Saturday, February 14, 2009

A Love Letter to My Collection of Signed Books

Since it's Valentine's Day, I thought I'd do a post on some of the books I love most in my collection - the signed ones! I've even scanned in five of the most interesting ones for all of you to envy see. I'm pretty sure this is a complete list, but I've gotten a ton since I started book blogging, so I may have forgotten one in there somewhere...

Personalized to me (met the author):
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Piece by Piece by Tori Amos


Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde


The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Silver by Norma Fox Mazer
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
The Famous Stanley Kidnapping Case by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
All three books in Death by series by Linda Gerber
Now and Zen by Linda Gerber
Die Welle (Graphic Novel) by Stefanie Kampmann

Personalized to Daniel (met the author):
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (German version)



I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Rumpelstiltskin by Paul O. Zelinsky
Ariol by Marc Boutavant
Ausser Dienst by Lewis Trondheim
Dschinn Dschinn by Ralf Koenig
Smartypants, Cinders and Change-a-lot by Babette Cole (French version)
Sehr Beruehmt by Philip Waechter
Aunt Eater Loves a Mystery by Doug Cushman

Personalized to both of us (met the author):
The Knight and the Dragon by Tomie DePaola



Personalized to me (did not meet author):
The Big Splash by Jack Ferraiolo
The Emerald Tablet by PJ Hoover
Far World: Waterkeep by J. Scott Savage
The Elite by Jennifer Banash
Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab
Undercover by Beth Kephart
Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart
Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies by Erin Dionne
Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman
The Rule of Won by Stefan Petrucha
Oh.My.Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs
Confessions of a Contractor by Richard Murphy
How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles
Secrets of my Suburban Life by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Starfinder by John Marco

Signed books:
Wake by Lisa McMann
Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern
The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper
The Specialists: Model Spy by Shannon Greenland
The Specialists: Down to the Wire by Shannon Greenland
The Specialists: The Winning Element by Shannon Greenland
The Specialists: Native Tongue by Shannon Greenland
The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci
Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky
Alec Flint, Super Sleuth by Jill Santopolo
Creepers by Joanne Dahme
Back Talk by Alex Richards (marked up!)
A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
Cherry Bomb by Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna (marked up!)
The Lost Episodes of Beatie Scareli by Ginnetta Correli

Signed bookplates:
Violet by Design by Melissa Walker
Sucks to Be Me by Kimberly Pauley
Joy of Spooking: Fiendish Deeds by Paul Bracegirdle

40 comments:

Steph Su said...

Lenore,

You really should put a warning at the top of this post, so that, unlike me, people won't fall down at the site of those authors' names. MARCUS ZUSAK! (Twice!) Libba Bray! Neil Gaiman!

I hope you can't tell I'm a little wide-eyed and hyperventilating right now at your impressive collection.... :)

Nancy said...

Lenore!! what an amazing collection. I, too have an abundance of signed books and I treasure them so much. Neil Gaiman, Sophie Kinsella and Stephenie Meyer are my favorite's an they sit on a special part of my book shelf :)

Shalonda said...

I am so jealous of the signed copy of Silver. That book was one of my favorites growing up. It is near to heart, and I was actually thinking of reviewing it on my blog soon.

You've got quite a collection!

Khy said...

You met Markus Zusak AND Libba Bray AND Shel Silverstein?

I hate you. D:

I should post about my signed books now, to see if you hate me after. xD

Yan said...

I drool over signed books and you've just created a waterfall xD

I LOVE your list!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I loved The Book Thief!!

I don't have any signed books myself, but my hubby has several signed to him by Elmer Kelton, a western-series author who lives in our town.

GreenBeanTeenQueen said...

That is amazing and wonderful! I love signed books!:) Maybe someday I'll post my collection too-you've inspired me!
-Sarah

Linda said...

What an impressive list of signed books!

Alea said...

That is so awesome I love it! That's awesome you met Shel Silverstein! Oh Mind the Gap, I love that phrase! Did you do your special Friday post yesterday, I need to go back and look, I love them, they always make me happy!

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh! What a cool collection you have.

prophecygirl said...

I cannot believe you met Markus Zusak. OMG! Wow. [cue speechless-ness].

I have a signed copy of The Book Thief, but it's not personalised, and I didn't meet him. Sigh.

Great collection.. thanks for sharing!

Lenore Appelhans said...

Ah, Steph! I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time a few times. There are so many more books I'd love to get signed. (Hint AS King Hint)

RR - Cool! Those are some BIG names. I'd love to see you post about your collection.

Shalonda - Really? That's so cool! I met NFM at a HS writing competition and knew nothing about the book when I got it signed but I loved it once I read it. Review it!!

Khy - Please do! I sooo want to hate you ;)

Yan - Thanks! I drool nearby them ;)

Glenda - Always cool to have books signed by local authors.

GBTQ - Please!! I bet you have an awesome collection.

Linda - Thanks. I know you have at least a couple!

Alea - No, I skipped it this week because this week wasn't all that fab, what with all that Rowan of the Wood spamming. And a very empty mailbox.

Kathy - Thanks! I'm always looking for opportunities to expand it.

Lenore Appelhans said...

PG - I was really lucky on that one. He came to a writer's conference in Munich and I got to go. I even had lunch with him!!

prophecygirl said...

Did he talk about The Book Thief at all? I would definitely have geeked out and basically worshipped him for the day, lol.

Kristen M. said...

How exciting ... my most precious signed book was from the day that I stood in front of Jane Goodall and tried not to cry while feeling incredibly overwhelmed!

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Niiiiiiice. You got brokeback mountain autographed?? i'm kind of jealous about that.

sigh. you have a lot of awesome books. :)

-Lauren

Ana S. said...

wow! Mark Zusak, Tori Amos, Neil Gaiman! That's awesome.

Khy said...

You had lunch with Markus Zusak?! Now I hate you even more. I mean Markus Zusak is my back up plan if my marriage to David Levithan doesn't work out.

Anonymous said...

Now that's an amazing collection! I especially like Daniel's signed NEVERWHERE.

LisaMay said...

Wow! That one awesome collection!

What is the "Mind The Gap" thing all about? hehe

Alea said...

You know, every time I read a comment the last few days I think it's going to end up to be a Rowan spam. Sort of a guessing game!

PJ Hoover said...

wow! What a collection! It's a wonderful thing to collect!

Jena said...

Very nice. I left a lot of my signed books packed neatly in boxes in Ohio, but I'm still amazed at the number of signed books my husband and I have here--a full shelf, plus I'm sure I have a second full shelf back in boxes. Some of my favorites are the Tim O'Brien, Edwidge Danticat, Rodman Philbrick, and Chris Crutcher inscriptions. I am, though, oh-so-jealous of your Shel Silverstein, Neil Gaiman and Markus Zusak signatures.

Unknown said...

Wow, what a collection! I love Neil Gaiman's "Mind the Gap"! :) Awww, Tomie DePaolo!

Thanks for sharing this love letter!

cecilia

Lenore Appelhans said...

PG - Oh yes, he talked quite a bit about The Book Thief. And he told some hilarious stories. He's a great speaker.

Kristen - WOW!

Lauren - Yes. Annie came to the Frankfurt library last year, and I got to meet her.

Nymeth - Yes, I feel incredibly lucky!

Khy - Well, it's not like it was just the two of us. But it's good to know you have a back-up plan.

Memory - I kinda wish he would have signed on the title page, but of course I think it is awesome anyway.

LisaMay - I think it has something to do with the plot of the book.

Alea - I didn't get any today, YAY!

PJ - I love it! And the internet has made it so much easier.

Jena - I may have more in storage too. You have quite the collection! I'd love to see you do a post on yours.

ER - When we met Tomie, we also got books signed for some of our friends with kids. Great christmas presents!

Alea said...

Yay! I got a joke one, so that was kind of funny. No real ones!

H said...

So many signed books! And so many great authors! Fun idea and I loved the photos by the way. I always wonder what some authors' handwriting looks like.

Alyce said...

What a great post! I haven't counted my books that are signed, but I would guess I have about ten. I've only met a couple of the authors though.

Anonymous said...

I am so, so jealous about the signed copy of The Book Thief.

The best signed book I have (best book and best note) is Camilo Mejia's _Road from ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sargeant Camilo Mejia_

Anonymous said...

Oh cool, You have have way too many signed copies. But the one I am most envious of is the Book thief. I loved that book. Nice post by the way, we do appreciate the efforts taken to collect the statistics and take the pics :)

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

very VERY cool Lenore!

Bonnie said...

Wow! What an amazing collection of signed books you have! I have a few and I do treasure them. My favorites are Wally Lamb and Adriana Trigiani.

Anna said...

What a neat post! That's a lot of signed books.

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

Ladytink_534 said...

That's quite a list!

Luanne said...

You can uncross envy - i am definitely envious! Especially of the Zusak!!

Beth Kephart said...

I do, it is true, envy you:

THE BOOK THIEF!!!!!

Melissa said...

Wow, that's quite a list of signed books!

Anonymous said...

What a great post. I love to see the books others treasure. One of my mother's dreams was to meet Shel Silverstein, but she didn't get to. I try to keep that it mind and attend signings of my favorite authors if I can!

Lorin said...

Good thing this is just a computer screen, or else I would have drooled all over your nice signed books!

Eva @ One Swede Read said...

LOVE the SpecOps stamp!

Gaiman always does those little funny things - I love that!!