An Entry For The Readers of Tomorrow!

People love to add annotations to their books: it cements the "see, see, these books are mine and I've read them!" quality to a fine collection. These quotes usually revolve around the story, but in my searching I've found passages that explain the day, the surroundings, who the reader was with when they finished the story, etc. They're one-line, journal entries that are purely esoteric, and I'm guilty of this myself.
     Some customers are put off by this, and I can understand why: if you buy a collectible book at a collectible price, the book should be in collectible condition. It's a kick to both hemispheres of the brain to approach a sought after book--one that looks amazing--only to open it and find "Wally finally got over being sick two days before we got to the beach." Exception are made, of course, if the side notes are penned by someone of note.
     I enjoy finding annotations in non-collectible copies of books (they're called "reading" copies in bookese) because it makes sifting through book after book more interesting; Annotations add an additional story to something that's already a story. "This book existed before you picked it up. It's got history, man. This book has been places." In giving the book an added legacy like a set of emotions, we get to use the phrase "pathetic fallacy"when describing it, and why would you not want to use the word "pathetic fallacy?" If I were seventeen and emo was still cool and/or relevant, I would start a band with that name. "My guitar would shout* misplaced teen-angst unto the world."
   

Today's find is more of journal entry than a quote, and like an entry it's both personal and oddly entertaining. The previous owner describes the setting where the book was presented to him, the conversation that prompted the meeting, and even the weather. 

*Yet another example of pathetic fallacy.

Just Passing The Time

It feels like forever since I've updated, and, before I dive into a new post, I would like to welcome my new subscribers. I love coming back to find I'm being read by new faces. Thank you!

"I'm going to resist the urge to tell folks they are 'the bunk'."

Annotations can spell disaster for a collector. A year ago, I sold a 1st Edition of Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow that looked pristine on the outside but contained a full page of annotations on the title page. This, obviously, had an affect on the amount I sold the book for because, as charming as someone's else take on a story can be, thick blue pen marks--unless they're from the author--are considered a blemish. 

Personally, I enjoy finding annotations, and I enjoy it immensely if they have little to do with the content. My example, on the left, is not about a specific passage in the Everyman's Library edition of Cardinal Newman's Theology & Philosophy, but about Newman's writing as a whole. 

This limerick screams 'disenchanted freshman.' Can't you just picture it? Sitting in a lecture hall, listening to a professor wax intellectual about something you have absolutely no interest in. No? Well, I don't believe you. Everyone's had that one subject (or author/or theme) that they just could not get into. Mine was Mathematics (oh, how I wish that wasn't the case), but I am, and have always been, an Art geek. If I ever become famous, the possibility of Algebra books emerging with Eric Mowery artwork scribbled throughout remains great.