News
Useful Websites September 5, 2016 21:35
Websites
Books Are Everything - Author/collector Graham Holroyd's site provides searchable database, pages on grading and reference books, more.
Grading the Condition of Vintage Paperbacks & Pulps - This eBay guide by benneson is a concise intro to the topic.
The Revolutionary Effect of the Paperback Book - Smithsonian.com - Clive Thompson's article provides some historical background.
Vintage Paperback Archive - Informative site includes list of paperback publishers, articles, cover artists, key authors, much more.
The Most Valuable Authors in Vintage Paperback September 5, 2016 21:29
The Most Valuable Authors in Vintage Paperback
by Bruce Black
http://www.bookscans.com/Articles/Most%20Valuable%20Authors.pdf
Month of September Special Discount on Science Fiction Books August 31, 2016 14:28
Save on all Science Fiction and Fantasy books. Please enter the discount code 'ScFi10' at checkout to get the discount. Orders over $25 ship free.
Check out new additions to the collections at Just Shelved
Lower Prices on Most Used Paperbacks May 24, 2016 10:00
Pricing Changes
Based on sales and trends over the last year, we simplified our pricing model. Prices lowered on most used paperbacks at VintageBookseller.Com.
All used paperbacks except collectables are priced at $2, $4, and $6.
Most used paperbacks are priced at $4.
Closeouts and lower quality paperbacks are priced at $2.
Used paperbacks that were priced under $10 and over $6 are now $6.
Premium paperbacks (collectable, rare, scarce) start at $10.
Shipping Changes
Orders over $25 ship free via USPS Media Mail.
Orders that include premium titles may ship USPS First Class or Priority.
Shipping to Canada May 17, 2016 13:33
Just added shipping rates to Canada. International First Class up to 2 pounds for $15.
Books Added to Collections March through May May 17, 2016 11:02
Books Added March: March Books
Books added April: April Books
Check books being added for May: May Books
New pricing model implemented March 17, 2016 16:40
We have repriced the collections. Prices were lowered on most books to reflect current market value. A few collectibles went up. Don't forget we are now listing a few CDs and DVDs at low prices.
I have an ebay store at http://stores.ebay.com/vintagebooksellerbookscdsdvds. I cannot link vintagebookseller.com on my ebay store because of ebay rules. The prices tend to be a little higher to cover shipping, insertion and commission fees. But you do get the ebay money back guarantee. My service model is the same on both sites. I have an ebay seller rating of 100%.
I will accept all reasonable offers on collectible paperbacks. Send a mail with you offer.
New books added to the collections at this link.
Make an Offer February 12, 2016 13:21
Pricing collectible paperback books is an art form. I check multiple sources and verify higher price titles. I am going through the pricing of the Hard to Find collection and finding quite a bit of variance. Some up but most lower.
If you see a book you want and the price seems high, send a mail and make an offer. If it is reasonable, I will accept and send you an invoice for the purchase.
I am committed to keeping prices low for both used paperbacks and collectible titles.
Current Sales at vintagebookseller.com February 12, 2016 09:16
Good time to stock up on Mystery and Western titles.
Western Book Collection Sale February 11, 2016 14:00
The Mystery Collection is 20% off this month February 8, 2016 10:57
Essential Mystery Works. We have many of these and they are on sale.1 Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
2 The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
3 Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe
4 The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
5 Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow
6 The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carré
7 The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
8 The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
9 Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
10 And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
11 Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver
12 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
13 The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
14 The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
15 The Godfather by Mario Puzo
16 The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
17 A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler
18 Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
19 The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
20 The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
21 Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
22 The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan
23 The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
24 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
25 Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
26 Rumpole of the Bailey by John Mortimer
27 Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
28 The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers
29 Fletch by Gregory Mcdonald
30 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré
31 The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
32 The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
33 Trent's Last Case by E. C. Bentley
34 Double Indemnity by James M. Cain
35 Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
36 Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
37 Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman
38 Hot Rock by Donald E. Westlake
39 Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
40 The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart
41 Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
42 The Firm by John Grisham
43 The Ipcress File by Len Deighton
44 Laura by Vera Caspary
45 I, the Jury by Mickey Spillane
46 The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall
47 Bank Shot by Donald E. Westlake
48 The Third Man by Graham Greene
49 The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson
50 Where Are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark
51 A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
52 The First Deadly Sin by Lawrence Sanders
53 A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman
54 In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
55 Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
56 Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
57 The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton
58 Smiley's People by John le Carré
59 The lady in the lake by Raymond Chandler
60 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
61 Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
62 The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens
63 Wobble to Death by Peter Lovesey
64 Ashenden by W. Somerset Maugham
65 The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer
66 The Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout
67 Stick by Elmore Leonard
68 The Little Drummer Girl by John le Carré
69 Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
70 Dracula by Bram Stoker
71 The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
72 The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin
73 A Time to Kill by John Grisham
74 Last Seen Wearing... by Hillary Waugh
75 Little Caesar by W. R. Burnett
76 The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins
77 Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers
78 From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming
79 Beast in View by Margaret Millar
80 Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert
81 The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
82 Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
83 Shroud for a Nightingale by P. D. James
84 Hunt For Red October, The by Tom Clancy
85 Chinaman's Chance by Ross Thomas
86 The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
87 The Dreadful Lemon Sky by John D. MacDonald
88 The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett
89 A Judgement in Stone by Ruth Rendell
90 Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey
91 The Chill by Ross Macdonald
92 Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
93 The Choirboys by Joseph Wambaugh
94 God Save the Mark by Donald E. Westlake
95 Home Sweet Homicide by Craig Rice
96 The Hollow Man = The Three Coffins by John Dickson Carr
97 Prizzi's Honor by Richard Condon
98 The Steam Pig by James McClure
99 Time and Again by Jack Finney
100 A Morbid Taste for Bones: The First Chronicle of Brother Cadfael by Ellis Peters
101 Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
Featured Author: Thorne Smith February 6, 2016 11:59
James Thorne Smith, Jr. (March 27, 1892 – June 21, 1934) was an American writer of humorous supernatural fantasy fiction under the byline Thorne Smith. He is best known today for the two Topper novels, comic fantasy fiction involving sex, much drinking and supernatural transformations. With racy illustrations, these sold millions of copies in the 1930s and were equally popular in paperbacks of the 1950s.
Smith drank as steadily as his characters; his appearance in James Thurber's The Years with Ross involves an unexplained week-long disappearance. Smith was born in Annapolis, Maryland, the son of a Navy commodore and attended Dartmouth College. Following hungry years in Greenwich Village, working part-time as an advertising agent, Smith achieved meteoric success with the publication of Topper in 1926. He was an early resident of Free Acres, a social experimental community developed by Bolton Hall according to the economic principles of Henry George in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. He died of a heart attack in 1934 while vacationing in Florida.
Mystery and Suspense February Blowout - Starts Feb 1 January 31, 2016 16:20
All books from the Mystery and Suspense collection 20% off through Feb 29.
Over 3400 great mysteries on sale
Mystery and Suspense Collection
Looking for bargain books, DVDs, and CDs January 29, 2016 10:38
When searching for vintage paperback books to feature, we often come across DVDs and CDs available at great prices. For those looking for bargains, we created two collections featuring $2 and $3 books, DVDs and CDs. Have fun browsing through these collections.
$2 Bookshelf featuring books, DVDs and CDs. Books are generally Reader, Good and Good Plus. DVDs and CDs are Very Good or better
$3 Specials featuring books, DVDs and CDs.Books are Good to Very Good. DVDs and CDs are Very Good or better.
Only 2 days left for the Mad Book sale January 28, 2016 22:33
All Mad magazine books on sale for 20% off through Jan 31. Enter discount code 'Mad Book Sale' at checkout.Shipping to the UK January 28, 2016 12:29
We will now ship to the United Kingdom using international first class mail. Up to 4 pounds ships for $22.95. This will cover 12 - 18 standard size paperback books. The 10% discount on orders over $50 remains in effect but free shipping for orders over $30 is only for US domestic orders.Discounts Update January 21, 2016 14:35
To receive discounts you must enter the discount code at checkout.
For the Mad Book sale discount enter 'Mad Book Sale'
For the 10% Off of $50 orders discount enter '10% Off'
We are working on a feature that will automatically reflect discounts.
Discounts January 18, 2016 11:46
We are experiencing a problem with discounts showing up at checkout. The problem is being worked. If the discount is not reflected at checkout, we will apply a refund to reflect all qualified discounts when the order is filled. Sorry for the inconvenience.Coming in February January 16, 2016 13:30
Just cracked open two small collections that will be added to the collections early February. Looks like 80 or so with Good Girl Art covers, 30 mixed genre from the 40s and 50s, and 60 TV series novels from the 60s. Some really cool stuff and quite a few books I have never seen before.Burial of the Fruit by David Dortort January 15, 2016 21:44
David Dortort (October 23, 1916 – September 5, 2010), was a Hollywood screenwriter and producer, widely known for his role as producer in two successful NBC television series: Bonanza (1959–73) and The High Chaparral (1967–71). Dortort's focus shifted in the late 1960s to the newer series, leaving the production of Bonanza largely to his associates during its last five and a half years (1967–1973).
He was the author of 2 novels, Burial of the Fruit and The Post of Honor.
From 1954-55, Dortort was involved in directing and writing for The Public Defender. He produced 'The Restless Gun' (1957–59), The Cowboys television version (1974), and a prequel series featuring younger versions of the Bonanza characters called Ponderosa (2001), which was produced with Beth Sullivan. In 1979–1980, he created the 13-week CBS miniseries, The Chisholms. Michael Landon appeared in a supporting role in the pilot for The Restless Gun, starring John Payne, aired on March 19, 1957, as an episode of The Schlitz Playhouse of Stars and Dan Blocker played multiple roles in The Restless Gun in the first season.
Alan W. Livingston of NBC hired Dortort to write the screenplay for the pilot episode of Bonanza. He did it at night, while producing The Restless Gun by day.
In 2001, the alumni association of City College of New York, where he had studied history, honored him with its John H. Finley award.
Margaretta Brucker writing as Margaret Howe January 14, 2016 22:27
Margaretta Brucker is an American fiction author active from approximately 1937 until 1958. Brucker wrote juvenile fiction, mysteries, and serial stories for newspapers. She also published a number of romance novels using the pseudonym Margaret Howe. Most of these were about the love life of nurses. This was a popular romance niche through the 60s. Her nephew, Roger Brucker, credits her with inspiring him to become a writer.
Featured Author: Erskine Preston Caldwell January 13, 2016 13:24
Erskine Preston Caldwell (December 17, 1903 – April 11, 1987) was an American author. His writings about poverty, racism and social problems in his native South in novels such as Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre won him critical acclaim, but also made him controversial among Southerners of the time who felt he was deprecating the people of the region.
His first and second published works were The Bastard (1929) and Poor Fool (1930) but the works for which he is most famous are his novels Tobacco Road (1932) and God's Little Acre (1933). Maxim Lieber was his literary agent during (parts of) the 1930s and 40s. His first book was banned and copies were seized by authorities. With the publication of God's Little Acre, the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice instigated legal action against him in New York. Caldwell was arrested when he attended a book-signing there but was exonerated in trial.
Through the 1930s Caldwell and his first wife Helen managed a bookstore in Maine. Following their divorce Caldwell married photographer Margaret Bourke-White, collaborating with her on three photo-documentaries: You Have Seen Their Faces (1937), North of the Danube (1939), and Say, Is This The USA (1941) during their three years together from 1939–42. Disillusionment with the anti-revisionist socialist government had led him to compose an eleven-page short story, "Message for Genevieve". published in 1933. In this story, a woman journalist is executed by a firing squad after being tried in a secret court on charges of espionage. During World War II, Caldwell obtained papers from the USSR that allowed him to travel to Ukraine and work as a foreign correspondent documenting the war effort there.
Featured Author: John Horne Burns January 13, 2016 13:05
John Horne Burns (October 7, 1916 – August 11, 1953) was a United States writer, the author of three novels. The first, The Gallery (1947), is his best known work, which was very well received when published and has been reissued several times. He began work on a fourth novel, left unfinished at his death. He supported himself by writing a long piece about the city for Holiday, one of a series he was writing for that publication on the places where he had lived, and the effort that convinced his editors they could still hope for another successful novel from him.
In his time in Florence, he was known to drink to excess and complain of critics, rivals, and both friends and enemies. Vidal never saw him there: "In those years one tried not to think of Burns; it was too bitter. The best of us all had taken the worst way." After a sailing trip, he lapsed into a coma and died from a cerebral hemorrhage on August 11, 1953. His parents and six siblings survived him. He was buried in the family plot in Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Hemingway later sketched Burns' brief life as a writer: "There was a fellow who wrote a fine book and then a stinking book about a prep school and then just blew himself up."
Essential Science Fiction #8 Ring Around the Sun January 9, 2016 11:08
Essential Science Fiction #8 Ring Around the Sun by Clifford D. Simak
The novel tells the story of a group of "mutants" with enhanced mental abilities and the ability to move between (apparently all empty) parallel worlds organizing the colonization of those worlds by the population at large. Since this requires uprooting the colonists, and thoroughly disrupting the social structure of the Earth, Earth's current power structure resists fiercely even as it is undermined by the introduction of disruptive devices and everlasting goods, such as the so-called Forever Car, at ridiculously low prices.
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Sale January 3, 2016 20:17
All Mad books are 20% off through January 2016.
Mad is an American humor magazine founded in 1952 by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines, launched as a comic book before it became a magazine. It was widely imitated and influential, affecting satirical media as well as the cultural landscape of the 20th century, with editor Al Feldstein increasing readership to more than two million during its 1974 circulation peak. As of July 6, 2015, Mad had published a total of 537 issues.
New titles added for January 2016 January 3, 2016 13:38
All books shipped USPS First Class or Priority Mail.
We added over 250 new titles this month. Browse them all at New Books Added in January
36 new GGA Titles.
55 new Mad Books.
32 new Science Fiction Titles.
Orders Ship USPS First Class or Priority Mail December 26, 2015 10:16
Good books at the lowest prices and great service. One to three books ship using First Class mail. Larger orders ship Priority 2 Day shipping. Orders are insured and include tracking.
Orders over $30 ship at no additional cost. A $4 shipping fee is added for orders under $30.
A 10% discount is applied to orders over $50.
Featured Author: Ernest Haycox December 19, 2015 10:23
He published two dozen novels and about 300 short stories, many of which appeared first in pulp magazines in the early 1920s. During the 1930s and 40s, he was a regular contributor to Collier's Weekly from 1931 and The Saturday Evening Post from 1943. Fans of his work included Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway, and the latter once wrote, "I read The Saturday Evening Post whenever it has a serial by Ernest Haycox."
His story "Stage to Lordsburg" (1937) was made into the movie Stagecoach (1939), directed by John Ford and featuring John Wayne in the role that made him a star. The novel Trouble Shooter (1936), originally serialized in Collier's, was the basis for the movie Union Pacific (1939), directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea. Haycox wrote the screenplay for Montana (1950), directed by Ray Enright, which stars Alexis Smith and Errol Flynn.
Only two days left to take advantage of 30% off sale December 19, 2015 08:31
60 Sexy & Sordid Vintage Paperback Book Covers December 1, 2015 10:40
Interesting article from Design Crave
"We love the tawdry tarts and racy tag lines found on trashy vintage paperback book covers. Which is why we were so delighted to find vintagepbks.com. The site features artists likeGeorge Gross and Lou Marchetti cranking out the camp factor in their illustrations. With over 800 images, it’s hard to choose favorites. A few that topped our list include Gutter Star: She was A Hollywood Star, but Her Home Was the Gutter and Gang Mistress: The Shocking Tale of Youth Gone Wild. The site also lists titles by themes like Science Fiction, Sleaze, Juvenille Delinquent and Lesbiana. While all pretty good, with titles like Cracker Girl and Backwoods Tramp the Hillbilly category is easily the most intriguing. Check out 60 images after the jump."
30% Holiday Discount Extended Through 12/20/2015 November 30, 2015 11:17
Every book on sale for 30% off through 12/20/2015. Free shipping on orders over $30. Take advantage of the lowest prices on vintage paperback books on the internet.
New Titles Added For November 2015 November 30, 2015 10:27
Don't forget our new lower prices. Most books are $4 and under.
We added over 400 new titles this month. Browse them all at New Books Added in November
18 new Espionage Titles.
172 new GGA Titles.
122 new Mystery Titles.
114 new Science Fiction Titles.
New Titles Added for October October 10, 2015 22:38
Don't forget our new lower prices. Most books are $4 and under.
We added over 700 new titles this month. Browse them all at New Books Added in October
165 new Espionage Titles.
410 new GGA Titles.
26 new Hard to Find Titles.
100+ new Mystery Titles.
75 new Science Fiction Titles.
Featured Author: Orrie Hitt September 16, 2015 15:40
Hitt had a grinding regimen, twelve-hour days in front of an aged Remington Royal perched on the kitchen table, surrounded by iced coffee, noisy children and Winston cigarettes, pausing only for supper or to watch wrestling or Sergeant Bilko on the television.
Hitt produced a novel every two weeks, for which he was paid as little as $250. Most of his writing was done on the fly---think up a good title, a few hot situations, and start typing
Lee Server from Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers.
New Shipping Rates and Policy September 11, 2015 12:26
Based on customer feedback, we modified our shipping policy. The majority of customers would prefer a flat shipping charge and use Media Mail to save money.
Currently the cost of first class/priority shipping is included in the price of each book and orders over $50 are discounted to reflect combined shipping.
The new policy will charge a flat $4.00 shipping and handling charge for all orders under $25. Orders over $30 will ship free. Books will be shipped using the least expensive method (First Class/Priority/Media Mail).
Book prices have been reduced to reflect this policy. Books originally priced $10 and under have been reduced by an average of 50%.
Thanks for the feedback.
New books added during Aug 2015 September 2, 2015 16:26
Browse at New Books August 2015
Over 350 books added to the collections.
Select Science Fiction
By Orrie Hitt
Featured
20% off all orders through 9/15/15 August 18, 2015 16:04
Good time to pick up a book or two to read or fill holes in your collection.
Great Mystery #3: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins August 14, 2015 23:08
The Moonstone (1868) by Wilkie Collins is a 19th-century British epistolary novel, generally considered the first detective novel in the English language. The story was originally serialised in Charles Dickens' magazine All the Year Round. The Moonstone and The Woman in White are considered Wilkie Collins' best novels. Besides creating many of the ground rules of the detective novel, The Moonstone also reflected Collins' enlightened social attitudes in his treatment of the servants in the novel. Collins adapted The Moonstone for the stage in 1877, but the production was performed for only two months.
Books added during Jul 2015 August 6, 2015 21:20
Exciting new books added last month.
Remember, 50% discount on orders over $50 through 8/15/2015.
h:A few of the books added last month:
10 days left to save 50% Off Orders Over $50 August 5, 2015 10:19
We hit over 500 Facebook page likes. Time to celebrate. Book lovers and collectors are finding us and we want to say thanks. Through 8/15/2015 all orders over $50 will be discounted 50%. All genres and collections. USPS Priority mail service included.
50% Off Orders Over $50 Through 8/15/2015 July 27, 2015 21:45
We hit over 500 Facebook page likes. Time to celebrate. Book lovers and collectors are finding us and we want to say thanks. Through 8/15/2015 all orders over $50 will be discounted 50%. All genres and collections. USPS Priority mail service included.
Great Mystery Novel #2: The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey July 14, 2015 16:56
The Daughter of Time is a 1951 detective novel by Josephine Tey, concerning a modern police officer's investigation into the alleged crimes of King Richard III of England. It was the last book Tey published in her lifetime, shortly before her death.
Alan Grant, Scotland Yard Inspector (a character who also appears in five other novels by the same author) is feeling bored while confined to bed in hospital with a broken leg. Marta Hallard, an actress friend of his, suggests that he should amuse himself by researching a historical mystery. She brings him some pictures of historical characters, aware of Grant's interest in human faces. He becomes intrigued by a portrait of King Richard III. He prides himself on being able to read a person's character from his appearance, and King Richard seems to him a gentle and kind and wise man. Why is everyone so sure that he was a cruel murderer?
With the help of other friends and acquaintances, Grant investigates Richard's life and the case of the Princes in the Tower, testing out his theories on the doctors and nurses who attend to him. Grant spends weeks pondering historical information and documents with the help of Brent Carradine, a likeable young American researcher working in the British Museum. Using his detective's logic, he comes to the conclusion that the claim of Richard being a murderer is a fabrication of Tudor propaganda, as is the popular image of the King as a monstrous hunchback.
Josephine Tey was a pseudonym used by Elizabeth Mackintosh (25 July 1896 – 13 February 1952) a Scottish author best known for her mystery novels. She also wrote as Gordon Daviot, under which name she wrote plays with an historical theme.
New Books Added Jun 2015 July 8, 2015 00:30
We added 250 books during June 2015.
Find: Jun15 Collection
A few featured books
Featured Author: Alistar MacLean July 7, 2015 14:06
Alistair Stuart MacLean (Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair MacGill-Eain; 21 April 1922 – 2 February 1987) was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. His works include The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra, and Where Eagles Dare – all three were made into popular films. He also wrote two novels under the pseudonym Ian Stuart.
While a university student, MacLean began writing short stories for extra income, winning a competition in 1954 with the maritime story "Dileas". The publishing company Collins asked him for a novel and he responded with HMS Ulysses, based on his own war experiences, as well as credited insight from his brother Ian, a Master Mariner. The novel was a great success and MacLean was soon able to devote himself entirely to writing war stories, spy stories and other adventures.
In the early 1960s, MacLean published two novels under the pseudonym "Ian Stuart" in order to prove that the popularity of his books was due to their content rather than his name on the cover. They sold well, but MacLean made no attempt to change his writing style and his fans may easily have recognized him behind the Scottish pseudonym. MacLean's books eventually sold so well that he moved to Switzerland as a tax exile. From 1963–1966, he took a hiatus from writing to run a hotel business in England.
MacLean's later books were not as well received as the earlier publications and, in an attempt to keep his stories in keeping with the time, he sometimes lapsed into unduly improbable plots. He also struggled constantly with alcoholism, which eventually brought about his death in Munich in 1987. He is buried a few yards from Richard Burton in Céligny, Switzerland. He was married twice and had two sons by his first wife, as well as an adopted third son.
Allistar Maclean Collection: http://vintagebookseller.myshopify.com/search?q=maclean
Featured Author: James T Farrell July 6, 2015 23:09
James Thomas Farrell (February 27, 1904 – August 22, 1979) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet.
He is most remembered for the Studs Lonigan trilogy, which was made into a film in 1960 and a television series in 1979. The trilogy was voted number 29 on the Modern Library's list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.
He began writing when he was 21 years old. A novelist, journalist, and short story writer known for his realistic descriptions of the working class South Side Irish, especially in the novels about the character Studs Lonigan. Farrell based his writing on his own experiences, particularly those that he included in his celebrated "Danny O'Neill Pentology" series of five novels.
Among the writers who acknowledged Farrell as an inspiration was Norman Mailer:
"Mr. Mailer intended to major in aeronautical engineering, but by the time he was a sophomore, he had fallen in love with literature. He spent the summer reading and rereading James T. Farrell's “Studs Lonigan,” John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” and John Dos Passos’s “U.S.A.,” and he began, or so he claimed, to set himself a daily quota of 3,000 words of his own, on the theory that this was the way to get bad writing out of his system. By 1941 he was sufficiently purged to win the Story magazine prize for best short story written by an undergraduate."
Collection at: http://vintagebookseller.myshopify.com/search?q=James+T.+Farrell
A few thoughts on collecting vintage paperbacks July 4, 2015 18:42
Through the 60s, you couldn’t give away used paperback books. They had very little resale value with a few exceptions for classics and best sellers. Starting in the 80’s, collecting paperbacks from the 40s and 50s was popular and the value of the books increased. Books were sold by specialty book stores and through the mail with booksellers producing full color catalogs. Collectible volumes were thought to be in limited supply which drove prices up. This continued through the early 90s.
Then Ebay, Amazon and the internet came along and changed the game. Suddenly the discovery and availability of old paperback books dramatically increased. The specialty booksellers and catalogs disappeared and the value of vintage paperback collections plummeted. Die hard collectors continued to collect and enjoyed the increased availability of collectible volumes. Collecting became more affordable but less of an investment. Note, collectibles are rarely good investments.
At the same time, the generation that originally bought these books started to retire and boxes of old books turned up at estate sales and donated to charity. Along with the internet, Amazon, and Ebay, this drove prices down but availability up. Again, good times for die hard collectors.
It looks like the supply side has topped out. There will still be a few storage unit finds and estate sales but the vast majority of collectible paperback books should be in the market. If true, that should stabilize prices and may lead to a slow increase in the value of books in collectible condition.
My own experience in securing inventory, the ‘wholesale’ cost through all sources has increase by roughly 40% over the last 5 years. At the same time, the retail value has been fairly stable with maybe a 2 to 3% increase. This is all good for the collector. Large availability and stable prices.
UFOs - do you believe? July 2, 2015 16:09
An unidentified flying object, or UFO, in its most general definition, is any apparent anomaly in the sky that is not identifiable as a known object or phenomenon. Culturally, UFOs are associated with claims of visitation by extraterrestrial life or government-related conspiracy theories, and have become popular subjects in fiction. While UFOs are often later identified, sometimes identification may not be possible owing to the usually low quality of evidence related to UFO sightings (generally anecdotal evidence and eyewitness accounts).
Extraterrestrial life is life that does not originate from Earth. It is also called alien life, or, if it is a sentient and/or relatively complex individual, an "extraterrestrial" or "alien" (or, to avoid confusion with the legal sense of "alien", a "space alien"). These as yet hypothetical forms of life range from simple bacteria-like organisms to beings far more complex than humans. The possibility that viruses might exist extraterrestrially has also been proposed.
UFO Collection: http://vintagebookseller.myshopify.com/collections/ufo-extraterrestrial
Essential Science Fiction #6 The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester June 29, 2015 22:46
The Demolished Man, by Alfred Bester, is an American novel, science fiction and inverted detective story, that was the first Hugo Award winner in 1953. The story was first serialized in three parts, beginning with the January 1952 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction, followed by publication of the novel in 1953. The novel is dedicated to Galaxy's editor, H. L. Gold, who made suggestions during its writing. Bester's title was Demolition!, but Gold talked him out of it. The Demolished Man is a science fiction police procedural set in a future where telepathy is common, although much of its effectiveness is derived from one individual having greater telepathic skill than another.
Alfred Bester (December 18, 1913 – September 30, 1987) was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books. Though successful in all these fields, he is best remembered for his science fiction, including The Demolished Man, winner of the inaugural Hugo Award in 1953.
Science fiction author Harry Harrison wrote, "Alfred Bester was one of the handful of writers who invented modern science fiction."
Shortly before his death, the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) named Bester its ninth Grand Master, presented posthumously in 1988. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inducted him in 2001.
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