James P Reynolds

A Farewell to Arms — Hemingway Library Edition Ernest Hemingway Scribner, New York, 2012 Hemingway wrote A Farewell to Arms when he was thirty years old and it was an immediate success. Dubbed his bleakest novel, it was also his first bestseller. When this novel, set during the Italian campaign of World War 1, came [...]

Ocean of Words Ha Jin Vintage International, New York, 1998 Ocean of Words was originally published in 1996 by the American company Zoland Press. The true first edition is the Zoland paperback original. They did put out a hardcover edition, but only after the collection of short stories won the 1997 Pen/Hemingway Award. Many people [...]

Postcards Annie Proulx Fourth Estate, London, 1996 This is the first edition/first printing of the Fourth Estate Compact Classic edition of Postcards. It is in fine/fine condition and is signed in Proulx’s typical tiny autograph on the title page. At only 6″ x 4″, and with its wood grain patterned dust jacket, it is attractive and [...]

On Chesil Beach Ian McEwan Alfred A. Knopf, Canada, 2007 This is one of my favourite short novels of all time. From a writer of so many wonderful works of fiction, it is hard to pick a favourite, but On Chesil Beach is at or near the top of the list for me. It was [...]

Out Stealing Horses Per Petterson Graywolf Press, U.S.A. 2007 Out Stealing Horses won two major Norwegian Prizes before Anne Born’s English translation won the 2006 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the 2007 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. It was named by the New York Times as one of the top ten books of 2007. Although [...]

Rat Jelly & Other Poems 1963-78 Michael Ondaatje Marion Boyars, U.K. 1980 Rat Jelly was a book of poetry originally published by Coach House Press in Toronto in 1973. In 1979, McClelland and Stewart out of Toronto and WW Norton out of New York published There’s a Trick with a Knife I’m Learning to Do: [...]

His Illegal Self Peter Carey Alfred A. Knopf, U.S.A. 2008 His Illegal Self was published simultaneously in Britain, Australia and America. Even though he now lives and teaches in New York, because Carey is Australian, the first edition put out by Random House Australia sells for a little more than the others. The range for [...]

On the Road Jack Kerouac Signet, U.S.A. 1958 I love the beatnik cover art on this first paperback edition of On The Road. This is the stated first printing which came out about a year after the Viking true first hardcover edition. According to the New York Times this book is ”the most beautifully executed, the [...]

Nine Stories J.D. Salinger Signet, U.S.A. 1954 Here is the first paperback edition of Salinger’s brilliant and timeless Nine Stories, arguably his most popular book after The Catcher in the Rye. The Little, Brown and Company hardcover is true first edition of this collection. It was published in 1953 and first printings are very rare [...]

Slow Man J.M. Coetzee Viking, U.S.A. 2005 Slow Man was Coetzee’s first novel after winning the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature. It is a brilliant look at the relationship between the writer and his characters. Although the reviews for this book were mixed, I personally find it to be one of his greatest achievements. The [...]