For Every Aspiring Writer: A Must-See Movie About Books, Writing and Life

Orange County is a hilarious, heartwarming movie centered around a book that changed one young man’s life. Shaun, played by Colin Hanks, is a disillusioned high school senior from, of course, Orange County, California. After his best friend is killed by a 20-foot wave in a hurricane surfing accident, Shaun starts to think “maybe there’s more to life than extreme sports and trying to get laid.”

As Shaun is sitting on the beach one day, he finds a book buried in the sand that makes him see things differently. He decides he wants to be a writer (instead of a professional surfer). He takes off on a mission to find the book’s author, a writing professor at Stanford University, and immediately sends his application to go to Stanford in the fall. Through a series of unfortunate yet hilarious events, Shaun, an A+ student, doesn’t get accepted to Stanford. He drives to Stanford with his burnout brother (Jack Black), who accidentally drugs the Dean of Admissions and burns down a campus building. But just as Shaun is about to lose hope, he runs into the professor unexpectedly and learns a few things about writing and life that he never expected.

Through Shaun’s struggle to find inspiration, he realizes it’s been there all along. Orange County is a must-see for any aspiring writer, published author, and anyone who’s ever had an epiphany from a particular book. Haven’t we all? Check out a clip from Shaun’s impromptu meeting with Dr. Skinner below:

“Don’t be afraid of that. You are a good writer. And every good writer has a conflicted relationship with the place he grew up…Joyce, Faulkner, Tolstoy. That’s what I love about your story. It’s very conflicted. At the beginning, you think these people are doomed, this family’s heading for disaster. Then as you read on, you see beneath the surface there exist these very real connections, these deep relationships. What I took from your story is this: Even in a world where people can be superficial and stupid and selfish…there’s still hope.” -Dr. Marcus Skinner, Orange County

Orange County has a fabulous soundtrack, too. Highly recommended! Listen on Spotify here: Soundtrack: Orange County the Movie

Five Fascinating Facts about Arnold Bennett

Interesting Literature

A short biography of Arnold Bennett, author of Anna of the Five Towns and Clayhanger

1. His first name was actually Enoch. Born in 1867 in Hanley, Staffordshire (part of the famous ‘Potteries’ and now a district of Stoke-on-Trent), Enoch Arnold Bennett was named after his father, a solicitor. Enoch Junior was sent to the school at Newcastle-under-Lyme (‘Oldcastle’ in his fiction), but he only became a successful writer after he had left his hometown in the Potteries. However, he would write about them in much of his fiction. It is an odd fact in the life of Arnold Bennett that he could not perhaps have written so well about his homeland of North Staffordshire if he had remained there. Would James Joyce have been able to write Ulysses if he’d remained in Dublin?

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Word to the Wise: Part 1

Here’s short list of quotes from some of our favorite writers. Hemingway, Faulkner, Plath, and many more…

Andy Warhol: Blue Movie Vintage Paperback

Andy Warhol, legendary American artist of the 1970s, is known for his pop-art prints and out-of-the-box mentality. He directed and produced Blue Movie in 1969, an artistic film expressing human sexuality.

A rare vintage paperback including the full Blue Movie dialogue is now available in the Pay IT 4Ward Bookstore. This 1st edition, 1st printing illustrated text includes over 100 still images from the film. Check out some below:

Click here to get your copy now – limited time only!

Facebook Contest: Win $10 Off ANY Item in the PayIT4Ward Bookstore

Can you guess which vintage book this is from the illustration? Comment on Facebook with your answer and share the post! Winner will receive a $10 Codeless Coupon to the PayIT4Ward Bookstore. Winner will be selected at random at 5pm today, May 15th.

UPDATE- ALL correct answers to our Facebook contest will receive a prize! Just visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PayIT4WardBooks and guess the title of the vintage book pictured below.

Click Here To Enter!

Your Guide to Antique Book Terminology

When you buy an antique or collectible book, it’s important to know what exactly you’re getting. Condition tend to vary, so knowing the terminology used to describe the different parts of an antique book is essential for collectors, or anyone looking to expand their bookshelf! Here’s a brief rundown of some common terms used by book sellers when they describe a vintage book:

Antiquarian: An antiquarian book means it fits into the “collectible” genre. This term suggests that the book was printed years or centuries ago and is generally quite rare.

Advanced Copy or ARC (Advanced Review Copy): A copy of the book that was published prior to the known publication date for reviewers and sellers.

Backstrip:  Material that covers the spine of the book.

Binding: The complete cover of the book, which includes the backstrip/spine.

Book Club Edition: A specialized reprint of the book’s 1^st Edition. Some Book Club Editions may be condensed.

Covers:  The front, back and spine of the book – i.e, the complete binding of the book.

Dust Jacket (DJ): Hardcover books are sold either with or without a Dust Jacket. A Dust Jacket (DJ) refers to the paper artwork that covers the book’s exterior. Hardcover books are much more valuable when a Dust Jacket is included. Depending on the condition of the Dust Jacket, the book’s value increases by about 35-100%. A book in excellent condition with an intact dust jacket can double in value.

Ephemera: A written or printed document originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity. Most paper ephemera are quite rare because of this. “Paper Ephemera” refers to pamphets, booklets, brochures, playbills and other vintage items.

1^st Edition: The first available printed copy of a collectible book.

Foxed / Foxing: Foxing refers to a chemical reaction that causes brownish staining or spotting of the papers. Foxing is usually seeing in older books (19^th century or before) with steel engravings.

Fray: Loose threads in a book with a cloth overlay that emerge from the cover or backstrip.

Gilding: Refers to a decorative overlay to the book’s cover or binding, usually gold or silver, to give it a more alluring appearance.

Illustration: Any type of picture, design, graphic, map, or diagram printed within the text of the book. Note the book’s illustrator along with the author.  

Impression: This term refers to the number of copies during a particular press run

Library-Bound: A book produced for libraries or schools; generally with a more durable binding

Limited Edition: Refers to a publication that has been restricted to a small amount of copies for a specific audience

Marbled: Paper decorated with an imitation marble pattern.

Mint Condition: Book’s condition is like new; as in the same day as publication

No Date (ND):  The book shows no publication date, or the date is unknown. 

Pamphlet:  A short paper edition that covers a single subject area

Paperback:  A soft cover book with a paper exterior

Tips: The furthermost corners of the book

PayIT4Ward Books clearly outlines the condition of each item in our store. Click here to check out some new additions to the PayIT4Ward bookstore! 

Surimono Prints: Limited Edition Antique Japanese Art Book

Surimono – or 摺物, in Japanese – are a type of Japanese woodblock print. These gorgeous works of art were created privately for special occasions in Japanese culture, such as the New Year. They were created by various notable artists from about the 1790s to the 1830s, and the artist needed a great deal of technical skill to create the detail necessary to produce Surimono. The prints were created with shading and “floating” color for beautiful texture and lifelike depth, using gold, silver and copper in the final product.

The name “Surimono” literally translates to “printed thing”. The prints were created in very small numbers for highly educated people in Japan. Surimono prints were often more experimental in subject matter and artwork methods, yet more extravagant in printing technique, than commercial prints. They were often used by Japenese poetry societies as an award for the winning poem in poetry contests. Kabuki actors also commissioned surimono prints to commemorate important events in their careers, such as name changes or stage debuts of their son.

The antique book Surimono Prints by Elbow Edith Polster and Alfred H, Mark showcases various illustrations and poetry by artists and writers notable in Surimono. This limited edition art book includes a selection of beautiful prints with 541 captioned illustrations of woodblock prints, accompanied by poetry and descriptions. Includes contributions from artists such as Eisen, Gakutei, Gekko, Hiroshige, Hokusai, Hokkei, Kosai, Kosetsu, Kunimasa, Kuninori, Masunobo, Matora, and Rinsai, with by Shashofuku Michizure, Isosuzu Kawabito and more.

One LIMITED EDITION copy of Surimono Prints by Elbow Edith Polster and Alfred H. Marks is now available in the PayIT4ward Bookstore. Only 1050 copies of this Lovejoy Limited Edition have been printed.

Click here to buy it now. Don’t miss out. Only one copy is available!

Surimono Prints by Elbow Edith Polster and Alfred H. Marks. C. 1980, Lovejoy Limited Edition of 1050 copies. Hardcover in excellent condition. Antiquarian illustrated hardcover in excellent condition. Covers, binding, backstrip and tips all intact. Limited edition of 1050 copies.

Mrs Grundy: Studies in English Prudery

Are you “proper”, according to the old English definition? Probably not.

Mrs. Grundy: Studies in English Prudery is an entertaining and informative read by Peter Fryer that takes a deeper look at the extreme beliefs towards sexuality and censorship in the past. His notes go as far back as the 1300s, and some of the information is outlandish and downright hilarious.

Fryer’s account begins with the spoken word. The first few chapters trace the changing words considered to be proper. For example, the word “belly”, which gradually was replaced by “stomach” in the 1300s. It was taboo to say “belly” – in fact, according to the text, “Respectable Englishwomen” were seriously offended, even by doctors, who used the word. Fryer includes stories of Doctors unable to treat patients who couldn’t tell him which “limb” was hurting because they refused to use the necessary words to describe parts of the body!

These stories are laughable in modern times – but it’s important to remember that self-censorship certainly still exists today, particularly in radically conservative groups. We might like to think of our own beliefs as far superior to medieval values, but much remains the same more often than we like to think.

Check out Mrs. Grundy: Studies in English Prudery in the PayIT4Ward Bookstore. We have a 1st edition vintage copy for sale – click here to get yours now!

Ernest Hemingway: Three Legendary Works

Ernest Hemingway, July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961, is one of the most successful and highly regarded writers in the history of American literature. His understated style of writing had a major influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works. Additional works, including three novels, four short story collections, and three non-fiction works, were published posthumously. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature. Three of his most popular novels are For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Sun Also Rises, and A Farewell to Arms. Click here to get a set of all three 1st Editions now at the Pay IT 4Ward Bookstore! Here’s some more info on each of these works.

For Whom the Bell Tolls is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to a republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War.  For Whom the Bell Tolls is commonly regarded as one of Hemingway’s best works.  A film adaptation of Hemingway’s novel, directed by Sam Wood, was released in 1943 starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress. In 1956, a television adaptation, directed by John Frankenheimer, was broadcast in two parts on CBS‘s Playhouse 90, starring Jason Robards and Maria Schell.

The Sun Also Rises is a 1926 novel by Ernest Hemingway. Like For Whom the Bell Tolls, this work has been regarded as Hemingway’s greatest publication.  The Sun Also Rises is about a group of American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bullsand the bullfights.  The Sun Also Rises was published in the United States in October 1926 by Scribner’s. A year later, the London publishing house Jonathan Cape published the novel with the title of Fiesta. Hemingway biographer Jeffrey Meyers writes that it is “recognized as Hemingway’s greatest work.” In addition, Hemingway scholar Linda Wagner-Martin calls it his “most important novel.”  

A Farewell to Arms is a novel by Ernest Hemingway set during the Italian campaign of World War I. The publication of A Farewell to Arms cemented Hemingway’s status as a modern American writer and became his first best-seller. Originally printed in Scribner’s Magazine, A Farewell to Arms was published in September 1929. This work is described by biographer Michael Reynolds as “the premier American war novel from that debacle World War I.”

A Farewell to Arms is a first-person account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a Lieutenant in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army. It follows a love affair between Henry and Catherine Barkley, set against the tumultuous backdrop of World War I.  The title is taken from a poem by 16th-century English dramatist George Peele. A Farewell to Arms has been adapted for the stage in 1930, and later for film in 1932 and 1957. It was also adapted into a TV miniseries in 1966. The 1996 film In Love and War, directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Sandra Bullock, depicts Hemingway’s life in Italy as an ambulance driver in the events prior to his writing of A Farewell to Arms.

Visit Pay IT 4Ward Bookstore to get a set of all three vintage 1st edition hardcovers – click here now!

Welcome to Pay It 4ward Books Online!

Pay IT 4Ward Books is a Textbook Buyback Service and Online Retailer of rare, antique and collectible books.

For more info on selling your used textbooks, email JN@PayIT4wardBooks.com. Top prices offered!

Our online bookstore offers an amazing selection of antique, 1st edition collectible books, paperbacks, hardcovers, paper ephemera and more. You’ll find literary memorabilia from the 1800s, 1900s and throughout the 21st century: fiction, non-fiction, biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, literary criticism and so much more. Click here to shop Pay IT 4Ward online now!