Friday, March 27, 2009

Spine and Crown, round two

Wow. A week's not very long.

I can't believe I've got to write another one of these things already. Maybe I should go all Beckett minimal on this thing.

I can't write another.

I can't write another.

I'll write another.

... Or not. How about a little bit from the opening of Walker Percy's Love in the Ruins, instead?


















"Now in these dread latter days of the old violent beloved U.S.A. and of the Christ-forgetting Christ-haunted death-dealing Western world I came to myself in a grove of young pines and the question came to me: has it happened at last?

Two more hours should tell the story. One way or the other. I sit against a young pine, broken out in hives and wait for the end of the world. The carbine lies across my lap.

Undoubtedly something is about to happen.

Or is it that something has stopped happening?

Is it that God has at last removed his blessing from the U.S.A. and what we feel now is just the clank of the old historical machinery, the sudden jerking ahead of the roller-coaster cars as the chain catches hold and carries us back into history with its ordinary catastrophes, carries us out and up toward the brink from that felicitous and privileged siding where even unbelievers admitted that if it was not God who blessed the U.S.A., then at least some great good luck had befallen us, and that now the blessing or the luck is over, the machinery clanks, the chain catches hold, and the cars jerk forward?"

That was written almost 40 years ago. People have been dreading this carnival ride for that long. Or maybe it's just that, if you predict doom often enough for long enough, you'll eventually be right.

The check is in the mail. The check is always in the mail.

And how are you feeling today?

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New this week:

All items mentioned below are first come, first serve. If you want something, let me know post-haste! All new items sell for cover price, used items as marked. Sadly, trade credit cannot be used for new items.

Our books are always searchable via ABEbooks.

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They will sell five minutes after I type this, but we have both Blood Meridian [Sold] and The Road by Cormac McCarthy just right now at this second.

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America, Jean Baudrillard ($12) [Sold]

The Ecstacy of Communication, Jean Baudrillard ($6) [Sold]

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The World Doesn't End
, Charles Simic ($6.50)

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Collected Poems, Czeslaw Milosz (HC, First Edition - $15) [Sold]

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Semmelweis
, Louis-Ferdinand Celine (New) - The only edition in print in English of Celine's first work; a beautiful object brought to you by London boutique publisher Atlas Press. ($20) [Sold]

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The Unknown Lorca
, Federico Garcia Lorca - Also from Atlas Press. Part of their limited edition Printed Head series. A series of little-known short dramatic works from the celebrated poet. ($50)

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Annie Sprinkle's Post-Porn Modernist ($50) [Sold] - Out of print; a saucy book about a saucy lady.

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A big stack of Charles Bukowski, including:

Tales of Ordinary Madness ($7.50) [Sold]
Women ($10) [Sold]
War All the Time ($10) [Sold]
Burning in Water Drowning in Flame ($10) [Sold]
Mockingbird Wish Me Luck ($9) [Sold]
Love is a Dog from Hell ($10) [Sold]
and Post Office ($10) [Sold]

All except Tales are original Black Sparrow editions, not the crappy Ecco editions currently in print.

Also of interest is a hardcover first edition of Pulp ($175) - It's crisp and pretty, but lacks the original transparent acetate jacket.

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Pablo Neruda:

Residence on Earth ($8.50) [Sold]
Fully Empowered ($7) [Sold]
The Captain's Verses ($6.50) [Sold]
100 Love Sonnets ($7.50) [Sold]
Canto General ($10) [Sold]
Splendor and Death of Joaquin Murieta (a play - $15) [Sold]

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And of course we have copies of To Die No More (New - $30). "Violent", "beloved", "Christ-haunted", and "death-dealing" might also apply to this tome. Also, quiet, sober, and thoroughly beautiful. Three years in the making; Only 1000 were produced - and it's no exaggeration to say that unknown people in Hong Kong had their feelings hurt because of this book.

Keep up with the progress of Blind Pony Books.

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You have two options: revolt or sabotage.
Please note the date on this article.

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Everything's turning into a pile of shit. Except this.

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# of weeks since Spine and Crown inception: 177

# of weeks since inception that no mention of Spine and Crown has appeared in the print edition of The Stranger: 177

Thursday, March 19, 2009

First in a series

What we have here is a small gathering of friends. This newsletter is in beta; best to keep it small. So please excuse if later ones become more impersonal in tone. As I replace more of my meat with circuitry, it's inevitable. I'll try to keep it as brief as I am able, as this is just meant to be a crass promotional device. And, of course, a warm, safe place for all those lovely book-lovers out there. Love you!!!!!!

Two versions are going out by email: one without links first, then, after we've been unblocked by everyone, I'll send out the one with links. You can find the the new one each week on our blog (with pictures!)

All items mentioned below are first come, first serve. If you want something, let me know post-haste! All new items sell for cover price, used items as marked. Sadly, trade credit cannot be used for new items.

Our books are always searchable via ABEbooks.

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Things we have that are sold as used:

A ridiculous amount of Harlan Ellison, including: Memos from Purgatory, The Glass Teat, Angry Candy, Slippage (HC, First, Review Copy), Edgeworks vol. 4 and 5 (both HC), The Essential Ellison (in both HC and PB) and Dreams with Sharp Teeth [Sold]. Harlan is the crabby old guy who recently eternally pissed off Fantagraphics and has written some of the most acerbic and intelligent science fiction ever. Various prices, but none will break the bank.


A bunch of early 80s Dungeons and Dragons modules and old players' manuals. Ben saw them and did a little wee wee. No, we don't have the one with Cthulu creatures. Various prices, but ditto on the bank-breaking.


Marshall McLuhan:
The Gutenberg Galaxy, The Medium is the Massage, and Essential McLuhan [Sold]. Never more prophetic; never more relevant. All pretty cheap, too.


Dealer's Choice:
How to Cheat Your Friends at Cards by Penn Jillette ($6) [Sold] and Poker: A Guaranteed Income for Life by Frank R. Wallace ($40). Screw that 9 to 5 noise! Fame and fortune await!


Several issues each of Hop Up (hot rods) and Dice (custom motorcycles) magazines. True geekness over topics I have no knowledge of, but gosh, they're pretty. They call these people grease monkeys? I don't see any grease...

Hop Up @ $12 each
Dice @ $7 each

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Things we have that are sold as new:


Taking a moment to promote my own project: To Die No More






















We have copies. Only 1000 were made. 70-odd were damaged in shipping. So, actually, even more limited. If you are part of our extremely narrow target demographic, this book will work its way under your skin, eventually becoming the only object you'd want to rescue from a house fire. Not hyperbole!

Keep up with our strangeness:

Blind Pony Books

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We also have offerings from Ouroboros Press - fine, fine occult and hermetic texts in beautiful hardcover editions. Check it out, and let us know if you need something.
























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And another thing... You're a fool if you don't already own a copy of Victrola Favorites. No, really. But we can help. This thing was put together by the bearded guy who works at Wall of Sound and some other guy. It won, like a Grammy, or something - and the bearded guy got to kiss Herbie Hancock onstage, I think. I might not have that exactly right, but Victrola Favorites is phenomenal, and there is a hole in your life that is exactly VF-shaped. Fill it!



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Gary Panter:
Picturebox published a monumental tome dedicated to this freak of nature. Two volumes housed in a beautiful slipcase. A luxury item, yes? Please. We've got a copy of the limited edition (only 40 copies!) which comes with a signed and numbered lithograph pulled by the man himself! How's that for a $250 plate of truffles?
























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This week:

Will Oldham released a sub-par album.
But, hey, he's given us the next ten years of "hip" NPR links, so that's something.


What have I been saying?


Everything's turning into a pile of shit. Except this.

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# of weeks since Spine and Crown inception: 176

# of weeks since inception that no mention of Spine and Crown has appeared in the print edition of The Stranger: 176