How long have you been collecting?

[Randall Flagg]

Perhaps some of our newest members would care to answer the poll.

[nt07077]

I'm just a infant in collecting, timewise. For me it's been about 3/4 of a year. But I first tried to read SK about 8 years ago when I was 10. I tried to read IT but couldn't get through it. Then earlier this year I picked it up and fell in love with King's writing. I started looking for all King's novels and all his short stories and the collecting bug bit me. Then I branched out to try to find copies of every nonfiction article he every wrote and by tomorrow I will be well over 80% of his work in my possesion. Not bad for my first year.....

[at_one]

I have been a constant reader (kind of) since my aunt gave me a HC Skeleton Crew when I was the ripe age of 6. (My parents frowned on the idea and took it away from me like it was a porno.) She continued this practice every year at Christmas and so did my parent's....who knows, maybe they were closet collectors??? Anyways....the first book I was able to keep and FINALLY read was The Stand Uncut. My parent's figured I was old enough to distinguish between written stories and real life and I am sure it beat me sitting around playing video games all day. So, I was given all my previous presents and that year I read a lot. In the years to follow I read a lot of SK, usually in PB form. It was not until earlier this year, with the finding of this outstanding site via SKcollector.com, that I begun actually collecting SK. S/L's seem appealing, I can afford the gift editions....but I really seem to like the idea of ARC/ proof editions. Looking forward to collecting with a great group of people.....

[Randall Flagg]

Perhaps some of our newest members would care to answer the poll.

[Cloysterpete]

I'm not sure I would call myself a collector, maybe just an avid King reader.

I've been reading King for a few years now I read Salem's Lot when I was pretty young (9, 10?) but the first one I remember going out to buy was the serialized Green Mile paperbacks, I was staying at my mates for a few weeks at the time and we both went down and bought each part as it came out and read it as soon as we got back in. I was 13 and my mate used to read some HUGE books whereas all I didn't read so often, I enjoyed the book but it was far from an easy read for me i'll tell you!.

Can that really be 13 years ago?, holy hannah!.

So after that I slowly (extremely) started to pick up some of the paperbacks whenever I saw them, but it wasn't until I would say 2005 that I picked up each new King books in hardcover twice, one UK and one imported from the States, people think i'm mad for doing that but everyone on here knows thats nothing at all compared to some of the super collector's on here!.

Today I still only have around 40 hardcover in the 'collection' and certain aspects of collecting still hold no appeal for me, proofs are not my thing and I also don't give a jot for whether a book is 1st, 2nd or 10th printing, thats just irrelevant to me. All I care about when i'm buying a book I probably already own in some form is having a lovely designed book that looks great on my shelf!, so while I can't afford the S/L's etc I still have some nice books like the GE's of Buick, Desperation, Insomnia and things like SofD and Easton Press Dead Zone. I also have my signed copies which are special to me as they were signed in person at the London Lisey's signings.

Next buys for me are Bev's new book, Little Sisters Gift Edition (if it's not sold out by the time I get round to ordering it) then the UK&US Under the Dome.

My aim for the coming year is to fill as many gaps in my hardcover King titles as possible, still plently I don't have!. Really though I would just be happy to get a nice condition hardcover of DT III&IV, just not the expensive 1sts lol.

My other goal is to keep on with trying to get others reading King my brother came with me (actually he invited himself because I didn't even consider asking him to come lol) to the London signing but he had never read a King book in his life, in the two years since i've got him to read Carrie, Salem's and Green Mile, i've only been semi-successful though because I did have to buy the books to give to him!.

I'm hoping for better luck with my workmate, i've been yapping on about SK to him for ages now but I never expected him to read any, or any books at all for that matter. So imagine my surprise the other day when he started texting me saying he's at the car-boot sale and asking if James Herbert is any good and what King books would I recommend etc, well he only went and bought six King books in one fell swoop lol. He just started on the first (Desperation) yesterday.

Talking of car-boot sales they rock!, I got a mint copy of Duma Key hardcover (rrp £18.99) there for 50p this weekend!.

[SkippyD023]

I have only really been "collecting" books (SK) for the last 3 or 4 years. I read my first King book about 25 years ago when a friend of my parents gave me a paperback copy of Different Seasons, I just loved it and wanted to read more of his books. I would usually go to the discount paperback book stores and pick up the paperback copies for about 50 cents each and read those. Then I slowly started to get the hardcovers as they came out but never really considered it collecting. I then decided to start replacing my paperbacks with hardcovers and now I am trying to replace the hardcovers with first editions. When I first started replacing the HC's I still wasn't thinking of myself as a collector and wasn't really concerned about 1st editions or not, I just wanted the HC copy.

I think me becoming a real "collector" started when I stumbled upon an ad for the upcoming Secretary of Dreams (vol. 1) from CD. I went to their website and really liked the looks of that book so I ordered it (and waited over a year to get it ... but that's for another thread) and then saw From Buick 8 (which was sold out many years before I visited the site) and from there just started to look into more of the limited edition books that were out there and my collection has been growing ever since. I haven't really taken the plunge into the more expensive S/L's yet, there are some I would really, really like but it is tough to spend 1k+ on a single book so I just dream about those. I did finally pick up my first Signed SK book this year "He Is Legend" and hope to add an S/L copy of "Under The Dome" as well.

I would like to start adding some the UK books and have thought about proofs as well. We will see what the future holds. Anything with a King story in it, or King related I try to add to my collection. It seems to be growing everyday and I always need to find new places to put things.......

[Eric719691]

I started reading King books when I was 12, first book was Firestarter and went from there. I read every book that was released all through high school and kept all of my hardcover first editions in my room. When I joined the military 20 years ago it was very hard with all of the moves storing books and moving with them. To make a long story short, while on deployment in 1994 I placed all my books (about 25 first editions) in storage. I returned to find out that everything had gotten wet and was ruined. In the last 5 years, I have been starting to collect again buying every first edition I can get my hands on along with any special edition that I can find. Currently have 122 Stephen King books along with a few books about King. I have also been able to get my hands on a few signed books by other authors and have now started to get my 11 year old daughter interested in collecting.

[pixiedark76]

5 to 10 years.

I started collecting SK paperbacks back in 2002. I also bought the hardbacks whenever a new one was released. Then I wanted to have all the hardback books so I got them through Double Day book club. Then I decided I wanted to have 1st editions. I started searching on the internet and in used bookstores.

Within the last 2 years I became interested in limited editions from Cemetery Dance and Donald M. Grant. This is when I became a "serious" collector. I now try to find rare books by Stephen King. I have some signed artist editions (Little Sisters of Eluria; Dark Tower 7.)
My collecting habit has become very expensive this past year. And I am afraid it is only going to get worse!

[frik]

Let's see now...this is going back a couple of years.....
I started collecting books when I was about 15, 16. Lovecraft, Bloch, Robert E. Howard, Derleth...etc. Mainly short story horror collections.
Agatha Christie and Alistair McLean were also favorites.

Then, in 1975, I saw Carrie and decided to read the book......or did I read the book first? I don't really remember. A couple of years later I read The Stand and that was the moment I decided to collect SK.
Still going strong after some 34 years.....

sk

[Randall Flagg]

Bump for newer members.

[LineofEld]

I'm not sure what truly constitutes a collector. I buy every SK hardback book I can lay my hands on at reasonable prices (there are other series that I do this with-- Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, Bartimaeus), but I don't have anything special. Nothing signed, nothing first edition... really nothing exciting. Hmmm...

[Lenny]

I'm not sure what truly constitutes a collector. I buy every SK hardback book I can lay my hands on at reasonable prices (there are other series that I do this with-- Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, Bartimaeus), but I don't have anything special. Nothing signed, nothing first edition... really nothing exciting. Hmmm...

But they are exciting to you. If they didn't bring you joy you wouldn't be buying them. That's what collecting is all about. It's not how much your collection is worth on ebay but how much it is worth to you.

[jhanic]

Well said!

John

[LineofEld]

Well thank you Lenny and jhanic. I guess I've been feeling a little out of place seeing what everyone has in their collections.

[biomieg]

No need to. A good example is my 'subcollection' of UK paperbacks by publisher NEL. Altough many people like the way they look I'm probably the only one here who gets a kick out of actually collecting them. There are others who like promotional items. Many people love signed/limiteds. Others are happy with simply having a 'hardcover' of every title, never mind if it's a first printing or not.

You can't go wrong if you simply follow your instincts.

[Dolso]

The only problem I have with following my instincts is that it keeps me broke all the time..... I see something I want & my 'instincts' kick in!

[WeDealInLead]

I wouldn't say I'm "collecting", but buying books that are nicely done. Quality books that mean something to me on a personal level. Books like Carrie, Cujo and Firestarter didn't do anything for me and I won't buy the signed editions just because they're signed editions. SK's name on a book is completely meaningless to me. Signed Carrie 1st looks exactly like the unsigned copy of the same book and I understand why collectors would pay top dollar for a signed version, but to me, there has to be something that stands out about the book: extra artwork, slipcase etc. Like I said, I understand why collectors go ga-ga over signed books but they're definitely not for me. Another example: US version of the UTD was laughable. Absolute shit. I bought the UK version because they actually did something nice for a limited.

Another thing holding me back from going all out and buying that The Stand coffin is (no, not money, my wife and I do OK) it's not practical. I'd rather spend that kind of money on a nice Gibson Les Paul Standard (I did), or a van (seriously, I bought a van for my band for the money I set aside for 'Salem's Lot) or put out my band's record (I did). It comes down to having pieces or art sitting in a bookcase or having tools that allow me to create my own art.

I REALLY don't want anyone to get offended, that's just my thoughts on collecting. I collect records so I know what it feels like when you track down your holy grail(s). All this being said, my pride & joy is The Gunslinger 1st/1st, The Stand 1st/1st and the gift edition of 'Salem's Lot w/ extra prints and traycase. On the want list are the gift edition of The Talisman/Black House and The Dead Zone on Easton. Nicely done books that clicked with me on an emotional level.

[jhanic]

Talisman/Black House from Grant

John

[biomieg]

WeDealInLead, I feel exactly the same way about signed books (I thought I was the only one). Nice choice for a guitar by the way does your band have a website? I've been playing the guitar for over twenty years and I haven't played in a band for a long time, but lately, I'm feeling 'the urge' again.

[WeDealInLead]

Thanks jhanic. I'll keep an eye on it. I'm actually waiting for Phil Hale to sign more editions of TDOT and that's when I'll place a bigger order. I remember seeing somewhere that he'll be signing more in August.

Biomieg, the website is http://myspace.com/thexproof It's hardcore punk and I'm warning you, that stuff is an acquired taste.

[Sir_Boomme]

Thanks jhanic. I'll keep an eye on it. I'm actually waiting for Phil Hale to sign more editions of TDOT and that's when I'll place a bigger order. I remember seeing somewhere that he'll be signing more in August.

Biomieg, the website is http://myspace.com/thexproof It's hardcore punk and I'm warning you, that stuff is an acquired taste.

ha ha.... like i can taste after that... it burned my taste buds off ....
such an old fuddy duddy i am...

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

I think the collecting bug bit me when I bought THE GRAY PRINCE by Jack Vance in 1974, although I was unconsciously collecting before that, tracking down every book I could find by Philip Jose Farmer or Vance (my two all-time favorite authors). I resisted collecting King because I had enough authors to collect at the time and didn't need another one! BUT, I bought a used paperback copy of Dark Forces, read THE MIST and was instantly hooked! So I began searching for King's books, luckily getting his first 5 books in US and UK hardcovers for the going price back then of $35 to $45 each. Since then, I've passed up some great bargains, but I now collect King more then my other author's, since many of them have stopped writing or are deceased.
I agree with Biomeg about signatures. I'd rather have a rare mint condition first edition then one that's been handled and abused by some author scribbling his name in it. (That's satirical, so don't get your dander up!)

[Randall Flagg]

Bump for our new members.

[Merlin1958]

I have been "collecting" for many, many years. However, while I have been a "constant reader" of Sai King for 30+ years, I have only been "collecting" his work for 10+ years, for whatever that is worth. I began my "collecting" obsession with art and moved onto books around the turn of the century.

[Garrell]

I started collecting SK with my first read, a Salem's Lot 1st/1st that my stepmother bought in late 76, I was 12 years old. Lost my little collection when I joined USMC in 83 and started the second collection around 86 when I got back to US. Lost it in a divorce in 93. My current and by far better collection has been going on since 93. Didn't get my first signed SK 'til earlier this year, only have 2 at this time. Working on getting my last 1st/1st's, eight more needed, then going for S/L only. I can say that since 1980, I have bought every SK book released the day it first came out.