First edition The Hobbit, for a cool 9k.

I also have a copy of a book I contributed to (not fiction but an essay on Gaiman's Sandman)the reviews ofthe book universally trashed my essay, probably because I was trained as an art analyst not a literature analyst, so I'm not too proud of it.

Those are much more special (to me at least) than something I could resell for $9K.

With you on the LOTR...I would treasure anything that was from a parents collection.

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (the last gift my mother got me before she died.)

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Very nice!

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My only autographed is a paperback Marine Sniper, with a personal autograph to me by G/Sgt Carlos Hathcock...any marines out there will know who that is.

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I'm not a marine--though I'm polishing a historical fiction about one of the original marines--but I know who he is. Actually, the History Channel told the story of him shooting an enemy sniper through the scope--which in turn meant the enemy had him in his sights, too!

PS - I'm not a fan of Rowling's; it's in my collection because of the sentimental attachment. I haven't even cracked it open.

Now, I expect Robert will blow my list of first editions away.

Of course, I've collected, on and off, stamps, coins, and baseball cards, mostly for the joy of having them, not as investments. (I've got a rookie card of Mike Schmidt and Ron Cey and some other guy who didn't make it; its value has varied on the lists I've seen from two hundred to two thousand dollars. In my heart of hearts, I can't believe it's worth anything.)

As for books...well, I bought any number of things as soon as I saw them, so probably there are some first editions among them. I think the edition I bought of The Silmarillion is a first edition, but I can't be sure.

Robert, you surprise me. Lol. I thought you'd regale us with a Christmas wish-list. But, I know the feeling about having read books to tatters. I have had many copies of Boy's Life by Robert McCammon, Ender's Game, the entire Necroscope series (the original series, not the extended one), Tarzan of the Apes, Eye of the World, The Man Who Never Missed, Assassin's Apprentice, and numerous Conan pastiches.

Keeping my eye on a 1st DRAGONFLIGHT, its a bit pricey for me right now though.

Harry Potter and the Philosphers Stone --1st Edition, 23 print--so not worth much, but it has the young wizard's image on the back and all the editing mistakes, which they cleared up in later printings.

HP and prisoner of Azkaban (X2)--1st Edition, 1st Print.

A couple of Ian M. Banks - (Algebraist in hardcover, can't remember the other one)

A few Carlos Castenada first editions of later books.

You have to make sure they are first edition, first print or they pretty much are worth nil.

Inside the cover you will see a list of numbers like:

20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 10 9 8 7

Whatever number it stops on is the print number.

So it can be a first edition, 2nd print and be worth nothing.

The exception is very famous books where later prints of first editions are worth something as time ticks by--that's why I'm keeping JKR's Philosopher's Stone later printing.

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Whatever number it stops on is the print number.

So it can be a first edition, 2nd print and be worth nothing.

The exception is very famous books where later prints of first editions are worth something as time ticks by--that's why I'm keeping JKR's Philosopher's Stone later printing.

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Mind you, I've pretty much read this copy to death---according to my notes on a slip in the book, that might've once been the original receipt---I've read it forty-five times from cover to cover, and the cover and spine look it. The dust jacket isn't there---I've got it somewhere---and that, too would lower the value.

If it has any value, that is...first you have to persuade somebody that it's worth something and then you have to sell it to them.

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Who wants a book you're scared to open for fear of devaluing it?

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A Collector.

We usually buy two copies: one to read and the other to keep for value. I usually buy a hardback only if it's a first addition, other than that, I'll buy the paperback (which I'm more comfortable reading anyway).

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admit I don't understand the mentality of collectors...

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Clearly.

As evinced by:

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seems like a waste of perfectly good resources, artifically inflating demand so nice shiny things can just sit around not benefitting anyone.

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Zero, by now I thought you'd have learned the importance of perception. If the demand is there, it's not artificial--no matter what the reason is for that demand. I have seen very few books that can be competently called "shiny things" (and I don't have any of those). As to the benefit, well, that is also a matter of opinion. Each time I escape into a story, it makes my life better, richer. In twenty years, my paperbacks may be "read to tatters" or "out of print", but I'll still have those hardbacks.

Not all collectors are fanatics, and there's as many reasons for collecting as what you can collect. It's presumptious to devalue something like that so offhandedly.

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Zero, by now I thought you'd have learned the importance of perception. If the demand is there, it's not artificial--no matter what the reason is for that demand.

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Any purchase of something, for any reason, is going to increase demand. In my opinion buying a book for the sole purpose of letting it sit around unread and/or unreadable is a waste of a perfectly good resource. True your demand is not artificial, presumably you're getting some kind of utility out of it, or think you are, somehow. But what you're also doing is making it so more books have to be printed to satisfy the appetite of people who actually want to read the thing.

And that's good for writers and publishers. And there probably isn't enough collecting going on to really make much of a difference on the price tag. But, technically, you are increasing the demand just so you can keep a trophy.

My opinion, that's silly. Your opinion, that's not silly. Let's not make this any sillier by trying to argue something that's obviously just a difference of opinion.

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It's presumptious to devalue something like that so offhandedly.

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Then I wonder, what is the purpose of your Spruce Goose? Do you actually play with it?

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PS No offense intended. I'm just a prickly person.

Comparing collecting books to gas gouging makes about as much sense (to me) as comparing the born-on-date on a bottle of Budweiser to the expiration date of a twinky. What does me buying both a hardback and paperback have to do with price gouging? Yes, it is an opinion, but valid, none-the-less. (As to the cause for fluctuation in gasoline prices, I suspect it has a lot more to do with politics and profit margins than driving habits or "speculative bubbles"; same goes for houses.) Wheeeeee.

As for "wasting resources", how about ceasing to use gold for jewelry? Silver? Diamonds? The millions of dollars that go into testing the consistency of catsup/ketchup? CERN? Colleges--after all, there's a declining job market? Having more than one computer? Buying any car that gets less than 25-30mpg?

(And yes, I was being facetious.)

You don't collect anything? You throw out books when you're done? You have no DVDs, CDs or a single antique? You live a spartan existence?

And, just so you know, I feel there is a huge difference between "packratting" (also known as hoarding) and "collecting". If there is any part of this that I take personal, it's that. A hoarder collects things out of habit and a need to have (like a kleptomaniac cannot resist the urge to take), but once it's there, said item can be forgotten, destroyed, go bad, etc... A collector wishes to preserve something they appreciate in the best possible condition, so that it is there for future generations to appreciate--and generally keeps those collections in meticulous order and good repair.

I'm a little cantakerous today.

And, congratulations, Dark Warrior.

I then admitted that point was not relevant to your collecting things. And came to the realization that, indeed, your collecting probably does not influence the price much.

If I wasn't clear before. I should be clear now. Read it again if you don't believe me.

And I don't think you want to debate the economics of the housing market with me, seeing as how I went to college for this very field.

I think there is a failure on your part to understand what a speculative bubble is. It's basically when people start demanding a service or product without actually wanting to benefit form its intrinsic value, rather they want to buy it and sell it for a profit because they expect the demand to keep rising. And the price to keep going up.

And, because of these artifical demanders, it does. But not indefinitely. And eventually the bubble pops. Google: speculative bubble, tulips for a pretty interesting case-study.

What happened with houses was similar but not quite so simple. A lot of people entered the market who shouldn't have and the market forced them back out. But it was a painful process. And made worse because there was a lot of speculation going on. I personally know several people who invested in houses only to sell them months later, and they made a bundle.

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That said. You make a pretty good argument with jewelry. And yes, I don't really have a leg to stand on for criticizing collectors for collecting. Obviously the pride of having a collection, and being able to show it off, is its own reward. There is utility there. I can't really deny it. You're right.

But since that utility doesn't appeal to me, I'm going to subjectively call it a waste. Even though it really isn't. You're absolutely right.

I concede that point.

I hope there's no bad blood between us.

PS: Yes, I prefer the Spartan existence. It's quick and simple and efficient.

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I don't think you want to debate the economics of the housing market with me, seeing as how I went to college for this very field.

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Maybe that why I not smrt. Why won't fork get soup to mouth again?

(Sorry, lol, I just couldn't resist.)

Anybody get Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson's The Gathering Storm. I'll bet it goes into 2nd printing quickly. If it hasn't already...

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Anybody get Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson's The Gathering Storm. I'll bet it goes into 2nd printing quickly. If it hasn't already...

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I think there is a failure on your part to understand what a speculative bubble is

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I didn't think there were thirty books in the Xanth series...I lost track of it long ago, and it never appealed to me that much...

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I admit I don't understand the mentality of video game players, so my opinion isn't worth much. But to me it just seems like a waste of perfectly good resources, artifically inducing stress situations so people who could be benefiting society can just sit around playing video games and not benefitting anyone.

But then, I get my artificially induced stress situations from sitting around reading books and not benefitting anyone.

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I once wrote a creative writing story in college about a speculative bubble. It was an airpocket at the bottom of the ocean that I would visit to write my SF/F stories.

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The price of gas at the pump goes up or down based on what the guy who buys the gas for the station has to pay for the next load of gas. That's why it goes up pretty fast when oil rises but takes a while to sweat off the extra dollars-and-cents. I wouldn't compare it to book collecting. ("Vintage" gas...hmm...)

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Corky,
That's an interesting point. And as one who did not grow up with video-games, I sympathize with you. But in another sense, I'm not sure I agree.

Now, I'm not sure what kinds of video game syou're talking about. So, sticking to story-themed ones where a player goes through a world with a single main-character, sometimes with a team. I could see a lot of parallels drawn between that and reading a book.

Obviously I think the book is much better. Broadens vocabularly, requires more creativity on the part of the reader (they have to imagine the world, etc), and it's better on your eys---I think. But by reading a books with a lot of suspense or conflict, which we usually like quite a bit, we are artifically creating situations of stress for ourselves. We get nervous and afraid for our characters. We mourn when some of them die. Etc. But through all of that artificial concern we somehow lessen or delay our real life concerns, which is part of the appeal of the books (and games).

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but I somehow feel a sense of history

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I have one of the few paperbacks of Star Wars that came out before the movie was released with the original cover... not the movie cover.

Aha! I found one more little Jim Dandy;
Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel - story and pictures by, Virginia Lee Burton, 1939.

ADD; I have RA Salvatore - Sea of Swords / signed by the man!
Salvatore - The Highwayman
Also the last six of the Terry Goodkind - Sword of Truth series
(How'd I miss these?)

Science Fiction-Fantasy: Fantastic
January 1966
Three Wishes by Poul Anderson
and other short stories

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
December 1960
Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys
and other short stories

Imagination -Stories of Science and Fantasy
May 1952
The Stranger by Gordon R. Dickson
and other short stories

Astounding Science Fiction
September 1943
Doodad by Ray Bradbury
and other short stories

Aboriginal Science Fiction
Fall 1992
Spin by K.D. Wentworth
and other short stories

I do have a first edition of TO RENEW AMERICA, signed by Newt Gingrich.

Then there is a signed copy of a collection of poems SHOWDOWN AND OTHER POEMS by MacPhelan Reese, which I bought from the author, who had self-published the book and was selling copies at a card table in the Sam T. Rayburn Library, Bonham, Texas when my wife and I toured there in 2000. The author of the works was 94 years old at the time, and was the library's writer-in-residence. I still remember the conversation about writing that he and I shared. There is a quote from the author of the book's forward that has stayed close to me.