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Post by helrunar on Nov 7, 2018 14:48:42 GMT
Thanks for those beautiful Barbara Walton scans, Cro. Interesting to know of the work of a woman artist in this genre. I like her approach, sense of color and more subtle use of sensuality.
Cheers, Steve
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Post by andydecker on Nov 8, 2018 8:24:27 GMT
Here is one of the German editions of Diment's Bang Bang Birds. It was published in 1970 by a book club as a HC. I read the first Diment a while ago, got both at a reasonable price. I can understand why he was a success. 1967 this must have been an exciting novel with his spy/pilot hero . The writing is much more sophisticated then the average spy paperback. And another one which frankly I bought only for the cover. Also a HC from 1969. It is a mainstream novel about censorship. Irv Kane, owner of the Man's Magazine Tomcat, gets involed in a murder and the following prude outrage against his work. Says the back text.
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Post by dem bones on Nov 17, 2018 21:42:32 GMT
If you like a second-hand bookshop to have so much stock that it needs to be stacked as well as racked then a pilgrimage to Hurlingham Books on Fulham High Street, just around the corner from Putney Bridge tube station, is an absolute necessity. Its no exaggeration to say that this is among the most amazing bookshops you will ever visit. The premises aren't large by any means, but the stock is so vast and so interesting that the hapless browser can easily lose all track of time within its precincts, thereby running the serious risk of eventually stumbling forth wizened and penniless like some baffled refugee from a bibliophilic Brigadoon. The shop frontage constitutes an attraction in its own right; its impossible to see into the shop because the windows are bricked up by towering walls of paperbacks. Easy enough to spend an hour gawping at them alone. Once inside its a joyous thing to appreciate - as you penetrate deeper into its successive grottos of fiction - how much of the stock is given over to vintage paperback editions. I'm struggling to remember the last time I ever saw such an accumulation of old paperbacks in a high street setting. Condition is largely excellent and most books are very reasonably priced at £1-2 a copy. Cromagnonman says: Get thee gone to Putney without delay and nab thyself a bargain. "Is there any sort of ... uh, order?" [Incredulous] " Order?" My kind of bookshop. Another vote for Hurlingham Books. Paid them a lightening visit on Friday and can only second Crom's glowing endorsement. Previous excursions to Comics & Books in Westbourne proved solid training: Ray Cole's empire is slightly less chaotic and lacks in-house wasp nest, but still delightfully ... random. Lots of scaling ladders and poking around in cobwebbed corners involved. Would require an all night lock-in - at the very least - to get your head around the stock. No 'horror' section, but spotted several disreputable titles among the SF and Authors by A-Z stacks. Monster budget of £10 soon swallowed up, but came away with five prize paperbacks - including a wants-list stalwart and a Dr. Proof non-fiction recommendation. Throw in the freebie adventure and it's time and money well spent. Proprietor Ray and man on desk Michael friendly, helpful guys, and, of course, they love talking books. Hope to take in the warehouse of two million books (!) next time. Also explored some of the local scenery, including park on High Street, high in creepy ambience (it is in November, at any rate), looks like it ought to be haunted, likewise adjoining allotments.
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Post by Shrink Proof on Nov 18, 2018 17:14:48 GMT
My kind of bookshop. Monster budget of £10 soon swallowed up, but came away with five prize paperbacks - including a wants-list stalwart and a Dr. Proof non-fiction recommendation. Throw in the freebie adventure and it's time and money well spent. Which one was that as a matter of interest?
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Post by Swampirella on Nov 24, 2018 12:28:46 GMT
I just came across this, thanks to a well-known social media site. No time yet to browse, but it certainly looks interesting. Not cheap, perhaps, but interesting. For the time being, at least, 20% off with the codeword "pumpkin".
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Post by helrunar on Nov 25, 2018 0:21:55 GMT
Hi Swampi, I wonder if you're on the same forum as me--Vintage Paperback something or other. Great scans, and the main guy, Allen, seems really sweet and generous. I've mentioned the Vault a few times on there because it truly is now my favorite place to be online.
I started looking at that vendor's catalogue and after a couple of pages, decided the prices were way too steep, particularly since a lot of these vendors charge high shipping fees that wipe out any "savings" from the discount.
Best, Hel
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Post by Swampirella on Nov 25, 2018 0:35:05 GMT
Hi, Steve:
I've never heard of Vintage Paperback and Pulp Forum, I'm glad you're enjoying it. The scans look fantastic! Too bad you couldn't find anything at a fair price; I discovered a book on that site which I'd never heard of before, "The Ghost At My Shoulder" and just ordered it elsewhere...
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Post by helrunar on Nov 25, 2018 3:28:07 GMT
That's smart to order elsewhere. Good job, Swampi!
Allan (or is it Allen) on Vintage Paperback does a lot of OUR kind of books. He's a big part of why I am on that group. I personally can only look at so many 1950s cheesecake explo pb covers. The Lionel (aka Leo) Fahfrd/Grey Mouser cover from '57 pretty much made the group worthwhile for me a few days ago. There's a good cover of this calibre at least once a week on the site. I wish I could figure out how to post images on this forum. Sometimes I would enjoy sharing the scans from Vintage. Oh well.
Best wishes, Steve
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Post by jamesdoig on Nov 25, 2018 3:43:16 GMT
I just came across this, thanks to a well-known social media site. No time yet to browse, but it certainly looks interesting. Not cheap, perhaps, but interesting. For the time being, at least, 20% off with the codeword "pumpkin".
Thanks Swampie - some interesting things - you're right about prices!
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Post by cromagnonman on Nov 29, 2018 23:11:51 GMT
If you like a second-hand bookshop to have so much stock that it needs to be stacked as well as racked then a pilgrimage to Hurlingham Books on Fulham High Street, just around the corner from Putney Bridge tube station, is an absolute necessity. Its no exaggeration to say that this is among the most amazing bookshops you will ever visit. The premises aren't large by any means, but the stock is so vast and so interesting that the hapless browser can easily lose all track of time within its precincts, thereby running the serious risk of eventually stumbling forth wizened and penniless like some baffled refugee from a bibliophilic Brigadoon. The shop frontage constitutes an attraction in its own right; its impossible to see into the shop because the windows are bricked up by towering walls of paperbacks. Easy enough to spend an hour gawping at them alone. Once inside its a joyous thing to appreciate - as you penetrate deeper into its successive grottos of fiction - how much of the stock is given over to vintage paperback editions. I'm struggling to remember the last time I ever saw such an accumulation of old paperbacks in a high street setting. Condition is largely excellent and most books are very reasonably priced at £1-2 a copy. Cromagnonman says: Get thee gone to Putney without delay and nab thyself a bargain. "Is there any sort of ... uh, order?" [Incredulous] " Order?" My kind of bookshop. Another vote for Hurlingham Books. Paid them a lightening visit on Friday and can only second Crom's glowing endorsement. Previous excursions to Comics & Books in Westbourne proved solid training: Ray Cole's empire is slightly less chaotic and lacks in-house wasp nest, but still delightfully ... random. Lots of scaling ladders and poking around in cobwebbed corners involved. Would require an all night lock-in - at the very least - to get your head around the stock. No 'horror' section, but spotted several disreputable titles among the SF and Authors by A-Z stacks. Monster budget of £10 soon swallowed up, but came away with five prize paperbacks - including a wants-list stalwart and a Dr. Proof non-fiction recommendation. Throw in the freebie adventure and it's time and money well spent. Proprietor Ray and man on desk Michael friendly, helpful guys, and, of course, they love talking books. Hope to take in the warehouse of two million books (!) next time. Also explored some of the local scenery, including park on High Street, high in creepy ambience (it is in November, at any rate), looks like it ought to be haunted, likewise adjoining allotments. Glad you enjoyed your excursion into the wilds of Putney Dem. One other local emporium worth a visit there is 30th Century Comics on the Lower Richmond Road. They have a stock of vintage genre paperbacks at the rear of the shop though their prices tend to put them in the interesting-to-browse category rather than the purchasing one. Huge stock of UK comics in the basement too which I always get a kick out of going through. Have made a couple of subsequent visits to Hurlingham Books in the interim and each exploration there yields yet another shadowed niche or perilous pinnacle to investigate. Did you notice the stacks of vintage Pans heaped on the high shelves in the second room? Was going through them today whilst perched precariously atop a tottering ladder when I unearthed this beauty: Been meaning to ask what the wants list stalwart you discovered there was.
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Post by dem bones on Nov 30, 2018 9:33:09 GMT
Glad you enjoyed your excursion into the wilds of Putney Dem. One other local emporium worth a visit there is 30th Century Comics on the Lower Richmond Road. They have a stock of vintage genre paperbacks at the rear of the shop though their prices tend to put them in the interesting-to-browse category rather than the purchasing one. Huge stock of UK comics in the basement too which I always get a kick out of going through. Have made a couple of subsequent visits to Hurlingham Books in the interim and each exploration there yields yet another shadowed niche or perilous pinnacle to investigate. Did you notice the stacks of vintage Pans heaped on the high shelves in the second room? Was going through them today whilst perched precariously atop a tottering ladder when I unearthed this beauty: Been meaning to ask what the wants list stalwart you discovered there was. Didn't get to see the back room, Crom. Guy on the desk told me it was private. Guess my current decrepit navvy look has it's disadvantages. Depending on how things go, hope to pay a second visit in the new year. Have you done the warehouse yet? Should imagine a person could go mad in that place. Far as I know, the wants list stalwart isn't even particularly rare, just I'd never seen a copy until now. Picked up Kenneth Rayner Johnson's The Succubus in the aforementioned Comics & Books a few years back, but was far more interested in another of his novels. This one. Kenneth Rayner Johnson - The Homunculus (NEL, July 1982) A grossly endowed evil dwarf. A man-like creature of insatiable sexual appetites. Blurb: BIRTHS SINCLAIR - On June 24th at Burntwoods Hospital, to Elaine and Peter, a son. DEATHS SINCLAIR - On June 24th at Burntwoods Hospital, in childbirth. Elaine, beloved wife of Peter. He had arrived, blood-streaked from his dying mother's womb. Medically normal except for the thin membrane that webbed the fingers of the right hand. Normal except for the eyes. The old, chillingly cold eyes that looked with blank malice on the outside world. Normal except for his conception: misbegotten and created out of evil. The ancient, ungodly dream of the alchemists come to pass. The Homunculus. And only a woman, gasping in the final spasms of death, felt a bone-deep chill of premonition. Screamed, for herself and for the hideous future of mankind.Who could resist? As mentioned elsewhere, the Dr. Proof non-fiction recommendation is Jan Harold Brunvand's The Vanishing Hitchhiker.
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Post by ripper on Nov 30, 2018 13:42:05 GMT
I read this thread with envy. We used to have a couple of small used book shops not too far away plus a market stall that sold genre paperbacks, but they all closed down many years ago. All that we have are a few charity shops with few books older than around a decade and they are almost exclusively from big name authors. I am mostly reduced to Amazon, ABE and Ebay for book purchases now. There's a big choice from them, but prices can be scary.
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Post by dem bones on Jan 13, 2019 19:21:05 GMT
Should you find yourself in the vicinity ...
Oxfam, 514 Kingsland Rd, London E8 (around corner from Dalston Junction). Quite the most likeable Charity Shop visited since the Spitalfield Crypt chain went streamlined. Proper old school (i.e., doesn't think it's a branch of John Lewis), abundance of books a major plus, including small but very welcome showing of pre-battered paperbacks. Far as I can tell, most books priced at 99p, though Tuesday last they were selling a copy of Weird Tales of the Ramones for £14. Have added it to much diminished Dem regular haunts circuit so will keep you posted.
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Post by cromagnonman on Feb 21, 2019 21:40:05 GMT
For this week's second-hand bookshop recommendation allow me to trumpet the charms and attractions of Archive Books and Music: This is a place which it would be all too easy to overlook for several reasons. For one thing its a little off the beaten track being situated down a quiet side street around the corner from Edgware Road tube station. For another the heavy emphasis on old sheet music lends the impression that there is little here to interest the vintage paperback hunter. But while it is true that music is the shop's main stock in trade (they even have a piano there for music students to play before they buy) there is a small but very interesting stock of old paperbacks which currently has a heavy emphasis on SF and fantasy. Prices are in the £2-3 range. This is one of those very old fashioned community bookshops; the sort of place where they offer the dedicated moocher a free cup of tea to encourage them to keep browsing (always works with me). An eclectic mix of books on all subjects are stacked on the tables outside. Really loved visiting this shop and have added it to my roster of regular haunts. I would like to encourage any vaulter finding themselves in that vicinity to pay it a visit. Its a tribute to the shop's value - and the power of word of mouth, I guess - that its been there for close on 50 years, which is something of a wonder to me when passing footfall on that street appears to be so light. The shop's address is 83 Bell Street, Marylebone NW1 6TB.
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Post by Shrink Proof on Feb 22, 2019 13:49:02 GMT
That looks great. If I ever find myself in London (shudder...) I will definitely pay a visit.
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