When I first started working in a used bookstore, the shop keeper assigned me two books to read before starting. The first, ABC for Book Collectors, was a thorough encyclopedia of the terminology of the trade. It supplied me with a solid foundation on which to build my knowledge of used and rare books. The second book I was given was John Dunning’s Booked to Die. That little page-turner mystery gave material to construct spires on that original foundation.
For those who haven’t read Dunning’s Bookman series, you should get a copy of Booked to Die as soon as possible. John Dunning managed to draw on his real life experience running a bookshop in Denver to create a detailed portrayal of the strange and sometimes seedy world of used and rare books. Booked to Die introduces police detective and book-collector Cliff Janeway working a murder case revolving around rare books.
Booked to Die has always been praised for its accuracy in portrayal of the culture and cast of the book collecting world, and for its detailed descriptions of some of the high-points in collectible books including prices, but the novel was published in 1992 before the internet was quite as ubiquitous and e-books were unknown.
The world of internet bookselling started to emerge just a year or so after Booked to Die was published. The intervening 22 years since the release of that book have seen the nature of selling books, and even reading, utterly transformed. I’ve witnessed the changes in book shops as the years have gone by, but I’ve always held a personal curiosity to see how the prices that Dunning provided in 1992 have changed.
I took the books that had specific values mentioned in Booked to Die and looked up their current value on Biblio for a similar copy in collectible condition. Below is the results of my research. This list is based on glossing Booked to Die for the specific books and prices that Dunning mentioned, my apologies in advance for any titles that I may have missed in the process.
Booked to Die
Mr President by Harry Truman, signed and inscribed
Booked to Die price: $800
Current price: $6,250
The Recognitions by William Gaddis
Booked to Die price: $400
Current price: $325-600 or so, so largely unchanged in value.
The Magus by John Fowles – 1st UK
Booked to Die price: $300
Current price: $190-$1000 with a few copies for less than the $300 mark Mr. Dunning mentioned.
The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler
Booked to Die price: $1000
Current price: $2,000 and up.
Tamerlane by a Bostonian (pseudonymous first book by Edgar Allen Poe with an estimated 12 copies in existence)
Booked to Die price: $250,000
While this book is too scarce to find an easy example currently on the open market, Christie’s auction sold a copy in 2009 for $662,500
Booked to Die price: $1000
Current price: starting at around $675
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, signed and with a unique, risque sketch by the author:
Booked to Die price: $2,000
Current price: This copy is the closest to the amazing, fictional one described in Booked to Die $20,577.50
Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Booked to Die price: $200
Current price: at least $500 for 1st state in dust jacket
Of Time and The River by Thomas Wolfe
Booked to Die price: around $160
Current Price: I found a copy in very good dust jacket for $125, with the average collectible copy going up through $350-$500 or so.
Firestarter by Stephen King, signed limited edition
Booked to Die price: $3,000
Current price: $1,350.00 and up, but all the copies I found were less than the $3,000 mark set by Booked to Die.
Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols
The protagonist in Booked to Die had invested in a small stack of this novel, so Dunning gave prices for it both signed and unsigned.
Booked to Die price: around $100 unsigned.
Current price: $200 and up on average.
Booked to Die price: $150 signed
Current price signed: around $500 depending on condition.
This Earth, a Poem by William Faulkner (described in the novel as : “fine little Faulkner poem, original 1932 issue, paper wraps”)
Booked to Die price: $250
Current price: $200-$300 still, these many years later.
Case of Dangerous Dowager by Earl Stanley Gardner
Booked to Die price: $200
Current price: about $400
Time & Again by Jack Finney
Booked to Die price: $150
Current price: $500-800
Booked to Die price: $150
Current price: $300 or so and up.
The Ink Truck by William Kennedy
Booked to Die price: $200-$250
Current price: about the same, more or less, $150 and up.
The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry
Booked to Die price: $200
Current price: about the same. A quite nice 1st edition is currently offered on sale for just over $200.
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James Cain
Booked to Die price: $1,000
Current price: A really nice copy will go for $10,000 and up, but it is possible to get one with some flaws for more around $1,000.
Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow
Booked to Die price: $150
Current price: starts at around $300.
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Booked to Die price: $150
Current price: a first state copy is around $350 or so.
Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
Booked to Die price: $200
Current price: more like $800 and up.
Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood, signed by the author.
Booked to Die price: $150
Current price: $750
158-Pound Marriage by John Irving
Booked to Die price: $200
Current price: about the same, starting at $150 or so.
Booked to Die price: $200
Current price: $850
The Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings
Booked to Die price: $150
Current price: starting at $250-$300
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
Booked to Die price: $250
Current price: around $1,000.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding, First American Edition
Booked to Die price: $200
Current price: more than $600
Booked to Die Price: $300-$400
Current price: you would be hard pressed to find a nice copy for less than $1,000.
Booked to Die price: $100
Current price: $700 and up.
Dangling Man by Saul Bellow
Booked to Die price: $400
Current price: around $400.
The Victim by Saul Bellow
Booked to Die price: $250
Current price: $400
Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman
Booked to Die price: $200-$300
Current price: none less than $600
Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman
Booked to Die price: $200-$300
Current price: $500 and up.
Fly on the Wall by Tony Hillerman
Booked to Die price: $200-$300
Current price: at least $600
Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Booked to Die price: $500
Current price: well over $2,000
Crazy in Berlin by Thomas Berger
Booked to Die price: $200
Current price: maybe $50
I love these books! Well, up until Janeway became more interested in horses… but, anyway… this is a great post. I was surprised to see that not all of them increased in value.