my imagination, which is the first thing I demand of an author. I have serious doubts, that my 42 year old self would find the ideas in Magician to be as exciting.

And if I were to going to re-read the books, I could and would pick up some cheap reading copies, for somewhere between Free and $3. The Collector would consider the Unread HC to be worth keeping in its current condition.

Or, I could put my recent find on ebay and The Gamer could turn the profits into some cool rpg gear! :)

I'll probably keep it, as the book does bring back some nice memories. It looks good on my bookshelf, too.

My Second Trip to 2nd & Charles

Armed with some store credit, more time and backed up by my wife's bank card, the family and I headed out today, braving the Holiday Shopping Traffic, to go to Sam's, grab some lunch and get some stuff at 2nd & Charles.  


It's not the 1st edition boxed set I've been lusting after for several years, but I picked up this 5th edition of Stormbringer. I really dig Chaosium's d100 system and if I wasn't going to run a version of D&D, I would choose one of their fantasy games to serve as the rule-set for a campaign.


I also snagged that Gene Wolf omnibus, I mentioned yesterday. I read The Shadow of the Torturer and The Claw of the Conciliator 25 years ago, borrowing them from my father. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books, but for some reason or another, never got around to completing my trip through Severian's world. What can I say? Shit comes up, when you're 17! I'm looking forward to rectifying the situation.


I've read a lot of people's opinion that Greyhawk Adventures isn't very good, but for $6.50, I wasn't going to pass up a 1e hardcover I didn't have. So long as the words Survival and Guide, weren't part of the title. Besides, it's Greyhawk! Surly I can find something worthwhile, or at least worth reading. At any rate, The Collector said "It's Greyhawk, buy it!"

The blurb on the cover states, "Become part of the oldest continuous fantasy campaign...,"

so I guess they were ignoring Blackmoor, or assuming everyone had stopped campaigning therein? 

Here's something I've heard very good things about, though. AC9  Creature Catalog. Cool! I really dig the artwork. At a glance, there's some cool monsters in there, as well! The Grey Philosopher looks like a lot of fun! Way back when, I pretty much ignored the D&D line, as I played AD&D, Thank You Very Much, and like so many others, saw the "Basic" line as Kiddie D&D. On the upside, I now get to discover a lot of awesome gaming material, that is totally new to me today. 

Something else I've heard good things about is TSR's 2e era Historical Series. I'm hoping this proves true for the Celt's Campaign Sourcebook. The map is still tacked in at the back of the book, which was enough to entice me to go ahead and get it. I still plan on running a weird, Alternate Earth campaign one day, so the Sourcebook and Map may indeed, actually get used!

I thought of Christian while looking through their RPG section, as there were quite a few White Wolf items, including the Changeling rule book and several supplements. The next time I go, I might pick up the Changeling stuff, if it's still there. Even if I never play it, I bet it would be a fun read. 

In Which I Die and Go To Heaven, But Don't Bring Enough Money

So, I get a flier in the mail, the other day, for a new business called 2nd & Charles. The flier stated that they sold used books, dvd's, cd's & whatnot. It also said they had 3 miles of used books. Huh.

So, I decided to ride down on my lunch hour and check it out!

The drive from Pelham into Hoover can take a little while, especially during the holiday season. 2nd & Charles is across the street from the Riverchase Galleria, the largest shopping mall in Alabama. I usually avoid that area like the plague, during November and December. It took me 25 minutes to get to the store. So, I only had about ten minutes to browse.

Wow! I mean fucking Wow! The place was a little larger than your average Books-a-Million or Barnes & Noble and stuffed with neatly organized used media, the vast majority of which, consisted of reasonably priced used books. It was even set up much like a BaM, with the addition of a large customer service area to the side, for accepting trade-ins. In my short ten minutes, I saw many, many items I wanted. Not just would buy because they were cheap, but stuff that was already on my Want List.

You ever read Bazaar of the Bizarre by Leiber? Or Needful Things by King? The idea is of a shop of some kind that's just too good to be true. Everything you might would want you'll find. Of course, it's all an evil trap, but the idea is one I've always enjoyed. 2nd & Charles isn't that good, but the selection of cool, cheap stuff in nice condition is good enough that I'm still geeking out about it!

As Santa has spoken for most of my fundage this month, I only bought one thing. An out-of-print SFBC hardcover omnibus of The Compleat Dying Earth, with the Brom cover. The exact edition I wanted to get. $6.83. Nice shape overall, with just two small nicks to the jacket.

I have some stuff in storage, mostly left over from my ebay buying and selling days, which I'm going to take to the store tomorrow and try and trade in. In particular I noticed an omnibus of The Book of the New Sun and a copy of the Stormbringer RPG (later edition, but still!) which I would like to get. I didn't see any 1e in their rpg section, but they have a bunch of 2e, 3e and various odds & ends like Gurps and In Nomine, which I want to finish looking through.