BookFinder's Top 10 for 2008: Do It Yourself and With Someone Else
- by Michael Stillman
Romantic fiction is very popular, but wouldn't she fall off of that horse?
By Michael Stillman
BookFinder.com has released its top 10 list of the most sought after out-of-print books of 2008. BookFinder provides searches of dozens of book listing sites, so they get a good picture of what older titles people are most trying to find. The list is a varied, eclectic lot, which, come to think of it, reflects who we are.
This year's list features activities we can perform on our own, such as do-it-yourself projects, and those requiring another, such as sex and murder. Throw in some science, sport, romance and animals, and what else do we need? Nothing, except some specific recommendations, so here they are, courtesy of BookFinder.
10. The Principles of Knitting: Methods and Techniques of Hand Knitting (1989) by June Hemmons Hiatt. A knitting book in the top 10 seems surprising, but last year there were actually two in the top 10.
9. Woodworker's Essential Shop Aids and Jigs; Original Devices You Can Make (1992) by Robert Wearing. This is a useful if not exciting book.
8. Legally Sane (1972) by Jon K. Hahn with Harold C. McKenney. A look at the killing spree of a psychopathic, though "legally sane," murderer.
7. Comanche Heart (1991) by Catherine Anderson. A woman flees her windswept Texas plains home, but her Comanche warrior lover still tracks her down. This is not Shakespeare.
6. A Lion Called Christian (1972) by Anthony "Ace" Bourke and John Rendall. This book was resuscitated by the amazing YouTube video of their reunion with the pet lion in the wilds after a long separation.
5. Carpentry for Beginners: How to use tools, basic joints, workshop practice, designs for things to make (1900) by Charles H. Hayward. Some things never go out of style, as the publication date of this book attests.
4. Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager Interstellar Record (1978) by Carl Sagan. No one ever combined the words "popular" and "science" like this man.
3. Promise Me Tomorrow (1984) by Nora Roberts. An early novel from the romance novelist who will not allow it to be reprinted as even she believes it is "mediocre."
2. Sex (1992) by Madonna. A limited (though not that limited) edition of erotic and strange photographs from an erotic and strange pop icon.
1. Once a Runner: A Novel (1978) by John L. Parker, Jr. A cult classic on how to get out of breath and very tired. This book was number 1 last year as well.
BookFinder notes that the quickest way to drop from the top 10 out-of-print list is to be reprinted, which happened to two of last year's chart toppers: The Lion's Paw, a children's adventure by Rob White, and Football Scouting Methods by Steve Belichick, father of the New England Patriots football coach. Then again, maybe the latter fell out because his boy's football team is not doing so well this year. This fates awaits three of this year's top 10 scheduled for reissue in 2009: Once a Runner, A Lion Called Christian, and Comanche Heart.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
