Dennis Wheatley in England in the 1930s put out a set of murder dossiers. Here’s one on ebay that shows what they looked like: Who Killed Robert Prentice?
They contained what looked like a complete police dossier on a case: artifacts, photos, newspaper articles, transcripts of interviews. They were like a parlor game. Everybody could look at the case files and try to solve the murder.
I remember a cloth book called All By Himself that included a zipper, a button, a snap, some flat “shoes” with working laces to tie, etc., to teach a boy how to dress himself. There was a companion All By Herself.
This is probably more gimmicky mechanics rather than the gimmick book structure described by the other posters, but probably worth an honorable mention.
Back in the 80s, I was a huge fan of the Lone Wolf gaming novels. The premise was a fantasy choose-your-own-adventure in persistent world. What made it different from others was that as you played it, you could ‘import’ your character from the prior novel in the series (think NewGame+ in modern CRPG terms), which let you increase your powers/skills as well as equipment (armor, weapons, relics, etc).
It even had a combat system in which if your choice lead to a fight, you would matrix your character, equipment, and a random number generator (just a page in the book with a grid of random numbers you were to select with your eyes closed). I want to say I had the first 12 or so, and had a lot of fun with them as a gaming geek.
I have a continuing eBay search alert for this, though it’s been turning up mostly copies without the figure.
What was that pair of books that simulated aerial combat, with pictures from the view of the plane? Ah yes, Ace of Aces.
There was a similar series of game books, which simulated D&D-style fantasy combat, called Lost Worlds.
I have that set. I was really good at the simple game.
In terms of hidden treasure books, there’s also The Clock Without a Face where in each page there is a reference to a US state and then a highway number and a number of miles. Find a truck stop along the highway and then find a tree with the symbol on it and dig to find a jeweled number. All numbers have been found. There is also Masquerade which was solved by a couple who actually worked out the clues, but the treasure was already dug up by someone who knew the author’s ex girlfriend and found the hiding place from her. Bummer.
In terms of gimmicks only, there’s The Ship of Theseus, which is similar to Griffin and Sabine above.
Thanks for clueing me in.
NICE!
My favorite gimmick was when someone published a limited run of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (the dystopian novel about a future in which the government burns books, named after the temperature at which Bradbury heard that paper burns) bound in asbestos. Bradbury signed each copy, too.
UCR’s Asbestos-Covered Fahrenheit 451 To Go Abroad | UCR Library.
https://www.whitmorerarebooks.com/pages/books/1169/ray-bradbury/fahrenheit-451-asbestos-binding?soldItem=true
An Asbestos-Bound, Fireproof Edition of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (1953) | Open Culture
Of course, it was only the binding, not the book, so this copy of the book wouldn’t survive the flames (although the binding would).
Many, many years ago National Lampoon published a parody of newspapers that looked like a newspaper.
There’s a book by Cookie Monster about cookies with a bite taken out of the corner.
Somewhat interesting is Marvel’s The Twelve with a cover that looks like a fairly well read 40’s comic.
Not a book but I have a really fancy Hogwart’s journal complete with a highly embossed Hogwart’s logo.
I have not read it yet, but I own Hopscotch a novel by an Argentinian author with 155 chapters that you can read in any order.
Years ago I came across a novel in a used book store. The back noted that it came in two versions, and only one word differed between the two, but that word changed the whole thing. I’d say that’s a gimmick.
House of Leaves is a classic haunted house cosmic terror novel. Much of it is a compilation of descriptions of videos and scattered notes implying madness. Reading the pages is like looking at a ransacked desk.
Red letter edition Bibles. The Blue, red, and gold edition carries the gimmick even further.
The novel Little Bee quite turned me off with its gimicky “Ooh, don’t give away anything about the story!!!” marketing. As I expected, it was a lackluster book.
Was the asbestos encapsulated in any way? I’ve heard that even inhaling a single fiber can lead to mesotheleoma (one of my uncles died of it – was in the Navy during WWII). I met Ray Bradbury once. Strong handshake.
Possibly inspired by the children’s book The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, first published in 1986 (after, apparently, a 5 year production process).
Got a couple that I think might qualify:
How about the serialized publication of The Green Mile by Stephen King?
I think that this would definitely be a gimmick book:
Many years ago I had an opportunity to buy one at a fairly reasonable price, maybe even under $1000. That was still way more than I had paid for any book. I decided not to get it as a one-off.
Bad decision. The book is worth 20-50 times that now.
Stephen King’s Firestarter also came out in an asbestos edition in 1980 and generated a huge controversy in 2010 when a set of the two books was offered for sale at $31,000. The publisher of the book wrote this response.
I am the publisher of Phantasia Press. The concerns about the danger of the asbestos binding on our lettered edition of FIRESTARTER are unfounded. I am also an attorney and have been involved in asberstos exposure cases for decades. As a result I have become quite familiar with the dangers of asbestos exposure. Therefore, we were careful to use only material in the binding of this book which would pose absolutely no risk of harm to anyone, now or in the future…Please notice the picture of the asbestos FIRESTARTER edition. It is bright silver…THE MATERIAL IS AN ALUMINUM COATED ASBESTOS…The asbestos is essentially “trapped” in the aluminum. This material had been tested, and approved for use in numerous commertial products. The only exposure to asbestos which can cause harm is the inhalation of tiny asbestos fibers…This “dust” or friable asbestos is released into the air and absorbed by the lungs, causeing asbestosis…The Bradbury FARENHEIT 451,
on the other hand DOES NOT have a protective coating and the asbestos is thus exposed. I have had this book, and seen others. Due to their age, the binding material is becoming dry and does emit dust…I would keep this book in a plastic bag. But such small amounts of asbestos dust certainly do not cause any harm. Those who have suffered from illness due to asbestos exposure, had many years of such exposure on a daily basis at their workplace…the fact that FARENHEIT 451 (pubshished in 1953) was produced in an edition of only 200 copies, and our edition of FIRESTARTER has only 26 copies bound in this material, does not call for widespread panic…If anyone should be concerned, it would be Stephen King, who has 3 copies of the book…Since they were produced in 1980, I have not hear that Mr. King’s health has been in any way affected by exposure. But perhaps you should contact him to make certain that his lungs have not been damaged. Alex Berman. West Bloomfield, Michigan.
By coincidence I bought Alex’s inscribed to him, near-mint first edition of Asimov’s I, Robot for $225 in 1983. That’s also increased 20-50 times in price, but it was a book I wanted at less cost.
Some dealer used to have a motto that “the only purchase you regret is the one you didn’t make.” As decades pass, I find that more and more true.