Today we published the 2014 Bookfinder.com Report which features the 100 most sought after out-of-print books in America. The big surprise this year annual report was that after years on the throne the Queen of Pop (Madonna)’s photographic escapade "Sex" was finally knocked off the top of the list, and the book(s) that took its place may surprise you. There were in fact two, and you can read about them here. What I wanted to talk about on the blog, however, are some of the usual suspects there were some interesting additions and subtractions to this year’s list.
Back In-Print:
Avid readers will notice that A.C.H Smith’s Labyrinth novelization is noticeably missing from the top end of the report; the book has been a part of the BookFinder report since 2010 and was finally re-published in April as Jim Henson’s Labyrinth and contains updated cover art. I’m not sure the books target age group would have any idea who David Bowie is anyway. According to reviews the books both stay quite close to the movie’s plot line however the novel replaces Bowie’s musical interludes with additional dialogue; and Smith also draws out the dialogue in a number of scenes.
Another graduation was In A Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting by Ray Garton who’s book has been on the BookFinder.com Report since 2008. The fact that it was republished December 31st 2014 left me on the fence as to whether I should remove it from this year’s list, but considering precious few of you would have gotten to read an in-print copy in 2014 I decided to leave it on this year. In 2009 the book became the basis for the hit film The Haunting in Connecticut (starring Virginia Madsen).
New to the BookFinder.com Report
An American Exodus: A Record of Human Erosion by Dorothea Lange this book was featured heavily in the photographer’s episode of PBS’s American Masters series (snippet below) which aired late August 2014. The full episode covered Lange’s five decades photographic work which documented Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and World War II Japanese internment camps and more. You can find a wide array of Dorothea Lange’s other work on BookFinder.com.
Another new, and timely, entry to the list was Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman. The books author, who has been singled out by Forbes as one of the most successful hedge fund managers of recent years, was quoted numerous times this year after his 2013 year end investor letter was leaked online. In the letter he preaches caution and warns of today’s stock markets being too bubbly, and that today's investors should take warning. The fact that his track record for posting huge growth has remained in tact all these years has lead to his 1991 out-of-print value investing opus to fetch four figures, when you can find it.
Every year I find stories about these books buried within the list, and every year I also miss some amazing stories. Read the full list and let us know any of your interesting stories about the books within.