The Horse Whisperer - First Edition

I was very pleased to find a UK first edition copy of my favourite childhood book The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans this week. I absolutely adored this book when I was younger so it's bringing back some lovely memories.

I remember feeling so exited when the film adaptation was released, starring Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas and Scarlett Johansson. But even at that young age I remember feeling that the film didn't quite live up to the book, especially with the tacked on Hollywood ending! But never mind.

If like me you would like to re-read this lovely story, reminisce about your childhood, perhaps pass on the novel to your own kids, or read the book for the very first time then check out my listing for The Horse Whisperer on Amazon.

Siobhan x

How To Spot A First Edition Book

As you may or may not know, first edition books are very collectible. And it's not just the old classics that are worth vast sums of money, first edition modern books can also sell at a huge price depending on the popularity of the author and the rarity of the book. Even first edition books as popular as Harry Potter can be worth a small fortune, especially with the earlier books of the series.

Harry Potter obviously became hugely popular, with fans camping outside bookshops for days waiting to get their hands on one of the first new copies. However, when the first book 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' was first published, no one knew just how big a phenomenon the series would become, so only a few hundred were printed. Then when it started to take off the publishers printed off more copies to meet the demand. These new copies will look exactly the same as the originals, but now they have become 'first edition, second printing' copies. It's the original 'first edition, first printing' copies that collectors really want to get their hands on and will pay ridiculous amounts of money to get them. But to find a first edition Philosopher's Stone is extremely rare. The easiest way to tell if you have one is to check that the author credited is 'Joanne Rowling', the pen name of J.K Rowling was taken up for the second batch of copies onwards. If you find a Joanne on your bookshelf then you are on to a winner! 

As the series went on and with the release of the film adaptations, the popularity grew enormously, and so did the quantities of first prints released. So if you have a first edition Deathly Hallows then it probably won't be worth much more than a fiver...unless of course it is signed. Fans go mad for a J.K scrawl, in October 2012 a signed copy of Deathly Hallows sold on AbeBooks for £3161!

So the big question is, how can you really tell if a book is a first edition? Well, check out this simple video from AbeBooks and you will find out...p.s, I have mentioned AbeBooks twice in this post, I'm not trying to endorse them, and as yet I do not sell with them. The site is just very informative. If you have a first edition lying around, try putting the title and author into their search engine to see what kind of price they are selling for, don't forget to click the first edition button to refine the results. They also have a very interesting archive of the most expensive books sold on the site every month. Great to see what you should be keeping an eye out for!

Happy hunting...

Siobhan x

The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Gift Edition

My second find of the week is a special Gift Edition of 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret'. Released a year after the original book, this edition contains the same beautiful black and white drawings but this time the pages are gold edged and the book comes with a DVD interview with author Brian Selznick.

The book has now increased in popularity due to the recent film version 'Hugo' directed by Martin Scorsese. But the original books are quite rare and very collectible. 

Funnily enough this happens to be another one of the films I worked on as an extra. I did two days of shooting and took part in some of the Victorian flashback scenes. The most amazing fairground was built in some woods at the back of Shepperton Studios. I had to wear an impossibly tight corset...so tight at one point I thought I might faint! I also remember it being absolutely freezing in mid-December and we were told that the scene was supposed to be set in July so we had to try not to act cold, despite the fact you could clearly see our breathe in the air! It was a great couple of days though, that I will always remember. Marty did come out of his directors tent to say hello, he seemed very nice, and very short!

If you would like a copy this special gift edition of 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret' click here

Siobhan x

The Prince, the Showgirl and Me - First Edition

So, i have made my first ever first edition book purchase and I am quite exited. 'The Prince, the Showgirl and Me' is the diary of Colin Clark. Published in 1995 it tells of his time spent working as an intern on the set of 'The Prince and the Showgirl' and the close relationship he formed with its star Marilyn Monroe. You may have seen the recent film version of the book 'My Week With Marilyn' with Michelle Williams as Monroe, Kenneth Branagh as her co-star Sir Laurence Olivier and Eddie Redmayne as the author Colin Clark.

Finding this book was particularly exciting for me as I was an extra for the day on 'My Week With Marylin'. I got to dress up all 50's and walk up and down Charles Street in London all day, with passing vintage cars and old red double decker buses...oh and Eddie Redmayne :)

The original hardback edition of this book seems to be quite rare, they of course brought out a 'My Week With Marilyn' paper back when the film was released, which is obviously the same book. But what I've learned recently is that it is the original, first edition and first printing of books which are very collectible and can be worth quite a lot to the right person. If you have a look on amazon, the only few original hardbacks of 'The Prince, the Showgirl and Me' start at £60!

But you can buy my copy for £18 plus p+p if it interests you! 
Click here to visit my listing - The Prince, the Showgirl and Me

Siobhan x