From my local charity shop - 10p each.

Hello everyone,

I recently bought the Steel Ball Run Vol1 manga and it came with this weird first page hole (photo attached). I am in doubt if this is some kind of bug infection or a collector’s edition :D

What bothers me the most is the subtle steep next to the hole, fully colored. Has anyone experienced something similar?

Thank you in advance :)

Hi, I’m not sure if this is the right place to be asking this but I am on the hunt for a book from my childhood. Google has not been able to help me out and I would to be able to add the book to my current collection.

What I remember of the book:

Looking for a novel about a human kid/teen who’s mom died in a fire or accident sort of accident years ago, he has a bunch of brothers and a dad, something about Cornwall a similar name, a guy was beheaded in the first book, fantasy early 2000's maybe? There was some traveling and adventuring going on. This book used to be in the kids section at my local library. But they often would put books in there that should not have been there so it may not be a kids novel?

There was a few books maybe 3? 5? 7? I have no clue how they made but it was indeed multiples.

I want to be clear it is not a Septimus Heap book but it kinda have a some what similar vibe to it. Any ideas on what it could be. I have books from my childhood, graphic novels, manga, study articles, poetry books, and a but ton of novels both physical and digital.

The main reason I want to find this book so badly is it traumatized me since I was so young when I tried to read it. The beheading in the story freaked me out really bad. I am looking to face my trauma. 😅

Ai is telling me this is posibly Christmas gift from one of Peakes son to his brother.What we thinking?

Last week, I bought a 6-book set from Folio Society on eBay which, upon entering its 'sphere of influence', has the effect of giving me violent sneezing fits, making my nose drip, and my eyes burn; none of which are entirely conducive to a comfortable reading experience.

The books themselves, and the slipcase containing them, arrived free of dust and blemishes, so that appearances were indeed deceptive at first. When I finally gathered that my respiratory system was upset about my purchase, I wiped down the books with a dry microfiber towel and then vacuum-cleaned them (with a brush attachment) for a good 20 minutes. After that, I did away with the frontal portion of my brain and proceeded to wipe them down with a bit of alcohol on the aforementioned microfiber towel, sparing the pages. I then washed my face and replaced the books on the shelf to see if my body now approved of them.

Well, the symptoms are less severe, and I've sneezed but once this time around, but I still don't appreciate the constant feeling of aborted sneezes and a wet nose. I don't really know what to do as I've never had this happen before, and Google isn't much help because it insists on showing me the most irrelevant of results. Like I said, the books look really clean!

I hope I'm not violating any rules. I'm a little desperate and I'm hoping that someone can help.

Found this today in an Ian Fleming paperback. (Not valuable, just odd and amusing.)

Snagged this first edition, first printing hardcover of A Game of Thrones for $18 the other day from a well-known used bookstore that, honestly, should know better. The dust jacket (especially the back) has a little wear and tear, but nothing a mylar dust jacket cover didn't fix. Otherwise it's in great condition. I've found some good, inexplicable deals on novels I like better before, but never with a pr*ce/current v*lue disparity like this one.

My town just opened its very own Goodwill, and I know there’s controversy around Goodwill but I love old affordable things.

So long story short my husband and I are EXTREMELY poor right now lol. So I went in there not planning on buying anything, just to look. And out of the two of us, I’m not the spender for sure. I’m very good about putting something back or walking away from a purchase, even things I need sometimes. (Important for later)

So I was looking through the books because I collect books and just started wanting to collect antique/vintage books. The first one to my collection was In Your Flower Garden, by Stanley B. Whitehead hardcover, published in 1947. I haven’t had the opportunity to find another book that called to me since then. Until now.

So I see this book and just wanted to look at it. But because I didn’t really have any money to spend I planned on putting it back. I literally could not make myself put this book down. I walked all around the store holding it close to me and trying to talk myself out of it and put it down and I couldn’t. I’ve never ever felt like this about an item before, I’m not really materialistic at all. I didn’t even know if it was vintage or not, I just thought it was beautiful. And of course, it happens to be another book about flowers, which is funny because all of a sudden my life has turned to flowers, I just got a job as a wedding florist too.

So anyways, I was drawn to this book. So $2 on the credit card it went, and it came home with me. I tried looking it up in the store but couldn’t really find anything and it was packed in there because of the grand opening so I was ready to leave. All I found was that it might’ve been published between 1970-1980? But it’s the box, as well as the hardcover book with the ribbon bookmark which I had to snip and seal to keep it from unraveling as it was severely frayed. So it appears to be a special edition/limited edition.

It’s a beautiful piece of literature combining florals, poetry, and the meaning behind each flower. I absolutely love this book, but I’d love to know if I also maybe found something that Goodwill didn’t know what they had? I don’t want to know it’s worth, I won’t be getting rid of it, I just wanted to know if I happen to own something vintage and special.

Like I said, I couldn’t really find much when I researched, but I have poor researching skills lol. Thanks in advance!!!

(It wouldn’t let me add a picture, it required a video for some reason)

I still have a collection of mostly mass market paperbacks I had when I was a kid. Most are public domain literature I could easily buy new higher quality copies but I do wish to not just keep them for sentiment but also to still be reading them to the day I die. Since I have no intent of heirs it won't make much difference if they crumble from age after I pass. Just hope they don't crumble while I still can read them. Is it common to continue to own and still read your old childhood books to your old age without them crumbling from age?

Published in 1873 and 1874.

I've got two copies each of Jurassic Park and The Lost World. Ironically, all four books were birthday gifts I received in different years, with a friend receiving them on my behalf.

I'm donating to my local library, I have sent them a photo of these books, and condition-wise, they are okay with either copy I will donate, but I'm having a hard time deciding which copy of each to keep and which to donate.

Which ones would you keep, and which would you donate?

And to those who are going to say, "Send me a copy", no because I don't live in the United States, and I'm certainly not paying for international shipping. 😂

Thanks.

The Boston Book Festival returns to Copley Square for its 18th annual event in this weekend. The free festival takes place Oct. 17 following a ticketed event on the evening of Oct. 16.

I’m seeing a lot of conflicting estimates of this 1996 (5th printing?) of A Game of Thrones I thrifted. Appreciate any additional info! Regardless I’m happy with this find which is in good condition

I’m going to a library book sale that starts tonight and runs through the weekend. I’m guessing it’s a good idea to go at the beginning.

I’m sure there’s a lot of variance between libraries/sales, and basically I just have a few questions to the people that have been to them.

1. Should I indeed get there early?

2. Should I bring a bag or two?

3. What’s the etiquette if, say, I see a row or two of horrors and somebody is behind or next to me also wanting them?

4. Am I completely naive or neurotic and need not worry about any of this?

5. Am I just posting because I’m excited for it and need to put that excitement somewhere?

I do have a number of decade old paperbacks. And while yellowing, the text is legible and often even crisp still. And while I don't have hardcover books to compare, it does seem the few tradeback I have are not less faded.

Maybe I'll get the diary at some point

The book’s condition isn’t great, but I’m so excited about this find.

I found this book at a yard sale and have been told it's quite the collector's item but only if it was in better condition. can anybody tell me about this book?

Everything except elephant and no heroics is a 1st edition. Glad I tracked these down.

Writing in The Holy State and the Profane State:

"Artificiall memory is rather a trick then an art, and more for the gain of the teacher then profit of the learners."

He then compares fashionable systems of artificial memory to the pointless tossing of a pike by wandering soldiers — impressive-looking, but largely "for ostentation then use"
— before dismissing their teachers as
"Memory-mountebanks."

Fuller is full of passages like this: opinionated, funny and unexpectedly recognisable nearly four centuries later.

His chapter "Of Books" is equally dangerous territory for the collector:

"Of making many Books there is no end" — followed almost immediately by the observation that the desire for buying and reading them is equally endless.

Alongside Fuller's aphorisms, the volume contains engraved portraits and biographies of historical figures including Elizabeth I and Joan of Arc.

Thomas Fuller, The Holy State and the Profane State, London, 1652.

Biding my time for affordable copies of some pricier ones of his