SF Book Haul Aug 2024 + The Daw Report - 1st 300 Completed!!

[@ghostwood9174]

I’m about to head out my local second hand book store. Thanks sharing your haul. Hope you have a great day, Kenny!

[@kennyrh9269]

Have fun! and good luck 👍👍

[@ghostwood9174]

@@kennyrh9269 Success! I found a copy of “Alien: Inferno’s Fall” by Philippa Ballantine. I’ll let you know how it is.

[@kennyrh9269]

​@@ghostwood9174Good catch. Is that related to the film franchise ?

[@ghostwood9174]

@@kennyrh9269 Yessir.

[@paulcampbell6003]

*WOW* Now, that 'Best of' Ballard is indeed a mighty score! 😍 I have a good-condition only copy I purchased from Ted Ball & Eric Arthur's _Fantasy Centre_ catalogue 30 years ago. That said, it is signed! 😁 As our Outlaw Bookseller, Stephen E. Andrews, has pointed out, that Orbit 'Best of' paperback is EXTREMELY rare! 👍

[@kennyrh9269]

Hi Paul. Must admit I had no idea that the Ballard was a scarce one. Most of his older books are at inflated prices now. The Fantasy Centre brings back some nostalgic memories. Spent many a happy hour rummaging about in there although it was Ted and Dave in my time.

[@vintagesf]

I think you should rename your channel "The Daw Report"! What a great name! So excited to see you near completion of your collection. 96%! I know it will be tough going to find the last ones at decent prices. Keep calm and carry on!

[@kennyrh9269]

Good idea, seeing how the next 4 vids will be all DAW. Now I'm at the endgame I think patience is the key.

[@Barrybh90]

Ive got a cracking 1972 Ace edition of Brunner's The Jagged Orbit with a Kirby cover.

[@kennyrh9269]

I have the Ace Science Fiction Special edition with a cover by the Dillons.

[@mrbook451]

Love the Monkey Planet paperback and you are so right about the JG Ballard books - the 'A' Format paperbacks are disappearing - I just can't keep them in stock. Hope to see you again at the London Show in November. Still looking for the few DAWS you need for the first 500!

[@kennyrh9269]

Hi Bob. Yes I'm close to the finishing line so any of those DAWs would be a great help. It's vary rare to see Ballard's out in the wild and that set of 4 Penguins with the Pennington covers are silly money now. Come to think of it I've never seen any edition of Monkey Planet at all. Is it scarce ? November will probably be a no-go for me so maybe next year.

[@TauZeroSF]

Great haul, Kenny! 🎉

[@kennyrh9269]

Glad you enjoyed

[@larryladeroute971]

Vary good haul. I have about 450 of the DAW yellow spine books. Looks like the missing ones are going g to get expensive. Hope to complete the set but have also started collecting the ACE Doubles (did they sell those over there?).

[@kennyrh9269]

Well that's a good chunk of the 580 and I guess that, even living in the US, you have the same pricing problems as me. I have the disadvantage of heavy postal charges of course. I believe some of the Ace Doubles were distributed in the UK but not as many as the small singles. I have a few but they mostly turn up in lousy shape. Have you had any dealings with any of the Thriftbook stores ?. They don't individually grade their books so I'm a bit wary.

[@larryladeroute971]

@kennyrh9269 Thriftbooks, I assume you mean ebay or their online store? They ate often cheap but the rate the condition unrealistically and they put stickers on the books which is especially damaging to older paperbacks. Hardback are often not identified as bookclub or library copies either. I only buy from them if it is very obscure or extremely cheap. The ACE doubles are usually in rougher shape compared to the ACE singles. When I buy them on ebay I rarely buy the cheapest copy and instead pay more for condition.

[@kennyrh9269]

@@larryladeroute971 Thanks. Yes that confirms what I suspected. I would have used them via Abe Books but I think I'll steer clear now. 👍

[@WestCoastBookAddict-zn8hu]

Hi Kenny. Never read any of the Apes books despite being a fan in my youth of the movies and the TV series. Read Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5 last year not expecting to like it but really did enjoy it - wondering which of his books to try next. First came across Jeter back in the day as a horror author, but never did read any of his work. But last year, I think, I read and liked his steampunk novel Infernal Devices. He was credited, along with Blaycock and Powers, as one of the progenitors of the steampunk sub-genre. The Tombs anthology looks interesting, though my limited experience with Malzberg has not been good. Read The Sodom and Gomorrah Business by him and disliked it pretty intensely. Absolutely love Poe, and Frankenstein is a classic which I found a bit of a hard read. Congratulations on completing the first 300 DAW yellow spines, and of achieving a 96 completion rate overall! Bought a copy of Future and Fantastic Worlds - it's a useful reference work. I know it's not part of the book's purpose but I'd have liked a line or two of critique for each book (or a star rating) to point out which ones may actually be worth reading. All the best...Peter

[@kennyrh9269]

Hello Peter. I liked the first Apes film but beyond that no real interest. Vonnegut is marmite for most people. I have many of his books but Slaughterhouse Five is the only one I've read. Enjoyed that. The Jeter was purely an impulse buy. Absolutely no clue about his work whatsoever. Malzberg is another love him or hate him author. I read his Overlay and quite liked that. I must have a bash at Frankenstein in the very near future. Bloody disgrace that I haven't already. I love Poe's poetry but I'm more acquainted with the Hammer Vincent Price adaptations. I love those. Glad you picked up Future and Fantastic Worlds. It has become an invaluable resource for me especially now that I'm having a closer look at the first 300. I'm worried about getting it dog-eared because it's a nice condition first print. The DAW project is within touching distance now because I recently sourced some of the more expensive volumes. Always nervous though when single volumes are coming all the way from the States. Hoping they don't get buried and lost among the thousands of larger and heavier parcels. All best Kenny.

[@idontreadorreply]

Good video, subscribed :) 👍

[@ghostwood9174]

@@idontreadorreply Kenny’s the best. Welcome!

[@kennyrh9269]

Many thanks. Glad to have you on board.

[@expressoric]

I've read "Galapagos" and it isn't bad, but I'm not a real fan of Vonnegut. I much prefer Ballard. He's better at merging the real concerns of science fiction with general fiction, whereas Vonnegut just comes off writing literary fiction with just a smattering of SF. I've read the two volumes of Ballard's "Collected Stories", but I suppose it's better to read one of his selections, even though many of his short stories are very good. "Greybeard" is the best book by Aldiss I've read, it's part of the British "new wave". Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" is, like H.G. Wells books, seminal to SF as a genre, but it's a different matter whether you like it or not. "Now Wait for Last year" is not as well known or acclaimed as other Dick novels, so perhaps it should get more attention. Like many of his books, it's very complex and deals with human and social themes, although it lacks a tightly plotted, compact structure. I couldn't stand "Monday Begins on Saturday", I couldn't read it.

[@kennyrh9269]

Vonnegut is an acquired taste to be sure. I quite liked Slaughterhouse Five but that's all I've read. Ballard I'm up and down with. I recently read The Atrocity Exhibition and could not make head nor arse of it. Everybody tells me to read Greybeard. Now that I've a spare reading copy there's no excuse not to. Frankenstein, like Dracula, I've always been doubtful about approaching. Really must read it though. I wasn't too impressed with Roadside Picnic but had to buy those three because they are key books for my DAW project.

[@expressoric]

@@kennyrh9269 Vonnegut's a good writer, but his handling of SF is weak. "Player Piano" isn't bad as a dystopian novel, but the writing of it is slow and ponderous. "The Atrocity Exhibition" is a daring but difficult book. Yes, I understand that you want those books for your collection.

[@WestCoastBookAddict-zn8hu]

​@@kennyrh9269Frankenstein, as I said in my response, I found difficult, but Dracula is one of my all time favourite books!

[@kennyrh9269]

@@WestCoastBookAddict-zn8hu I've always been put off because of the diary format. Maybe I should set aside my prejudice.

[@WestCoastBookAddict-zn8hu]

@@kennyrh9269 Funnily enough the format is one of it's strengths for me. I've always liked stories written in the form of letters, reports, diary entries etc.

[@ArthurProksch-r3i]

Wisoky Haven

[@kennyrh9269]

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[@athoszubiaur2144]

hi there, kenny. as always, what great covers! i particularly liked that galapogos one. robert cormier? i love his young adult novels! they are just the right amount of bleak for me. that is a really interesting story about harlan ellison recommending it. wow. your story has made me curious though....what were the other titles ellison recommended? do you recall any others? just wondering! (no worries if you can't recall. i figure it can't hurt to ask) those strugatsky books are very nice indeed. congrats on 300 and on inching steadily towards completion. keep us posted. cheers

[@kennyrh9269]

Hi. You've actually HEARD of Robert Cormier ? Amazing. Yes I thought that little anecdote might be of interest but, sadly, I can't recall those other titles - just remembered that one. Getting the Strugatski books in one go is a big coup for my DAW challenge. All under £50 postpaid which, believe it or not, is fortunate. Thanks for the good wishes and I'll be sure to report on my progress (which may slow down considerably now.)