Conference noted::sf

    	See the DSSDEV::BOOKS Conference.  Press the KP7 or SELECT key
    to add BOOKS to your Notebook.
    
    	Larry
    

    Hi,
    
    For Sf and Fantasy you can always try the science fantasy bookstore
    in Harvard Square.  The have a reasonably good-sized selection of
    used F & SF.  The address is listed elsewhere in this conference.
    
    Joe

    ANNIE'S BOOKSWAP on Highland Ave in Malden.

    ANNIE'S BOOKSWAP in the Beverly Plaza, Beverly.

    Not that it's very close, but don't bother with Annie's Book Swap
    in Acton, the SF selection is pretty poor (and I got both the good
    ones :+} ).
    
    Willie

    
    There is also an Annies on Broadway in Wakefield.  Their selection
    was somewhat limited.
    
    	DF

    please note that, when I last went, if you want to bring in books
    for credit (hence the "bookswap" term) (I think they give you 1/3
    the value of the books you bring in, and then sell the ones on the
    shelf for a somewhat higher percentage of the original price) -
    you had to bring in an equal number of SF books as the amount you
    wanted to buy.  This kept their SF stock up (otherwise they may
    have run dry long ago).  Of course, if you just go in and buy 'em
    there's no problem.
    
    not sure if this is still true, though.
    
    -Jody
    

    If you're ever up in the Concord, NH, area, be sure to check out the
    Book Mill, at 485 N State Street 603-224-2770 (directions after the
    formfeed).  They have the best SF collection I've seen in quite a while
    (no, I haven't shopped the NYC bookstores lately :-).  Their hours are
    Tues-Sat 10:00-5:30.

    Beverly

    
    Take I-93 to exit 15W.  Stay in the right lane, and bear right at the
    second set of lights, onto Rte 3.  You'll pass the state prison on your
    left; about 3 miles from the highway, the road will bend to the right,
    and a 1-way street (Knight Street) will come down to Rte 3 on the left.
    The Book Mill is on the corner of Knight and Rte 3.
     

    re .5:
    
    Interesting to see they still haven't recovered from my last visit....
                                                   
    							Don

                    OTHER WORLDS
                     Book Store
    
               1281 North Main Street
                 Providence RI 02904
                   (401) 331-9140

            Paul Dobish Jr., Proprietor
    
    
    	This is it, kids -- this is the one.  You won't mind going out
    of your way because this is a combination book-swap, discussion-club,
    archive, rare-used-and-first-edition emporium.  This is the "Alice's
    Restaurant" of science-fiction, science-fantasy and horror.  You
    can get anything you want, or Paul will know why and tell you.
    I've never spent less than 2 hours there -- what with the talk and
    anecdotes and off-the-cuff reviews, etc, and I've never spent less
    than 20 bucks a visit -- all on half-price, quarter-price old used
    paperbacks.  Christ, he's got all the old Sturgeons, and he knows
    ALL the details of the porno that Philip Jose Farmer used to write.
    You also won't mind swapping off the GOOD stuff you've got because
    you KNOW it'll get into the hands of the kid who's now the age you
    were when whatever-it-is first grabbed you by the leg and showed
    you what only YOU could see -- and the author, of course.
    
    	Hours are pretty much 11 AM or 3 PM till 7 PM or so on any given
    day.  Paul does all these book-fairs, conventions, symposia, etc.,
    so it's always a good idea to call ahead.  Saturday's pretty safe,
    of course, from 11 AM till 6 PM or 7 or 8 or whenever.  
    
    	Check it out, and mention my name.  I say that because I might
    be there, and it would be neat to meet and talk.  Oh, and bring
    some money and get your hopes up: that book you thought you'd never
    find again?  Paul's probably got a couple of copies, one of them
    probably the old ACE-Double original paper.
    
    Dick Martel
               

    I'm about to perform the first major purge of my science fiction
    library (I have around 800 books, and I'll probably only keep half
    of them, I just don't have room for them all....), and was wondering
    what the best thing to do with them would be.  The various options
    as I see them are:
    
    1)	Dumpster - easiest resolution to the problem, but won't get
    me anywhere in terms of $$, and I really don't want to toss SF!
    
    2)	Donate to library - would they want them?  Can I take the value
    (who determines the value?) of them off my taxes?
    
    3)	Haul them off to a used (SF?) bookstore and take their offer,
    would a used bookstore _want_ on the order of 400 SF paperbacks?
    What would be a reasonable price?  Should I count books or add up
    the cover price and take a percentage or what?
    
    4)	Offer them to the denizens of the notes file (I'll have a sorted
    list that I can post) and wait a week or so before taking the rest
    of them to a used bookstore?  
    
    Decisions, decisions, I know, maybe I'll sell them to some fanatics
    for a bookburning!  :+)
    
    Willie

    I vote for #4. Lots of times. ;-)
    
    If they are in reasonalbly good condition, most libraries would
    love to get them.

    One other suggestion -- Donate them to a hospital. Most, if they
    have the space, would love to have them too. 
    
    Fred

    Re library donations:
    
    You might want to verify this with someone familiar with the tax
    laws, but it _used_ to be that if you donated books to a library,
    upon request, the library would give you a document stating the
    value of the donation based on their (usually generous) appraisal
    of the books' value.  It was that this could be considered a charitible
    deduction on your taxes if you did the 1040 long form.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

    You may consider donating them to a prison library.
    
    						- John

    Whatever you decide, PLEASE, PLEASE do not throw them away!  That
    would be tantamount to burning them yourself!  If it must be a
    dumpster, make it a Goodwill dumpster.  There's nothing that breaks
    my heart more than seeing books of any kind rotting away in the
    trash.  Even the trashiest romance novel might have something to
    say to *someone*.  (Flame off)
    
    					Rick

    If you're ever in Boston, you might want to give Newbury Comics
    a try.  I've always had good luck in there and I've gotten turned
    onto some neat SF/F writers there.  The place has atomsphere too.
    
    It's located at: 332 Newbury Street, Boston. (617) 236-4930.  Not
    sure of the hours.  It's in the block closest to Mass. Ave.
    
    Happy hunting!
    
    Roslyn

    
    
     Just a note, there's a used bookstore in Marlboro, on Rt 20 
    (Boston Post Road),  next to Diangelo's.   It has a fair ammount
    of SF and the prices are pretty good.
    
    paul

>     Just a note, there's a used bookstore in Marlboro, on Rt 20 
>    (Boston Post Road),  next to Diangelo's.   It has a fair ammount
>    of SF and the prices are pretty good.
    
The name is Annie's Book Swap.

Mike_L

    Re .19:
    
    Hey, there's an Annie's Book Swap in Nashua not too far from D'Angelo's
    and Boston Post Road.  (It's actually in a plaza on Amherst Street.)
    
    
    				-- edp 

    	Where will the SF and Fantasy Bookstore being moving to, now
    that it is no longer in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA?  Their rent
    was hiked up, and they preferred to move rather than pay it.
    
    	Larry
    

    I haven't talked to Spike recently, but as I understand it, he
    just closed up shop rather than moving.
    
    --- jerry

    re: -1
    
    That's exactly right.  Spike has closed up for good.  He may be
    working at another store soon, or may just live off his trust fund.
    He's thinking of selling the remaining books at next year's Boskone
    or something.
    
    Merryl-who-regrets-the-passing-of-an-era
    

One of the best collections of used SF is 2ND Performance Bookswap in
Framingham. It is located in Framingham in the set of stores at the
corner of Route 9 and Edgell Road, next to the Hole-in-the-Wall Deli.
Since I am a frequent visitor, please bring some contributions to the
stock when you visit.
         Dave

    Well, Dave, now you did it.  I've found more "hard-to-find"
    books there over the years and now you've spilled the beans.
    
    						Don (who'd better get
                                                down there at lunchtime
                                                before the rush hits.) 

    
>>    That's exactly right.  Spike has closed up for good.  He may be
    working at another store soon, or may just live off his trust fund.
    He's thinking of selling the remaining books at next year's Boskone
    or something.
    
>>    Merryl-who-regrets-the-passing-of-an-era
    

	This is sad. I make the trek to Harvard Square regularly, and
one of the reasons was to see Spike at his store. I didn't much like it
after he moved from over Goodwin's (and the Chinese restaurant - now both
burnt out): his stock was much diminished the last few years. Few new 
hardcovers or imports - more and more trolls and barbarians on quests.
I guess he had to stick with the quick turnover stuff as the rent kept 
going up
	But a fews years back, the old store was bustling with fans and
freaks, with Spike in his coke bottle glasses presiding pleasantly over the
fun, answering questions and offering suggestions. I got many hours of 
enjoyment from that place. 
	Another institution fades away.
	Let us know where Spike goes.

						Brent
		

    
    Went in to Hahvahd Squa-ah yesterday specifically to hit SF+F
    bookstore, and saw the sign that it had closed.........
    
    Guess that'll teach me to not keep up in the SF conference......
    
    They had some of the best buttons in there, and at normal prices
    too, not huckster prices at cons.
    
    jonathan/part_time_button_collector
    

    Since my S.O. added her SF collection to mine, we've got lots of
    duplicates, so we went thru the shelves and sorted out the ones we can
    bear to part with.  I've called a number of used bookstores and gotten
    wildly varying price estimates on what they will pay for used SF
    paperbacks (if they will take them at all).  What's a reasonable
    percentage of cover price to ask for them if we:
    
    1)	Go to a used book store.
    2)	Sell them ourselves.
    
    And yes I will be posting the final list as soon as I get it sorted
    out, looks like between 125 and 175 books total.
    
    Willie 

    If you go to a used bookstore, don't expect more than about
    5-10% of the cover price. If you sell them yourself, I'd say
    50% of cover price is fair.
    
    --- jerry

    Thanks Jerry!  We were considering something like that, though some
    of the brand new unread ones might go for a bit more and the older
    more beatup ones for a bit less.  I'll be posting a list (last count
    was about 180 books) RSN.
    
    Willie

    OK, I'm down to looking for a used bookstore that will buy books
    for a reasonable price.  I've got well over 100 SF paperbacks in
    a wide range of conditions, but in my calls to a number of stores
    I find that they are either not interested in paperbacks, or will
    offer me as little as 10 percent of the cover price for them!  Does
    anyone know of a used bookstore that will give me as much as 25
    percent (or 50?) of cover price?
    
    Alternately, does anyone know how the tax laws work lately?  If
    I were to donate the books to a library and they were to give me
    a valuation on them, can I take the entire amount off my gross income
    or what?  I already do the long form and itemized deductions and
    such....
    
    Any ideas?
    
    Willie

    RE .31 taxes
    
    I recently donated a large number of paper and hard back books
    to the local library.  They gave me a sheet with the count of
    paper and a count of hardback.  When it comes time to do my taxes
    I will put a valuation on the books and deduct that amount.  If
    I get audited then I have to substantiate the values taken.

	Steve

    I was at Victor Hugo Bookstore on Newbury Street (Boston), and
    I couldn't believe I found a 1951 hardcover copy of Asimov's Foundation
    for $9.50 (in excellent condition).  They have *tons* of paperbacks and 
    hardcovers.  As far as I could see, all the hardcovers were $9.50.
    I'm going to take a vacation day and just spend an entire day there
    one of these days looking for neat stuff.
    
    B.

    re:.33
    
    That's really not all that surprising. I'd be willing to bet it's
    a Doubleday edition, which is not the first edition. The first
    edition is from Gnome Press, and *that* is rare and high-priced.
    
    If you see Spike (short and stocky, with thick glasses and a hearing
    aid), say hello to him for me. He's an ex-roomie who used to own
    the Science Fantasy Bookstore in Harvard Square. He's now the SF
    expert at Avenue Victor Hugo.
    
    --- jerry

                I remember that guy.  He told me he was portrayed
                in one of  those 'Roger Zelazny' books that other
                people  wrote  about the  starship  racing  teams
                (w/speedball raybo, etc.)