The BookThinker Newsletter ISSN 1547-9501 130, 6 December 2008

BookThink Update
22 December 2008>>>

Update Announcements

BookThink's Top 10 on eBay November 2008 Barack Obama vied with Audubon, Helmut Newton, and Alcoholics Anonymous in the non-fiction category and came in at #4, #5, #6 and #7 for Dreams from My Father and #4 for a signed ARC of The Audacity of Hope. Some were signed; others were mint. But even an unsigned good condition Dreams .... fetched $3,200.00. The fiction list was mainly populated by the usual suspects. There were 2 Flemings, 3 Tolkiens, 1 King and 1 Meyer listings. The usual super seller from Hamburg, Germany took positions 2, 3, and 4 on the Antiquarian and Collectible list, losing out to an 1830 copy of The Book of Mormon in 1st place and Barack Obama's signed Dreams From My Father accompanied by his sophomore high school yearbooks in 5th position. The latter attracted 64 bids

QMR Book of the Week The Art of Terry Redlin Master of Memories Question: For eight consecutive years, 1991 through 1998, the same artist was named America's Most Popular Artist in annual gallery surveys conducted by U.S. Art magazine. Who was it? If you guessed Thomas Kinkade, "Painter of Light" - who, by the way, is presently America's most collected artist - you'd be wrong. [Read the complete article here.]

Gold Edition Quotation of the Month Bible Mania Issue #11 Question: when scouting, what book do you come across more than any other? Easy. The Bible. By far. It can pop up anywhere, especially at thrift shops, church sales and estate sales - in fact, even when there are no other books in sight, there's still a good chance you'll come across a Bible. Somewhere. But - how many booksellers actually sell them? Hard to say, but from what I've observed, it ain't many, despite the fact that it can be a consistently (and sometimes very) profitable niche. [Read the complete article here.]

From the Editor Many booksellers who have entered bookselling since the ca. 1990s launch of eBay are perhaps experiencing one of the most challenging seasons ever. In response, some are working harder, others are scaling back to pursue more profitable income producing activities; and still others are exiting the business outright, often with no intention of returning. Read the entire article here.

What We Need Right Now Is a Billiken! (Cheerful Optimism in a Tough Economy) Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on our blessings and cultivate gratitude for the simple pleasures of life. Criticism is easy. Gratitude is hard. However, those of us who are collectors as well as sellers, appreciate the enjoyment derived from our books and ephemera. Such paper pleasures are often underrated in their ability to keep us smiling, even in the toughest of times. Case in point: The elusive icon of positive thinking known as the Billiken.

Book Smart! Two Ideas for Sellers of CD-Based Products If your bookselling business has gone south during these economically challenged times, it might make sense to expand your product line, at least temporarily, to CDs, DVDs, cassettes and VHS tapes to keep your revenue from dropping. These types of items often sell quickly, and those with values over $15 or $20 are surprisingly numerous. What's more, many more of them are showing up at sales these days. If you intend to make this move or have already done so, I have two ideas today to make your life easier.

Tales from the Book Trail Whether you are stalking books at Friends of the Library sales and book shops or making house calls, scouting for book inventory is an adventure that can bring you to laughter or tears. Whatever the setting, it is the people, and sometimes the circumstances, which make it memorable.

The Accidental Antiquarian Ten Recommendations for New Antiquarian Booksellers January 2009 will mark the beginning of my third year in business as an antiquarian bookseller. By the standards of most people in the trade, I am still a newcomer, a mere rookie when it comes to the knowledge and experience needed to buy and sell antiquarian books. I have, however, learned a few things in my first two years in business that have consistently served me well. I'll share them in hopes of helping those of you just beginning or even just contemplating antiquarian bookselling as a career.

BookThink's Quarterly Market Report of Common, Profitable Books Issue #5 Issue #5 of BookThink's Quarterly Market Report of Common, Profitable Books is now available for purchase. Purchase or subscribe now.

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BookThink Update
23 November 2008>>>

Update Announcements

BookThink's Top 10 on eBay October 2008 Modern fiction dominated its top 10 category with all titles published after 1950. In addition to the usual King, Fleming, and Tolkien, there's Meyer, Wallace, Card, and Tales of Suspense #39. BookThink readers likely will recognize the #11 title: The Highland Mole, by Gordon and Williams and signed by both, sold for $726.25. It was a 1st edition hardback, described as 1 of the 500 printed. The non-fiction list ranged from Hemingway's In Our Time at the #1 position to Jerusalem Windows at #10. Listing a book in the "wrong" category isn't uncommon, especially among high end works. Was it an error or a strategy? Only the U.S. seller knows for sure. For those of you tracking the fortunes of the Top 10 Antiquarian frequent seller, he or she shows up 3 times on the October 2008 list.

QMR Book of the Week Five Roses A Guide to Good Cooking First published in 1913 by Lake of the Woods Milling Co. (Canadian millers of Five Roses flour), the Five Roses Cookbook is a compilation of nearly 600 recipes developed and submitted by customers who appreciated the exceptional quality of Five Roses Flour, especially for bread making. For years after its publication, if you sent a stamp, they sent you a cookbook, and, given the high quality of its recipes, it wasn't long before this became the most widely used cookbook in Canada. Needless to say, there are many copies still out there, even in the US, but very early copies in very good condition have at least some collectible value. In 2003, Whitecap Books republished this cookbook as part of their Classic Canadian Cookbook series, and culinary historian Elizabeth Driver contributed an introduction and numerous historical notes - which apparently were rich enough to drive US prices well into QMR territory. Canadian prices are even higher. [Read the complete article here.

Gold Edition Quotation of the Month A Bookseller's Guide to Book Club Editions Part III, Book-of-the-Month Club Issue Points Issue #55 Since issue #55 of the Gold Edition consists almost entirely of lists, I won't offer an excerpt this month but will specify exactly what these lists are. 1. BOMC Firsts (first book offered to members, first book published by the Book-of-the-Month Club, first book of poetry, and so on). 2. BOMC Publications by Nobel Prize Winners. 3. BOMC Publications That Won the Pulitzer Prize. 4. BOMC High Spots (books that will sell for $20 and up in VG/VG condition or better). 5. BOMC Ephemera. 6. BOMC Main Selections, Dividends and Alternates, 1926-1966 (huge list!). [Read the complete article here.]

Gold Edition #55 A Bookseller's Guide to Book Club Editions Issue #55 Part III: The Book-of-the-Month Club High Spots (and Potential High Spots) The following lists of important BOMC titles consist of those offered only during the first forty years of the club's existence - and there are two reasons to stop the lists there. Purchase now.