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Post by dem bones on Jul 28, 2017 2:54:34 GMT
That Alderson is a cracking image Dem. Seeing stuff like this never fails to beg the question of just what on earth it is art directors today see in the homogenous horrors of photoshop? Apart from minimal expense that is. Its not even that though, is it? Many artists would be quite happy for the gig on relative peanuts if only to gain a foothold and go from there. Congratulations on such a result from your visit to Baggins. It's brilliant to know there are still some wonderful bookshops out there - its just a case of finding them. I think we will have to begin again with the 'Latest Finds' thread as it is far the most popular on here, but the chances of restoring it are slim. Many of the contributors are no longer around. What do you reckon? 'Latest Finds II'. Is 'Daughter of Latest Finds?' too crass? Another gorgeous Book Club jacket. 'Mog' (?)
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Post by cromagnonman on Jul 28, 2017 9:07:00 GMT
Generally speaking I'm allergic to sequels. The merest mention of the words Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has been known to bring on palpitations (and that's not a recommendation, George). But in this case I'm all for it. How about Latest Finds 2: The Wrath of Dem? The Search for Stock? Or better yet, Return of the Living Thread.
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Post by dem bones on Jul 28, 2017 18:59:42 GMT
Generally speaking I'm allergic to sequels. The merest mention of the words Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has been known to bring on palpitations (and that's not a recommendation, George). But in this case I'm all for it. How about Latest Finds 2: The Wrath of Dem? The Search for Stock? Or better yet, Return of the Living Thread. No sequel. This is continuation! The way I understand it - could be wrong - in starting the thread, Mr Sunshine Crab meant "Your latest NEL's," but, like most things Vault, it took on a life of its own. It's 'latest finds' now, full stop. I realise these updates are tedious but there shouldn't be any need for many more after this. Avitars. Where possible, have replaced them (e.g., Craig, Cauldron Brewer) otherwise have reverted accounts to the default Vault image rather than have that wretched p-bucket ransom note decorating the every post of those affected. In case you are unaware, it is easy to change this to something you prefer . Just go to 'profile'/ 'edit profile' and upload your own graphic (nothing obscene please. I just had my first warning from our hosts for posing an inappropriate image). Whenever I come across that 'Image Not Found' abomination I'm deleting it. Otherwise nothing will be removed, certainly not any written content. That seems to be about it. And to keep us on track, my latest find, 50p, Spitalfields Crypt Trust, Watney Market, Monday just gone. Thomas Altman - The Intruder (Corgi, 1986) Blurb: A stranger is bringing a gift to Las Cosimas .... A gift now woman can endure
Caroline Cassidy is beautitul and bored. When a wealthy, attractive stranger enters her life, she has no reason to fear. Tobias Manning, sharp ex-cop and now security officer in Las Cosimas, is bored too - but he likes it that way. Until, one by one, the women of this wealthy, fashionable community begin to die, some in compromising positions. Soon boredom seems like paradise, as the town is trapped in a nightmare of fear. And now, with the killer due to strike again at any moment, Manning is afraid too - expecially for Caroline. Her new lover's face is starting to look frighteningly familiar.
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Post by johnnymains on Jul 31, 2017 9:01:55 GMT
Rarely buy books nowadays - downsized earlier on this year by around 500 hardbacks, but as I hadn't seen a few of these titles before (MANTIS!!) was too good to pass up. 20p each!
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Post by cromagnonman on Aug 4, 2017 10:03:36 GMT
They don't package them like this anymore. More's the pity.
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Post by dem bones on Aug 7, 2017 8:26:17 GMT
Friend Richard, the back-of-the-van, did me this lot for 50p each at Sclater Street market yesterday. Thank you, Richard.
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Post by cromagnonman on Aug 7, 2017 21:34:49 GMT
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Post by jamesdoig on Aug 8, 2017 23:12:27 GMT
From the junk shop for a buck:
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Post by cromagnonman on Aug 14, 2017 20:30:36 GMT
Cecil Court is probably the last place on earth anyone would expect to unearth a bargain. Generally speaking you need to prove a stratospheric credit rating before any of the vendors will let you through the door. A few of the shops do scatter a few dregs from their stock on tables outside for the benefit of the hoi polloi but its almost invariably pretty mundane stuff. So you can imagine my surprise when I discovered this being off-loaded for £2. This is one of the last books Harry Patterson produced before jettisoning all but one of his raft of pen-names: that one being Jack Higgins. A terrific cover for a terrific book, or so I believe. And I just love the photo of Patterson looking for all the world like Liam Gallagher's groovy grandad. Apart from this there were also a few Leslie Thomas firsts which I could easily have picked up if pragmatism hadn't threatened to make a balloon animal out of my brain. But I did pick this up primarily on account of its wonderful pencil and charcoal cover. Cant really make any further comment upon it except to say that its yet another example of the seemingly inexhaustible supply of mid 60s espionage fiction. This one concerns a disgraced agent by the name of Michael Jagger (I kid you not) assisted by the exquisite Bryony Gudgeon. Its a "journey into the macabre" apparantly which bodes well. Will let you all know in due course.
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Post by helrunar on Aug 14, 2017 20:40:39 GMT
Awesome, CMM. I know nothing about the author, his pen-names or his scene, but I majorly dig that incendiary-cool photo of the author... man around town circa '70...
cheers, H.
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Post by Swampirella on Aug 14, 2017 21:00:43 GMT
I read and enjoyed several Jack Higgins' espionage/thriller books, a long time ago now, and can highly recommend him.
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Post by cromagnonman on Aug 15, 2017 9:36:27 GMT
Awesome, CMM. I know nothing about the author, his pen-names or his scene, but I majorly dig that incendiary-cool photo of the author... man around town circa '70... cheers, H. You're almost bang on the money with the dating H: 1972 this one. Gone are the tweeds, trilbys and goatees of Bagley and Kyle; in were fringes, shades, cravats and reefer jackets. Thriller writing was cool, man. They call Higgins "The Legend" now, and I guess he's entitled to that. If for no other reason than the sheer volume of books he's produced over the years. Personally I think he's been coasting for the better part of the last three decades or so. He went through a phase a while back of sneakily rewriting his own early paperback originals, or reissuing them bookended by new material. I tend to frown on dubious publishing practices of this sort. Although to be fair to him I believe he was in poor health at the time and it was the only method by which he was able to meet his contractual commitments. There's no denying that the body of work he produced between the mid 60s and mid 80s secures him a place of stature in the field.
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Post by jamesdoig on Aug 18, 2017 11:42:20 GMT
2 bucks from Vinnies: The first para of Hugh Greene's intro is a classic of book hunting nostalgia: "My brother Graham and I have been collecting old detective stories since just before the war. The search through four or five decades has taken us all over the country. Some of our best hunting-grounds have been Aylesbury, Bath, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Colchester, Edinburgh, Eton, Guildford, Harrogate, Leeds, Maidstone, Norwich, Salisbury, Totnes, Watford, Wells, Winchester and Worcester, apart from various corners of London. The pubs in these towns, with their variety of beers and sausages, became as familiar to us as the second-hand bookshops. We walked for miles through shabby backstreets and usually it seemed to be raining." Latest excellent and informative issue of Chris Mikul's Bizarrism is out - front and back covers: Biz2 by james_doig1, on Flickr And Leigh Blackmore kindly sent me his Horrors of Sherlock Holmes
Introduction by Peter Cannon The Adventure of the Metaphysics of Mania The Arcana of Death Exalted are the Forces of Darkness Author's Afterward
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Post by dem bones on Aug 18, 2017 16:25:55 GMT
The first para of Hugh Greene's intro is a classic of book hunting nostalgia: "My brother Graham and I have been collecting old detective stories since just before the war. The search through four or five decades has taken us all over the country. Some of our best hunting-grounds have been Aylesbury, Bath, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Colchester, Edinburgh, Eton, Guildford, Harrogate, Leeds, Maidstone, Norwich, Salisbury, Totnes, Watford, Wells, Winchester and Worcester, apart from various corners of London. The pubs in these towns, with their variety of beers and sausages, became as familiar to us as the second-hand bookshops. We walked for miles through shabby backstreets and usually it seemed to be raining." That's brilliant! Stupid me passed on a dirt cheap hardback copy of Victorian Villaines at Sclater Street market quite recently because it is HUGE and I already have copies of 2 of the 4 novels/ novellas. Hope it's still there on Sunday! Bizarrism sure looks interesting, and have read great things about Chris Mikul's work in Paperback Fanatic. One day ....
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Post by dem bones on Sept 14, 2017 12:30:27 GMT
Serendipity. Posted the rabies & co. appeal, popped around to the market, and what should I tread in at the charity shop .... Michael Logan - Apocalypse Cow (Corgi, 2012) Blurb It, began with a Cow that just wouldn't die. It became an epidemic that transformed Britain's livestock into sneezing, slavering, flesh-craving four-legged zombies. And if that wasn't bad enough, the fate of the nation seems to rest on the shoulders of three hopeless individuals: an abattoir worker whose love life is non-existent thanks to the stench of death that clings to him, a teenage vegan with extreme eczema, and an inept journalist. As Britain descends into chaos, these unlikely heroes must pool their resources, escape the zombie herds, find the cure and save the world! Three losers. Overwhelming odds. One outcome. Yup, we're screwed ...
"Fast-paced dark comedy, stuffed with violence, sprinkled with sex, reminiscent of Tom Sharpe ... very entertaining' - Sunday Express.
"The Night of the Living Dead meets Countryfile .... a fun début." - Eloquent Page. com
"Ploughs the same furrows as Shaun Of The Dead ... brilliantly written and side-splittingly funny." - BOOKGEEKS. comProspect of "fun" is a little disquieting, but will cross that bridge once Apocalypse Cow has progressed up the 'to read' pile. Also .... Chuck Palahniuk - Haunted (Vintage, 2006) Cover design Stephen ParkerBlurb: CONTAINS A NEW AFTERWORD, PUBLISHED FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME 'A TRIUMPH... EXCEPTIONAL... WONDERFUL... A REMARKABLE BOOK, THE MOST ORIGINAL WORK OF FICTION THIS YEAR' - Guardian 'ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR NOVELISTS IN THE WORLD... HIS FICTION HITS A NERVE... HAUNTED BREAKS NEW GROUND' - Observer
Haunted is a novel made up of stories: twenty-three of the most horrifying, hilarious, mind-blowing, stomach-churning tales you'll ever encounter. They are told by the people who have answered an ad headlined 'Artists' Retreat: Abandon your life for three months'. They are led to believe that here they will leave behind all the distractions of 'real life' that are keeping them from creating the masterpiece that is in them. But 'here' turns out to be a cavernous and ornate old theatre where they are utterly isolated from the outside world – and where heat and power and, most importantly, food are in increasingly short supply. And the more desperate the circumstances become, the more desperate the stories they tell – and the more devious their machinations to make themselves the hero of the inevitable play/movie/non-fiction blockbuster that will certainly be made from their plight.
'DEEPLY SATIRICAL, BRUTAL AND PROVOCATIVE, Haunted is harshly compulsive, eye‑bleeding stuff' I-D 'AN IMMENSELY SKILFUL WRITER' - Daily Telegraph
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