Roz Chast's books always seem to be extremely popular, so it is a bit of a mystery why signed copies of some of them have been selling in the ten-dollar range of late on eBay. In a sale posted on August 9, three signed first editions, all first printings, were offered for sale at $29.99 plus shipping. The books are of fairly recent vintage, none published more than seven years ago. All three seem to be in excellent condition. A best offer of $23.99 was rejected automatically, but two days later the seller countered with an offer of $25, not all that much higher, which the buyer promptly accepted.
Inscribed "For Kristy/All best,/Roz Chast"
Roz Chast's signature
Inscribed and signed by Patricia Marx and Roz Chast
On Wednesday evening, Roz Chast and Barry Yourgrau appeared in conversation together at Kinokuniya Bookstore just across the street from Bryant Park. Mr. Yourgrau is the author of Mess: One Man's Struggle to Clean Up His House and His Act (2015) and Ms. Chast is the author of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? (2014). Both speakers have experienced the exasperation of dealing with clutter and understand how a lifetime's worth of accumulated objects can have a strong emotional resonance.
I have refrained from buying New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast's memoir for more than a year, hoping to get a signed copy. While it was Ms. Chast I had gone to see, Mr. Yourgrau's comments were intelligent and insightful, and the discussion caused me to reflect on my own irrational attachment to my personal clutter. The discussion of collecting versus hoarding hit particularly close to home, as I hoped to confirm that I am a connoisseur rather than a psychopath. On this point, the conclusion might have been more reassuring...
Afterwards I met Ms. Chast and she signed a copy of her memoir for me. In the minute or two we had together, I learned that she had not heard of me or of this blog. Good to know. So I guess I can say here whatever I want about her part of the presentation.
She was awesome!
Roz Chast and Barry Yourgrau at Kinokuniya Bookstore in New York
Roz Chast and Barry Yourgrau at Kinokuniya Bookstore in New York
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? signed and inscribed by Roz Chast
Rob Chast.Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? New York: Bloomsbury, 2014
That very night a signed copy from the event appeared on eBay. Originally priced at $68 as I recall, it is now offered at $88 with a Make Offer option. That's more than I've documented this signed book going for, but it makes sense on some level. From a seller's perspective, I could see paying for two signed books–about $30 each with the sales tax—and selling one on eBay for double that or more. Then it would be like getting your own signed book for free. Of course, we don't know whether the eBay seller bergdorfgirl is keeping a personal copy, but I'd like to think so.
What does the buyer get for all that dough? Well, buying this one book at the event cost me $30 but there was also $30 in rush hour cab fare. It also cost me more than three hours' time door to door. If I were just interested in a signed book and not in attending the event, meeting Ms. Chast, and discovering her complete ignorance of this blog, I could just as well have bought the copy on eBay. I probably wouldn't have, but I could have.
Rob Chast.Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? New York: Bloomsbury, 2014
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? signed by Roz Chast
"Things." Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
"Sheer Lunacy" Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
Roz Chast signs books for her fans at Kinokunia Bookstore
Roz Chast has been signing copies of her 2014 memoir Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?for well over a year now. A signed first edition obtained at the National Book Awards 2014 Finalists Reading was sold on eBay in November of 2014. The event was fairly well-documented and the book sold for a healthy price.
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? signed "11/18/14/N.Y.C./Roz Chast"
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, A Memoir by Roz Chast
Roz Chast at the National Book Foundation event, November 18, 2014
Roz Chast at the National Book Foundation event, November 18, 2014
Roz Chast at the National Book Foundation event, November 18, 2014
Roz Chast at the National Book Foundation event, November 18, 2014
Roz Chast at the National Book Foundation event, November 18, 2014
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, A Memoir by Roz Chast, Back Cover, List Price $28.00
Roz Chast, The Brooklyn Book Festival, September 21, 2014
The National Book Awards 2014 Finalists Reading, The New School, November 18, 2014
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