Unexpectedly Good Vintage Science Fiction Finds in Mexico City [Book Haul]

[@SgtWicket]

Highly recommend Las Tres Cruces bookstore in Coyoacán. Not an English language bookstore but you can find a decent amount of English books. Fun neighborhood to explore as well.

[@ajaxline]

Another upvote for Raymond Chandler here. "The Big Sleep" is crime noir at its finest.

[@josephd5879]

I have two copies of Ubik with different covers but I have never seen that cover before. Thank you for posting the video.

[@iain2298]

CANNOT BELIEVE YOU STILL HAVEN'T READ UBIK Very excited to hear your thoughts

[@Doctor_Rockter]

Ha! I'm the same about procedural, intrigue, crime stuff. I did enjoy James Sallis's Drive (on which the film was based). It was more of a gentle California fever dream (even the violence) with a light crime premise. Sun-soaked noir? Or more probably, whatever crime technicalities were involved just went right over my head.😂(Also Raymond Chandler's famous The Big Sleep was just awesome for the prose stylings - strangely akin to Bradbury?)

[@Verlopil]

That looks like such a great book store! There are only a couple good ones left in my city. Now it's just Half Priced Books and all the others are gone.

[@SciFiScavenger]

Seek and ye shall find! Glad you haven't fetched up in a dry hole for sf.

[@skaldhart]

Love the sexy "on hold" music at the end

[@maitlandbowen5969]

City of Night - John Rechy - total classic!

[@timmclain375]

Fabulous bookstore. That's the first hardcover Naked Lunch I've ever seen.

[@therealjojo6139]

Please go back for South of the border west of the sun! 🙏🙏🙏 I absolutely love everything Murakami writes and would love to know your thoughts

[@shakenbacon-vm4eu]

Dude you’re killing my tv watching time. I’m reading wayyyy too much now and sleeping much better cuz of your recs.

[@meesalikeu]

same, same, except i dont watch tv, but im laying off the youtubes a lot more and reading more lately. i always have a book or two going, but im upping the game and picking japanese language practice back up. helps the sleep immediately. i also picked up some snoozy cbd gummies but have not tried them yet.

[@lex6819]

The Libreria Sancho Panza in Queretaro is supposed to have a good selection of English language used books. Never been there but the Yelp reviews are good

[@waltera13]

"Beyond Apollo?" Don't scintillate me bro!

[@rickkearn7100]

I just found out Mishima committed seppuku. Interesting character, and tragic. Shall try a read of his work. Thanks for the exposure to him. Cheers.

[@frankmorlock9134]

I remember watching him do it, live on Thai TV when I was living in Bangkok.

[@rickkearn7100]

@@frankmorlock9134 Crikey. That's crazy they'd televise something like that.

[@frankmorlock9134]

​@@rickkearn7100 I think they weren't expecting it to happen. Mishima who was, I think, a Fascist or something similar, had, with some of his friends, stormed the Japanese Ministry of Defense, and threatened to kill the Defense Minister and others officials unless they were allowed to make a speech to the troops. Needless to say this was big big news and all the Radio and TV folks rushed to the scene and were watching events as they unfolded live. The Minister, fearing for his life and to gain time assembled some troops. (As I recall at least several hundred soldiers were hurried on to the parade ground, and Mishima began haranguing them in Japanese from, a balcony. ) I don't know what Mishima expected them to do, but they stood as what we call Parade Rest and listened to him without showing any emotion whatever, (They didn't cheer, they didn't boo they just stood there looking at him with impenetrable emotionless faces. ) Finally, Mishima realized the game was up, I think one of his followers handed him a sword which he took and rapidly disemboweled himself. His assistant then beheaded him with another sword. There was no time for the censors to step in, if indeed they would have censored it. Asians are not as sensitive as we are. Anyway, it was a live broadcast. I think it was mid afternoon in Bangkok when it ended. I don't recall if there were any re-broadcasts or not. Not an easy scene to forget.

[@eugenemurphy6037]

Nice! More Aldiss! You had me pick up Hot House; what a strange experience, thank you for that. I'm surprised I never had a nightmare about the "tummy people".

[@larrylambert1220]

I absolutely love his Helliconia trilogy.

[@eugenemurphy6037]

@@larrylambert1220 looking into that! thank you!

[@larrylambert1220]

I miss the fireplace.

[@helpfulcommenter]

One easy transition into crime fic, especially because you lived in LA, is pretty much anything by Raymond Chandler... (I'm a hardboiled noir crime fan myself) The Lady in the Lake, The Long Goodbye, Farewell My Lovely, Trouble is my Business. And of course The Big Sleep, which kinda sorta inspired the Coens on The Big Lewbowski. My favorite thing about the old noir stuff is deciphering the language and all the hyperspecific turns of phrase that are colorful and odd. There's glossaries online for whenever you get stuck on a word too.... I'm reading The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett right now and I've been stumped a few times by some screwy terms but man you feel like a boss when you learn them.

[@salty-walt]

There's something so much more honest and approachable about your chronicle than the usual "American Ex-pat's Reflective Adventures Abroad." One of the ways I interface, estimate, evaluate & acclimate to a new place is by examining a used bookstore there; What do they read here? What do they sell-back here? What sun-faded book has been dutifully preserved by this store that others would've chucked? - You offer this mercifully devoid of ruminations on your past loves, missed opportunities or Proust's taco. I *truly* appreciate this view into another place, this cross section at street level. Thank you.

[@doublestarships646]

I heard a good way to memorize a book is writing key details on note cards so you can skim through them to jumpstart your memory like a journal. A lot of extra work but it might help you enjoy crime fiction that's written in that manner of detail.

[@Caliburnius]

"The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long," is definitely a description of Mishima. His fierce intensity was terrifying and mesmerizing.

[@awabooks9886]

There is nothing more fun than hitting book and/or comic shops in foreign lands 🤩

[@etherscholar]

God I love bookstores. They're some of the best places on the planet. It's like a spa for the mind, just soaking in imagination.

[@MrVvulf]

8:14 When you pulled out the Wodehouse I was reminded of a recent BBC article I read wherein the publisher revealed the decision that the Jeeves and Wooster novels need to have some language "updated" and TRIGGER warnings added to the books. Ridiculous and sacrilegious. What a steaming croc of fecal matter.

[@fanuluiciorannr1xd212]

I love PKD. He is so aware that he's writing junk. But in the good way. Not the obnoxious way. He also has that maturity to his plot and pace. His characters meet themes that are too big for any person to set straight so by virtue of this the characters doing strange/unexpected stuff or even being caricature like works very great for him and fit most of his stories.

[@jaimechristley]

PKD might be my favorite novelist. Never before or since has so much freak poetry gone largely undetected within the confines of (putatively) SF pulp.

[@thekeywitness]

Ubik is my favorite PKD

[@fanuluiciorannr1xd212]

I agree.

[@JackMyersPhotography]

That’s a great little bookstore. Mishima’s use of language really is enthralling. I look forward to your take on the Malzberg astronaut books.

[@michaelgarza8388]

If you want to break into crime fiction, read Raymond Chandler. The crimes don’t matter, the books are showcases of pure literary style.

[@JamesPawson]

After many years in my self-imposed exile, I'm going to be returning to civilization in a few weeks-- I'm so stoked to go to used bookstores and look out for all these amazing authors I've learned about through your vids-- especially Jack Vance and Cordwainer Smith. I've listened to a lot of audiobooks of their stories over the past several months, but I really badly want hard copies now.

[@MemphiStig]

8:42 Jane Gaskell is a rare find! And highly recommended, fwiw, by Michael Moorcock.

[@wordfullyyours]

These are some awesome book covers.

[@swampgas76]

You should hit Guadalajara and Oaxaca too. For we the best food areas in our hemisphere are oaxaca and new orleans.

[@dimitrikorsakov2570]

I really hope you end up reviewing White Jazz, I'd love to know what you think of Ellroy. And if you want to try to get into crime fiction, maybe try Raymond Chandler. He's generally regarded as a high point of the genre and while there is a mystery element, you really don't have to care about it too much. It's more about the prose, the mood, dialogue, wit, character.

[@meesalikeu]

great condesa bookstore, and its a little adventure to reach, inside an apt building and above a bar. so this malzberg beyond apollo book is really intriguing, i keep coming across it. its like a contemporary post apollo reflection and seems like a companion of ballard's atrocity exhibition. plus -- its brief, so why not, i will definitely have to dig in. gracias!

[@meesalikeu]

oh and ps -- thanks for the walk thru and pulling out the books for us, that was really cool. we can always scroll back to review -- i appreciate it!

[@davidmicalizio824]

Thank you! 📖

[@chrissheffield5468]

Ellroy really hits his stride with the American Underworld Trilogy. Also, his second LA Quartet (still writing the next two books) is worth a try.

[@meesalikeu]

i liked white jazz, but the black dahlia and american tabloid are very best. havent read any more other than la confidential. i liked his style, got sucked right into it, then tired of it easily.

[@dimitrikorsakov2570]

IMO American Tabloid is his best (overall, not just of that trilogy), the other two Underworld novels are not as good.

[@elliotwalton6159]

Ubik has one of the best one line reveals in all of science fiction!

[@iain2298]

Really related to your comment on crime fiction. I DNF'd Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy a while back and just couldn't understand how anyone reads stuff like that

[@alexp3462]

Ah Ubik! The book that got me hooked on sf as a teen. Interested to see what you make of that one. If you ever wanted to give Le Guin's Earthsea another go I'd recommend The Tombs of Atuan, which I glimpsed at the end of the vid there, I much preferred it to the first.

[@alainterieur794]

I see that the addiction to the hard copy of books is still there. I prefer it too to the eReader, especially for vintage books. 🙂

[@vdr3846]

your elevator jazz is cracking me up. Glad you're still enjoying yourself south of the border. Keep the videos coming.

[@YourQueerGreatAuntie]

I felt like it was an adventure in bookshop porn - "Look at all these sexy books!!!"

[@salty-walt]

I took it to be book buyer porn: "Hey, You like what you see? You want the old book. . . Or maybe something. . . harder to find?" Wa-wa

[@PoodlePlugins]

The music was definitely written specifically for your bookshop adventure. Perfect.

[@kniknayme9865]

The Rise of Endymion taunt . I will find that book!

[@Tetsujin-28]

Southern Reach Trilogy: Loved it. Dream Snake: Heroine B0B was able to snag that cover. I had given up on Stephen King, but The Outsider was very good.

[@donaldb1]

A great haul. I remember _Frankenstein Unbound_ being very good. Aldiss is such a varied writer, he almost never wrote the same way twice. Always interesting. I think _Ubik_ is my favourite PKD. I read _Do Androids..._ and _Man in the High Castle_ too young and really didn't get them. But _Ubik_ gave me the metaphysical fireworks I was expecting. It is really great fun. The name Barry Malzberg rings a bell, but I have no idea where from. I don't recognise any of his titles. I think I will have to look out for him. If you haven't read _Labyrinths_ then I think you should go back for it. I think it is probably the ideal Borges collection.

[@zetectic7968]

Thanks for the video & the bonus music at the end 😀 The EE doc Smith go for silly prices in the UK as they have long been out of print. I have that same copy of Breakfast of Champions. I noticed a Rumpole omnibus by John Mortimer who was a celebrated barrister. he has a more humorous take on crime & the legal profession. I have been meaning to read Germinal by Zola for a number of years now. That would be a good choice of non SF reading.

[@chrisw6164]

Books are called libros down there. That’s all I got.

[@helpfulcommenter]

In the neighborhood of Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles, there's a lending library / community center called Libros Schmibros. It is named such because of the multiculturalism specific to Boyle Heights - it was long a Jewish neighborhood, that has become primarily Latino.

[@jaimechristley]

p.s. Keep the faith re: getting confused by intricate crime fic plots. Heck, when I finished THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV, one thing I thought was "So did he do it or what?" But I'm naturally drawn to crime fic even though I easily get left behind when an author is sequencing an investigation or a heist or a double-cross, you name it. I read all 24 books in Donald Westlake aka Richard Stark's Parker series and (a) it's legitimately one of the towering works of literature, across all metrics and (b) I always feel like I miss a trick when DW/RS is describing a particularly complicated bit of business.

[@davlang3783]

White Jazz is a fantastic book.

[@radiantflux1432]

I read the Mishima's Quadrilogy at the start of the year. It's quite beautiful, but the last book is regarded by many (including myself) as his poorest. In anycase you really owe it to yourself to have read in order from beginning to end. It's really quite an amazing read.

[@tectorgorch8698]

How about The Man Inside by W. Watts Biggers? I mention it because that one had an incredilby powerful effect on me when I read it in the 60s. BTW, that shop has an incredible inventory -- I saw half a dozen editions that I owned and read way back when.

[@helpfulcommenter]

Whoaaaaa........ LENSMAN!!!! They made a really cool anime out of that in the 70s or 80s, I used to have a dub of it on VHS, it's fucking awesome

[@helpfulcommenter]

I just checked and the whole movie is on KZbin in its entirety

[@anonymes2884]

No crime fiction, does that mean no _Chandler_ even ? Shame if so, I think you might enjoy him (partly because you liked 'Neuromancer' IIRC and that era Gibson was described as the sci-fi Chandler). One of my favourites anyway (despite some, to be charitable, "language of the time" in his stuff). (not read 'Ubik' - PKD has mostly landed harder in short form for me so there're plenty of his novels I haven't got to yet)

[@eyeroll-encore]

I have the Will Smith edition of Frankenstein Unbound. The cover proudly declares: "Now a major motion picture...directed by Roger Corman." The movie is, of course, a turd, though I haven't seen it since the 90s.

[@frankmorlock9134]

I didn't know it had been made into a movie, but I did read the book, and as best I can recall, my reaction to it was negative. Aldiss seemed to be trying to say something, but whatever it was, didn't engage me.

[@davidaldinger3666]

If you’re looking for an alternative to SciFi, I recommend John Lecarré. He wrote amazing spy thrillers, Len Deighton as well.

[@uncannyvalleywoods]

Just as a curiosity, I wonder about the presence of any high end, antiquarian book dealers in Mexico City. I just assume that there has to be some kind of presence like that in a major metro area.

[@jamesking7330]

Vonnegut is just an instagrab for me when I'm in a Used Books store. If I already have it, I will gift it og give it to someone. Him and a few other cannot remain on the shelf if I see them.

[@Narcisa-800]

Non-procedural crime plus a whole lot more: 2666 and The Brothers Karamazov. I don’t like “crime novels” but that genre doesn’t necessarily speak about crime. For non-science fiction you have probably already experienced Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Cormac McCarthy, Faulkner and O’Connor. The former two I have read every scrap and I’m into my second tour of them. Kafka I would fit as well with those two. Finishing “Stella Maris” now which will be an end to an era.

[@slevn4328]

I got about 3/4 of the way through of 2666 and stopped reading. I love Roberto’s prose, but the repeated sections of the same thing over and over again became too tedious and bland. No plot to follow. No one’s hopes and desires to cling to. I enjoyed the experience enough, but didn’t care enough to finish.

[@yelisieimurai]

Have you not read Ubik? This is best his work in my opinion

[@mudgetheexpendable]

Gorgeous shelf-porn...go back and treat your SF-resting eyes to Kevin Powers's first novel, THE YELLOW BIRDS! Wonderful prose...I gave it an almost-perfect review on Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud ten years ago, and his latest A LINE IN THE SAND will get the same later this year.

[@Warstub]

I love PKD, but Ubik - potentially one of his top 5 novels - has always been a struggle to keep reading. I seem to always put it down and never feel compelled to get back into the story. Some of his worst novels have often felt more engaging.

[@n1mbusmusic606]

Axiomatic by Greg igan is phenominal

[@jaimechristley]

It's only my two cents but having read L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, I'd say WHITE JAZZ is both (a) cut from exactly the same cloth, like exactly exactly, yet (b) vastly better. If you compare L.A.C. to the film, it's stunning how much Helgeland and Hanson tossed out --- and they were right to do so. Warning: there's some vivid descriptions of animal cruelty in WJ; I found it much more bothersome than the much more plentiful human v. human violence. That may just be my hangup (I'm a dog-dad going on 2+ years and it's completely rewired my emotions in that regard), but I thought it worth mentioning. The only other Ellroy I've read is AMERICAN TABLOID, which isn't always 100% great in the prose department but it's catnip if you've got any head for Cuba-JFK-J.Edgar-Howard-Hughes-Trafficante-Hoffa stuff.

[@claudiabottom4086]

I’m not big in detective fiction unless it has something else meaningful to it, like a philosophical turn. That’s why p.d. James or crime and punishment are good

[@grenoblica]

Beyond Apollo is wild, the writing is really good. Some of the penis stuff dates it, but still great

[@forenichtreader]

White Jazz is a tough one to start reading Ellroy - it's the last book in the L.A. Quartet, and it's the one where his clipped writing style is at its most extreme.

[@helpfulcommenter]

Is LA Confidential included in the quartet? Recently I watched True Detective Season 2 and it was both really good and infuriatingly bad, but a bunch of reviews I read compared it to Ellroy's books and specifically LA Confidential... I should rewatch the movie, I remember it being good

[@forenichtreader]

@@helpfulcommenter Yes, L.A. Confidential is book 3 in the quartet. In the movie adaptation it was changed to work on its own, but in the novels (particularly books 2, 3 and 4) there's continuity of some plotlines and characters.

[@helpfulcommenter]

@@forenichtreader thanks! i should really dig into that opus some day

[@damascus21]

Dude go back and get Snow Crash if you never read it. It's incredible

[@holydissolution85]

Living a good life, huh ? Glad for you...

[@personmcpersonperson2893]

Ayooo

[@unstopitable]

Maybe I'm completely out of touch, living in Ted Kaczynski old cabin, but those books seemed a lil' pricy, but then again, you were in a foreign country. Great finds, though.

[@helpfulcommenter]

the prices were in pesos, it's about 17-18 pesos to the dollar right now

[@unstopitable]

@@helpfulcommenter I heard him quote the exchange rate.

[@helpfulcommenter]

@@unstopitable Seems like reasonable prices for vintage books in a bookstore to me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@unstopitable]

@@helpfulcommenter Your opinion has been duly noted (twice).

[@helpfulcommenter]

@@unstopitable The first time I was just letting you know the prices were in pesos, expressing no opinion, the second time I said the prices seemed fine to me.