The collecting of books on bullfighting is surprisingly organized. While not as popular as it was during the 1950’s and 60’s, whatever the field lacks in numbers of collectors it makes up in their aficion (love of the activity, nearly to madness). There are collecting clubs in Spain, Mexico, France, Sweden, Great Britain, and the United States (see, Taurine Bibliophiles of America, my home club, easily found through Google) and probably more throughout the world that I have yet to discover. Bullfighting itself has, of course been around since Ur or before and is found today in different forms in Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Colombia, and to a lesser extent in some other Latin American countries, as well as such relatively unknown areas as Korea. “Bloodless” bullfighting (with Velcro where the only blood shed is that of the toreros) may be viewed in California and Arizona and Portuguese style, where the bull is not killed, may be found in California as well. Some of the fictional highlights of an English language collection should probably include: Frank Harris, Montes the Matador and Other Stories, Grant Richards, 1900; Vicente Blasco Ibanez, Blood and Sand, Simpkin Marshall, 1913; Henry de Montherlant, The Bullfighters, Jonathan Cape, 1928; Luis Spota,The Wounds of Hunger, Houghton Mifflin, 1957; and of course Ernest Hemingway, Fiesta (The Sun also Rises in the US), Jonathan Cape, 1927. A non-fiction collection should certainly contain Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon, Jonathan Cape, 1932; Vincent J.R, Kehoe, Aficionado!, Hastings House 1960; Kenneth Tynan, Bull Fever, Longmans Green, 1955; Barnaby Conrad, Death of a Matador, Michael Joseph, 1952 and my own favorite by Conrad (and his as well), How to Fight a Bull, Doubleday, 1968; Robert Daley, The Swords of Spain, Dial, 1960; and Angus McNab, The Bulls of Iberia, Heinemann, 1957. Any area of collectible material seems to be dominated by fads and momentary hot items. In bullfighting it is usually the rapid rise of a star. El Juli is a present example. The death of a prominent figure may increase demand. John Fulton is a sad example of that. Year in and year out certain areas seem to retain popularity, usually the unusual or odd subject. Examples are U.S. or British bullfighters, women, African or Asian bullfighters. What I think of as crossover subjects also seem to hold interest, bullfighting in the Old West or anthropological studies of a taurine interest would be two examples, or the bullfight in fine art. I can’t really recommend the field for investment purposes, but then I don’t believe in collectibles of any kind as investment. The prices have remained the same or, more usually, dropped over the past 15 years. As an area filled with great writing, great art and photography, and still discoverable obscure or unknown items, it has other rewards. For those fanaticos I do highly recommend the area. For those interested in mere monetary gain, I would suggest collecting certificates of deposit instead. Lynn DeWeese-Parkinson lynn@pacifier For books on Latin America & the Caribbean please visit our web page at: http://www.bibliophilegroup.com/lynnsbookstore #collecting

Classical dressage is a rather arcane equestrian pursuit. But it has a wonderful literary history. The first book to seriously analyze and teach riding as an art form was Xenophon’s The Art of Horsemanship published in Greece around 360 B.C. It has been republished countless times, and is still in demand today. It was a revolutionary work in its time, and remained the only book to espouse kindness and gentle training over vicious bits and violent training methods for some 2000 years. Training methods during the Dark and Middle Ages were violent, and most trainers believed horses to be fundamentally vicious. As warfare changed, lighter weapons such as crossbows and firearms came into use. Lighter armour was used and speed became an important factor. The large coldblooded horses of northern Europe became less useful to the cavalry and the lighter Iberian horse came to the fore. These horses are represented today in the Andalusian, Lusitano, and Lipizzaner breeds and are sometimes known as “baroque” types. These horses were (and still are) full of courage, and are very responsive and athletic. They require a rider with some skill. They are recognizable in old paintings as the horses with the exceedingly long manes and tails. Modern interest in equitation and advanced training began in Italy during the Renaissance, and it was soon one of the skills expected of a well-rounded gentleman. Federico Grisone was the author of Gli ordini di cavalcare, (1550 Naples) (Orders of Riding). He set up an equestrian school in 1532 in Italy. While Grisone had studied Xenophon’s Art of Horsemanship, he really didn’t apply all of Xenophon’s principles. He still believed that horses were vicious beasts, and used a variety of rather shocking methods to break the spirits of the horses he trained. Tying a cat to a long pole and placing it under the belly and hind legs to punish the horse was one of his more inventive ideas. He also advocated putting a live hedgehog under the horse’s tail. His riding style was closer to that of a Medieval knight than that of Xenophon (who advocated a relaxed lower leg and a balanced position). Grisone rode with his feet well forward and legs stiff. Count Cesar Fiaschi wrote Trattato del imbrigliare, maneggiare, et ferrare cavalli (Bologna 1556). His methods were very similar to Grisone’s. However, he did advocate the use of the voice as an aid to training. He also used music for the first time. Many pupils came from throughout Europe to study with Italian teachers. The most famous of these was Antoine de Pluvinel. He studied with Pignatelli, then returned to France after his training and opened a school in Paris. Pluvinel’s methods were much more humane than those of earlier trainers. He claimed that the use of the spur or the whip was a confession of failure. Pluvinel introduced a form of equestrian ballet known as “carousel” in which groups of horses and riders performed advanced drills to music. In one instance, over a thousand horses and riders performed together. Carousel is still performed today, though often called a “mounted drill” in North America. Pluvinel’s notes were not published until after his death. Initially a portion of the notes were published as Le Manège Royal in 1623 along with the illustrations of Crispin de Pas. The notes were later edited and published (including Crispin de Pas’ illustrations) by Menou de Charnizay, as L’Instruction du Roy en l’exercice de monter a cheval, which is the definitive and more complete edition. England, though often considered a country of horse lovers, actually only produced one early master of classical riding. William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, was a royalist who lived in exile until the restoration of King Charles II. During his exile he opened a riding school in Belgium. He wrote La Méthode et invention nouvelle de dresser les chevaux , which has been translated under two different titles – A New Method to Dress Horses, and A General System of Horsemanship. The illustrations are among the most beautiful to ever grace equestrian literature. François Robichon de La Guérinière was the most famous and influential early teacher of classical dressage. His methods are still used in the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. He changed classical riding to a more forward and less over-collected style. Gueriniere invented the half-halt, the counter canter, the flying change, and the shoulder-in. His methods and teachings are still in use today at the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna (home of the Lipizzaners). Guérinière’s book, l’École de Cavalerie (School of Horsemanship) was published in 1729 in Paris. It was really the first book to teach haute école in the way we understand it today, and likely the oldest title (other than Xenophon) that a modern equestrian can read without the occasional wince. It is still much in demand even today, and while it is periodically reprinted, is easy to sell in the secondhand market in any edition. Xenophon. The Art of Horsemanship. Many editions (Greece, 360 B.C.) Federico Grisone. Gli ordini di cavalcare (Napoli, 1550) Cesare Fiaschi. Trattato del imbrigliare, maneggiare, et ferrare cavalli (Bologna, 1556) Claudio Corte. Il Cavallarizzo (Venetia, 1562) Pasqual Caracciolo. La gloria del cavallo (Vinegia, 1566) Salomon de La Broue. Des préceptes de cavalerice françois (Paris, 1602) Antoine de Pluvinel Le Manège Royal (Paris, 1623) Antoine de Pluvinel L’Instruction du Roy en l’exercice de monter a cheval (Paris, 1625) William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle. La Methode Nouvelle et Invention Extraordinare de François Robichon de La Guérinière. Ecole de Cavalerie. (Paris, 1729) By: Deanna Ramsay deanna@ramsaybooks.com http://www.ramsaybooks.com dresser les Chevaux. (Antwerp, 1658) #collecting #reference

Where to start? THE OLD STORE: Our store was located in the Apollo Plaza, Monticello, Sullivan County’s only indoor Mall. It had Sears, Bass Outlet, Fieldcrest-Cannon, Dress Barn, and a number of nationally known stores when we moved in, but was nearly half-empty. We got a great deal with the promise that they would be renovating and gathering new nationally known tenants within a short time. We took a 6000 sq ft space right next to the Bass Outlet. A very busy place. They pulled out the day we opened!!!! After 2 years of horrible mismanagement, transfers or non-transfer’s of ownership we were store 8 left in the Mall. With Sears still there, we were still getting customers. Then the Mall was thrown into litigation for non-payment of a 3.6 million dollar mortgage. So we decided to leave, it was getting crazy, and the maintenance suffered even more than when we opened. We found a store in Middletown, in a secondary Mall, but still a much nicer place, and in an area with 110,000 folks within 10 miles, instead of 70,000 folks in 1000 sq miles. It’s 14,000 sq ft on two levels with a downstairs entrance and a mall entrance on the second level, and a big passenger and freight elevator. Even though we had signed a lease for the new space in December we didn’t have the key, awaiting the signing of the lease by the Mall owners. So we were still open in the Apollo. We kept the store open, all of the store owners knowing the Mall was going to be closed but expecting a 15 day advance notice so we could all run a closing down sale. Not to be. On Jan 13th the Village code enforcement officer (poor fellow died of a heart attack a month later; he was too young, tough job, but he was nice), came into the Mall and told us all that the Mall was being closed to the public at 1 pm on Jan 15th. Not even 2 days notice. While we contemplated going to court over it, we had the key to the new location by then, and decided to just close down on the morning of the 15th and start moving. We did do that, and ordered a couple thousand boxes to be delivered. Our supplier could only deliver 1000, so we had to bring stored boxes of books to the new store, then unload the boxes, and go back with the empties. Had I to do it over again, I might have driven to the Bronx for some boxes from another supplier. Trying to save some bucks, and it worked because the amount of money we paid out for taking the books out of boxes, and breaking them down, was less than buying new boxes would have been. Still I should have paid extra……. What the code enforcement fellow didn’t tell us was all utilities, the water, sewer connection, remaining heat, and everything else was going to be turned off, removed, or stopped on the 15th. So from the 15th on we didn’t have electric, bathrooms, etc. 8 stores were still fully stocked, being dismantled, and since we were open for customers just 2 days earlier, we hadn’t progressed all that much with boxing our 60,000 books. We had another 50,000 or so boxes in the back storage room in boxes. It also opened new opportunities for us, as all the shops were rushing to leave, and so we were known as folks who bought fixtures from closing shops, we were inundated with offers. One was a beautiful set of shelves from a shoe store (10,000 sq ft store lots of shelving), who will go nameless, because of something strange that happened later on that I will get to. So we purchased, and we figured out how many trucks it would take to move 6000 boxes 40 miles to our new location. So first thing we hired the fired Mall maintainance man and his son to dismantle the shelving from the store and reassemble the shelving with new shelving at the new store. We also hired 4 day-laborers to start boxing up the books, with 2 workers from our warehouse. Now the temperature was running between 5 degrees and 25 degrees during these days. All of the mall doors were open to accommodate the use of the generators to provide some sort of lighting and to run the screw guns etc. Ice formed on the inside of the glass, in the store. While Helen and I are a bit older than our workers, we got into it, and while I was making boxes Helen was filling boxes and generally maintaining a highly efficient pace. I was the first one to crack, and I went to the van, ran the engine and put on the heat, and hid out until Helen noticed I was gone. I admit to the fact I cannot work in 5-15 degree temp for any length of time, no matter what I’m wearing or how bundled up I am. Now comes the fun part. There was no light, no sewer, no water, no working bathrooms. So we were off to the Burger King at regular intervals for bathroom breaks. Some others, working for other stores, sought refuge in empty stores or empty parts of the hall. Which could lead to interesting and not at all pleasant encounters. The amount of work needed to empty shelves in a heated store, with lights, is not as much work as trying to do it with minimal lights and well below freezing. Since it was so cold, the water had been shut off, but whoever did it forgot that they had a whole lot of pipes in the Mall, and they failed to look at the plans for a 12-inch water main that was clear down at the other end of the Mall. It burst sending a whole lot of water through 6 stores, destroying the complete contents of the Hallmark store, and a couple of closed stores, and the shoes which were ready to be taken into trucks from the shoe store. It did not affect the shelving, as the shoes worked as a dam to the water and the store was several away from the main break. Since they didn’t drain the sprinkler system many sprinkler heads burst sending ugly dirty water down on everything. We lost lots of books to black water. While some stores were out quickly it wasn’t so easy for our store. Even so we were the 4th store to leave completely, out of the original 8. To do this–we had 6000+ boxes and tons of shelving–we needed trucks. We started by renting a 24 ft Ryder truck. Helen drives them and has been doing so for years. So we rented one and we had our day laborers fill the first one up, and they didn’t entirely follow directions, so they filled it from front to back from top to bottom. WAY over the weight limit. Also, way too much for the nearly flattened tires. So when I noticed the problem, Helen went out in search of another rental truck and rented a 15- footer, which was the only vehicle available in the county. We backed to backed it, and unloaded as much as we could to try to get the tires on both trucks somewhat even. One of the carpenters drove that one, and when we all landed at the new store, he had stories about the wobbling of the truck, and the inability to fully control the vehicle. After a few more trips, we decided that it would take ages to do it that way, and so rented a 48 ft trailer and agreed to pay for each trip. So the cost was $35 per day rental for the trailer, $250 to drive the fully loaded trailer to the new store, $50 to bring it back empty. We agreed to limit the weight to about 40,000 lbs, which we questimated to be 2000 boxes. It took 4 day-laborers 6 hours to load 2000 boxes, but we had a 40 ft roller conveyer thing as you might see at a supermarket, that we had purchased for $25 from one of the shops that closed the year before, and we have big dollies, and push carts to help us move large quantities of books around, as we normally do when we buy large quantities of books. It took the same guys 7 hours to empty as we were sending up boxes in the elevator to the second floor. Our new store was a furniture store, so it has the largest elevator in the mall rated at 5000 lbs. So, we’d have the empty trailer at the Apollo when we got there at 9 am, and the workers would load up, and then the trucker would pick it up at night and drive and deliver the loaded trailer to the new store so we could empty it the next day. We did this 5 times. While all of this was going on, there was not an owner of the mall. It was said to be owned by the Ukechaug Indian Nation, who said they never owned it, and the mortgage was owned by a realty company who said they didn’t own it, and a management company who claimed the Indian Nation owned it, said they didn’t own it. So it was anarchy in the pure sense. There was a fellow who claimed he worked for one of the groups, mooching around making money by charging the stores to plow to the various entrances to the mall, but not officially hired by anyone at the mall. Now the carpenters are working on removing the shelving from the shoe store, and everyone knows we purchased the shelving from the shoe company in December, and it was by this time nearly February. So we loaded the last 48 footer with the disassembled shelving, and at that point the guy who was hanging around plowing decided that he wanted the shelving and brought a fellow around to look it over and sell it to them, but it was in the trailer. So he comes up to me and says “Do you have a bill of sale for that, because I represent the owners and it’s mine.” “No we cut a check for the corp, they will send it to us in the mail, and since you say you work for xxx realty and they publicly acknowledge in the newspaper that they don’t own the Mall, you have no say, and take a hike.” He then goes to Helen and says the same thing, getting Helen upset, and I was sitting in the van and called out “Call the cops, call the cops, call the cops, let’s get this fellow in jail today.” She on the other hand happened to have the phone number of the district manager of the shoe company and she told this nasty fellow to call this guy. He comes back an hour later and says, “I talked with the President of the shoe company, and he said this fellow didn’t have the authority to sell it and it’s mine, so you either pay for it, or take it off the truck.” So I start yelling “Did you ever hear of extortion. It’s a couple years in prison, and if you start threatening it’s 10 years. Helen call the cops, this fellow is going to jail.” So he takes off, never to be heard from again. Our check was cashed by the shoe company, and the bill of sale is in our records. Now I’m far from being a lawyer and I might just have been wrong about the legal stuff, but it got rid of him. THE NEW STORE: The new store is in a secondary mall, which means there are two others that have been built and the big stores are not around here. It’s kind of a strip mall, except in our building we have three floors, and we have stores on the second level and an entrance from the enclosed hallway. One part looks like a mall, the other looks like a strip mall. It’s about 15 years old. It’s anchored by a Warehouse Food Store, and contains the following: Blockbuster, Family Dollar, Ground Round, Carvel, Dunkin Donuts, a Discount Movie Theatre (don’t know how many screens), Curves, Italian deli, Indian food place, Pizza parlor, Chinese food, 2 banks, gym, insurance, rent a center, hair salon, Department of Motor Vehicles, Indoor Golf place (9000 sq ft– it’s huge), billiard parlor, stamp and coin shop, health food store, discount clothing place, liquor store, and we have the 2nd largest store there at 14,000 sq ft on 2 levels. The third level is mainly offices, such as the Federal Parole Office and other government offices. Our plan was to demolish the downstairs and make it one level. Because it was a furniture store the downstairs was split into rooms–well 3/4 rooms or 1/2 rooms, on various levels. We were also told by management that we didn’t need a c/o for the store which sounded suspicious to us, because whenever you change usage in NY you need a new c/o, except maybe in the City of New York where I think they don’t have enough inspectors to go around. So we called the town, and this is again strange, we’re located in the Town of Wallkill, but our mailboxes are in Middletown. The line goes down the parking lot in a meandering fashion. It’s a real green line, because the local fire departments and police would argue on who had jurisdiction so they painted a line. Well we called the Town and they said we’d need an inspection to list all of the changes we had to make. That took a week, which halted almost everything, and the carpenters started new jobs, so we had the shelving in stacks everywhere. Finally the inspector comes and says that we’ll have to build handicapped access ramps to cover every step in the place, or at least so that every level is accessible. It must be this pitch, this width, this length, etc, etc. We found we had to build 9 ramps. We had no problem with that, but our carpenters were only able to work 3 days a week, because they had taken on other jobs. Since the son had experience building the ramps for a new building for his church, we stayed with them, and they did a great job. Day before yesterday a wheelchair-bound author came to look at the store, went up and down all the ramps, and approved of them greatly, so we are happy on many levels. He says he has trouble with all of the Mall bookstores, running into sale bins, etc. Our store is fully accessible to those who are physically challenged. Oh! We decided that breaking down the rooms on the bottom floor and making it one level, would run us about $50,000 and we thought that’s a whole hunk of change, so we’ll leave the rooms, and not worry about theft. THE SIGN: Normally in a Mall when a store leaves they remove the store sign. Not this place. So we had a furniture store sign on two levels, 78 ft across on two levels, and all black vinyl. The owners of this Mall own 41 other Malls from MA to FL to MO and a number of other states. So they’re not some fly-by-night. We have in the lease that we need to get the approval of the Mall owners about the signage. So the Manager doesn’t tell us that it has to be a special type of sign, so we planned on using the vinyl across the 78 ft on 2 levels, because it’s dramatic. We really try to pay as little as possible for signs and stuff, so we made many sign companies angry with us in negotiations. Well, we submit the sign, and it’s not approved. We’re told the Mall owners want only raised lettering. I point out that every other store has every sort of sign, and he says that he wants this sort of sign, and while he can’t do anything about the others, he can about ours. I read the lease, and while it said we had to submit a design, and we had to get approval, it didn’t say we had to have a sign. So I point out that we don’t need to change the sign, we’ll just tell folks it’s behind the furniture sign. The mall made an agreement with us to cover 1/2 the cost of the sign. We’ve been open a month behind the furniture sign, but our new sign went up yesterday. Estimates on the sign came in from $1400-$5400 from companies in this county. We called another sign company 100 miles away and got the same sign for $700 installed. We’ve been a-z’ing for the last month, breaking into subjects, etc. At the end, when we were closing the Apollo store, we were completely in the dark, and it wasn’t until we moved everything to the new store that we noticed that some folks didn’t mark the box by subject and alphabet. So it’s been interesting. Helen and I never want to move again. If we ever need to move, we’ll leave the books. I’d seriously consider retiring. This move was life threatening. I’ve just gotten warm over the last month in our new store. I point out to customers that we have heat and three bathrooms, and if they seem to wonder why I’ve mentioned the number of bathrooms, I really have to explain the Apollo to them and the last days. While Helen has fond memories of the Apollo, I have nothing but nightmares from the end days. Editor’s Note: I am so bloody jealous I can’t stand it. Looking at all those bookshelves and all that space (not to mention all the books) has me in a tizzy. :>) By: Rhett Moran http://www.bookavenue.com http://www.gutenbergholdings.com #brickandmortar

As I sit here at my desk this third week of April the War in Iraq, or at least the first phase of it, is just about over. Whether Saddam is dead or alive, “regime change” of some sort is happening, whether eventually to the United States’ liking or not remains to be seen. Probably like most of us over the last few weeks, I have been consumed by the news of the war and the whole issue of the Patriot Act has faded to the background. War always seems to supersede everything else. But in fact the Patriot Act is very much alive and in the consciousness of many people. In early March, Vermont’s own independent congressman and several others introduced The Freedom to Read Protection Act , a resolution that would change several aspects of the current act especially in regards to the right of reading. A number of cites, including Montpelier, have passed resolutions calling for changes and now our State Legislature is considering a resolution as well. There has been a lot written on the Patriot Act so I am not going to add much here as to the specifics of the Act. However, it should be known that it was passed hastily right after September 11 when the country was reeling from the devastating attacks so that very little debate or thought went into its passage by Congress. The part of it that is truly threatening to bookstores and libraries and their patrons (that is, just about everybody) is Section 215. Section 215 has a number of pernicious aspects. Unlike a normal subpoena, a bookstore or library cannot object in court. There have been several cases where bookstores were served with a subpoena regarding criminal investigations. When the stores refused to turn over their records of books bought the courts decided in their favor. Kramer Books in Washington, D.C. and The Tattered Cover in Colorado are two famous cases. But under the new Act, the courts are no longer of any help, and a bookstore can be required to turn over records immediately without publicly (or privately) telling anyone. The person whose records are being sought may not be notified and that person does not even have to be suspected of committing a crime. You better watch what you read, in other words. We were concerned about this at the bookstore. We had the information that the Government would want if it were to approach us and we did not feel comfortable about this. To defy would put us in jeopardy and to comply in turning over records if asked would seem likes a real breach of confidence to our loyal customers. So, on January 23 we purged all our records of customer purchases we had on file through our Readers Club. Our Readers’ Club consists of over 3000 members. Our computer system enabled us to not only keep track of the dollar amount of sales but the titles purchased as well. These titles went back a number of years. When we took them out of our system we lost a lot of data. Why would we do that? This was data that could be used potentially for marketing the right books to the right customers. A prevalent buzz phrase in business these days is, “know your customers.” Certainly, destroying these records would not help us know our customers or at least their particular reading habits. But one thing we do know about our customers is their rightful demand for privacy. The more we learned about the Patriot Act, and particularly Section 215 of it, the more it seemed that this privacy could be put in jeopardy. It has always been a principle of this bookstore and most other bookstores as well to protect this right of confidentiality and to fight against censorship, whether of the outside kind or self-censorship arising out of fear. We did nothing wrong in destroying records ahead of time as there is no law demanding records be kept. However, under the new law we would have no choice but to turn over records and to do it secretly with no recourse to a court of law such as would be the case in a normal subpoena such as I mentioned earlier. We understand that the threat of terrorism is real but this focus on bookstores and libraries is an ill-conceived notion and not helpful. Think what the acronym means for the USAPATRIOT Act. It stands for “UNITING AND STRENGTHENING AMERICA BY PROVIDING APPROPRIATE TOOLS REQUIRED TO INTERCEPT AND OBSTRUCT TERRORISM.’ By calling this law the “Patriot Act” is was sure to resonate in every good American’s heart. By being against this, are we being unpatriotic? Does the Patriot Act unite and strengthen America by eroding our very basic civil liberties to read? By making us afraid to read certain things because the Government might just happen to want to check up on us? An educated public does not mean an indoctrinated public. Libraries and bookstores are places where people can attain the means to become better educated and are important pillars of our democracy. Imagine a nation with no free bookstores or libraries. What are some of these appropriate tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism? Unlike before, the FBI can now investigate a citizen even though it does not have to say that the person was connected to a foreign power or involved in a criminal activity. Could a case be built against an individual because he or she was reading material the government might deem offensive or subversive? It seems possible. Under Section 215 librarians and booksellers are prevented from even telling their customers that they are under investigation. In fact, they are compelled to keep quiet about the whole process. Back to censorship, education, and democracy. If patrons begin to self-censor their library use and bookstore purchases because of fear of government surveillance, then their freedom to access information is limited and we have a less well informed democracy. The right of privacy so implicit in the 1st and 4th Amendments of the Constitution is being threatened here. The 4th Amendment protects from unwarranted searches and seizures and the right of free assembly is guaranteed in the First Amendment. There is no right to privacy unless you have the right to assemble. Protecting the Constitution is generally thought of as keeping the country strong, something the Patriot Act does not do despite its claim to “unite and strengthen.” Independent bookstores across the country are looking at this issue in many ways. For some, they don’t keep records anyway so it is not a problem. For others, their purchase data is important for their customer service and marketing and they cannot afford to do what we have done. I totally respect this decision. Bookstores should not have to purge records. The law should be changed. Last summer, Senator Leahy questioned the Justice Department about its expanded search of bookstores and libraries under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Leahy wrote, “Do you think that library and bookstore patrons have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the titles of books they have purchased from a bookstore or borrowed from a library?” Assistant Attorney General Daniel J. Bryant wrote back “Any right of privacy possessed by library and bookstore patrons in such information is necessarily and inherently limited since, by the nature of these transactions, the patron is reposing that information in the library or bookstore and assumes the risk that the entity may disclose it to another.” Well, Mr. Bryant has it all wrong. No one assumes that risk. What our patrons assume, in fact, is the exact opposite–confidentiality and their right to read whatever they want without the fear of intrusion by anyone. The unintended media attention we got from our little action in Montpelier was incredible, as were the many responses from across the country. The AP story ran in hundreds of papers and likewise the television recording apparently played across the country as well. Consequently we received so many positive emails that it became a job just to read them all. People were so grateful to us that it was embarrassing. In one case we received a check for $100 with the simple inscription, “good work.” We turned that over to the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. We also received many new book orders from people who no longer wanted to take the risk of ordering from Amazon or the other giants. (One negative email accused us of creating a huge publicity ruse. If only I were so smart.) . What this all showed was that generally people see the Patriot Act for what it is–a threat to the basic civil liberties which Americans across the political spectrum hold so dearly. BEAR POND BOOKS 77 MAIN STREET MONTPELIER, VERMONT 05602 http://www.bearpondbooks.com #brickandmortar

By: Roger Childs Henty was a writer best known for adventure stories that taught history to generations of impressionable British and American youngsters, along with all the benefits of manliness, honesty and self-reliance. Many biographies from readers of the time tell the same story of schoolroom classes, after the boys being told that they may read, echoing to the sound of desks being opened, noisily closed and every boy banging down a Henty volume onto his desk ! Henty wrote 122 books, contributed to 72 books and annuals, and 34 periodicals and newspapers. More contributions and stories continue to be discovered as researchers for The Henty Society continue investigations. This ‘essay’ was prompted by the errors of judgment that well-meaning sellers of Henty books make with their internet listings. My main complaint being that these errors are always seen as fact by the reader, thereby compounding the problem. A common mistake is that of sellers stating that dated American editions of Henty are the ‘true firsts’! Not so!?! Blackie & Son Limited was the prime publisher in the UK of Henty books. The majority of Blackie first editions were dated for the coming year so, for example, the Blackie first edition of Held Fast for England was published on 1st August 1891 with the title page showing 1892. The American first edition of Held fast for England published by Charles Scribner’s Sons showed a title page date of 1891. The Blackie edition, despite the post-dating, was the very first issue of this title. There was just one Henty title published in America before the UK. That was In the Hands of the Cave-Dwellers by Harper & Brothers of New York with a title page date of 1900. The UK edition from Blackie was issued on the 18th July 1902 and the title page was undated. The very first authorised publisher of Henty in America was Scribner & Welford (S&W) of New York. The agreement was that Blackie printed the S&W titles and shipped them to New York. S&W then replaced the title page with their own and inserted their catalogue prior to issue. There were 32 titles issued by S&W between 1886 and 1890, some dated, but most not. An American collector of Henty researched these S&W editions and The Henty Society published a booklet of the results that is invaluable. Another bone of contention is the number of unauthorised or ‘pirate’ editions of Henty from American publishers. The many unscrupulous publishers of the time included Burt, Donohue, Hurst, Lupton and Mershon, who was probably the most prolific. The Boy’s Dumas by John Cargill Thompson, published in 1975, lists 58 American publishers of Henty titles. The problem with these ‘pirates’ is that they were usually very cheaply produced on poor quality paper and within bindings that reflected patriotic American themes that were nothing to do with the Henty story. Collectors have nothing against Americans, but the sight of an American cavalryman leading a charge of uniformed troopers with a Stars and Stripes on the cover of a book about the freeing of The Netherlands in 1585 is extremely annoying. But that was the problem with ‘pirate’ publishers who also didn’t pay a penny to the English author. If any reader is interested in collecting G.A. Henty, the following publications may help: Bibliography of G.A.Henty & Hentyana by R.S Kennedy & B.J.Farmer privately published in c1955 G.A.Henty A Bibliography by Captain R.L.Dartt published by Dar-Web Inc. and John Sherratt and Son Ltd in 1971 G.A.Henty 1832- 1902 A Bibliographical Study by Peter Newbolt published by The Scolar Press in 1996 Each is useful and includes information that the others do not, but by far the best is the Newbolt book of 710 pages of solid detail. Included are pictures of over 330 of the editions on 74 plates. Unfortunately now out of print. The Henty Society organised a ‘Gathering’ to remember the life of Henty on the one-hundredth anniversary of his death on his yacht in Weymouth Harbour, Dorset, England on 16th November 1902. The Gathering occurred over three days, with almost 70 attendees, was a great success and took place in an hotel overlooking Weymouth Harbour. If any reader is interested in joining The Henty Society, the contact detail is: Dr Bruce Lees, Hon. Secretary, The Henty Society, Hayfield, Bourne Fields, Twyford, Winchester, Hampshire SO21 1NY England The Henty Society was formed in 1977 by a small group of enthusiasts, led by the late Roy Henty, a distant relative of G.A. Henty, and has thrived ever since. We have members all around the world. It is probably fair to say that the best collection of Henty is with an American collector. The second best collection may also be in America, but there are some very good collections on this side of the ‘Pond’. The titles shown in the picture are of Henty rarities from English publishers, with the one title to be issued in America before the UK, In the Hands of the Cave-Dwellers. Roger Childs Collector and Henty Society Researcher Email address: roger@childs.freeserve.co.uk April 2003 #collecting

How A press release has a standard format and should be as brief and to the point as possible. Think of how long it takes you to decide whether to read an e-mail or not. That’s about how long an editor will give your press release before deciding what to do with it. Your press release should be written on your company letterhead if it is typed and should be double-spaced. The sentences should be short, and the word count should be no more than 300-500. At the top of the page center the words “News Release.” Under that center the words: “For Immediate Release,” unless there is a restriction on when you want the information to be made public, in which case you may say “Release After_______.” Most press releases are for immediate release. Following the release information is the most important line: your headline. Use this to grab the attention of an editor in a short, factual and interesting way. The first paragraph should answer these basic questions of any news story: Who What Where When How Expand on this information in the following two or three paragraphs. It is helpful and it adds interest if you can build a quotation into your story. Conclude with your own contact information. Accurate contact information is very important. In the words of an experienced journalist, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called the number provided to get a voice mail that says the person is on vacation. A little planning would prevent that.”. The article should be able to stand alone where ever it happens to be cut, after the first, second, third or fourth paragraphs. So say whatever you think is the most important early in the article. Embellish later. At the end, type ###, centered after the final paragraph. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? The only way to get good at it is to practice, practice and then practice more. It’s surprisingly difficult to write in a simple style and to say what’s most important first. Practicing will automatically improve your skills in writing attention grabbing book descriptions though. Whatever you write, have someone read it before you submit it. If that person thinks it’s blah, it probably is. Go back and rewrite, eliminating as many words as you can. Be sure you haven’t hidden your most important points somewhere deep within the article. However, since editors don’t necessarily expect every press release to be professionally written, don’t hesitate to send some of your practice efforts off to the media if they are accurate, in the correct format and about something you want to publicize. You may be pleased with the results. Media need content more than they need perfectly written material. They can handle rewrites. That’s part of the job. I edit and write a quarterly newsletter, The Downtown Beat, for Downtown New Bedford, Inc., a non-profit organization, and most of the articles we receive are not professionally written. That’s OK with us. We want the downtown news in whatever shape we can get it. We know that it takes many people three paragraphs to work up to making their most important points. We can live with that and edit accordingly. The Boston Globe has a list of dos and don’ts for their calendar items and a format that they request that people use to submit them electronically. Using their format would give you practice at the essentials. You can find it at: http://www.boston.com/cgi-bin/globe_events.cgi . Who & Where Before you write the press release, you need to develop a media list, which means calling or e-mailing the outlets where you intend to send the release to find out whom to send it to, what format they require and how far ahead of your intended publication date they need to have the release. You can usually find the right contact person by locating the publication on-line and consulting the ‘about us’ section. Even if you call the general information number, they will be helpful about directing you to the right department. Press releases are usually delivered by first class mail, by fax, or electronically, although many places will not accept press releases by fax. A journalist writing for an on-line publication says, “I prefer to get press releases via e-mail. I tell people never to fax me. I don’t get faxes quickly enough.” If you submit your releases on-line, it is considered bad manners to include attachments. Say everything you need to say in the release itself. Although follow-up is the norm in almost every other business activity, it is not necessarily the case when it comes to press releases. If you call to find out if your release has been received and/or read, you may be considered a pest. You can, of course, pay to have press releases written and released for you, but it seems worthwhile to spend some time trying to see what you can do on your own first. If you expect to be issuing a number of press releases, it might be a good idea to invest in The Associated Press Stylebook or a similar publication. If you are an on-line business only, you may wonder what good press releases can do you and where you can submit them. You can submit them to any trade publication. You can also post them to your own web site, although you might rewrite them a bit to make them more personal and informal. Don’t overlook your local community newspapers, even the weeklies. If you have a specialty business, they may eventually want to write a feature story about you, and the link to that story can be posted on your own web site. When Write a press release for any kind of announcement you want to make. You are sponsoring an event. You have changed a business affiliation. You have moved. You have added a new line of books. You have made an important discovery. You have earned a new designation. You have been nationally published or recognized in some way. You can cure a common problem. What & What you can expect Write press releases as a part of your overall marketing program, which may also include your own web site, print and on-line newsletters, discounts for repeat customers, workshops, etc. News releases are effective but not terribly efficient. You may send out many with only a few published in entirety. The few that are published may reach thousands of recipients, but few will respond. It is a sort of dandelion seed effect. Many seeds are released, but most do not result in plants, and yet the dandelion is a very successful plant. The effort of writing and issuing press releases is never wasted according to Laura LaTour, publicity director for Baker Books, an independent community book store in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Baker Books hosts two monthly writing groups and sponsors at least three other monthly events, sometimes more. Each event requires a press release. That’s a lot of press releases in the course of a year. As a book lover, I read or scan most of them. And yet I have responded directly to only one, attending a book signing for Jon Vaughan’s self published book of photographs,Coastal Effects. I bought two books at the signing and later visited Jon’s shop in Chatham, Mass. Laura says this low rate of direct response to a press release is fairly typical. The average event draws an attendance of 15 to 20 people, although a few draw many more. Only one or two may attend because they read about it in the newspaper. More are attending because of the store’s web-site calendar, the calendar posted in the entryway, or the weekly e-mail newsletter. (For ideas on how to write your newsletter see the last issue of The Standard http://www.ioba.org/newsletter/V10/ownnewsletter.php . The indirect response to press releases is probably larger but more difficult to measure. Weeks after an author signing, for example, a customer may buy a signed book and saying, “I read about this in the newspaper.” The cumulative response is larger still. Our community newspaper, the Standard-Times, publishes many book related human interest stories and a number of them originate with press releases from Baker Books. What to do if a writer/editor calls Your reason for writing press releases is to get publicity. If a writer calls, it’s a stop everything moment. Talk to the caller on the spot, or return the call quickly. When I write The Downtown Beat, I am always surprised at my success in getting people to talk to me or return my calls or make time in a busy schedule for me to interview them. After all, the Downtown Beat is a pretty tiny publication, with a very small circulation, and it’s only quarterly. If you hear the keys clicking as you speak, it’s a sign that your press release and comments are on target and that your publicity efforts are becoming successful.

Online booksellers make great candidates for eyestrain, backaches, carpal tunnel syndrome and all manner of computer-related repetitive stress injuries (RSI). We spend hours hunched over keyboards, eyes glued to monitors, turning those stacks of unentered books into cashable assets in our online inventories. Between us, my wife and I offer a catalog of physical ills caused by years of working on computers: various RSI problems, neck pain, sore backs and vision problems. Liz underwent surgery twice for carpal tunnel syndrome and still has frequent wrist and hand pain. (Admittedly, not all of these aches and pains came from our book-related efforts; some came from earlier days when we actually made real money using computers. But latter years spent doing book entries, processing orders, working on book websites and the like haven’t helped.) I have suffered from aggravated neck and back injuries. My vision has deteriorated, partially from 20 years of staring at a monitor, although admittedly age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts have been more damaging. The sad truth is that if we knew 15 or 20 years ago what we know now, these problems need not have occurred. Or if they had, they would have been less severe. Even sadder is that prevention of many computer-related ailments is neither difficult nor especially time-consuming. Frequent rest breaks are vital, says my chiropractor, Kurt W. Rice, who is also my son-in-law, God bless him. (He has helped me more times in recent years with neck and back problems than I care to remember!) The breaks needn’t be lengthy. Dr. Kurt recommends that we get up from our chairs every half-hour or so, stretch our backs and walk for a minute or two, maybe jog in place. Other experts offer different opinions about frequency and duration of breaks but all agree that they are vital. Sitting and working at a computer creates more tension and stress on muscles, nerves, tendons and joints than most of us realize. Our bodies fight gravity every minute that we’re seated. Breaks alleviate this tension and stress. To prevent the dread carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), during your break let your hands go limp at the wrist and wiggle them vigorously in what some call “the clerk & typist exercise.” I’ve found that switching hands to use the mouse or trackball is a good way to prevent the onset of CTS. I’m right-handed so it seemed strange to move the mouse to the left side of my keyboard and use my left hand to manipulate it. It quickly became habitual, however, and now I’m ambidextrous on the computer – but nowhere else. I switch back and forth regularly. Other critical points concerning CTS are wrist support and correct desk height for your keyboard. I suspect that more wrist damage has been and is done by ignoring these two areas. Wrist pads are a must! If your keyboard is at the very edge of your desk or keyboard drawer surface, leaving your wrists dangling in the air, you’re asking – no, begging! – for carpal tunnel problems. The same is true if your monitor and keyboard are mounted on a standard-height desk (about 30 inches). Best height for a keyboard work surface is 25 to 26 inches, give or take a bit. Some people use voice recognition programs to cut down on their need to use a keyboard and mouse. I find that difficult; after more than 50 years of banging away at typewriter and computer keys, dictation comes hard to me. Now that voice recognition software is improving and more reliable and faster computers make it more practical, however, I’ve resolved to use it more often for many tasks. A major benefit is that you can use a microphone or headset while standing or even lying down. I plan to try dictating drafts, then to rewrite and edit as necessary from the keyboard. I suspect using voice recognition for entering books into a database might be a problem. If anyone out there has tried it, please let me know about your experiences at kfermoyle@earthlink.net. Vision experts warn that we should take “eye breaks” even more frequently. Every 10 or 12 minutes, look away from the monitor at objects 10 to 12 feet away. When I’m working with a word processor or any other program that allows me to increase type size easily and temporarily, I do it. Working with 14- instead of 10-point type prevents squinting and straining to see my work. It also allows me to sit up straight, not bent over the keyboard, and you can always reduce point size before printing or sending e-mail. I mentioned my neck and back injuries earlier. The neck problems began about 19 years ago. I was riding my bicycle when a large tree limb broke off and fell on me. (Fortunately I was wearing a good helmet or the freak accident might have killed me.) That caused some damage, which increased with age and was aggravated by working on computers and long-distance cycling. The pain got so bad I could not turn my head to either side more than 12 or 15 degrees. Dr. Kurt came to the rescue, with manipulation, ultra-sound and heat packs. He recommended several simple exercises, which I try to do regularly. My back injuries were computer-related. The first came when I installed a second drive in one of our machines. I crawled under a desk to get at the computer case. After removing all the cables, I tried to lift the box and slide it out to where I could work on it. Trouble was, I was lying with my body twisted awkwardly and didn’t bother to shift to a position that would give me more leverage. Bad move! I felt something pop and was in instant agony. It took several weeks of Dr. Kurt’s ministrations to recover from that one. I injured the back again in October 1999 after one of the desktop publishing/word processing classes I taught then. I took a computer and 17-inch monitor out of a car trunk with a high lip that made it impossible to lift them properly. I had to bend and lift with my back—and pop, there it went again! This time, recovery took even longer. I mention these details to make a point. The first instance was pure accident. No way could I foresee that a brittle, rotted pepper tree branch would break off and fall just as I pedaled under it. The second injury occurred because I didn’t take time to position myself properly. The third case was avoidable too; I should never have tried to lift heavy objects out of that particular car truck. Trouble is, I forget my hard-used back is more vulnerable now than it was even 20 ago, and I think many of us who have reached senior citizen status do the same. I just caught myself in a no-no a few minutes ago. I wanted a book from a built-in shelf high and to the right of my home office workstation. I started to reach up, twisting my back at an awkward angle. Various muscles prepared to scream in protest, so I did what I should have done in the first place. I moved my chair out of the way, got a step stool I keep folded behind the door, set it firmly in place and climbed up to find the desired book. It took a few extra minutes, but it kept me from aggravating my previously- injured back. The book, by the way was Zap! How your computer can hurt you—and what you can do about it. Written by Don Sellers (edited by Stephen E. Roth), it was published by Peachpit Press in 1994. It’s now out of print but you can find copies online. And Peachpit has a condensed version, 25 Steps to Safe Computing, also by Sellers, that may still be available for $5.95. Either would be a good addition to your library. Check them out. Meanwhile give yourself, and your body, a break…at least once every half-hour! Copyright 2003 by Ken Fermoyle, kfermoyle@earthlink.net .

While many other Book Fairs are closing or seeing less traffic, buyers, sellers, collectors and just the plain curious swarmed the 3 rooms of booths and displays at the 2003 Mission Hills Paperback Collectors Show. It was a great comeback after last year’s 9/11 residual effect on people’s travel and buying habits. One way I judge a book fair’s success is the mood of the dealers toward the end of the day, rather than just a count of paid admissions. This year most everyone was smiling, laughing and actually counting money rather than grumbling about whether they will come back the next year. Mission Hills is actually part of the City of Los Angeles, at the very north end of the San Fernando Valley. The show is held at the Mission Inn Conference Center, about ¼ mile from my bookstore. It is an outgrowth of a group of collectors and friends with similar reading and collecting interests meeting at the home of Tom Lesser starting in 1978 or 1979. As the group grew too large for Tom’s home, he made arrangements to rent a room at the Conference Center. Tom is an attorney by profession, but has a passion for hard-boiled detective fiction. Tom’s ability to sign-up well-known mystery and science fiction writers for signings, as well as popular cover artists, is largely responsible for the success of the show. Although Tom is what might be called the Executive Producer and general host of the show, the details and behind the scenes preparations and dealer reservations are handled by his friends, Rose Idlet and Tony Scibella of Black Ace Books, who operate an on-line business from the Los Feliz area of LA. The camaraderie among the dealers and repeat customers is very evident and adds to the ambiance as passionate discussions on authors and genres and gleeful reports of “found treasures” since the last show are overheard as you wander the isles. This was somewhat disconcerting the first time I attended this show about 7 years ago, having only attended the International shows with museum quality offerings and hush-hush discussions between clientele and dealers. I’ve also had booths at the Glendale/Burbank Book Fairs for a number of years, which are a little more casual and actually had a few books I could afford. But the PB show was a matter of culture shock for me the first time. I went primarily to visit with my friends and IOBA members, Jerry and Shushona (Rose) Blaz of the Bookie Joint in Reseda and Marty and Alice Massoglia of Canoga Park (I’m trying to recruit them). All of them have been very helpful to me over the years in learning about collected books. I’ve gotten over my initial reaction (and prejudice) to these “weird” folks at this show. They are just counter-culture “originals” or just plain “characters” and have an abundance of knowledge. Part of the problem is that these vintage covers of almost naked women, tall and skinny on the mysteries and voluptuous on the sci-fi covers, just never appealed to some of us women. Several dealers from out-of-state told me this was the “most fun show” in their travels. I was pleased to meet Lori Ubell from Portland, Oregon, a regular participant in the Bookfinder Insider list, and recognized many names from doing searches on various sites. This year 56 dealers had booths. Over 70 % are from Southern California, but increasing numbers are coming from out-of-state. Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Pennsylvania and New York were represented. Dealers come in a few days ahead of time and scout the local stores. I have benefited greatly by being just down the block. The one year I set up a table at the show, Tom was gracious enough to refund my fee so that I made a little profit. For Tom this is a labor of love, rather than just a business venture. Since then I have developed an eye for the covers that seem to sell and have about 800 vintage books on-line, but since I don’t read many of these books, I can’t engage in the kinds of conversations that die-hard collectors like to have about their favorites. I do much more business with the dealers who come by in the days before or after the show seeking other kinds of inventory. This year was especially nice because I benefited from a favor I had done for someone 5 years ago. I had totally forgotten about the situation. A collector from Seattle had flown in to attend the show. He had not rented a car because he had the mistaken notion that we actually have public transportation in this part of LA and could go around to the local bookshops. Cars and LA are synonymous for a reason. You need them to get anywhere in a reasonable time. Not being a rich book dealer yet, he hadn’t budgeted for a one-day car rental. It was a beautiful day out, I had someone to run the store and I had been saving up my overstock to take out to Marty Massoglia’s shop to trade for books I need, so I asked him if he would like to tag along. Ten minutes with Marty is like a day-long seminar in terms of information he can give you. It is only about 10 miles away. We may have stopped at another shop, but went by the Bookie Joint on the way back. I can always use a good hug from Jerry Blaz and watch the ever present Scrabble game between his wife and Bruce Coleman, who has helped in both our stores over the years. The collector was able to find some titles he had been looking for. I dropped him back at the Mission Inn, and never expected to see him again. He came back to the show this year as a dealer, Mark Doiron of PBO Books. He stopped by the store when I wasn’t there, found a stash of signed John D. MacDonald books, bought some, sent another dealer over to look at a Dashiel Hammett book and reminded my clerk that he was the fellow I took on the tour five years ago. I was pleased to meet him again at the show on Sunday and we made an appointment to meet at the shop afterwards to go through more of my MacDonald books. It was a very profitable encounter for both of us. Mark also made a coup by spotting a Robert Maguire signed limited edition poster of a Spillane cover and got Mickey to sign it. I’m sure it will stay in his personal collection a long time. I approach any Book Fair or show as an educational adventure. One of the joys of being a book dealer is that you are always learning. To some it might seem incredible that the names Robert Maguire and Robert McGinnis meant nothing to me, so this experience I called Cover Art 101. (I do recognize Frazzeta covers) Lynn Maguire was presenting her father’s art for the first time. These were matted poster size copies of his most popular covers. There were Signed Limited editions done in the giclee process. Each one takes 12-24 hours of work to perfect the image. Of course I recognized some of the covers and even have some in the store. He does mostly gallery art now, rather than commercial illustration. The posters are really beautiful and I’m sure they will sell well at shows or on the Internet. They haven’t tried that yet, though. The only book I purchased was about one of the most prolific cover artists ever: The Paperback Covers of Robert McGinnis, complied by Art Scott, who was at the show, and Dr. Wallace Maynard, who was a neighbor and friend of McGinnis for years and began a checklist of the artist’s work in 1980. Scott began collecting McGinnis cover art in the 70s. He is a scholar and mystery critic. Together, they have produced a beautiful book that even a non-collector like myself can enjoy. Full-page color reproductions of the art without the titles or promo blurs makes a big difference. Working sketches and variations make it more than just a checklist. There are chapters on recycled art: same illustration used on different titles and international editions. A very thoughtful forward by Richard Prather gives insight into how the writer, artist and publisher work together (or not, in some instances). If you sell paperbacks, you have seen many McGinnis covers, but they go from the hard-boiled to romance (Bertrice Small, Johanna Lindsey, etc.) to classics like Wuthering Heights and Where the Red Fern Grows. Even And the Ladies of the Club. There are some copycats out there, so I was surprised at one John D. MacDonald cover that I was sure would be a McGinnis, but it wasn’t listed. The Paperback Covers of Robert McGinnis is not a price guide, but is helpful in identifying books by author, publisher, code number and reprint information, as well as good reading. It is in its second printing and there are volume discounts for dealers. Published by Pond Press in Boston, 2001 in both hard and soft cover. Designed by Paul Langmuir. The Paperback Show is usually in March, so if this is your area of interest, plan a trip to Los Angeles around that time next year. By: Mary Watanabe maryw8@earthlink.net

Q. For books that you have already bought and looked up on the internet, what is your specific criteria (prices too low, too many copies already online) for not putting them online? Or do you put everything online? Jonathan Grobe Books A. Why add to the glut and waste keystrokes? If it appears that I can’t get at least $10.00 for a book, then it goes out to http://www.bothing.org . Ilene Kayne B is for Book And…. I use condition and number of copies online as my criteria. I try not to list anything with more than 10-15 copies already available (becoming more difficult as time goes by), anything with underlining or musty odor (unless exceptionally scarce) and then it is fully described in the listing. Some of the ones that are prolific on the net will go well on e-Bay (particularly non-fiction). Donald & Cynthia Putt Parnassus on Wheels Also…. If there are more than 50 copies online, I don’t bother, unless most of them are ex-library, book club, damaged, etc. If I have to ask less than $8.00 for a book, it goes on Half.com, unless it is too old to have an ISBN. Stan Modjesky. Q. Is there anyway to find out if a book is from a book club, such as: Mystery Guild, or Book of the Month Club? Lynn DeWeese-Parkinson – submitted on behalf of members of Bibliophile, a great online subscription list for book lovers. A. There is no one way to identify book club editions, and for every “rule” there are exceptions. Here are the main rules for books published in the U.S.: 1. NO PRICE on dust jacket when the book is published by a major U.S. trade publisher, i.e., Random House, Houghton Mifflin, Dutton, etc. Exceptions: Some Book-of-the-Month-Club (BOMC) editions DO have a price on the dj. Family Bookshelf book club editions almost always have a price. (usually stated as such on the rear flap). Conversely, some small publishers and university presses sometimes do not have prices on the dj. It’s uncommon, but some trade publishers such as St. Martins, who also publish academic/scholarly books, might not have a price on the dj on these academic books. 2. Cheaper, lighter weight and/or smaller format. This is generally true of books published by the Doubleday book clubs, including science fiction and mystery, the Literary Guild, The Family Bookshelf editions, etc. Exceptions (many): Book-of-the-Month-Club Editions are often identical or almost identical to the trade editions, including stating 1st edition, etc. Older Literary Guild editions are well produced. The Junior Literary Guild (children’s books) are identical except for the price on the dj, and the ‘guild’ on the spine of the book instead of publisher’s name. Many newer book club editions are much closer to the original format, often the same size, and not obviously cheaper. 3. Lacks the publisher’s usual method of identifying first editions, whether it is stating first edition, or a number line, etc. Exceptions: Frequently BOMC states 1st edition, but has blind embossed dot on the back cover. Family Bookshelf sometimes state ‘first printing’ but these editions are cheaper and lighter in weight so you can tell even if you don’t have a dj. Usually “Family Bookshelf” is stated on rear flap of dj. Many newer mystery and other generic book club editions will have a statement or a number line, but usually no price on dj. These are the books most commonly misidentified as firsts. 4. Blind embossed dot on the lower edge of back cover near spine. NO exceptions. If a book has this dot, even if dj has price, and the books says first edition, and is in every other way identical to a first edition, it is a BOMC EDITION. This would be an infallible way of identifying book club editions, except that only one book club in the U.S. used this dot, the BOMC, and then only for part of its existence. Even the BOMC did not use this on all of its books, so the vast majority of BCE (book club editions) do not have this dot. Note: The Borzoi Hound used by Simon & Schuster, and the big colored dots on some of James Michener’s books, etc., are not the BOMC blind embossed dot. 5. No bar code for a book that would normally have one – or a generic book club bar code. The opposite is not true; many book club djs have the identical bar code, with ISBN, as the trade editions. 6. Laid-in material indicating that it is a book club selection; for some small non-fiction book clubs, which basically distribute trade editions, this is the only way to tell. 7. For large trade paperbacks published by the Quality paperback Book Club, a division of BOMC, that might appear like ARCs, i.e., no price, 1st edition stated, there will usually be a code hidden in the rear gutter. Note: Some book club editions are the “original,” produced only by the book club, especially Guild editions, Nelson Doubleday for science fiction, etc. For some science fiction and mysteries, the book club edition might be the first hardcover edition. (Sometimes there are multiple book club editions of the same title. The Doubleday clubs used a code in the gutter towards the back of the book that can establish priority.) A common scenario might be to describe a mystery published by Simon & Schuster as a “First Edition ” even though there is no price on the dj. The bookseller will say “it has a number line with a “1” and states first printing. “it is not a cheaply made book” “it isn’t a small size” “it has a headband” or “there is no blind dot”. None of this matters. In this case, the book met Rule #1 (no price on the dj, major US publisher), and it only needs to meet ONE rule. A couple of last points: It is not accurate to describe all book club copies as BOMC editions. There is often a difference between BOMC books and those by other clubs. The generic terms are ‘book club’ ‘bc’, or ‘bce.’ If the only way to tell if a book is a bce is by the price or lack thereof on the dj, and you do not have a dj, then you cannot call the book a ‘first edition’ (unless you personally threw away the priced dj). Book club editions are almost always much more common than trade editions; so in the absence of evidence that the book is a trade edition, you cannot just call it a first (if, for example, you know that it was also a BOMC edition) The same applies if the corner has been clipped. Unless you personally clipped the price off, you cannot assume that a price had been there. Special thanks to Chris Volk of Bookfever.com for this in-depth information. I might also add that it would be helpful to have reference material, such as Zempel/Verkler. FIRST EDITIONS: A GUIDE TO IDENTIFICATION, to help in determining editions. Q. Why do some eBayers have a little box around their seller rating with a feedback rating given in a percentage of positive feedbacks? I have just noticed this in the past month or so. Submitted by David Peterson. Misty Mountain Books. A. eBay rolled out a feedback enhancement, which it is slowly phasing in, which gives buyers the ability to see right there on the listing page, a seller’s percentage of positives vs. negatives. Keith Sparrow Sparrow’s Nest Books Q. After spending two days making three very quick websites, I feel it’s time to ask what other people do. I know there is a fondness out there for FrontPage, but does anyone use anything less complicated & proprietary? I would rather just be able to open a html file and fiddle with it than what I am doing now. J. Godsey. A. I have great confidence in recommending NetObjects Fusion 7. It is by far the simplest and yet most thorough pieces of web software that I have come across after a long search, including Frontpage, which I also have. Luis Porretta. And from Jim Hart: I have used “Programmer’s File Editor” for coding for many years. It is my first choice for HTML, C, C++, Java, Basic, Visual Basic, and the various scripting languages used on the net. PFE will load files limited only by the amount of memory available. You can save text files in either Windows or Unix format. I have loaded and worked on log files exceeding 600 meg with no problem. PFE is a free program. The developer no longer supports it, and there will be no future changes, but I have had no problems with the software after many thousand hours of use on platforms from Windows 3 through Win 95 & NT. I have not used it on Win 98 nor on XP. I don’t think there should be a problem with either, but cannot swear to this. You can download the latest version of PFE from Simtel’s site: http://www.simtel.net/pub/dl/11983.shtml . Joyce also tells us these were other highly recommended programs: Arachnophilia: http://www.arachnoid.com CoffeeCup HTML: http://www.tucows.com/preview/194456.html 1st Page 2000: http://www.evrsoft.com/ NoteTab: http://www.notetab.com/ WebPlus 8: http://www.serif.com/webplus/webplus8/ AceHTML 5 Key Features: http://freeware.acehtml.com/ Dreamweaver: http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/ Homesite: http://www.macromedia.com/software/homesite/ Our thanks to all contributors, especially Bibliophile from whence most of the information was culled. Jean S. McKenna – Editor, Q&A Chairman, Education Committee

Attendance was up… at the Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL Antiquarian Book Fair March 14, 15, & 16, 2003 for a total of 2230, 174 more than the 2002 Fair and the second highest on record, reports Larry Kellogg, fair manager. I was at the show as a seller this year, my second time as a dealer but 4th or 5th time attending the show. I like the show from both perspectives: it is extremely easy to set up a booth as a dealer and the facility is a beautiful building so attendees have a lovely and comfortable setting in which to spend time shopping. The Coliseum is the place where the dance sequence for the movie Cocoon was filmed. With wood floors, a balcony and stage, and lots of twinkle lights hanging down from the domed ceiling, the setting is much less austere than the shows which are held in big warehouse-like buildings. This was the 8th year in this location and the 22nd annual fair. The “St. Pete” book fair had 116 dealers from 26 states and countries (including Canada and Germany) so the international flavor has been maintained over the years. Sponsored by FABA (Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association), the show has had a waiting list for many of those years (I don’t know the early history of the show). This year there were 22 new dealers who were selected from the waiting list of 70. If there is a last minute cancellation, Larry calls numbers down the waiting list and the first person who agrees to come gets the booth – he doesn’t have the time to wait for callbacks – his job is to make sure that the booths are rented and he is relentless in getting the job done! There is a formula for the total number of FL dealers, FABA Dealers and out-of-state dealers and placement on the list to keep the show interesting to a wide variety of collectors. The most expensive book I saw FS was Hemingway’s first book: Three Stories and Ten Poems offered for $65,000 by Between The Covers, ABAA, Merchantville, N.J. Tom Congalton, owner. I have a ‘worst’ category but I’ll let it go. I’d like to highlight a unique dealer at the show: Costin Graphics had only one book for sale. And it hasn’t been finished as of yet (actually it is not bound so isn’t really a book). And I purchased one page of it 2 years ago and it has already appreciated almost 50%! Another interesting dealer was Haslam Marbled Papers. Debbie Haslam was demonstrating how to make paper and selling individual sheets of the finished product. You could ask for specific colors and watch it being made or just select from various colors and sizes already to wrap. This paper can be used by book binders or crafters. Both booths added a nice touch to the show. There was also an insurance company at a booth handing out information on the cost of insurance book collections and a table of handouts. Not present this year were Alibris and ABE, both prior exhibitors. Attendance aside, how were sales with the war looming at any moment? Well, the best response I received when I asked a number of dealers the question was from John Berryman: “The Fair far exceeded my lowered expectations!”. Can a response be any more oblique? John (Sandy & John Berryman Fine Books, Orman Beach, FL) is a long time fair dealer and I’m guessing he has answered this question more than once! Over the years I’ve heard dealers complain about sales, brag about sales and hedge about reporting exact sales but this response has to be the best I’ve heard yet. Isn’t that always the way? If you have an interest in visiting or showing at The Tampa/St. Pete Book Fair, contact Larry Kellogg at flapr@tampabay.rr.com for further details (or call 727-822-3278). Next year’s show will be March 12-14th starting at 5:30 PM on Friday night. Saturday hours are 10 am to 5pm and Sunday hours are 11am to 4pm. The $6.00 ticket is good for all three days but is not refundable if the weather isn’t at least in the 70s! Attending the Florida fair is a very good way to get a jump-start on spring because chances are very good that the weather won’t disappoint you. Respectfully submitted, Madlyn Blom, Punta Gorda, FL http://www.CenterAisleBooks.com Member IOBA, FABA

On Saturday, April 5th, I participated in the Sixth Annual Arizona Book Festival, held for the first time at the historic Carnegie Library (Phoenix’s first public library) on West Washington Street in downtown Phoenix. The event started at 10 a.m. and officially wrapped up at 5 p.m. The Festival is sponsored by the Arizona Humanities Council, the Maricopa County Library District and the Arizona State Library. It is a free event held to celebrate the book in all its forms. It features four stages on which a continuous program of panel discussions, readings, author talks, question and answer sessions, and even theatrical performances are held. Attendees can attend the presentations, buy books, have books appraised, and even attend cooking demonstrations (and sample the results). There is even a special children’s area with a program of hands-on activities and storytelling. This year a featured guest for the children was the famous character Dora, from the acclaimed Nickelodeon show “Dora the Explorer.” The Carnegie Library first opened its doors on February 14th, 1908–four years to the day before Arizona became a State. The building served as the main Phoenix Public Library until a new spacious site was constructed in a more centralized location a little to the North and East. The building underwent a $1.3 million rehabilitation in the mid-1980s and has most recently been equipped with public-access computers through which visitors will have access to a wide range of information. Andrew Carnegie, an industrialist and philanthropist, funded the construction of more than 2500 buildings worldwide between 1898 and 1919, two-thirds of which were built in the United States. The building now houses the Arizona Woman’s Hall of Fame Museum. A variety of food vendors were in attendance as well, providing everything from hot dogs and hamburgers to Mexican Food and Indian Fry Bread. I have been participating as an author guest at this event since they first started and always look forward to spending a pleasant day with fellow authors and booklovers. This year some 150 published authors attended. I do not yet know the attendance figures for this year, but last years attendees numbered some 14,000. Dozens of booths displayed books and book-related literature. Booksellers, educational institutions offering classes about literature, small press publishers, special interest groups and clubs all offered pamphlets and merchandise, answered questions and generally spent the beautiful day smiling. The temperature remained in the 70s throughout and there was a light breeze that occasionally gusted and sent things flying. It was not uncommon to see sun-reddened faces by the end of the day. I found this year’s event significantly different from previous outings because of the change in venue. For the last five years, the Festival was held at the Margaret Hance Deck Park located behind the main Phoenix Library downtown just West of Central Avenue. At the Deck Park location (actually a park located over a downtown transit tunnel) the crowds could be quite large because passers-by could see the tents and banners and curiosity would bring them to check things out. Since it was at the normally busy Main Library, people would spend time at both and the audiences for specific presentations could be rather large. Parking was on the site and very convenient. At the Carnegie Library, the chance of attracting passers-by is significantly reduced. There is less street traffic, especially on the weekend, and parking is somewhat less convenient – though there was free parking nearby. The available space is somewhat more confined making the event appear smaller. The grounds of the Carnegie Library are fenced and gated, however, so the site is considerably more secure. Essentially, the change in venue made the Arizona Book Festival a destination point instead of drop-in event. From what I observed, the crowd was smaller than in previous years, though no less enthusiastic. The guest authors are sponsored by various clubs and organizations like Sisters In Crime, the Arizona Authors Association, and (in my case) by the Central Arizona Speculative Fiction Society. Modest Grants are given to these groups to aid them in attracting well-known authors who will attract fans to the event and provide a high profile. My sponsors brought Hugo Award Winning Author David Brin (author of Startide Rising and Earth) to Phoenix from San Diego, and the balance of the authors participating with us this year were already resident in Arizona, including Jennifer Roberson, Doranna Durgin, Ernest and Emily Hogan, Michael Stackpole, Dennis McKiernan and myself. And, remember, the Central Arizona Speculative Fiction Society is only one of many clubs sponsoring author appearances. We conducted our panel discussions at one of four program areas–ours was called the Literary Stage. Following a reading by David Brin, panel topics included Writing Influences, World Building and Writing In Someone Else’s Universe. Featured authors at the event included Jack Gantos, Kent Haruf, J.A. (Judy) Jantz, Maxine Hong Kingston, William Kittredge, Annick Smith, E. Annie Proulx and Alberto Alvaro Rios. In conjunction with the Arizona Book Festival, there is another program called OneBookAZ, a statewide effort that brings readers together through literature by asking each adult to read the same book and participate in discussions and programs throughout the month of April. This year’s selection is Kent Haruf’s Plainsong. There is a separate selection for children, Jack Gantos’ Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key. All in all, it was a beautiful day and a fine time was had by all. Adam Niswander adamn@worldnet.att.net Phoenix, Arizona Author of The Shaman Cycle Novels: The Charm, The Serpent Slayers, The Hound Hunters, The War of the Whisperers, The Nemesis of Night and The Primal Pipers; as well as non-Cycle novels The Repository, and The Sand Dwellers.

The Neutrino Effect E-book, 552 pages 13 figures $6.95 ABOUT THE BOOK Told from Vlad’s perspective, the story unfolds as a first-person account of the great events shaping man’s first encounter with extraterrestrials. This exciting narrative brings us right into the character of Ustinov, as we learn of his childhood and his fascination with NEUTRINOS, the sub-atomic particles that give shape to the universe. His theory is that the constant flow of neutrinos in the universe can be tapped to create a transmission frequency capable of reaching billions of miles into outer space. His theory gains him early admission to a prestigious science institution in Russia, and he graduates with honors, going to work on a top-secret weapons project for the New Soviet Union. After a terrible accident that costs the lives of many friends and co-workers, Vlad defects to the States, where he takes a teaching position and begins New World Science Industries with a small group of like-minded colleagues. Fifteen years later, Vlad is older and somewhat wiser, a rich and respected research specialist whose company has contributed to the betterment of all mankind through advances in power generation and quantum light physics. His core team of eccentric scientists and philosophers include the brilliant Xan Huxley, a half-Asian physicist with a mind towards understanding “the beauty of the equation.” Herbert Eastman, Xan’s partner from a long-abandoned Neutrino research effort in the Antarcticas, is a nerdy young man whose passion in life is for speculative science and digital perfection. David and Lindsay Romano are the lovers of the group—David, a raging ego and outrageous joker with a lust for life, Lindsay the mother hen of New World. They are each brilliant mathematicians and hard workers, while they keep everyone grounded in a family atmosphere. Rounding out the core group is Harry Northrop, an aged former engineer, now head business administrator for the company. An ex-alcoholic and chronic womanizer, Harry is about to go through an ugly divorce and is battling the temptation to give in to his old youthful ways. This is Vlad’s family. On Christmas Eve 2076, a practical joke gone awry at an office party ironically leads to the discovery that allows Vlad Ustinov’s team to build the first-ever Neutrino-based transmitter. Shortly thereafter, they beam their first message into space, under the watchful eye of General Jake Vicobs, a robust middle-aged go-getter in the new American government who has championed the various reforms that have helped humanity pull back from the brink of self-destruction. The transmission is a success . . .but our transmissions quickly attract another watchful eye. The eye of the Ign’takk. In their own language, they refer to themselves as The World Builders—a highly-telepathic race of aliens whose technology and wisdom is millions of years in advance of ours. In an attempt to prevent us from utilizing the limited Neutrino bandwidth as a transmission frequency, thereby exposing ourselves to potentially hostile invasions by other civilizations, The World Builders quickly journey to our planet and initiate an explosive confrontation. In the fiery aftermath, thousands of their crewmembers end up scattered across the continental united states—a photosynthetic race of subservient creatures called the Truh’ll’zst, which in the language of The World Builders means ‘from the light.’ A conference with the president is quickly organized to discuss the crisis. Vlad Ustinov and his team are invited by the aliens to attend and are given carte’ blanche at the White House as negotiations for peace and plans for the capture and removal of the Truh’ll’szt from earth are discussed. After an exciting series of encounters and confrontations, including the invasion of our world by a war-loving race of feudal barbarians known as the Shkk Renn, a deal is struck with the World Builders in which they are allowed room on our world to conduct research and create outposts. In exchange, they will protect the Earth from further invasions and allow us to become students of their science. Speaking for the World Builders is a headstrong female ambassador, whose name—Or’hikk—literally means Wise Light. It is her fascination with the enigmatic Xan Huxley that brings her to the decision to unite her people with those of earth. Though her feelings of love are cloaked in denial, she cannot slight her bond with Xan, and the two become close friends and liaisons. Various intriguing subplots regarding the supporting characters develop as the story progresses, each building to a climax. Amidst all this intrigue and action, Vlad Ustinov becomes ambassador to the World Builders, and he shares many adventures with them as they fight to protect our planet and battle the invaders who set upon us. As these adventures mount, an intriguing dynamic develops between humans and aliens, one in which the World Builders must learn to overcome their self-righteous position as a superior race, and accept humankind as the unique and fascinating species we truly are. Along the way, Huxley and Vicobs conspire against the powers of our government to execute a radical new experiment in organic matter transportation that will lead to an unprecedented leap forward for our people—and the universe. This bold action on our part also helps to decide our nobility in the eyes of The World Builders. In this way, the title of the book now refers to both humans and aliens, as we each struggle in our own way to build the future. In the end, Vlad must deal with the tragic death of his comrade Harry Northrop at the moment of humanity’s most selfless collective act—when we, as a species, decide to give up our newly-claimed relocation planet to a race of nomad aliens who are left without a home when their star system goes supernova. Filled with nonstop action and intrigue, and written in a quick and friendly prose style sure to attract readership of all ages, THE NEUTRINO EFFECT is thoughtful, character-driven science fiction recalling elements of Heinlein and Asimov, while possessing a powerful voice all its own. The story threads weave together to create an allegorical fable tinged with reality, and finally topped by a super surprise ending. In a literary universe of stock pulp serial characters, Vlad Ustinov is an offbeat and refreshing change of pace. A chronicler of history to come, and a hero for the future. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Raised in Cincinnati and educated in public schools, he eventually found his way to the University of Cincinnati and, over the protests of the school administration, managed to annex a series of degrees in Mathematics, Computer Science and Computer Engineering, up to and including a Ph.D. He infiltrated a series of companies and climbed the corporate ladder, ignoring all cries of outrage, until he found himself hitting the glass ceiling. He is married to Vlada Berman, a business analyst with whom he shares two children. The Kirshteyns live in Cincinnati, Ohio.