The Continual Condition (2 Viewers)

mine came in the mail 2 days ago. only read a bit of it, but nice to see you got acknowledged, Bill.
 
According to UPS... mine should be here any second, and since UPS comes around 11am, I should say any hour.
 
Usually they wait a year for the paperback.

Still, the hardback can be bought for about $18. The paperback will probably be $12, so why wait a year for $6?

Bill
 
Well mine arrived! I'm happy! I wish it was bigger. Cool shout out Bill!!! I'm hoping I can also find an ARC, for the variety, different cover and buk.net's shout out.
 
Usually they wait a year for the paperback.
A year? I didn't know that's how they do it, I thought it would be a month or so. I will definitely buy the hardback, but I usually prefer the paperbacks as I'm not a collector and they are easier to handle when reading. Thanks.
 
Well BSP wouldn't wait a year - in fact the hardcovers often preceded the paperbacks, if only by a few days or weeks - but Ecco is a giant book mill and they have their standard practices.
 
Yeah, the standard practice in the biz is to release the hardbacks and then the paperbacks a year later (at least that was how it was done when I managed a bookstore in the early 90's. And MJP is right, Black Sparrow released them both at the same time, within a few days.

There is no reason to wait a year, except that they figure that all of the rabid fans will buy the hardback as their only option as they will not want to wait a year.

Bill
 
Big time publishers still wait a(t least a) year for hardbacks. Though for such wonderful authors as Stephenie Meyer and Dan Brown, they're willing to wait two to three.

Ecco seems to be releasing the paperbacks about 9-12 months after the hardbacks (at least for as long as I've been paying attention). I've got a copy coming in to work with my name on it, as well as a library copy until I can actually PAY for the copy coming into work... Can't wait.
 
the standard practice in the biz is to release the hardbacks and then the paperbacks a year later

That's how it is over here too.
 
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came in the mail today. only made page 17 tonight but I had to read let's have some fun and the wasted profession 3 times apiece because I completely related. someone once asked me what I do for fun and I said "I don't believe in fun". a friend within earshot said, "he's not kidding". still cracks me up.
 
yeah i was at Barnes and Noble a day or so ago and saw it there. i DIDNT EVEN KNOW IT WAS OUT YET! anyhoo, other than it being super short, I can't wait to get ahold of a copy.

first thing i noticed was the bottleofsmoke shoutout too.
 
It's funny, but they say it's 576 pages long:

Detailed item info
Size
Length: 576 pages

I ordered mine, and usually that's where I buy my books, from the Book Depository (http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/). They don't charge shipping fees and the prices are lower than the ones from Amazon.co.uk. For "The Continual Condition" I payed €17.92.
I wish I've heard of that site before. I ordered mine from Amazon for $17.15 + $12.48 for shipping and handling. Damn! :(
 
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Got mine today, dare I say from amazon? haven't had a chance to read it yet and probably won't be able to till next week sometime. I did however open it and saw the acknowedgements. Way to go Bill! I'm excited for you! The look of the actual book sucks though. God I miss BSP.
 
I wish I've heard of that site before. I ordered mine from Amazon for $17.15 + $12.48 for shipping and handling. Damn! :(

There's one thing though with the Book Depository. They ship each item separately, so if you order 3 books you will receive 3 packages and as of my experience, not all at once, but at different dates. That wouldn't be a real problem, but the envelopes in which they ship the books are just usual bubble envelopes, not cartons, so it often happens that the books will arrive with bumped corners. When the damage was more than a bumped corner (it happened once - the envelope was torn and the item got terribly damaged and dirty) I asked for a refund and they gave it to me without any problem. Anyway, some items arrived in mint condition, I guess it just depends on the mood of the postal workers :)
 
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Thanks, Bogdan! Unfortunately, many booksellers just use a bubble envelope. So I guess if you want to buy an expensive book, the Book Depository is'nt the place to order from.
Don't get me started on postal workers. Some of them handle packages like it was sacks of potatoes. I just hope some them also buy many books through the internet. Maybe that'll teach them...:)
 
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has anyone read it yet? I just bought mine yesterday and haven't had a chance to go through it yet.I thought it would be a bigger book,only 127 pages though any "new" Buk book is fine with me.
 
Yeah it is a slim volume, especially for the price... but I'm sure they'll get that much for it from most people... at least some places discount it. I'm picking up my copy later this week...
 
I read it in two days. Way too short, but oh well. No other complaints. There were a few poems that made me crack up more than usual. "Part's Dept." is absolutely one of the funniest things I have ever read from Buk. I think I read it 10-15 times, over and over again.
 
Oh my....I thought we had reached the depth point with
The People Look Like Flowers At Last.
 
The paper used for The Continual Condition might be a shade better than that used for The People Look Like Flowers. Funny, my ARC of Flowers has much better quality paper.
 
What does your binding smell like? I miss the strawberry/nutmeg goodness of Earle Gray Bookbinders. Now it just smells like paper....

Bill
 
mine smells of recycled newsprint and kitty litter. coincidentally, that's what the paper looks like, also.

but I liked several of the poems very much, so that's what matters. I suppose.
 
Just ordered it for pick-up tomorrow via Borders,
and I was just there 2 days ago with the lone copy in my hand, thinking how cheap it felt somehow...
but if just several of the poems are worthy, then I have to have it
(Hell, even if none were, I'd still want it, just with the cheap Ecco production I'm still kicking myself that I didn't find (or even look for) for an ARC).
I have a recently re-subscribed Barnes & Noble membership
(really re-thinking that)
but it was still cheaper via Borders.
Use Coupon Code BSA1671X to receive 40% off,
I think good until the 17th(?)

Found the book for $13 on ABE but need it to read for red-eye to Dayton OH
(don't ask)
in 5 days.

OK, toast
 
Yes, the paper quality is lousy. The cover, on the other hand, looks better without the usual images, I think.
I wonder why the book is so thin. Is it because we've reached the end of the line of the posthumous poetry books from Ecco, or is it because Ecco found out they can get the same money for a thin book as for a thick book? ;)
 
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The cover design is quite nice.
Bukfan, I think you hit the nail on the head. Half the size x 2.
Nice acknowledgment for Bill. ;)
Mine smells like a grade one exercise notebook and oatmeal.
 
I noticed that the poem "he died April 9, 1553" about Rabelais which appeared in The Night Torn Mad with Footsteps is also in The Continual Condition but now titled "died 9 april 1553". Are the poems in Continual Condition supposed to be uncollected poems, or are there others which have appeared in earlier books?
 
they are supposed to be uncollected poems but there are alot of previously collected poems in this one. almost 1/3 of them. which is pretty bad when you see how thin it is. of course we've been spoiled in the past where bukowski's books were much bigger than your usual poetry-collection but still.
 
I think David was asking about poems previously collected in books, not in mags. Many of the poems had previously appeared in mags, but the one about Rabelais seems to be the only one that had been already collected by BSP... but it's not the first time that BSP/Ecco (re)printed the same poem in different collections.
 

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