# What autographed books do you own? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 15, 2004, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563 "2004-01-15T08:03:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/41 "2004-01-15T21:45:53Z")
When I first opened my hard-cover edition of “Mostly Harmless”, I was chagrined that someone had defaced it by scribbling on the title page. Days later, I discerned a “D” and an “A” and realized this was meant to pass for an autograph. I think some books were left over from an in-store visit, but the store management couldn’t quite bring itself to promote them as signed copies. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/42 "2004-01-16T04:30:40Z")
> [@N. Sane](#): > > 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. 😃 Tell your mom that she needs to at least visit Fort Worth again if she’s gonna write more books set in this city. The old Tandy Center is no longer recognizable. I haven’t been back there since they quit offering free parking and subway rides into the center… ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/43 "2004-01-16T04:49:31Z")
I have autographed copies of _American Gods_ (hardcover, even) and _The Dream Hunters_ by Neil Gaiman, _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay_ by Michael Chabon and _Maus_ by Art Spiegelman ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/44 "2004-01-16T04:59:07Z")
I only have a few, but I have one that I’m mighty proud of: a copy of **Dave Barry Slept Here** signed by Dave to “Mr. Chuckletrousers”. Beat THAT! ---
**Author:** ![xanadu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c4cdca/32.png) [@xanadu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanadu)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/45 "2004-01-16T05:57:18Z")
I have a copy of “A Lesson Before Dying” autographed by Ernest Gaines. He signed my book (and everyone else’s) as follows: "Nice meeting you (name). Then his name and the date. He was incredibly warm and nice - he called me a chatterbox because I was talking to my professor (who’s a friend of his) earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Mariemarie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@Mariemarie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mariemarie)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/46 "2004-01-16T12:58:57Z")
_Saving Grace_ by Lee Smith _Unarmed But Dangerous_ by Hal Crowther I got both the same day. The authors were doing a book tour together. Lee Smith was definitely the darling. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/47 "2004-01-16T14:11:40Z")
_Feersum Endjinn_, Iain M. Banks. _His Majesty’s Starship_, Ben Jeapes. And I have a copy of _Doctor Who and the Green Death_ signed, not by the author, but by Tom Baker. ---
**Author:** ![angelicate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@angelicate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/angelicate)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/48 "2004-01-16T15:18:09Z")
I only have one book autographed, a copy of the **place/date** Pearl Jam photo book that I happened to buy at a show in Seattle because the girl in the merch booth was selling it for the wrong price. I got their guitarist (McCready. 🙂 ) to sign it when he came out before the show and the venue was still prety empty. ---
**Author:** ![oAMADEUSo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@oAMADEUSo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oAMADEUSo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/49 "2004-01-16T15:40:15Z")
I had “fabulous furry freak brothers” comic number 1 signed by Gilbert Shilton He also did a little “fat freddys cat” doodle on it for me. To my ever lasting shame I sold when times were hard. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/50 "2004-01-16T17:22:23Z")
**oAMADEUSo** - please don’t be so hard on yourself. My dad had 10 first editions signed by John Steinbeck - East of Eden, Tortilla Flat (first Modern Library), The Moon is Down, Travels with Charley, etc. - and sold them to fund a new bathroom. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, but that still pains me. I also had a friend who had, as a family heirloom, a signed first US edition of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. It was stolen from his car when he was 20 and shlepping stuff around during college. He didn’t quite realize what he had at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/51 "2004-01-16T17:51:55Z")
Yo, **TW** , I saw that in your sig! I have only three autographed books, but I hope I made up in quality what I lack in quantity. _Parliament of Whores_ by **P. J. O’Rourke** _The Cold Six Thousand_ by **James Ellroy** _L.A. Confidential_ by **James Ellroy** Interesting characters, both of those guys. I’m glad I got to chew the fat with them for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/52 "2004-01-16T20:44:27Z")
I have three, none of which I procured myself. 1. \*Wouldn’t It Be Nice \* by **Brian Wilson**. My brother got this at a book signing for me so it is inscribed to yours truly. 2. A collection of horror stories edited (and signed) by **Dennis Wheatley**. I can’t remember the name of the book but I bought it at an antiquarian bookstore in Stockholm. It was just there on the shelf with the other English titles. 3. A signed and numbered copy (458 of 1500) of _Children of Dune_ by **Frank Herbert**. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/53 "2004-01-16T22:52:46Z")
\*\*Girl’s Poker Night \*\* by Jill Davis. Its on one of the bookplate thingies. \*\*Kevin Henkes \*\* Several of his books. children’s books ,all of which I highly recommend, especially, \*\*Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse \*\*. Very Nice guy. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/54 "2004-01-16T22:59:21Z")
From [The Age](http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/11/1071086173248.html) ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/55 "2004-01-16T23:03:43Z")
Sorry,the above link is for Harry Potter value. Approx. YMMV. Taxes and Title are extra. [If you have spare money](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3578842868) You can buy an entire signed hard cover, first edition, HP collection to book 5. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/56 "2004-01-16T23:09:35Z")
First edition of **The Illustrated Man** signed by Ray Bradbury. ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/57 "2004-01-17T00:20:58Z")
I have a dictionary autographed by Dan Quayle. ---
**Author:** ![JDeMobray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@JDeMobray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDeMobray)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/58 "2004-01-17T00:32:08Z")
**The Fifth Elephant** by Terry Pratchett **Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot** by Al Franken **All the Trouble in the World** by P.J. O’Rourke (Funny story, it’s actually signed to my friend Kevin who had borrowed the book and taken it with him to college in N.Y. P.J. signed it “Possession is 9/10ths of the law.”) ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/59 "2004-01-17T00:45:26Z")
A fantasy novel called _The Fifth Ring_, by a first-time writer named Mitchell Graham. Having read the book, though, I find it singularly unlikely that it will ever experience a metioric rise in value. I bought it at a library fundraising sale for $1.00 . ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563/60 "2004-01-17T02:52:05Z")
I have a few. In the “inscribed to me” category, I have a copy of Angus Mowat’s _Carrying Place_. Somewhat rare, since Angus Mowat didn’t write many books–certainly not as many as his son Farley, whom most Canadians know as quite a prolific author. Next is _Lowering the Boom_, by former Toronto Maple Leaf defenceman Bobby Baun. It is Baun’s autobiography, and he was kind enough to present me with a copy when we met a few years ago. And there’s my copy of _The Mayflower Madame_ by Sydney Biddle Barrows. The fact that the inscription was made out to me raised some questions from my wife when she found it on my shelf, but in actual fact, I had attended a talk on small businesses at which Ms. Barrows was a speaker, and she autographed it for me there. In the “not inscribed to me” category, I have a signed copy of Paul Gallico’s _Love Let Me Not Hunger_, which I found at a used bookstore. He thanks the person of the inscription for their help and support, but having read much of Gallico’s work, I’m happy just to have his autograph in one of his books. It’s a good read too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-autographed-books-do-you-own/224563.md?page=4)