Brett Easton Ellis
Did a search and saw a thread in the archives, so made a new one. Anyone else read his books? I loved Rules of Attraction and Glamorama (fucking mind blowing weird book) and Lunar Park was a different direction for him, no hard core sex scenes. And of course you got American Psycho.
I didn't enjoy either of his books that I read, Less Than Zero and American Psycho. I just find his narrative mind blowingly dull. I was disappointed because all I've heard from fellow bookworms were good things
I enjoyed them when I read them, but we're about the same age and it was at the same time and you get the idea. Haven't read them in a long time.
BTW, I'm 99.9999% certain that the picture in the Movie Picture Game thread when I first found that thread is from Less Than Zero.
It'll take a lot more than words and guns,
A whole lot more than riches and muscle.
The hands of the many must join as one.
And together we'll cross the river.
Puscifer, "The Humbling River"
I'm currently reading American Psycho. I have the trade paperback Vintage Books, March 1991 First Edition. On page 306, Batemen hasSpoiler:
Now he saysThen the next chapter begins. There is nothing there. The sentence isn't completed. There is no picture or little doodle. If anyone has a different version of this book (such as the British hard back first edition) can you tell me if there is supposed to be something there? Was this just laziness on the part of Ellis or laziness on the part of Vintage Books, or did he intentionally leave out the drawing to increase how mind blowingly fucking weird this novel is?I scrawl, in dripping red letters above the faux-cowhide paneling in the living room, the words I AM BACK and below it a scary drawing which looks like this
http://www.centipedepress.com/horror...canpsycho.html
American Psycho remains one of the most notorious horror novels ever published. Originally slated for publication by Simon and Schuster, the hardcover edition was cancelled and the novel was published in trade paperback by Vintage. The novel met immediately with attacks and condemnation, but was simultaneously praised by some of the brightest literary lights.
This edition features a fine new introduction by John Langan and a lengthy interview with Bret Easton Ellis. This is the first American hardcover edition of this novel ever published.
Each numbered copy is signed by Bret Easton Ellis, John Langan and Ben Baldwin. The edition is limited to 200 copies for sale.
Anybody order this? I wanted to, but it turned out to be way too rich for my blood. I was hoping for like $50-75. Supposedly it's shipping now.
I pre-ordered it back in May from Amazon, and the price was in that range. Let's see what they come up with.
Really? Amazon's price right now is $122: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613470193/
Yes. The price was $67.01 on May 26. I often search through Amazon for good deals on pre-orders. It's very low risk, because I can always cancel if I change my mind. Estimated delivery date is currently 11/1.
Amazon bothers me with how they package things. I tend to avoid ordering limited editions from them. I'd did order this though. Haven't gotten a shipping notice yet but since this is the first time I've ordered from centipede I don't know that I'll get one.
Lunar Park was great, I think it's my favorite.
What I like about his books, is that you don't care if characters get hurt or not. I'm not saying that you aren't invested in the characters, but that if someone is beating up, you just think, "Well, that's what you deserved."
"That which you think, becomes your world" Matheson
My girlfriend got me a copy of this as an early Christmas present, ordered direct from Centipede Press last month. She told me that it came in today, but I won't be getting my hands on it until Tuesday night. I'll try to post some pictures once I've had a chance to look it over.
I see that Amazon is still taking orders for it with a price of $122.85 (down from the original post-announcement price of $156.78 last month) and a ship date of November 20, 2012. Barnes and Noble is taking pre-orders as well (albeit it at a higher price of $158.73). However, given that Centipede Press is showing the book as being sold out, and given that the print run was limited to 200 copies, I think it's doubtful that either site will be able to fulfill all of their pre-orders. This is not to say that Amazon won't ship out any copies at all. I mean, I never actually thought that Amazon would ship my pre-order of the Transgressions S/L, and they certainly proved me wrong with that one. Still, Amazon's moving the ship date forward to November 20th (their original estimated ship date after the announcement was October 16th) may not bode well...
Either way, given that Centipede Press no longer has it available for order, it appears that Amazon is now the best option for attempting to acquire a copy without resorting to the secondary market. Wouldn't hurt to place an order and keep your fingers crossed.
"Smile... It is a fine day..."
Got mine the other day. Real nice book.
Glad to hear it. I've got a copy of the UK hardcover edition by Picador, but it kills me that I've put so much wear on a copy of an edition that's become so expensive on the secondary market. I was originally hoping that Centipede Press would price this in the $60.00 - $75.00 range so that I could order an extra as a reading copy, but alas...Originally Posted by Joe315
Did you order your copy direct from Centipede Press or did it ship from Amazon?
"Smile... It is a fine day..."
Centipede. I would order from Amazon because of the price but their shipping method is subpar imo.
I thought about ordering a UK hardcover but then I saw the prices. Haven't seen a decent copy for less then $350. The centipede edition is a great alternative, plus it's signed.
Still, they do offer free second-day air shipping (for those with a Prime membership), and in my experience they are very good about providing refunds for any item that arrives in less-than-perfect condition. Most of the items I get arrive with no damage, although I have received a few textbooks that were bumped or even creased. Again though, Amazon took them back and paid for the return shipping, so all I was out was the time it took to drop the box off at UPS.
"Smile... It is a fine day..."
Yeah I've never had any problems with packages from Amazon and I've been buying all sorts of things from them for well over a decade. Their DVDs and books are always packed well and snug. And should something arrive damaged, which has happened a few times, they send out a replacement with a fast shipping option for free and you then send the old item back. Most other companies want you to send them the old item first.
Don't get me wrong, I do love my UK edition by Picador, but I bought it over ten years ago when the price was around $70.00. I'm a huge fan of the book, but I'd still be disappointed with it if I had to pay $350.00 for a copy. The book is rather small (approximately 5.5" x 8") and unremarkable overall, aside from the great dustjacket.
Centipede Press' edition is a much better value at $170.00. It is larger (6.5" x 9.25") than the Picador edition and signed to boot. Furthermore, the dustjacket actually works much better than I thought it would given the pictures of the website.
Having said that, I really wish Centipede Press had given this book a treatment more along the lines of their wonderful edition of Frankenstein, which was oversized, had a two-toned cloth slipcase, head and tail bands, printed front and rear panels, three-piece cloth construction, and many illustrations (wood engravings), all at a retail price of $225.00. American Psycho has a retail price of $195.00 and, while certainly solid, offers much less in terms of production values, including no slipcase and a much simpler design and materials. Then again, it is impossible to say how much of the price of the book went towards securing the rights to publish the book as well as Ellis' signature.
In either case, it is certainly a much better value than the Picador edition, both in terms of price and production.
"Smile... It is a fine day..."
For me, problems generally arise when Amazon attempts to ship more than one book in a single shipment. The one time I was ever really angry was when I specifically ordered three textbooks in three separate orders so that they would not be shipped together. Unfortunately, Amazon combined the orders and shipped all three in the same box stacked on top of one another. The books all arrived with some sort of damage, including a creased edge on one and torn pages on another. I proceeded to call Amazon and ream them out about it, particularly due to the fact that they did not have any additional copies available for one of them. Still, this was a bit of an anomaly.
"Smile... It is a fine day..."
Sorry, I typically stick to the Calvin's Corner area of the website and never saw this post until now. I have the British hard back first edition, and after checking it I can confirm that it appears the same way in that edition, on the same page, no less.
"Smile... It is a fine day..."
I had no idea that the book was that small. I don't want it that much anymore.
I agree with you on your opinion of the centipede press book.
Don't get me wrong, I do love my UK edition by Picador, but I bought it over ten years ago when the price was around $70.00. I'm a huge fan of the book, but I'd still be disappointed with it if I had to pay $350.00 for a copy. The book is rather small (approximately 5.5" x 8") and unremarkable overall, aside from the great dustjacket.
Centipede Press' edition is a much better value at $170.00. It is larger (6.5" x 9.25") than the Picador edition and signed to boot. Furthermore, the dustjacket actually works much better than I thought it would given the pictures of the website.
Having said that, I really wish Centipede Press had given this book a treatment more along the lines of their wonderful edition of Frankenstein, which was oversized, had a two-toned cloth slipcase, head and tail bands, printed front and rear panels, three-piece cloth construction, and many illustrations (wood engravings), all at a retail price of $225.00. American Psycho has a retail price of $195.00 and, while certainly solid, offers much less in terms of production values, including no slipcase and a much simpler design and materials. Then again, it is impossible to say how much of the price of the book went towards securing the rights to publish the book as well as Ellis' signature.
In either case, it is certainly a much better value than the Picador edition, both in terms of price and production.
Their service is great re returns. I do order plenty of other items from them, including books but when I'm buying a limited edition I want it to be shipped securely, not in their cardboard sleeve. The only limited I ordered from them came dented.
Still, they do offer free second-day air shipping (for those with a Prime membership), and in my experience they are very good about providing refunds for any item that arrives in less-than-perfect condition. Most of the items I get arrive with no damage, although I have received a few textbooks that were bumped or even creased. Again though, Amazon took them back and paid for the return shipping, so all I was out was the time it took to drop the box off at UPS.
Yeah you nail that one exactly. Everyone is pretty much amoral.
Lunar Park was really interesting to me. It read completely biographical and absolutely silly at the same time. Some of the horror tensions were very well done though.
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