Book Collection: jcmanske

[jcmanske]

"Beware the man of one book."
----Latin Proverb

"As book collectors know all too well: We only regret our economies, never our extravagances."
----Michael Dirda(Washington Post Book Critic)

“Sometimes, looking at the many books I have at home, I feel I shall die before I come to the end of them, yet I cannot resist the temptation of buying new books. Whenever I walk into a bookstore and find a book on one of my hobbies — for example, Old English or Old Norse poetry — I say to myself, “What a pity I can’t buy that book, for I already have a copy at home.”
―--- Jorge Luis Borges, This Craft of Verse

I began reading as a young boy, primarily Hardy Boys books, The Hobbit, and other standard young male fare. When I was in high school, I stumbled onto King. My first experience of anything connected to Stephen King came when I went to see Carrie as a 15 year old in the local movie theater. I then went and picked up a copy of Salem's Lot and haven't stopped reading King since. Boy, do I wish I had held on to those hardback books I had purchased back in the day. I'm a huge fan of the Dark Tower series, but I was one of those Constant Readers that had never picked up The Gunslinger until several years ago. Now, I've finished all of the books and love them.

Being a Constant Reader and appreciator of good books, it seems it's only natural to progress from being an accumulator of books to a collector. In addition to King, I also collect Dean Koontz, George R.R. Martin and have been trying to put togther a collection of the John D. MacDonald Travis McGee hardback, 1st/1sts. As far as King, my interests are signed limiteds, lettered editions, proofs and manuscripts. I'm still a voracious reader and enjoy Lee Child, the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva, Robert Crais, and lots of other popular fiction.

After hanging around thedarktower.org for a little more than a year now and admiring everyone else's collection threads, I decided the time has come to start my own thread. While my day job keeps me pretty busy, I'll try and update this as I have time.

First up is my collection of books about King. I really enjoy reading the back stories behind the books, the stories about other collectors and King's evolution as an author.




The Shape Under The Sheet: The Stephen King Encyclopedia (Lettered)



Stephen King: The Non-Fiction (Lettered)




The Road to the Dark Tower (S/L)


Stephen King from A to Z (S/L)


The Essential Stephen King: The Complete and Uncut Edition (Lettered)


Lilja's Library: The World of Stephen King (Lettered)



Bare Bones: Presentation Copy


Bare Bones: Lettered Copy AA