Book collecting

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yeah ok so i've kinda gotten into book collecting. i've only paid over a thousand for three books: ~$5,000 for a signed kinda beaten up first edition of ~~Finnegan's~~ Wake, ~$3,000 for a signed like new ARC of Infinite Jest (later sold for $5,000), and $3,000 for an unsigned first edition of Gravity's Rainbow (later sold for $4,500). I have no intentions of selling the Wake.

yeah ok so i've kinda gotten into book collecting. i've only paid over a thousand for three books: ~$5,000 for a signed kinda beaten up first edition of Finnegans Wake, ~$3,000 for a signed like new ARC of Infinite Jest (later sold for $5,000), and $3,000 for an unsigned first edition of Gravity's Rainbow (later sold for $4,500). I have no intentions of selling the Wake.

==(Probably) not happening==

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* Signed first Leyner (My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist, paperback)

* Signed first Gibson (Burning Chrome)

* Signed first Joyce (~~Finnegan's~~ Wake)

* Signed first Joyce (Finnegans Wake)

* Signed first Penrose (The Road to Reality)

* Signed first Ginsberg (Howl and Other Poems, City Lights paperback, no hardback first exists)

* Signed first Ferlinghetti (Coney Island of the Mind and Other Poems, City Lights paperback, no hardback first exists)

* Signed Wilson (Illuminatus! trilogy, omnibus paperback edition~~, no hardback exists~~)

* Signed Wilson (Illuminatus! trilogy, omnibus paperback edition)

* Signed Aaronson (Quantum Computing Since Democritus, paperback, no hardback exists)

* Signed Schrödinger (lecture notes, not a book)

* Signed first Rhodes The Making of the Atomic Bomb

* Signed first Rhodes (The Making of the Atomic Bomb)

===Signed at publisher===

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==Greg Egan==

~~I'm doing a "let's collect every American first edition" thing for~~ Greg Egan~~, based off the~~ (presumably authoritative) bibliography on [https://www.gregegan.net/BIBLIOGRAPHY/Bibliography.html his site]~~. This allows me to not worry about An Unusual Angle, which has no American edition (his first book, it was published only in Australia, and is fairly difficult to find), nor~~ his ~~second book Quarantine (no American hardback)~~. His early works were generally released in the UK before the USA. To count (indicated by boldface), it must be a first edition first printing hardback in decent condition. A lot of his early covers are just ghastly, but enjoyable in a kitschy way. The earlier books are generally better than the more recent ones IMHO.

Greg Egan has a (presumably authoritative, but at this time incomplete) bibliography on [https://www.gregegan.net/BIBLIOGRAPHY/Bibliography.html his site]; I'm collecting his English-language hardbacks. His early works were generally released in the UK before the USA. To count (indicated by boldface), it must be a first edition first printing hardback in decent condition. A lot of his early covers are just ghastly, but enjoyable in a kitschy way. The earlier books are generally better than the more recent ones IMHO.

My favorite is Schild's Ladder; the first chapter of Diaspora is one of my favorite pieces of writing anywhere.

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===Novels===

* Morphotrophic (2024)

* Scale (2023)

* Scale (2023)

* The Book of All Skies (2021)

* The Book of All Skies (2021)

* Dichronauts (2017)

* Orthogonal Book Three: The Arrows of Time~~~~ (~~UK 2013, USA~~ 2014)

* Orthogonal Book Three: The Arrows of Time (2014)

* Orthogonal Book Two: The Eternal Flame (2012)

* Orthogonal Book One: The Clockwork Rocket (2011)

* Orthogonal Book One: The Clockwork Rocket (UK 2011, USA 2011)

* Zendegi (2010)

* Zendegi (UK 2010, USA 2010)

* Incandescence (2008)

* Incandescence (UK 2008, USA 2008)

* Schild's Ladder (~~~~UK 2002~~, USA 2002)~~

* Schild's Ladder (UK 2002, USA 2002)

* Teranesia (UK 1999, ~~~~USA 1999)

* Teranesia (UK 1999, USA 1999)

* ~~Diaspora (~~UK 1997~~, USA 1998)~~

* Diaspora (UK 1997, USA 1998)

* Distress (UK 1995, USA 1997)

* Permutation City (UK 1994, USA 1995)

* Quarantine (UK 1992, USA 1995)

** Egan doesn't list a 1995 USA hardback, but it's a scifi book of the month club [https://www.reddit.com/r/BookCollecting/comments/1f040tj/comment/ljp9g2q USA "first edition"]

** Only 500 copies of the UK 1992 hardback are thought to have been printed

===Collections===

Sleep and the Soul and Instantiation are print-on-demand~~. Luminous was pretty much a UK-only deal (the first USA edition was Barnes & Noble in 2017)~~. Our Lady of Chernobyl didn't have a hardcover release. Axiomatic and Oceanic didn't have real hardcover USA releases. The hardback Subterranean Press Best of Greg Egan is a hand-numbered run of one thousand copies.

Sleep and the Soul and Instantiation are print-on-demand. Our Lady of Chernobyl didn't have a hardcover release. Axiomatic and Oceanic didn't have real hardcover USA releases. The hardback Subterranean Press Best of Greg Egan is a hand-numbered run of one thousand copies.

* The Best of Greg Egan (2019)

* The Best of Greg Egan (2019) (#587)

* Crystal Nights (2009)

* Dark Integers (2008)

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===One-offs===

All of these Subterranean Press releases are hand-numbered limited runs of one thousand copies.

* Dispersion (2020)

* Dispersion (2020) (#741, #876, #976)

* Phoresis (2018)

* Phoresis (2018) (#665)

* The Four Thousand, the Eight Hundred (2016)

* The Four Thousand, the Eight Hundred (2016) (#251)

===Unamerican items===

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* Axiomatic (UK 2005)

* Luminous (UK 1998)

* ~~Quarantine (UK 1992) (~~~~I do have the hardback book club [https://www.reddit.com/r/BookCollecting/comments/1f040tj/comment/ljp9g2q USA "first edition"])~~

* An Unusual Angle (AUS 1983)

* An Unusual Angle (AUS 1983)

** Only 100 copies of the hardback are thought to have been printed

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-yeah ok so i've kinda gotten into book collecting. i've only paid over a thousand for three books: ~$5,000 for a signed kinda beaten up first edition of <i>Finnegan's Wake</i>, ~$3,000 for a signed like new ARC of <i>Infinite Jest</i> (later sold for $5,000), and $3,000 for an unsigned first edition of <i>Gravity's Rainbow</i> (later sold for $4,500). I have no intentions of selling the <i>Wake</i>.
+yeah ok so i've kinda gotten into book collecting. i've only paid over a thousand for three books: ~$5,000 for a signed kinda beaten up first edition of <i>Finnegans Wake</i>, ~$3,000 for a signed like new ARC of <i>Infinite Jest</i> (later sold for $5,000), and $3,000 for an unsigned first edition of <i>Gravity's Rainbow</i> (later sold for $4,500). I have no intentions of selling the <i>Wake</i>.
 ==(Probably) not happening==
@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 * Signed first Leyner (<i>My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist</i>, paperback)
 * Signed first Gibson (<i>Burning Chrome</i>)
-* Signed first Joyce (<i>Finnegan's Wake</i>)
+* Signed first Joyce (<i>Finnegans Wake</i>)
 * Signed first Penrose (<i>The Road to Reality</i>)
 * Signed first Ginsberg (<i>Howl and Other Poems</i>, City Lights paperback, no hardback first exists)
 * Signed first Ferlinghetti (<i>Coney Island of the Mind and Other Poems</i>, City Lights paperback, no hardback first exists)
-* Signed Wilson (<i>Illuminatus!</i> trilogy, omnibus paperback edition, no hardback exists)
+* Signed Wilson (<i>Illuminatus!</i> trilogy, omnibus paperback edition)
 * Signed Aaronson (<i>Quantum Computing Since Democritus</i>, paperback, no hardback exists)
 * Signed Schrödinger (lecture notes, not a book)
-* Signed first Rhodes <i>The Making of the Atomic Bomb</i>
+* Signed first Rhodes (<i>The Making of the Atomic Bomb</i>)
 ===Signed at publisher===
@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 ==Greg Egan==
-I'm doing a "let's collect every American first edition" thing for Greg Egan, based off the (presumably authoritative) bibliography on [https://www.gregegan.net/BIBLIOGRAPHY/Bibliography.html his site]. This allows me to not worry about <i>An Unusual Angle</i>, which has no American edition (his first book, it was published only in Australia, and is fairly difficult to find), nor his second book <i>Quarantine</i> (no American hardback). His early works were generally released in the UK before the USA. To count (indicated by <b>boldface</b>), it must be a first edition first printing hardback in decent condition. A lot of his early covers are just ghastly, but enjoyable in a kitschy way. The earlier books are generally better than the more recent ones IMHO.
+Greg Egan has a (presumably authoritative, but at this time incomplete) bibliography on [https://www.gregegan.net/BIBLIOGRAPHY/Bibliography.html his site]; I'm collecting his English-language hardbacks. His early works were generally released in the UK before the USA. To count (indicated by <b>boldface</b>), it must be a first edition first printing hardback in decent condition. A lot of his early covers are just ghastly, but enjoyable in a kitschy way. The earlier books are generally better than the more recent ones IMHO.
 My favorite is <i>Schild's Ladder</i>; the first chapter of <i>Diaspora</i> is one of my favorite pieces of writing anywhere.
@@ Line 74: / Line 74: @@
 ===Novels===
 * <b>Morphotrophic (2024)</b>
-* Scale (2023)
+* <b>Scale (2023)</b>
-* The Book of All Skies (2021)
+* <b>The Book of All Skies (2021)</b>
 * <b>Dichronauts (2017)</b>
-* <b>Orthogonal Book Three: The Arrows of Time</b> (UK 2013, <b>USA 2014</b>)
+* <b>Orthogonal Book Three: The Arrows of Time (2014)</b>
 * <b>Orthogonal Book Two: The Eternal Flame (2012)</b>
-* <b>Orthogonal Book One: The Clockwork Rocket (2011)</b>
+* <b>Orthogonal Book One: The Clockwork Rocket</b> (UK 2011, <b>USA 2011</b>)
-* Zendegi (2010)
+* <b>Zendegi</b> (UK 2010, <b>USA 2010)</b>
-* <b>Incandescence (2008)</b>
+* <b>Incandescence</b> (UK 2008, <b>USA 2008</b>)
-* Schild's Ladder (<b>UK 2002</b>, USA 2002)
+* <b>Schild's Ladder (UK 2002, USA 2002)</b>
-* Teranesia (UK 1999, <b>USA 1999</b>)
+* <b>Teranesia (UK 1999, USA 1999)</b>
-* Diaspora (<b>UK 1997</b>, USA 1998)
+* <b>Diaspora (UK 1997, USA 1998)</b>
 * <b>Distress (UK 1995, USA 1997</b>)
 * <b>Permutation City (UK 1994, USA 1995)</b>
+* <b>Quarantine (UK 1992, USA 1995)</b>
+** Egan doesn't list a 1995 USA hardback, but it's a scifi book of the month club [https://www.reddit.com/r/BookCollecting/comments/1f040tj/comment/ljp9g2q USA "first edition"]
+** Only 500 copies of the UK 1992 hardback are thought to have been printed
 ===Collections===
-<i>Sleep and the Soul</i> and <i>Instantiation</i> are print-on-demand. <i>Luminous</i> was pretty much a UK-only deal (the first USA edition was Barnes & Noble in 2017). <i>Our Lady of Chernobyl</i> didn't have a hardcover release. <i>Axiomatic</i> and <i>Oceanic</i> didn't have real hardcover USA releases. The hardback Subterranean Press <i>Best of Greg Egan</i> is a hand-numbered run of one thousand copies.
+<i>Sleep and the Soul</i> and <i>Instantiation</i> are print-on-demand. <i>Our Lady of Chernobyl</i> didn't have a hardcover release. <i>Axiomatic</i> and <i>Oceanic</i> didn't have real hardcover USA releases. The hardback Subterranean Press <i>Best of Greg Egan</i> is a hand-numbered run of one thousand copies.
-* <b>The Best of Greg Egan (2019)</b>
+* <b>The Best of Greg Egan (2019)</b> (#587)
 * <b>Crystal Nights (2009)</b>
 * <b>Dark Integers (2008)</b>
@@ Line 96: / Line 99: @@
 ===One-offs===
 All of these Subterranean Press releases are hand-numbered limited runs of one thousand copies.
-* <b>Dispersion (2020)</b>
+* <b>Dispersion (2020)</b> (#741, #876, #976)
-* <b>Phoresis (2018)</b>
+* <b>Phoresis (2018)</b> (#665)
-* <b>The Four Thousand, the Eight Hundred (2016)</b>
+* <b>The Four Thousand, the Eight Hundred (2016)</b> (#251)
 ===Unamerican items===
@@ Line 105: / Line 108: @@
 * Axiomatic (UK 2005)
 * <b>Luminous (UK 1998)</b>
-* Quarantine (UK 1992) (<b>I do have the hardback book club [https://www.reddit.com/r/BookCollecting/comments/1f040tj/comment/ljp9g2q USA "first edition"]</b>)
+* <b>An Unusual Angle (AUS 1983)</b>
-* An Unusual Angle (AUS 1983)
+** Only 100 copies of the hardback are thought to have been printed

Book collecting: Difference between revisions

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