pornokitsch

Anarchy x Freedom

There have been a lot of free book promotions floating around lately. Hell, even we did it. A combination of post-holiday sales and the publishers' need to stake their claims on all the virgin e-reader territory out there.

Some promotions, however, are simply better than others. And this one, from Anarchy Press, threatens to take the crown. From tomorrow until slightly after New Year's Eve, downloads of the following Anarchy titles are free:

Pale Gray Saturday

Well done to anyone that survived Black Friday. For those that don't want to brave the crowds this weekend, here are five geeky, glorious sites with unusual gifts.

Treat yourself and your loved ones to some of these fantastic items. Pay online. Have 'em shipped. And then treat yourself to a cup of tea. Christmas? Sorted.

1) Beastlies: The Beastlies are a collection of one-off, adorable, monster statuettes from artist & cartoonist Leslie Levings. Once announced, each one is promptly adopted, so I'd suggest pouncing quickly.

2) At the Mountains of Madness: In case you missed the review, I'm firmly declaring this to be the comic book of the year. A beautiful, distinctive rendition of Lovecraft's creepy take on Arctic exploration. More importantly, Gosh! Comics have made a signed, limited bookplate edition, with a dolorous HPL drawn by Ian Culbard tipped into the front cover. 

3) Todd Klein: The biggest name in comic book typography has put together a series of six (and growing) prints. Each one pairs his lettering with another famous comic book figure like - Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman or Alex Ross. They're gorgeous, they're rare and they're incredible value.

4) Warren Ellis: If having a shelf full of Ellis wasn't enough, some of his stranger sayings have been brought to life in non-comic formats. I'm personally very fond of the kitchenware. Who doesn't want an abusive coffee mug?!

5) Books: We love a lot of small presses, all of which you can buy from directly. In no particular order, a few publishers that we can happily recommend: Hippocampus, Tartarus, Centipede and Pendragon Press. 

Guest Post: The League of Extraordinary Booksellers by Rich Warren

[Editor's Note: This week's guest post is from Rich, long-time friend and full-time bookseller. We've asked Rich to drop in occasionally to talk about genre life from the dealer's point of view. We're good at the looting, but know nothing about where the treasure comes from...]

After taking a break from the evils of corporate book selling for a year, I hope to return to the trade in November with my own business selling Fantasy and Science Fiction.

It is a sad trait among Booksellers that we really can't stay away, it's a disease. I recently met a pediatrician, a mechanic, and a divorce lawyer, who all have one thing in common, they can't stop selling books.

I thought I'd take a look at my top 10 Legendary Science Fiction and Fantasy Booksellers.

#1: L. W. Currey 

I hope never to go to Currey's warehouse, I wouldn't be able to leave, not with the books the man has there. This is where you go if you need the best available copy of something on the planet. This is where you go if you need that unpublished sheaf of H. P. Lovecraft letters. This is where you go if you want an empty bank account, beacause quality doesn't come cheap.

L. W. Currey wrote the book - no, really, he did. Currey wrote 'Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors: A Bibliography of first printings of their fiction and selected nonfiction' which is a standard reference work (updated onto CD-ROM in 2002).

Loot x Borderlands

Yesterday we spent three hours in Borderlands, probably the finest genre bookshop in the world. We meticulously petted all the books and the investigative house Sphynx. The picture is a bit blurry - but underneath the stack of Hard Case Crime books is a pile of old Pulphouse publications - and underneath those is the prize of the batch - the first edition of Lovecraft & Dunsany's Survivor and Others.

 

We were also really pleased to see that Rebecca Levene's Cold Warriors had made it overseas. After taking this photo & giggling (because we're that kind of weird), we discovered the last two Hermetic Division promo pins in our bag, which we left with the wonderful manager, Jude. 

Loot

A mid-sized loot pile from this weekend's excursions. The mysterious day job sent me out "book casting" - finding a book for an upcoming photo shoot. But while we were out... 

Highlights of this odd assortment: 

Dungeons of Dread (I loved the old TSR versions of Fighting Fantasy Books), a Shag-illustrated book of Pink Panther-inspired cocktail recipes and a beautifully-designed Boswell's Life of Johnson. 

Sales x Supercons

A busy couple days on the commercial front - all the late-summer sales are starting and, curiously, three of the big British cons all made announcements. In case you've missed it, here's the news:

Harlan Ellison x Subterranean Press

Subterranean Press have just announced that they'll be releasing an oversized, expanded, ultra-sexy version of Harlan Ellison's phenomenal Deathbird Stories. 

Ellison is still my favorite science fiction author, full stop. He's gutsy, misogynistic, angry, horrible, ballsy, wonderful, provocative, petty, imaginative, cruel and astounding. I love to discuss his bad work and I can't bear to talk about his best. 

Although publishers occasionally reprint individual volumes, his full body of work is still too massive comprehend. White Wolf made an ambitious (if poorly edited) attempt to bring out his complete works, but floundered a mere 4 volumes in to a projected 31 volume set. 

Subterranean may be the press with the right Ellisonian chutzpah to pull it off.

Massive Sales at Borderlands Books

For anyone on the West Coast (or within flying distance thereof), Borderlands Books is having a massive series of sales over the next month. These come on top of their normal routine of events & signings.

- DVD Close-out Sale (March 6-12): All DVD's reduced by 25% - and then another 5% each day.

- Hardcover Sale (March 13-14): 20% off all hardcovers (including the super-rare ones!)

- Trade Paperback Sale (March 20 - 21): 20% off all trade paperbacks

- Two-for-One Used Books (March 27-28): Crikey. I can't believe I'm missing this one. 

- Garage Sale (April 3-4): Everything from tools to shelves, broadswords to typewriters (not kidding). 

Also worth noting, Borderlands are selling 100 special gift certificates. Almost like short-term loans - the $100 certificates are redeemable for $120 in August. (Perfect for those travelling trips to San Francisco this summer...)

All sounds a little ominous, but owner Jude explains that they're freeing up some cash after opening the new cafe. They are not (whew) going out of business. I also suggest checking out their long list of events over the next couple months - authors like Chaz Brenchley and Gail Carriger will be swinging by.

Support your local or non-local bookshop. There aren't enough of them left.

The fifth poster print from Todd Klein has been released. Exclusively available from his blog, each of these efforts are made by the master typographer in partnership with a comic book icon. The latest, Each Beast at the Feast, is a gorgeous collaboration with Mark "Fables" Buckingham. Limited, numbered and, best of all, a mere twenty bucks.

London GeekMap

Dom (London Loves Comics), Den (YLLALKWAB) and I teamed up to make a map of London geekery. Whether you're in town as a tourist or a native in search of more shopping, this is our personal map of London's geeky treasures: markets, shops, museums & more. 

We've also added our own tips & tricks where we can... what's the fun of discovering something great if you don't get to brag about it?

View London GeekMap in a larger map

I really enjoyed doing this - great opportunity to swap favorites with some other local "experts" in the field of Unified Geekery. Please add comments, suggestions, oversights & omissions!

Also, if any local bloggers & geekish experts want to contribute, contact me with names & cities.