Even the Dogs Jon McGregor Bloomsbury, London, 2010 This is the back cover blurb for Even the Dogs: “On a still and frozen day between Christmas and New Year, a man’s body is found lying in his ruined flat. Found, and then taken away, examined, investigated and cremated. As the state begins its detailed, dispassionate [...]
Some Hope Edward St. Aubyn Open City Press, New York, 2003 Although the original novellas that make up this book first came out in Britain in 1992 and 1994, this 2003 collection is the American debut of Edward St. Aubyn. The collection came out in the U.K. in 1998 under the title The Patrick Melrose [...]
The Red House Mark Haddon Jonathan Cape, London, 2012 This is the advance readers edition of Mark Haddon’s most recent novel. These proof copies are sent to reviewers and book stores prior to the release of the true first editions. For a number of reasons, there are many collectors of these uncorrected proofs. Uncorrected proofs [...]
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 [...]
The Mystery of Edwin Drood Charles Dickens Thomas Nelson and Sons, London, 1913 The Mystery of Edwin Drood was Dickens’ final novel and was unfinished at the time of his death. The identity of the killer is, therefore, unknown and is the subject of debate. Like most of Dickens’ work, it was published in serialized [...]
A Tale of Two Cities & The Uncommercial Traveler Charles Dickens Thomas Nelson and Sons, London, 1908 This is another volume from the full set I have been posting over the last few years. This one combines the very well-known A Tale of Two Cities with the lesser know The Uncommercial Traveler. As I have [...]
Diary of a Bad Year – Advance Readers Copy J.M. Coetzee Text, Australia, 2007 This brilliant book combines essays on a wide range of topics for a fictional publication entitled Strong Opinions, and diary entries about the relationship the aging essayist develops with his young typist. The essays run at the top of each page, while [...]
The Lighthouse Alison Moore Salt Publishing, Cromer, U.K. 2012 The Lighthouse by Alison Moore is one of my favourite novels of 2012. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and for the National Book Award for New Writer of the Year. Here are a couple of great reviews with which I am in total agreement. [...]
Roberto Bolano By Night in Chile The Harvill Press, U.K. 2003 This book is very intriguing to me. To start off with a slight aside, like many serious book collectors, I do not understand why advance readers copies are not more valuable than they usually are. Also called uncorrected proofs, or advance review copies, these [...]
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 [...]