The hope is between the ease of posting, relatively quick turnover, and side-stepping the commissions of listing sites, it will be a worthwhile venture. At the same time, however, I like the way the shorthand Twitter requires recalls earlier days of bookselling: of quotes to Bookman’s Weekly or the inscrutable abbreviations of mimeographed book catalogs. So while on the surface this may seem a slightly gimmicky bookselling tactic, I like to think of it as just another extension of venerable trade traditions.

Some basic info:

1) What you see is what you get: All prices INCLUDE postage (within the US via USPS media mail). Elsewhere and/or via other methods would require additional cost.
2) No scruffy books here: Unless noted, all books are in Very Good or better condition
3) Act fast: All books are subject to prior sale. Reply or direct message via Twitter to reserve.
4) Keeping it simple: Paypal payment preferred (to books@briancassidy.net), though checks, credit cards, moneys orders all acceptable as well. Please await confirmation before sending payment. And as much as possible, books and their respective tweets will be deleted as they sell. So if you see something you like that’s still listed, even if an older post, it’s probably still available.

SOME FREQUENTLY USED ABBREVIATIONS:

HC = Hardcover (no DJ)
HC/DJ = Hardcover with dust jacket
PB = Trade paperback
MMPB = Mass market paperback
BCE = Book club edition
1st = First edition
VG = Very good condition
NF = Near fine condition
F = Fine condition
NF/F = Near fine hardcover in a fine dust jacket (or VG/NF, F/F…you get the idea)

Advancements in book technology include binding, glue and typography, an artistic/technical undertaking that computer manufacturers are just beginning to glimpse. Page and type sizes have subtleties most makers of digital counterparts have yet to imagine. Everything in a book, from its type and layout to the thickness of its pages, has been carefully orchestrated to deliver the optimal reading experience for its intended audience.

sigh.

What is amazing and inspiring about books is just that: their very physicality, the sheer thinginess of them, the fact that you can hold a book in your hands, thump a couple of knuckles on the cover, riffle the pages. You can use books as doorstops or paperweights or place mats. [...] Yet in an age in which computers are as common as cockroaches, in which the Internet is king, in which seemingly every crumb of information is being sucked up and digitized in a busy blur, does the book — the tangible kind, not the virtual version — have a future?

Sadly, the article doesn’t do a very good job of answering this question. But in his recent post In Defense of Amazon: Their New POD Strategy as Opportunity, Michael @ Book Patrol explains how the book can continue to be vital in a digital age. Here, he’s addressing the challenges posed to booksellers and publishers by Amazon’s print-on-demand technologies, but the logic applies equally to the entire bookselling landscape (e-books, Google Books, etc.):

Publishers and authors can still produce books that will differ from the Amazon edition and be desired in the marketplace. The Amazon POD editions will be the mass market paperbacks of the new publishing era. There will remain a healthy market for other editions. The publishers can capitalize on this by offering their own editions that might include extra material much like the movie studios do with their DVD releases. An extra short story, an extra poem, interviews with the author, signed copies, manuscript pages etc.; the possibilities are endless. Not everyone wants their book the next day nor do they want a cheaply produced version. Quality still counts and many will still pay for it.

This is not a wake up call as some of said this is more of a last call. The rules of bookselling and publishing have changed drastically and the publishers that can respond in new innovative ways will be the ones that prosper.

[BTW - Jed is writing some of the best essays book collecting anywhere. Though ostensibly about Burroughs, his analysis of market forces, collector considerations and the art and science of book collecting could easily be applied to any collection. They are also a great resource for Beat history - including insightful backgrounds on the little magazines that surrounded the movement. If you collect books or are simply interested in the Beats, it's all well-worth your time.]

DQ Books is a collection of four “books,” each with a different theme. The interface allows you to “flip” through them as one would with a “real” book. Each tells a kind of story, and the soundtracks are evocative and edgy.

Never Been’s wordless narrative reminds me of the work of Mitsumasa Anno. It’s in the form of a “scroll” and though it took me a couple minutes to get the hang of how to “read” the story, once I finished I “re-read” the tale several times through. Worth the effort.

On the other end of the spectrum, Penguin Press’ project We Tell Stories (“Six Authors. Six Stories. Six Weeks.”) demonstrates how online fiction can break completely free of the codex’s influence. One story unfolds on a Google Map. Another pits two competing versions of events on two separate blogs. Others involve reader participation. But none make the innovation the center of attention. For all, story and writing remain the most important elements.