Portions From a Wine-Stained Notebook

Good eye, planahea.
And much-o Congrats-oh Garrett.

- -
Okay,
Father Luke

not to sound harsh, but maybe it helps to remind her, that only dictators destroy books.
this is NO polemic! history shows, it's true. people only often aren't aware of this fact.

"...only dictators destroy books."

Ha! I love it!

Ha! No comment...

(she rules with an iron fist but I go along with that so it's not really a dictatorship).

I got the alert from City Lights and once I saw that the shipping problem was being addressed, placed my hardcover order. A great deal compared to the paperback price, and those 1,000 copies will be gone in a flash, I imagine.

Hey guys:

It sounds like things are starting to straighten themselves out--thanks for bearing with us! I hope people love the book, as it was a real joy to work on.

Thank you, too, to planahea & father luke for their congratulations--I was an "editorial assistant" at the beginning of this project but they upped my title this season to "editor," which is exciting. I think the continuing success of Portions helped make this decision!

I'll keep checking in on this thread to see how things are going or feel free to send me a private message here if there are any particular questions.

Garrett

And thank you, Garrett.

That's quite an honor -- to be an editor at City Lights, and an editor of a Bukowski book. You should be very proud of that. Thanks for helping bring this book out.

I got the alert and ordered a Hardcover. You being promoted helps. Good job on that.

I signed up for the alert for both. I got the alert for the wrappers edition, but not the hard cover. Thanks to y'all, I heard about the HC availibility. Now, hearing about the packing, I'm wondering. Just wondering...

I received my 2 hardcovers today. Both in perfect condition.

I also received all my alerts - left 2 e-mails to make sure - and received alerts on both.

Very happy!!!

I also received my alerts for the wrapper and the hard cover.

I just hope that the hard cover I ordered arrives in perfect condition...

Hi,
Mine arrived. I see what some others were talking about. My corners were a bit dinged. I can live with it. The funny thing is that the shipping department had all of the tools at hand to make it perfect. All they had to do is tape the top and bottom of the bubble wrap tight. They wrapped it loose three times in bubble wrap, but left it to flop around in the packing. If they just taped the bubble wrap tight, that would not happen and it would cost nothing more to do it. Just another 15 seconds on the packing side.

Either way. I'm happy enough with my copy and happy as hell that you guys decided to publish this in HB.

Best,
Bill

damn man, how does a book get to Australia before North Carolina? Mine better come today or I'm gonna pass out from holding my breath!

Your Postman like mine, enjoy reading the work of a fellow postman. The dirt went through the mail in record time.

Pretty much the same thing here. It looked like they threw my books in and then tossed some bubble wrap on top. Both of my copies have identical "damage" to the upper left corner of the book and DJ, and to the bottom of the DJ on the spine. But, it is pretty minor, and may just be how they came from production.

My UPS guy has softer hands. Mine is in perfect condition the only flaw was when he rang the doorbell the corgi went nuts.
I wish you all good luck and happiness.

Me too...

Ah yes ... not exactly Australia.

Due to the crazy postage costs - had the books sent to my sister in US - who will on send to me. I asked her to check them and show them to me on skype.

So still waiting to have them in my hands ...

I get a little anxious sometimes. you know, like when I've got a new Bukowski book coming. got it today, all but perfect condition. (the slightest of one bumped corner) sure feels good in my hands.

Mine WAS here today, but I missed the delivery and apparently I have to sign for it. Damn it. Ah well, I can wait, I've got plenty more to read now anyhow.

Got my hardcover quick, and it was well packaged, wrapped in bubble and in a thick padded envelop. One corner bumped, but not bad. I'm guessing these corner flaws may be the way the books came from the printer/binder. You can open a carton of brand new books from a publisher and they will sometimes have minor damage. Dings and scrapes. Maybe the guys in the warehouse aren't careful with them. Anyway, it was minor on my copy, not a problem, and it's a beautifully produced book. Nice cloth binding, thick strong attractive jacket. City Lights did a great job on these. I'm happy as hell to have a copy.

Portions

You people are causing me great angst. My two copies have to travel coast to coast and are due to arrive on the 9th. I sure hope the bindings are still attached to the signatures upon arrival.

Here's a book shipping horror story to keep you occupied during the long wait. I ordered an almost out of print small press chapbook, one of the last remaining copies. It was packed in a stiff cardboard envelop, no padding. At the post office it got stuck in some sorting machine and a wheel of some kind (to keep the books moving along a conveyor belt?) ground down into the package, through the cardboard, through the book's cover, and into a dozen pages -- thankfully all in the margin area, so the book was still readable. I kept it. If I hadn't read it, would it qualify as mint/as-new? Not that you should worry about City Lights. Their package looks too thick to go through whatever chewed up my chapbook.

I got my hard cover today! All four "corners" on the spine was bumped, worst at the bottom, and the upper right corner on the front cover was bumped too. The front cover bump was not too bad and I managed to straighten it out somewhat. The four spine bumps cannot be straightened out. They´re not extreme but they are noticeable. Oh, well, it could have been worse...

It´s a great book! It has lot´s of interesting stuff! Our own cirerita is mentioned in the acknowledgments - "...Bukowski scholar extraordinaire, who brought to my attention several superb and undiscovered stories and essay."
Very nice!

Thanks a lot, David, Garret, City Lights and everybody who contributed, inc. our own cirerita, for producing a great Bukowski book!

I have received my copy today , and it
is quite damaged. The two top corners are bumped and the top of the spine as well.
Of course I am happy holding a copy of a book we have all been waiting for but also disappointed.

I am thankful to City Lights for producing a hard cover of Portions....

Let me know if you need a packer.

Great news! The two hardcover copies of Portions... arrived here today in excellent (Very Fine) condition. They were packed in a reused Random House box with bubble wrap on the top, bottom and all four sides of the two stacked books. I was concerned that the dust jackets might be rubbed as there was no paper or packing between the two stacked volumes, but they are undamaged. Whew! I feel relieved and grateful to the CLB shipping department and UPS.

Book delivery, Take 2

When my first copy arrived last week, I told everyone that it looked like someone had been banging the corners with a hammer. I sent it back to City Lights, and I'm happy to say that I received a new copy today that was in perfect condition. This time it arrived triple bubble-wrapped in a box. Many thanks to Garrett and everyone there, I couldn't be happier with both the book and their service.