Saturday, April 26, 2008

UBC #24 - Baseball Diamonds

Baseball Diamonds
Tales, Traces, Visions &Voodoo From A Native American Rite
by Kevine Kerrane & Richard Grossinger
Anchor Press / Doubleday
c1980 paperback

T.S. Eliot once said that April is the cruelest month. Sounds like T.S. didn't care much for baseball, eh? In every corner of the country (and even in some parts of the National Attic a.k.a. Canada) baseball fever is spreading like brush fires and body odor. in Baseball Diamonds, Kerrane has assembled an anthology of baseball writing from those you'd least expect. You get a few usual culprits in Kerouac and Updike -- both noted baseball fanatics. But Richard Hugo? Donald Hall? Bernadette Mayer? Philip Roth? All are baseball psychopaths, nut-bars, and humdingers. Be it in prose or poetics, baseball once again transcends its obvious borders. A great collection!

I couldn't find any images of this book online and since the scanner is back home, I decided to google search a couple classic baseball cards. first we have Gorman Thomas. He looks angry. He looks like he's swinging a stack of child support papers. He lead the league in DUI-RBI's in 1977 (not really). And Ross Grimsley. That is a sweet look. I saw one of those hats at the mall once. Its the one bald dudes buy to mask the fact that they're bald. Its a hat with a lot of hair attached. Usually in a mullet form. and sometimes these.


$6.50


please call or email to hold or purchase. only one copy, so its first come first serve. please note that we will only keep books on hold at the store for three days (including weekends).

Thursday, April 17, 2008

UBC #23 - Ralph Eugene Meatyard Photo Book

Ralph Eugene Meatyard
by Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Steidl/International Center of Photography
c2004 Hardcover / 1st Edition
w/ Intro by Guy Davenport

Meatyard's style: a marriage between a devil and a comic with impeccable timing. Each photo in this collection represents misfortune in its most fragmented, and sometimes illuminating form. There're folks lying unconscious. There're innocent kids in grotesque masks. There're dilapidated homes, rambling fields, post-industrial decay, and blurred tree branches. This is the stuff (and last names) that makes amateurish hacks like me drool with envy. HOORAY! MEATYARD!

you can view more of R.E. Meatyard's photos | here and here
while you're at it, feel free to post links to your flickr accounts in the comments
field. i'll start with mine


$75.00
[you read that correctly. if you think that exorbitant, check out what this puppy is going for on eBay! Yar! Show us some love!]


please call or email to hold or purchase. only one copy, so its first come first serve. please note that we will only keep books on hold at the store for three days (including weekends).

Sunday, April 13, 2008

UBC #22 - The Owl Papers!

The Owl Papers
by Jonathan Evan Maslow
w/ Drawings by Leonard Baskin
Dutton, INC c1983 Hardcover
1st Edition & Printing


Jonathan Evan Maslow really likes owls. Leonard Baskin really likes Maslow for really liking owls. Broken up into four sections, one each for the season, this book is the meeting of these two kindred spirits-- filled with the poetic voice of an avid owl admirer and the beautiful black and white drawings of the inimitable Leonard Baskin. Throughout much of this collection, Maslow is a man possessed. He hunts down the birds of wisdom and doom like an old english detective, with Baskin serving as his Watson. While flipping through the pages, I [its always about me in the end] hark back to the time an owl flew into our attic space, sending our cats into a blood-hungry rage. It eventually left out of sheer boredom, without me having to climb a ladder and give it the bum's rush. This book reminds me of that relief. Hooray for owls. Plus, Leonard Baskin, he's the guy from that ice cream chain, no? Baskin-Robbins? Robins? Owls?* Is this thing even on?

*It was either this, or a Who joke. I took the easy route, so sue me.


SOLD

please call or email to hold or purchase. only one copy, so its first come first serve. please note that we will only keep books on hold at the store for three days (including weekends).

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

UBC #21 Eros The Bittersweet by Anne Carson

Eros: The Bittersweet
by Anne Carson
Princeton University Press c1986 Paperback


Though I dig Anne Carson's poetry, my shameful lack of knowledge of ancient history and literature will not do this book justice. So I will just flip this book over and pick a quote from the back while I wait for my water to boil on the stove. Bernard Knox lovingly exudes: "This is an extraordinary book -- the book of a poet, a subtle critic, and a scholar. It is also a brilliant piece of writing: flawlessly phrased throughout, constantly surprising but never disappointing, and laced with a wit that is all the more effective because it is perfectly disciplined." Sounds great, Bernie. Also, here's a link to an Anne Carson poem. Or if perhaps you don't like that one, you might like this in its stead.


$15.00

please call or email to hold or purchase. only one copy, so its first come first serve. please note that we will only keep books on hold at the store for three days (including weekends).

Sunday, April 6, 2008

UBC #20 The Penguin Dorothy Parker 1978 PB

The Penguin Dorothy Parker
by Dorothy Parker
Penguin Publishing c1978
UK Edition

So what if i'm only posting this because it happens to be one of my all-time favorite book covers? This illustration is by Michael Farrell. Perhaps the same Michael Farrell that starred on M*A*S*H? That's more of a rhetorical question. I tried doing a google search to no avail. I will just blatantly assume the two are one in the same. As an added bonus, whoever buys this book gets a free helicopter ride over the store where you can watch me spell out "GOODBYE" on the roof in used books! Oh, and Dorothy Parker is ok too, I guess. Sorry for the crummy scan.

[the helicopter ride will pretty much never happen, but the other part...].

SOLD

please call or email to hold or purchase. only one copy, so its first come first serve. please note that we will only keep books on hold at the store for three days (including weekends).

UBC #19 Explorers On The Moon - A TinTin Pop-Up Book

Explorers On The Moon
Herge, TINTIN Pop-Up Books
Joy Street/Little Brown c1992 Hardcover
STILL WRAPPED!

I am tempted to peel the wrapping on this book and crack this bad boy open. But the toy collector geek in me (a very, very, very small man, simply named Dave) says not to, as i'd decrease its value by %50 (or whatever). So I can't really describe this book in too great a detail without A: making some stuff up and B: see A. If i was a betting man [i'm not] i'd guess that book is all about Professor Calculus's terrible sense of direction and Tintin's imminent bout with a crippled sense of self-worth. And i'm guessing there's some sort of curious schnauzer along for the ride as well. Apparently there aren't any laws pertaining to cleaning up after your pooch on the moon. That is cool. That law demeans us both. All kidding aside, this book is stunning in its illustrated beauty. I just stole that last line from a Hallmark card. Did I mention this one has never been opened? Who buys a Tintin pop-up book and doesn't open it? Oh right, that would be Dave.

SOLD

please call or email to hold or purchase. only one copy, so its first come first serve. please note that we will only keep books on hold at the store for three days (including weekends).

Saturday, April 5, 2008

UBC #18 - Mcsweeney's #13 (The Comics Issue) 2004 HC


Mcsweeney's #13
Chris Ware ed.
Mcsweeney's 2004 Hardcover

For any serious comics/alternative illustration collector, this book is an absolute must. This is as close to a historical document as a modern trendy publisher can get. This beast has everyone, R. Crumb, Dan Clowes, Jim Woodring, Ivan Brunetti, David Collier, Adrian Tomine, Joe Sacco, Chester & Jeffrey Brown... I could go on but why spoil the surprise. There's a few modern classics as well as a few rare unpublished works; some in color and some accompanied by an essay penned by some pretty important writers. The only work of art I can accurately compare it to is Peter Wolf's intro to the live version of Musta Got Lost. And at the price we're offering, I hereby use my legal authority to declare this book a steal.


SOLD

please call or email to hold or purchase. only one copy, so its first come first serve. please note that we will only keep books on hold at the store for three days (including weekends).