Random books from jfclark's library

About meCollege, which ought to have led me to become an English lit scholar, instead took me to law school, where I learned just enough real law to frighten my future clients. I'm now a mutual fund attorney, drafting boilerplate disclosures that nobody reads but which are required nonetheless in all their multitudes. The chief blessing of this vocation has been to enable me to buy and read (nearly) all the books I want, which is probably the next best thing to literary scholarship, with none of the publish-or-perish nonsense. I'm also married with two young daughters.

About my libraryInterests evolve, of course, but presently I'm most interested in 17th century English literature (including theology, drama and poetry), 18th century English lit (particularly Boswell & Johson), and "early" (pre-Tolkien) fantasy literature (including Lost Race books and pulps). In the past couple of years I've been building out my Victorian novel collection and also been acquiring 19th & 20th century collections of ghost stories and psychic detective stories. From time to time I also supplement my collection of books relating to the First World War.

Recently I seem to have developed a weakness for multi-volume critical/scholarly editions. This has substantially increased my library in the 16th-18th century areas, and substantially reduced my liquid capital. I tend to think that if in an alternate existence I ever became a professor, my goal would be to produce as many critical editions as possible.

Real nameJames Clark

LocationHaverhill, Massachusetts

Emailclarkjamesfyahoo.com

Account typepublic, lifetime

Connection NewsConnection News

URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/jfclark (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jfclark (library)

Common KnowledgeSeries (600), Awards (436), Characters (10495), Places (1991)

Member sinceApr 20, 2006

Currently readingThe Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark
Saint-Simon : Mémoires, tome I 1691-1701 by Saint-Simon
The Works of Thomas Nashe; Reprinted from the Original Edition with Corrections and Supplementary Notes By F. P. Wilson by Thomas Nashe
The Canterbury Tales: (original-spelling edition) (Penguin Classics) (Old_english Edition) by Geoffrey Chaucer

Most recent activity

jfclark added:
Gyron le Courtoys c. 1501

jfclark added:
The Book of Common Prayer, 1559: The Elizabethan Prayer Book by John E. Booty

jfclark added:
The Collects of Thomas Cranmer by C. Frederick Barbee

jfclark added:
King Richard III: Third Series (Arden Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare

jfclark added:
The Hog Hath Lost His Pearl by Robert Tailor

jfclark added:
King Artus: A Hebrew Arthurian Romance of 1279 (Medieval Studies) by Curt Leviant

Oops, sorry, that should be http://shakespeareauthorship.com/tempest....

posted by dkathman at 1:14 am (EST) on Oct 25, 2009

I've used the 1905 Purchas in the past for its version of the 1610-11 Bermuda expedition, which is well-known in Shakespeare studies for being one of the sources for The Tempest, and which I cited in my article "Dating the Tempest" (http://shakespeareauthorship.com/tempest). I remember there being a lot of interesting stuff in there. I might be tempted if I saw it online, though I have no idea where I would put 20 volumes since I already have books stacked up everywhere.

posted by dkathman at 11:49 am (EST) on Oct 24, 2009

I'm jealous of your 20-volume Purchas His Pilgrimes! Where did you get that?

posted by dkathman at 8:59 pm (EST) on Oct 23, 2009

Yes, all is well, aside from not enough time to read... I've been flitting back and forth between early modern, Tolkien, WWII, Arthurian, Cabell; and not devoting enough time to anyone of them. Have you seen Arda Reconstructed by Kane? Analyses the published Silmarillion vs the potential SIlmarillion-- very intersting, if a bit too hard on Christopher Tolkien.

The Cabell list is already up. I had to name it something and I got a number of intersting suggestions, all different, but ended oging with something that appealed to me. If everyone hates it we can always change it. Here's the link: http://www.librarything.com/groups/thera...

posted by Crypto-Willobie at 12:32 pm (EST) on Aug 27, 2009

FYI
I have uploaded a cover for The Mons Star: The British Expeditionary Force, 5th Aug.–22nd Nov. 1914 by David Ascoli. This is from the 1981 Harrap hardcover edition.

posted by DVanderlinde at 2:01 pm (EST) on Jul 20, 2009

FYI
I have uploaded a cover for The German Naval Mutinies of World War I by Daniel Horn.

posted by DVanderlinde at 5:32 pm (EST) on Apr 26, 2009

Hi, I just joined this site. I noticed that you're into Memoir Books. Have you read Home After Dark? Here's a link: http://www.fivestarpublications.com/afte...

posted by DarylRobidoux at 12:13 am (EST) on Mar 16, 2009

I read LoTR 4 times between the ages of 15 and 25 [I was born in 1953] and then several times since [including unabridged audio-- I love Rob Inglis’s reading]. The new two-volume Hobbit is what got me started on my recent kick. I hadn’t had too much truck with Tolkien ‘scholarship’ per se until recently, although Verlyn Flieger is an acquaintance—she teaches at my alma mater UMCP and shopped at my [late great] bookstore. Unless you count the material in HoME, that is—I read a lot of that about 10 yrs ago and started it up again in the last year or two. I also just read Hammond & Scull’s Reader’s Guide to LoTR, and got Verlyn’s new edition of Smith of Wooton Major; then I realized I had never read many of the books to which I saw constant reference made. So I started accumulating some JRRT scholarship, and have recently read both of Shippey’s books, the Carpenter bio, Flieger’s 3rd book, Brian Rosebury’s book, about half a dozen academic collections of articles and all 5 Tolkien Studies Right now I’m reading the Tom Shippey edited collection on Grimm’s Deutsche Mythology called The Shadow Walkers which deals with dwarves, elves, trolls, giants, dragons, etc from a Germanic mythology pov. And Ive recently read and listened to Children of Hurin of course. I wonder how Tolkien’s larger mythology might be perceived by the public at large and by critics if Children of Hurin had been published in 1979 [was it?] instead of The Silmarillion…

posted by Crypto-Willobie at 8:13 pm (EST) on Oct 22, 2008

James,
This may seem silly but I had to send you a little message. I was entering some of my books into my library when I discovered an interesting fact. You and I are the only two people with the book "The Eighteenth Century" edited by Blickensderfer in our libraries. I don't remember how long ago I bought it. It has been languishing on a burried shelf for years. Hopefully I can give it a look again soon.
Kathleen

posted by KathiJ at 7:19 pm (EST) on Oct 22, 2008

James,

It's a pleasure to meet you, too! Crypto-Willobie (aka Bill Lloyd) and I have actually known each other for years, long before I knew about LibraryThing -- in fact, I was the one who told him about LT. We have very similar interests, though his library is much better than mine. And, of course, you have at least some similar interests to both of us. I see that we're the only three people who have Black's new edition of the Marprelate Tracts, and I'm guessing there are probably other things like that.

Putnam, eh? The only fund of theirs that I cover as an analyst is the Utilities Growth & Income fund. I cover a lot of different funds, mostly domestic equity but with a fair number of bond funds mixed in. Oppenheimer and Neuberger Berman are a couple of the families I'm in charge of. I also cover socially responsible funds, especially religious ones, and miscellaneous other stuff.

As for "provincial" or "touring" tastes as explanations for some of the oddities of the bad quartos -- I am indeed familiar with that theory, though it's pretty out of favor now. Over the last few decades, a lot more has been discovered about touring practices, much of it by people associated with the Records of Early English Drama (REED) project, and they've found that touring was not a slapdash, last-ditch process in which a reduced company performed for unsophisticated country audiences, as people a century ago assumed; it was actually a highly organized activity that usually involved a full company and could be very profitable, and audiences in the provinces expected (and usually got) the same plays that were done in London. There's been a lot of great stuff done recently on touring players, and I'm sure there will be more to come.

Anyway, thanks for the note, and I'm sure we'll be in touch, perusing each other's online libraries with envy!

Dave

posted by dkathman at 6:26 pm (EST) on Oct 22, 2008

ooh-- i see you've got the 15 vol complete robert greene -- i'm greene with envy! i have a fair amount of it xeroxed to mark up for counting liguistic features, but ive never seen one for sale at human prices...

posted by Crypto-Willobie at 11:43 pm (EST) on Oct 21, 2008

James--

It is indeed great.
Yes my LT handle does allude, for no very significant reason, to Willobie his Avisa. A number of years ago I wanted to send a suggestion to a Shakespeare scholar without stating who I was, and this was the 'secret identity' I came up with. The uncertain identities of the characters in WHA and the fact that it vaguely resembles my own name [WILLiam LLOyd, BIll] amused me more than it ought. I've dug it up a few times over the years, and it seemed right for LT.

I love Nashe; and I see you've got Joe Black's new Marprelate volume. He advised me on an unpublished paper I was working on [re-]arguing that Nashe wrote the anti-Martinist An Almond for a Parratt, after someone who should know better stated in print but without argument that it was almost certainly by Lyly.

I must confess that although I have a lot of Cabell I haven't ready any for quite a few years, though I always mean t get back to him. I tell people that I'll have to retire tomorrow and then live forever just to make a dent in my reading list. I suspect you know what I mean.

Bill

posted by Crypto-Willobie at 4:03 pm (EST) on Oct 21, 2008

You are one of the few 21st Century readers to show up on Charles Lamb's list of shared books.

posted by slickdpdx at 10:01 pm (EST) on Sep 28, 2008

I am admiring your Blake's Book of Job.

posted by slickdpdx at 11:16 pm (EST) on Sep 26, 2008

Thanks for joining the Politcal Conservatives group. Welcome!

posted by ggchickapee at 1:38 pm (EST) on Aug 18, 2008

Yes, A Worlde of Wordes is a lotte of funne! I have been tempted to pick up the Olms reprint of Randle Cotgrave’s 1611 Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues too. (There’s an online version of it here.)

posted by misteraitch at 5:43 am (EST) on May 26, 2008

I'm in the middle of "Carnacki- Ghost Finder". "Ghost Pirates"
is on the way. My stockpile is growing and reassuring. ;-)

posted by tros at 11:06 pm (EST) on Apr 16, 2008

Lately finishing off W.H.Hodgson. Another unique, interesting,
gothic writer. Hogg and Machen are old favorites.

posted by tros at 8:02 pm (EST) on Apr 16, 2008

Just ordered "Strayers from Sheol" by Wakefield. Looking forward
to getting "into" it. "Imagine a Man in a Box" is a favorite. One of the
most unique books I've read. Kind of unclassifiable.

posted by tros at 9:56 pm (EST) on Apr 15, 2008

Check out this BookStore Opportuinty with Chrisitan Leaders.
Help Charity, Give to your church, have
extra income to live the way God intended!
Call me anytime! www.TheNextAmazon.com
~ Brad (Sorry to bother you if your not interested)

posted by BookWiseGuy at 7:55 pm (EST) on Mar 9, 2008

My dissertation was about 16th/17th century English preaching manuals as statements of religious language theory. So most of the chapters looked at artes praedicandi rather than sermons per se. Of course, Donne didn't write an ars praedicandi, so we have to piece together the various comments he made throughout his sermons and infer what we can from his methods. Several scholars have tried. I'm not sure how successful I was. I have greater confidence in my more recent work, which is about the logic of parables in Donne's sermons.

I see from your blurb that you are a nonprofessional literary scholar (or, as I describe myself, a "plan B academic"). Do you do any writing?

posted by DoctorRobert at 1:26 am (EST) on Feb 14, 2008

Thanks for stopping by. I'm always happy to run into other Donne enthusiasts here. Donne is one of my passions. A large portion of my dissertion dealt with his sermons. Although I'm not a professional academic, I remain active in the John Donne Society and publish in John Donne Journal. This year I'm moving off the sermons (for now) and working on the Holy Sonnets. Since the Variorum edition came out and settled the question of sequence (showing that Donne intended two distinct sequences of twelve sonnets each), the field is wide open to fresh interpretation.

As for Vol. 5, I can only advise you to keep checking abebooks, alibris, and the rest (which I'm sure you're already doing). Once in a while something turns up. Vol. 5 contains undated sermons, including several sermons preached at christenings and churching ceremonies and a series on Psalm 6.

So how did you get interested in Donne?

posted by DoctorRobert at 1:37 am (EST) on Feb 8, 2008

Greetings from a fellow Haverhill resident.... Quite a long list you got there!

posted by rsmyth at 10:12 pm (EST) on Jan 25, 2008

Dear jfclark:

We have twenty-three books in common. The book in your collection that caught my attention was John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress". God used that book to draw me to Jesus Christ. The same relative who gave me "Pictorial Pilgrim's Progress" at age eight, also gave me "The Silver Chair" when I was nine. I became interested in Marco Polo in 1962 when I saw my first color movie at a drive-in theater in eastern Oregon. Marco Polo starred Rory Calhoun, and although it wasn't historically accurate, it sparked my interest in all things Chinese, eventually leading to ancient Chinese bronzes and bronzeware characters. The OE epic poem, Beowulf, also fascinates me. My weakness is science fiction from Asimov, Lawhead, Lewis, Verne, Wells, and Wylie & Balmer. Please feel free to stop by for a visit. God bless. yangguy

posted by yangguy at 8:24 pm (EST) on Dec 22, 2007

I just wanted to pop in and say hello. You seem to be the only one (except me) who has a copy of A.C. Doyles "The Parasite". It would be interesting to hear your opinion about it.

Regards,
Julian Ipsen

posted by J_ipsen at 7:14 am (EST) on Nov 29, 2007

Nice library you have there! I have to complement you on your book selection as I only have eighty something in my library and we share almost 40 common interest, small world!

posted by weirdfictionforever at 10:20 am (EST) on Oct 29, 2007

For antique Bibles try the folks at http://www.greatsite.com/

posted by EncompassedRunner at 11:00 am (EST) on Jun 29, 2007

Hi, I noticed you've bought some of our books -- thank you for supporting us, and I hope you enjoyed them!

Like you, I went to law school and became a lawyer, but unlike you, I didn't have the sense to get a decent paying job to support my bibliomania....instead I went back to grad school and started publishing obscure novels.

BTW, if you're interested in pre-Tolkien fantasy, you might check out the new edition of The Magic Ring (1826) we just put out [shameless plug]

posted by valancourtbooks at 7:48 pm (EST) on Oct 29, 2006

May I recommend for your WWII reading, Ernie Pyle? An excellent personalized view of the war as it happened. Good title to start with: Brave Men.

posted by MrsLee at 7:23 pm (EST) on Oct 12, 2006

You might be interested in [Renaissance of Wonder] by [[Marion Lochhead]]. Its subtitle is The Fantasy Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkein, C.S.Lewis, George MacDonald, E. Nesbit and others. I seem to be the lone LTer listing it, but it's one of my favorite books.

posted by SaintSunniva at 11:03 am (EST) on Sep 22, 2006

Since you are into books pertaining to WWI you might check out Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August.

-Rus

posted by rdixon98 at 8:06 am (EST) on Sep 7, 2006

I noticed that we have some books in common. I haven't put in all my books yet, but we seem to have many common interests. Are you interested in particular editions? I would recommend that you look at the Oxford English Novels series. These were published in the 60's and very early 70's and are excellent editions. Some are quite rare. If you would like some assistance in finding books, let me know. I am a retired university Librarian and know a lot of used and rare book dealers who might help you.

John Ryland

posted by fillpail at 1:34 pm (EST) on Aug 16, 2006

I'm now pushing 700 titles and have many to go, but still noting how many book titles we share.

posted by edwin.gleaves at 11:46 am (EST) on Jul 1, 2006

Just noting how many books we share, even though I only have ca. 400 books cataloged thus far--aiming toward 3-4K.

posted by edwin.gleaves at 10:20 pm (EST) on May 24, 2006

Ecellent. I shall seek it out. Thank you.
Tartalom

posted by tartalom at 4:33 am (EST) on May 23, 2006

Excellent sentiment about ratio of read to owned. In cataloguing, I was thinking along the same lines; I was surprised at how many books I forgot I had and haven't opened yet.

BTW, you share 32 of my 102 catalogued books.

posted by ensiform at 4:47 pm (EST) on May 21, 2006

hi, I was just having a nose through your catalogue - and noticed a couple of books by Thomas Burke, Limehouse Nights and More Limehouse Nights. Limehouse in London? Are they any good - worth hunting down? We share enough good stuff for your opinion to be reliable I think.

Tartalom

posted by tartalom at 3:08 pm (EST) on May 20, 2006

What happened to volume 5 of Donne's sermons?

posted by moncrieff at 8:51 am (EST) on May 18, 2006

If you don't mind my asking, why have you got two different versions of Gibbon?

posted by Robertgreaves at 7:52 pm (EST) on May 2, 2006

I do find it very odd that although plenty of people have volumes 1 and 3 of the Penguin Gibbon, we are the only ones who have volume 2.

Robertgreaves

posted by Robertgreaves at 10:38 am (EST) on May 2, 2006

I'm hoping that the process of cataloguing will improve the ratio of books read to books owned, which is currently dismal. Good thing that book-buying has intrinsic value!

posted by jfclark at 3:04 pm (EST) on Apr 21, 2006

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