I have a one-volume collection of some Kenzaburo Oe’s novels, including A Personal Matter, The Silent Cry and Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness, which he signed when he came to give a lecture at my college just after receiving the Nobel Prize.
I’ve also gotten Dick Francis’ autograph as a gift for my mother, and Amy Yamada’s for my wife.
I have inscribed copies of all of Douglas Coupland’s books up until Girlfriend in a Coma. (Generation X and Shampoo Planet just have that hand-outline thing he did, but I don’t mind because they’re my least favourite of his books.)
Autographed: Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood Kreskshuns, by Dennis Bolen. Damnation of Vancouver, by Earl Birney Emotional Arithmetic, by Matt Cohen Coming Through Slaughter and There’s a Trick With a Knife That I’m Learning To Do, by Michael Ondaatje. Illuminatus! and Masks of the Illuminati, by Robert Anton Wilson Creaking in Their Skins, by Michael Winter. Planet News #23, by Allen Ginsberg (The bookmark for this one is the ticket for a reading, at which Gregory Corso also read but was too drunk to finish a single poem… they all trailed off into “You don’t wanna hear this shit… This is fucking garbage… What else have I got?” I asked him to write “Fuck you Larry” on the ticket, but he wouldn’t. He said “I’ll draw you a nice happy kitty-cat instead,” scribbled a bit, and then asked my girlfriend if she wanted to go into the bathroom with him.)
Only signed books I have are a set of 3 - The Servants of Ark by Jonathan Wylie.
Firtst Named
Center of the Circle
Mage Born Child
Slightly weird in that the signatures are of Mark and Julia Smith, the husband and wide team that write under the pen name of Jonathan Wylie.
I have a copy of Fire and Flesh by Evan Kingsbury (also writes as Robert Walker). He autographed and drew in it for me at Dragoncon.
My son and I share a copy of Jimmy Zangwow’s Out-Of-This-World Moon Pie Adventure by Tony DiTerlizzi. We won it in a drawing - I think they were giving away 25 books signed to you by the authour. Wonderful kids book, I really recommend it.
This isn’t a real autograph, but I’ll mention it anyway…
One night I dreamed that I met Ray Bradbury. He signed a book of mine and when I looked at it I could actually read it (I can never read words in dreams.) It said:
Handcrafted with Pride
To HDS
See you Around from Time to Time
I copied it down in the morning and put it in my copy of From the Dust Returned.
Inscribed: Good Omens, inscribed with a get well wish from Pterry. Now I need to find Gaiman and get HIM to sign/inscribe it too.
Oath of Fealty, by both Niven and Pournelle. Unfortunately, it’s not inscribed to ME.
Signed: A few of the Vampire Files books, by P. N. Elrod. In addition to signing them, she usually draws a little smily face…with fangs.
By the way, usually an inscription (a personal note from an author to the book owner) will reduce a book’s resale value. However, my inscribed copy of Good Omens now has much more sentimental value to me.
Paperback copy of Jingo and the Unseen University Challenge by Terry Pratchett
Hardback copies of Carpe Jugulum, The Truth, and a couple of others I think that I can’t remember.
Hmm…Bet you can’t guess who one of my favourite authors is…
I own several authographed books by Joe Bob Briggs, one by Stephen J. Gould, and a copy of “Geology of Big Bend National Park” by its author and the first superintendent of the NP, Ross Maxwell!
There are but a very few of us who ooh- and ahh- over my Joe Bob books, and precious fewer that are impressed with my autographed Maxwell et al. 1967!
I have autographed copies of the complete works of Anne Wingate, aka Martha G. Webb, aka Lee Martin. That could be because she’s my Mom.
I wrote Bel Kaufman a few months ago, and in her return letter, she graciously offered to autograph a copy of Up the Down Staircase for me. I will take her up on that offer–just need to dig out my hardback copy to send to her.
I once wrote an author berating him for making me wait two years for a book and then making it a two-parter (thus forcing me to wait another year or two before I could find out what happened). He was funny about it, sent an apologetic letter and autographed a page from the manuscript of the second book. I have one of his books autographed as well (Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites by Chris Heimerdinger. I also had an autographed copy of Ben Franklin and the Chamber of Time by him, but my sister really loved that book so I gave it to her.
Neil Gaiman autographed my copy of Good Omens as well as the first 5 collections of Sandman along with his graphic novels Violent Cases and Signal to Noise. These autographs were all collected over the space of a 2-3 year period and each one is unique, Neil never repeated himself.
I also have an autographed copy of Tim Powers’ On Stranger Tides that I received for Christmas. In addition to his message he drew a cariacture of himself as a pirate.
I got Anita Hill’s autograh in her book, which I gave to my wife and haven’t read.
On an ironic note, Anita Hill is a total babe and I think she was giving me the eye! No kidding! Of course, I wasn’t about to DO anything about it, being married and unaccustomed to receiving that kind of attention… :o
Souls on Fire by Elie Wiesel (found in a used book store so I can’t swear to it)
Books I got autographed-
The Cardinal Sins & Thy Brother’s Wife- Fr. Andrew Greeley
Closing of the American Mind- Allan Bloom
The Satan Seller- Mike Warnke