Temptation!!!

Ok, so I'm having arguments with my budget at the moment... I've found what seems to be a "too good to be true" bargain on ebay, 251 sci fi & fantasy books for $300 - its a pick up only order & its not far from my house, the person selling them is moving overseas so needs to get rid of their entire collection in one hit. Its a great price for that many books (although I allready own about 27 of them, a few are on my wishlist), but its still alot more money than I'd usually spend on books in one hit, so I'm wanting some advice. Now I know that all you bookish ppl are more likely to tell me to go for it than not to, but I guess what I'm wanting from you all, is how many books from the following list you would recommend... If I find that alot of the books would be recommended, I'm more likely to be able to justify spending that much at once...

Here's the list:


alan dean foster - the mocking program
allen steele - coyote
allen steele - coyote rising
andy secombe - limbo
anne rice - blood canticle
anthony eaton - nightpeople
ben weaver - rebels in arms
c.e. Murphy - thunderbird falls
c.e. Murphy - urban shaman
c.s. Friedman - in conquest born
c.s. Friedman - the wilding
catherine asaro - the charmed sphere
charles stross - iron sunrise
charles stross - accelerando
charles stross - singularity sky
charles stross - the hidden family
charles stross - the family trade
china mieville - perdido st station
chris bunch - shadow warrior
chris bunch - seer king
chris bunch - demon king
chris bunch - the warrior king
Christopher golden and thomas e Sniegoski - stones unturned a novel of the menagerie
dale brown - plan of attack
dan brown - the davinci code
dan brown - angels and demons
dan simmons - children of the night
dan simons - the hyperion omnibus
dave duncan - paragon lost
dave duncan - the gilded chain
dave duncan - sky of swords
dave duncan - lord of the fire lands
david and leigh eddings - the treasured one
david b coe - rules of ascension
david drake, eric flint ryk e spoor, henry kuttner - mountain magic
david farland - the lair of bones (runelords book 4)
david gemmell - white wolf
david lousi edelman - infoquake
david zindell - the broken god
deborah chester - alien chronicles (the golden one)
douglas adams - so long and thanks for all the fish
e.e. “doc” smith - Triplanetary (lensman saga book 1)
elizabeth bear - scardown
elizabeth bear - hammered
elizabeth bear - worldwired
eric flint - the philosophical strangler
eric s nylund - signal to noise
eric s nylund - a signal shattered
fiona mcintosh - odalisque
fiona mcintosh - destiny
fiona mcintosh - betrayal
gail dayton - the barbed rose
gail dayton - the compass rose
garth nix - lirael
garth nix - abhorsen
garth nix - sabriel
gary gibson - against gravity
gene wolfe - the book of the new sun vol(1) shadow and claw
guy gavriel kay - the darkest road
guy gavriel kay - the summer tree
guy gavriel kay - the wandering fire
hal duncan - vellum
ian irvine - the life lottery
ian irvine - terminator gene
ian irvine - the fate of the fallen
ian m banks - use of weapons
ian m banks - the algebraist
ian m banks - consider phlebas
isabel hoving - the dream merchant
j.v. Jones - master and fool
j.v. Jones - a man betrayed
j.v. Jones - the bakers boy
j.v. Jones - a cavern of black ice
jack campbell - the lost fleet dauntless
jack vance - tales of the dying earth
james barclay - elfsorrow
james barclay - demonstorm
james barclay - shadowheart
james barclay - nightchild
james barclay - dawnthief
james barclay - cry of the newborn
james clemens - shadowfall
james clemens - wit'ch storm
james clemens - wit'ch fire
jane jensen - dante's equation
janny wurts - peril's gate
janny wurts - traitor's knot
janny wurts - the ships of merior
janny wurts - fugitive prince
janny wurts - the curse of the mistwraith
janny wurts - warhost of vastmark
janny wurts - grand conspiracy
jay caselberg - the star tablet
jennifer fallon - lion of senet
jim butcher - fool moon
jim butcher - storm front
jim butcher - grave peril
jo walton - the king's peace
joel rosenberg - paladins
joel shepherd - breakaway
joel shepherd - killswitch
john brosnan - mothership
john c wright - orphans of chaos
John Courtenay Grimwood - 9tail fox
john ringo - gust front
john ringo - when the devil dances
john ringo - hell's faire
john ringo - ghost
john ringo and julie cochrane - cally's war
john ringo and michael z. williamson - the hero
john sladek - the complete roderick
john twelve hawks - the traveler
jonathan stroud - the amulet of samarkand
joseph finder - extraordinary powers
julie e czerneda - in the company of others
juliet e mckenna - the gambler's fortune
juliet e mckenna - the theif's gamble
juliet e mckenna - the warrior's bond
juliet e mckenna - the swordsman's oath
juliet e mckenna - the assassins edge
juliet marillier - the dark mirror
juliet marillier - blade of fortriu
justina robson - mappa mundi
justina robson - keeping it real
k.j. Bishop - the etched city
k.j. Parker - devices and designs (the engineer trilogy book 1)
karen miller - the innocent mage
karl shroeder - ventus
kate forsyth - dragon claw
kelley armstrong - industrial magic
kelley armstrong - haunted
kelley mcullough - web mage
ken mcleod - cosmonaut keep
ken mcleod - dark light
ken mcleod - engine city
kim stanley robinson - red mars
kylie chan - white tiger (dark heavens book 1)
l.e. Modesitt jr - legacies(the corean chronicles book one)
laura anne gilman - staying dead
laurell k hamilton - incubus dreams
lee hogan - enemies
lian hearn - brilliance of the moon
lilith saintcrow - dead man rising
lilith saintcrow - working for the devil
linnea sinclair - finders keepers
marc d giller - hammerjack
margaret weis & david baldwin - dark heart
mercedes lackey and james mallory - to light a candle
mercedes lackey and james mallory - the outstretched shadow
michelle hauf - gossamyr
michelle sagara - cast in shadow
mick farren - the dna cowboys trilogy
mick farren - more than human
mickey zucker reichert - the children of wrath
nancy kress - beggar's ride
neal asher - the line of polity
neal stephenson - zodiac
neal stephenson - interface
neil gaiman - anansi boys
nick sagan - edenborn
nick sagan - idlewild
patricia briggs - moon called
paul cornell - british summertime
paul park - a princess of roumania
phillip k dick - 5 great novels
piers anthony - castle roogna
r. scott bakker - the darkness that comes before
rachel caine - chill factor
rachel caine - windfall
raymond feist - talon of the silver hawk
raymond feist - exile's return
richard paul russo - the rosetta codex
robert a heinlein - friday
robert j sawyer - hominids
robert jordan - knife of dreams
robert jordan - crossroads of twilight
robert ludlum - the bourne supremacy
robert ludlum - the altman code
robert scott & jay gordon - lessek's key
robert scott & jay gordon - The Hickory staff - the eldars sequence book 1
robin d owens - sorceress of faith
robin hobb - fool's fate
robin hobb - shaman's crossing
robin hobb - forest mage
robin mckinley - sunshine
roger zelany - the chronicles of amber
roger zelany - the great book of amber
rudy rucker - software
russell kirkpatrick - across the face of the world
russell kirkpatrick - the right hand of god
russell kirkpatrick - the earth abides the flame
s.d. Tower - the assassins of tamurin
s.l. Viehl - shockball
s.l. Viehl - blade dancer
s.l. Viehl - stardoc
s.l. Viehl - endurance
s.l. Viehl - beyond varailan
s.m. Stirling - dies the fire
sara douglass - starman
sarah zeitel - the usurper's crown
sarah zeitel - a sorceror's treason
sean williams - the crooked letter
sean williams - the blood debt
sean williams with shane dix - geodesica descent
sean williams with shane dix - geodesica ascent
sean williams with shane dix - the dark imbalance
sean williams with shane dix - the dying light
sean williams with shane dix - the prodigal sun
shaun hick - the army of five men vol(1)
sherri s tepper - sideshow
simon r green - deathstalker prelude
simon r green - deathstalker coda
simon r green - blood and honor
simon r green - guards of haven
simon r green - deathstalker
simon r green - deathstalker war
simon r green - mistworld
simon r green - deathstalker return
simon r green - ghost world
simon r green - blue moon rising
simon r green - hex and the city
stan nichols - quicksilver rising
stephen r lawhead - hood
steve cash - the meq
steve erickson - amnesiascope
steve erickson - deadhouse gates
steve voake - the dreamwalker's child
storm constantine - wraeththu
susanna clarke - jonathan strange & mr norrell
tad williams - shadowmarch
tamara siler jones - ghosts in the snow
ted chiang - stories of your life and others
terry brooks - tanequil
terry brooks - straken
terry brooks - jarka ruus
terry brooks - armageddon's children
terry pratchett - a monstrous regiment
tim powers - declare
timothy zahn - the cobra trilogy
tom holt - only human
tony ballantyne - recursion
tony shillitoe - blood
tricia sullivan - double vision
various - tales of fantasy elsewhere vol 2
various - the mammoth book of sf 16
vernor vinge - a fire upon the deep
walter jon williams - the praxis
wes spencer - tinker
william gibson - count zero
yasmine galenorn - witchling
zecharia sitchin - the 12th planet

From 33 names I recognise and know are worth reading you've got a lot of bits of series' which will be annoying as you'll have to buy the #1s etc to get caught up.

However $300 for Wurts' wars of light and shadow is probably worthwhile all on it's own!

Also highly recommended: Sean Williams, Ted Chiang and Karen Miller

Are they paperback or hardback?

Want me to say something about some of the books?
A few are on my wishlist as well... but these I own/have read and you at least haven't listed in you catalogue -

Jon Courtenay Grimwood -
9TailFox I like this author, but not his best book

Justina Robson -
Mappa Mundi OK; a story with a twist

Neal Asher -
The Line of Polity OK/Good, but Asher is not for everyone; he's very.. splattery/gory. 2nd of the Agent Cormac books (First is Gridlinked)

Neal Stephenson -
Zodiac Environmental thriller; kind of OK but there are better books out there
Interface Political thriller, originally published under pseudonym. I liked it but have no idea how it feels like today

Neil Gaiman -
Anansi Boys - one of the select few books that I never finished

Terry Pratchett -
Monstrous regiment Very political, I think, in an overt way. Good, but not my fave Discworld book

William Gibson -
Count Zero Goundbreaking in it's day I think it may come through as dated today. Sequel to Neuromancer

Definitely stuff in there worth having on your shelves, and from those that I recognise I'd hesitate to quickly dismiss the stuff I *don't* recognise.

It's a bit of a *weird* collection in that there are lots of authors represented multiple times despite the small size of the library. My guess is this isn't the first time they've had to rebuild a library from scratch :)

Honestly, If I were you, I would do it. Not only would you seriously work on your BABLE, but furthermore imagine all the fuel costs/ shipping costs you can save by getting all these books in one time.

Edited to say: Stross, by the way, is my favourite SF author. His books are definitly worth reading.

>3 Busifer:

The two Neal Stephenson books are weird choices.. I mean, you'd think if you had anything of his it'd be one of the others, such as Snow Crash. I quite enjoyed Zodiac though, and Interface wasn't bad.

Anansi Boys - not as good as American Gods but I still liked it very much.

Other books:

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is brilliant, but an acquired taste. Think Jane Austen meets Neil Gaiman.

I recently reviewed Singularity Sky and enjoyed it, I plan to read the other Stross titles in your list.

I don't care what anyone says, I enjoyed The Da Vinci code and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

a fire upon the deep is great stuff.

Oh, too much there to go through one by one!

Buy the lot, read them all and sell those you didn't like.
You will probably make a profit

#6 - I agree regarding the Stephenson-books - I only bought those two after having read Snow crash and (I think, it's been a while) Diamond Age, and they're very different. I can understand why he originally published Interface & Cobweb under his 'Stephen Bury' alias.

Stross are in my reading plans, so I'm glad to hear good things about him.

At roughly $1.20 for each book I doubt you would make a profit by selling just a few of them.

If it were me, I would ask myself how long after I spent this $300 would it be before I felt justified in going to a bookstore and buying a book. I could see my putting it off saying, "I must get all $300 value out of those books before I buy more..." Could be frustrating and could rob me of one of my favorite treats - browsing and accidently bumping into a good book.

But that's my take on it, you may not have this reaction.

Good luck at deciding.

With regard to recommendations of specific titles, I would say that the titles by the following authors would tend to recommend the batch:

Guy Gavriel Kaye
Kim Stanley Robinson
Nancy Kress
Sherri S. Tepper
Susanna Clarke
Vernor Vinge

The titles mentioned for Kaye are the complete trilogy. Robinson won a Hugo as I recall for Red Mars which is a substantial tome by itself. Kress, Tepper, and Clarke are all respectable. Vernor Vinge's Fire Upon The Deep is also important if you want to make sure you read current classics of science fiction.

I've heard good things about some of the authors, I've never heard of many of them.

Interesting that there seem to be at least a couple repeated books - The Chronicles of Amber is the first five books in the Amber series (I looked it up) and The Great Book of Amber is all 10 books (I own it).

I guess it depends on the condition of the books. Are they in good enough shape that you'll be able to, say, sell them on half.com or to a used bookstore if you don't want them? I don't think you need to make a profit above the $300 on just a few books, but not losing money on each one you decide to get rid of would be good.

If I had that kind of money I wouldn't buy those books. First of all, where would I put them? And I don't know half these authors or if the series books are a complete set. Even if I was going to sell them, this would be a problem because how would I sell them? Individually or through a used bookshop?

I'd personally be better off buying some w00tworthy books I love, like the entire Sandman series.

For that price and all those books? I would do it. =)

Garth Nix is good, as is Jim Butcher. I've heard good things about Ian Irvine and Sean Williams but have never gotten around to trying them (both are Aussies, as is Nix).

*still pondering*

I've got 4 days to decide & all your input is much appreciated...

#2 reading_fox - I was thinking the same thing, one of the negatives would be sorting all the series & I'm pedantic about having complete series only on my bookshelf (any incomplete series' go on a separate shelf until I have the whole) so this would probably add a bit to my shopping list... Wurts was one of the "wow" items on the list for me too, I allready own 1 trilogy of hers which I loved & "more by Janny Wurts" has been on my wishlist for a while...

#3 & #8 Busifer – Exactly the sort of stuff I want to help me decide – Thanx :) I guess there’s nothing on there that strikes you as making it worth it???

#4 felius - I havn't heard of alot of the authors either, but I kinda like the idea of discoverring new stuff from my own library & I’d hesitate to dismiss the one’s I don’t know because of the ones I do as well…

#5 J_ipsen – I’m a long way off BABLE, but I think I’d like to get there & this would certainly help :) Thanx for the Stross recommendation too, though I do find SF tricky, its something I want to learn to enjoy more…

#6 felius – thanx, the more info I have the better armed I am for the decision :)

#7 Papiervisje – Tis definitely part of the plan to sell a few if I do get them, particularly the 27 I already own, I dunno bout a profit, but I’m thinking I can probably get enough $$ back eventually to make the purchase worth while…

#9 maggie1944 – As above, profit isn’t expected… As for the budget constraints, realistically, it prob wouldn’t stop me buying other books on my wishlist/shopping list for more than a couple of weeks, If I blow the budget on this, it simply means no contribution to my savings from this pay…

#10 jillmwo – I already have th G G Kay books, but thanx for the other input :)

#11 bluesalamanders – “something by Zelaney” is another one that’s been on my wishlist for a while… Not 100% sure about the condition of the books, the ebay add says “This is a Private Collection of 251 books sci fi & fantasy all less than 4 years old – read once and in excellent condition” I guess I can trust that they’ll at least be decent if it says “excellent”…

#12 TeenAuthor – Space is another issue I’ll need to look into, but I’ve been thinking for a while that soon I’m gonna needa new bookshelf so this may be the perfect excuse to re-arrange my room & fit one in… I think I’d wait & see how many books in total that I want to sell (I’ve already got a few to part with), then see how much a 2nd hand bookshop offers me, depending on their offer, I’ll decide whether to go with the online option…

#13 Irisheyz77 – exactly the sort of answer I was expecting on here ;)

#14 Willsteed – Thanx :)

Keep the comments coming guys :)

Do it and sell the ones you don't want to a used book store. Use the money to fill in the incomplete series...

read once and in excellent condition

Assuming that's the truth, then that is a great price to pay for those books. If it's not vastly outside your budget, I say go for it and sell the ones you don't want.

#15 - Oh, there ARE 17-19 books I consider buying/reading at some point. But what to do with the rest? I don't know. Give them to charity, perhaps?
Still, that puts the price per book at $15-17 each for those 17-19... I'm not up to date to what books cost in your part of the world, but I could probably get new ones at that price. And without having to divest the overflow.

Which ones I consider? - Stross, Butcher, Mieville, Wurts, Zelazny, Robson.

I don't recognize all the authors or works, but these I have read and recommend highly as fun books (although all of them come in series which are NOT in the above list):

Guy Gavriel Kay
Laurell K Hamilton
Raymond Feist
Robin Hobb

So if the decision were up to me, I think I would take the recommendations that have been posted from everybody and go buy a little more selectively. Buying the 251 books as a whole would be too big an investment in the unknown.

Trying to get rid of all the books in one hit seems an odd thing to do. The chances are that, like you, Seanie, for most prospective purchasers there will be some they want and some they don't.

By insisting that all 251 must be sold as a job lot, many people will be put off and the probability is that he/she won' shift any of them at all.

If they need to get rid of them urgently, surely it would be better to sell some of them than none at all.

Shells and Shards!! 5 gods if only I was you - I'd get them in a heartbeat and sell the ones I didn't want. I have actually done that before but there were only 30, it was only £45 and they were all John Brunner I kept 18 and took the rest to a secondhand shop in Manchester, Way worth it if you keep about half, even if you only keep 1/4 it probably still be worth it.

I can tell you the Robert Jordans are late in the WoT series, so they'll be ones to get rid of.

If i was you i'd totally be making a access database and making notes about each book, but thats the kind of thing I do - as it is (i really don't have much else to do) I've gone through the list using www.fantasticfiction.co.uk and deleted standalones and made a note of the serieses in the list and noted - the number of the book(s) - of - how many books in the series.

allen steele 1 and 2 of 4
andy secombe - limbo 1 of 2
anne rice - blood canticle book 10
anthony eaton - nightpeople Book 1
ben weaver - rebels in arms book 2 of 3
c.e. Murphy - 1 and 2 of 3
c.s. Friedman - 1 and 2 of 2
catherine asaro 1 of 5
charles stross - 1 and 2 of 2 and 1 and 2 of 4 and a stand alone
china mieville - 1 of 3
chris bunch - 1 to 3 of 3 and an omnibus
Christopher golden and thomas e Sniegoski - stones unturned a novel of the menagerie book 3
dave duncan - 1 to 4 of 6
david and leigh eddings - the treasured one book 2 of 4
david b coe - rules of ascension book 1 of 5
david gemmell - 1 of 2
david lousi edelman - 1 of 3
david zindell - 1 of 3
deborah chester - alien chronicles (the golden one) ?1 0f 3 or an omnibus?
douglas adams - book 4 of 5
elizabeth bear - 1 to 3 of 3
eric flint - 1 of 2
eric s nylund - 1 and 2 of 2
fiona mcintosh - 1 of 3 - and 1 and 3 of 3
garth nix - 1 to 3 of 4
guy gavriel kay - 1 to 3 of 3
hal duncan - 1 of 2
ian irvine - 2 and 3 of 3 - and 1 of 3
j.v. Jones - 1 to 3 of 3 - and 1 of 3
jack campbell - 1 of 4
jack vance - omnibus!
james barclay - 1 to 3 of 4 - 1 of 2 - and 1 and 3 of 3
james clemens - 1 and 2 of 5 and 1 of 2
janny wurts - 1 to 3 of 3 - and1 to 4 of 5
jay caselberg - book 3 of 4
jennifer fallon - book 1 of 3
jim butcher - 1 to 3 of 10
jo walton - book 1 of 3
joel rosenberg - 1 of 2
joel shepherd 2 and 3 of 3
john brosnan - 1 of 2
john c wright - 1 of 3
john ringo - 2 to 6 of 10 - and 1 of 5
john twelve hawks - 1 of 2
jonathan stroud - 1 of 3
juliet e mckenna - 1 to 5 of 5
juliet marillier - 1 and 2 of 3
justina robson - 1 of 3 and a standalone
karen miller - 1 of 2
kelley armstrong - 4 and 5 of 10
ken mcleod - 1 to 3 of 3
laura anne gilman - 1 of 5
laurell k hamilton - 12 of 16
lian hearn - book 3 of 5
lilith saintcrow - 1 and 2 of 5
mercedes lackey and james mallory - 1 and 2 of 2
michelle sagara - 1 of 3
mickey zucker reichert - book 6 of 6
nancy kress - book 3 of 3
neal asher - book 2 of 5
patricia briggs - book 1 of 3
paul park - 1 of 4
piers anthony - book 3 of 32
r. scott bakker - 1 of 3
rachel caine - books 3 and 4 of 7
raymond feist - books 1 and 3 of 3
robert j sawyer - 1 of 3
robert ludlum - book 2 of 6 - and 4 of 8
robert scott & jay gordon - 1 and 2 of 3
robin d owens - 2 of 4
robin hobb - 1 of 3 - and 1 and 2 of 3
rudy rucker - 1 of 4
russell kirkpatrick - 1 to 3 of 3
s.l. Viehl - 1 to 4 of 8 and a standalone
s.m. Stirling - 1 of 3
sara douglass - book 3 of 3
sarah zeitel - 1 and 2 of 4
sean williams 1 and 2 of 3 - and 1 to 3 of 3 and 1 and 2 of 2
simon r green - 2 omnibuses - 2 and 3 of 3 - 1 and 2 of 3 - 1 and 2 of 3 - 1 and 3 of 5 - book 4 of 8
stan nichols - 1 of 3
stephen r lawhead - 1 of 3
steve cash - 1 of 2
storm constantine - omnibus
tad williams - 1 of 2
terry brooks - 1 to 3 of 3 - and 1 of 3
terry pratchett -Discworld 28
tony shillitoe - 1 of 3
vernor vinge - book 2 of 2
walter jon williams - 1 of 3
yasmine galenorn - 1 of 4
zecharia sitchin - 1 of 6

I have noticed that there is the first 1 or 2 books of lots of trilogys and serieses, you'd probably spend $300 again just to complete them if you bought new.

Going through the list there were several books that I have considered but i didn't have the money to spare to buy them, I would totally jump at the chance.

Figure out how many on the list you know you would really like to have. Divide the cost between those. Is it worth it? Do you have the money to spare?

Just to put this in context, we're talking about 250 books for less than the son spent on his Nintendo Wii. Without all the extra stuff he's bought since. 8^}

Doh! I didn't get it :(

I bid up 2 $375, & was umming & ahing about how mich higher to go at the last minute, but i missed out & it sold for $380... I'm disappointed, coz I decided to bid up to $400, so if i had'v been a lil quicker I prob would hav got it...

Oh well, I'll have to hunt down a few books from my wishlist to make me feel better, lol...

25>

Ebay: The closest thing non-military civilians can experience to defeat in battle by a worthy adversary.

Don't feel too bad about it. Your TBR pile will thank you for it, as well as your bookshelves.

24>

Yes, that may be the case, yet have you considered the VALUE of a Nintendo Wii beyond its Recommended Retail Price? Those things are sought after often, yet found rarely. If he paid as much as he could afford, the son drives a hard bargain.

#25 Yeah, getting snipered is the worst thing that can happen on Ebay.

Often I just put my maximum amount a few minutes before the auction ends and then I take out a good book and wait until the auction is over. It saves money and nerves.... Before, I got carried away too often and had last minute bidding battles, paying much more in the end then I wanted to..

Does anyone know if the Bidder1, Bidder 2 & Bidder 3 accts are some sort of ebay feature? I'm thinking they may be some type of acct set up to bid up to a reserve ammt, but why wouldnt the seller just start the bidding at the reserve ammt??? If they are not an ebay feature then they have scarily similar wants to me at the same times - I've been out bid by them a few times & for very different things (from books to external hard drives)...

I think the "bidder 1" only appears when the auction is private. That means that you cannot see the real identity of the bidders