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SOME OF OUR FAVORITE BOOKS
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Photos De Cinema: Autour De La Nouvelle Vague 1958-1968 by Raymond John Cauchetier and Marc Vernet, published by Image France Editions in Paris in 2007. This lovely book includes photographs of most of the key films of the French New Wave, including behind-the-scenes shots and portraits of key filmmakers including Truffaut and Godard. The text is in French, but the images are so extraordinary it may not even matter! Condition of this hardback book is very good, with very minor wear to the pictorial binding. $75
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The History of Spiritualism (2 volume set) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, published by George H. Doran in 1926. You probably know that the creator of Sherlock Holmes was a believer in fairies and ghosts, but did you know he was also a believer in Spiritualism? Here's Doyle's two-volume history, in good condition (both volumes have slightly bumped corners and spine ends, hinges cracking, minor staining to some pages). $200.
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Robert Louis Stevenson: First Editions and Some Early Pamphlets in the Library of Arnold Wood privately printed in New York in 1898. Signed by Wood and numbered 3/3 (yes, that's three copies!), in three-quarter morocco leather slipcase and interior wraparound board; some sunning and wear to slipcase, previous owner's plate on front pastedown and name on front free endpaper. A lovely collectible on a major author. $250
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Hallucinogenic Plants (A Golden Guide) by Richard Evans Schultes, illustrated by Elmer W. Smith, published by Golden Press in 1976. Did you have Golden Guides as a kid? Bet you didn't have this one (and yes, this is REAL). This amazing paperback is in very good condition, with light soiling and scuffing and corners slightly bent. $100
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The Angler's Souvenir by P. Fisher, illustrated by Beckwith and Topham, published by Charles Tilt in London in 1835. You don't have to be a fisherman to love this beautiful little book! It's in very good condition, bound in three-quarter leather. Probably re-backed; light wear to binding, corners slightly bumped, previous owner's plate on front pastedown, very minor foxing. $150
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"...And Their Memory Was a Bitter Tree...": Queen of the Black Coast & Others By Robert E. Howard edited by Tim Underwood, published by BlackBart Books in 2008. This is one of the nicest Howard collections we've seen, including a number of key Conan works ("Red Nails", "The People of the Black Circle", "Shadows in the Moonlight", "A Witch Shall Be Born", and several more) and art by Frank Frazetta and Brom (with a map by George Barr. This hardback is signed (and possibly inscribed) by Underwood, and is in fine condition with a fine dust jacket. $150
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This month's pick comes from Ricky...
Unlike most celebrity/actor biographies, Charles Laughton: A Difficult Actor is written by someone who knows acting very well. Simon Callow is an accomplished actor, having created the original character of Mozart in the stage production of Amadeus along with many other roles. He is also gay, which gives him a second shared aspect of his life with the late Charles Laughton. These connections plus his gift for research and clear writing make this biography one of the best ever written on an artist/actor.
Charles Laughton (1899 - 1962) was a British actor who made quit a name for himself on the stage, particularly in Shakespearean roles at the Old Vic theater. But it was as a film actor that Laughton made an impact. Lead roles in films like the Barretts of Wimpole Street, The Big Clock and The Hunchback of Notre Dame showed the actor as a truly creative artist who paid a great deal of attention to detail. An actor's actor, in other words.
Simon Callow dutifully covers Laughton's life chronology, but what sets this book apart from other actor biographies is his incredible insights into Laughton as an actor. Callow's description of the epic ego battle between Laughton and Brecht when the actor starred in Galileo is worth the price of the book alone.
One final note: Laughton directed one film: Night of the Hunter, starring Robert Mitchum. A failure when it was released in 1955, the film has gone on to be considered one of the great film works of the second half of the twentieth century. Callow covers the making of the film in wonderful detail. It would be a good combo to read this biography and then watch the film afterwards.
Finally, Laughton was a gay man living at a time in which being gay was considered a perversion. Callow's sensitivity to this aspect of Laughton's life is remarkable. In addition to the struggles as an actor in Hollywood, he also had to cope with the anti-gay sentiments of the industry and his fellow actors.
I highly recommend Charles Laughton: A Difficult Actor by Simon Callow. It should be in your permanent library of actor biographies. I recommend it all the time to customers and always get a good response.
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One of the great things about living in Southern California (among MANY great things!) is that we can garden all year round. While Iliad may be known primarily as a specialist in literature and the arts, we also have a lot of great books on gardening, botany, and all things plant-related. Are you thinking about swapping out your water-intensive lawn for drought-resistant native landscaping? Take a look at our Plants and Gardening shelves, and you may get some great ideas. Would you like to learn more about ikebana or composting? Yep - we've got books on 'em. Love botanical illustration? We usually have something. Maybe you're a collector looking for that rare volume on Venezuelan orchids or tree ferns? Take a gander at the list linked below.
Gardening tip: if you're a local gardening enthusiast and you aren't familiar with the Theodore Payne Foundation, do yourself a favor and visit this lovely place. It's not far - just about ten minutes north of Iliad, tucked into the foothills above Sun Valley. They offer classes and information on native plants, but best of all is the amazing nursery, where you can buy anything from California sage to manzanita trees to common yarrow, and at reasonable prices. They also sell seeds - you can grow your own glorious California poppies from seed! - and gardening paraphernalia. Even the website is full of wonderful information - visit the website by clicking here, or the physical location at 10459 Tuxford Street in Sun Valley. .
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Have you ever noticed the big safe full of books behind Iliad's front counter? We get asked about it frequently. "Is it really old?" is a common question (the answer: no, we bought it new just a few years ago). But most customers want to know what kind of books merit storage in a safe (we think of these as the rarest of our rare books), so in this column we'll pick one book every month and tell you about it. This month's book is...
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The announcement of the 25th James Bond film put us in mind of this nice first edition hardback in our safe. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming is the Macmillan first American edition from 1954, good in good minus dust jacket; the DJ has some soiling and edge wear, torn down spine with tape repairs to DJ interior, front corners clipped (although price is still present); light wear and scratches to binding, very light staining, corners slightly bumped, minor soiling to a few pages. $1000
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One of the questions we're asked most frequently as used booksellers is, "Isn't Amazon hurting your business?"
Our answer is often to wave at all the customers in the store and say, "Ummm...no."
The real answer, of course, is a little more complex than that.
But here's what the American Bookseller Association's CEO Oren Teicher has to say about new bookstores in general: "...in 2016, 87 new ABA member bookstores opened for business in 32 states and the District of Columbia.That is almost a 43 percent increase over the number of store openings in 2015." Teicher mentions that while other retail businesses are seeing more closures than openings, the bookselling industry is succeeding in many areas.
Which is not to say that any bookseller should take success for granted - we certainly don't! Thank you for giving us almost thirty years of wonderful growth and camaraderie. Long live bookstores!
in 2016, 87 new ABA member bookstores opened for business in 32 states and the District of Columbia. That is almost a 43 percent increase over the number of store openings in 2015.
in 2016, 87 new ABA member bookstores opened for business in 32 states and the District of Columbia. That is almost a 43 percent increase over the number of store openings in 2015.
in 2016, 87 new ABA member bookstores opened for business in 32 states and the District of Columbia. That is almost a 43 percent increase over the number of store openings in 2015.
in 2016, 87 new ABA member bookstores opened for business in 32 states and the District of Columbia. That is almost a 43 percent increase over the number of store openings in 2015.
in 2016, 87 new ABA member bookstores opened for business in 32 states and the District of Columbia. That is almost a 43 percent increase over the number of store openings in 2015.
in 2016, 87 new ABA member bookstores opened for business in 32 states and the District of Columbia. That is almost a 43 percent increase over the number of store openings in 2015.
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Customer Susan M. (from Rancho Cucamonga) sent us this picture of Zeus illustrating the quintessential cat philosophy of "If it fits, I sits." Thanks, Susan!
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Meanwhile, here's Apollo using a box as kitty fortress.
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We'd love to include your photos in our newsletter! Feel free to send to info@iliadbooks.com , let us know that it's okay to use the photo, and we'll include it in a future newsletter.
If you need more photos/videos of Zeus and Apollo, or any of Iliad's past felines, please visit our Pet Gallery.
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