Spafford Books

07/30/2026

How to handle a puppo who wants to hug. Let him!

Thanks Eagle for taming the beast.

07/18/2026

Hunter S. Thompson, in full Hunter Stockton Thompson,
b. July 18, 1937, d. February 20, 2005

On April 22, 1958, Hunter S. Thompson, then 22 years old, wrote a letter to his friend Hume Logan. Logan had asked for advice on life.

These words, Thompson’s response, are as as documented in the book ‘Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience’ by Shaun Usher (UK: 2013; USA: 2014). A 125 letter compendium that offers a glimpse into the events and people of history. The brightest and the best, the treasured, the notorious. The letters are not chronologically or thematically ordered, they are artfully orchestrated to provide the reader with an experience of discovery.

Thompson’s profound bits of wisdom of are as relevant now, almost 70 years later, as they were when they were written. Maybe more so, especially for those of us who feel a little lost these days.

April 22, 1958,
57 Perry Street,
New York City

Dear Hume,

You ask advice: ah, what a very human and very dangerous thing to do! For to give advice to a man who asks what to do with his life implies something very close to egomania. To presume to point a man to the right and ultimate goal— to point with a trembling finger in the RIGHT direction is something only a fool would take upon himself.

I am not a fool, but I respect your sincerity in asking my advice. I ask you though, in listening to what I say, to remember that all advice can only be a product of the man who gives it. What is truth to one may be disaster to another. I do not see life through your eyes, nor you through mine. If I were to attempt to give you specific advice, it would be too much like the blind leading the blind.

“To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles … ” (Shakespeare)

And indeed, that IS the question: whether to float with the tide, or to swim for a goal. It is a choice we must all make consciously or unconsciously at one time in our lives. So few people understand this! Think of any decision you’ve ever made which had a bearing on your future: I may be wrong, but I don’t see how it could have been anything but a choice however indirect— between the two things I’ve mentioned: the floating or the swimming.

But why not float if you have no goal? That is another question. It is unquestionably better to enjoy the floating than to swim in uncertainty. So how does a man find a goal? Not a castle in the stars, but a real and tangible thing. How can a man be sure he’s not after the “big rock candy mountain,” the enticing sugar-candy goal that has little taste and no substance?

The answer— and, in a sense, the tragedy of life— is that we seek to understand the goal and not the man. We set up a goal which demands of us certain things: and we do these things. We adjust to the demands of a concept which CANNOT be valid. When you were young, let us say that you wanted to be a fireman. I feel reasonably safe in saying that you no longer want to be a fireman. Why? Because your perspective has changed. It’s not the fireman who has changed, but you. Every man is the sum total of his reactions to experience. As your experiences differ and multiply, you become a different man, and hence your perspective changes. This goes on and on. Every reaction is a learning process; every significant experience alters your perspective.

So it would seem foolish, would it not, to adjust our lives to the demands of a goal we see from a different angle every day? How could we ever hope to accomplish anything other than galloping neurosis?

The answer, then, must not deal with goals at all, or not with tangible goals, anyway. It would take reams of paper to develop this subject to fulfillment. God only knows how many books have been written on “the meaning of man” and that sort of thing, and god only knows how many people have pondered the subject. (I use the term “god only knows” purely as an expression.) There’s very little sense in my trying to give it up to you in the proverbial nutshell, because I’m the first to admit my absolute lack of qualifications for reducing the meaning of life to one or two paragraphs.

I’m going to steer clear of the word “existentialism,” but you might keep it in mind as a key of sorts. You might also try something called ‘Being and Nothingness’ by Jean-Paul Sartre, and another little thing called ‘Existentialism: From Dostoyevsky to Sartre’. These are merely suggestions. If you’re genuinely satisfied with what you are and what you’re doing, then give those books a wide berth. (Let sleeping dogs lie.) But back to the answer. As I said, to put our faith in tangible goals would seem to be, at best, unwise. So we do not strive to be firemen, we do not strive to be bankers, nor policemen, nor doctors. WE STRIVE TO BE OURSELVES.

But don’t misunderstand me. I don’t mean that we can’t BE firemen, bankers, or doctors— but that we must make the goal conform to the individual, rather than make the individual conform to the goal. In every man, heredity and environment have combined to produce a creature of certain abilities and desires— including a deeply ingrained need to function in such a way that his life will be MEANINGFUL. A man has to BE something; he has to matter.

As I see it then, the formula runs something like this: a man must choose a path which will let his ABILITIES function at maximum efficiency toward the gratification of his DESIRES. In doing this, he is fulfilling a need (giving himself identity by functioning in a set pattern toward a set goal), he avoids frustrating his potential (choosing a path which puts no limit on his self-development), and he avoids the terror of seeing his goal wilt or lose its charm as he draws closer to it (rather than bending himself to meet the demands of that which he seeks, he has bent his goal to conform to his own abilities and desires).

In short, he has not dedicated his life to reaching a pre-defined goal, but he has rather chosen a way of life he KNOWS he will enjoy. The goal is absolutely secondary: it is the functioning toward the goal which is important. And it seems almost ridiculous to say that a man MUST function in a pattern of his own choosing; for to let another man define your own goals is to give up one of the most meaningful aspects of life— the definitive act of will which makes a man an individual.

Let’s assume that you think you have a choice of eight paths to follow (all pre-defined paths, of course). And let’s assume that you can’t see any real purpose in any of the eight. THEN— and here is the essence of all I’ve said— you MUST FIND A NINTH PATH.

Naturally, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. You’ve lived a relatively narrow life, a vertical rather than a horizontal existence. So it isn’t any too difficult to understand why you seem to feel the way you do. But a man who procrastinates in his CHOOSING will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.

So if you now number yourself among the disenchanted, then you have no choice but to accept things as they are, or to seriously seek something else. But beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living WITHIN that way of life. But you say, “I don’t know where to look; I don’t know what to look for.”

And there’s the crux. Is it worth giving up what I have to look for something better? I don’t know— is it? Who can make that decision but you? But even by DECIDING TO LOOK, you go a long way toward making the choice.

If I don’t call this to a halt, I’m going to find myself writing a book. I hope it’s not as confusing as it looks at first glance. Keep in mind, of course, that this is MY WAY of looking at things. I happen to think that it’s pretty generally applicable, but you may not. Each of us has to create our own credo— this merely happens to be mine.

If any part of it doesn’t seem to make sense, by all means call it to my attention. I’m not trying to send you out “on the road” in search of Valhalla, but merely pointing out that it is not necessary to accept the choices handed down to you by life as you know it. There is more to it than that— no one HAS to do something he doesn’t want to do for the rest of his life. But then again, if that’s what you wind up doing, by all means convince yourself that you HAD to do it. You’ll have lots of company.

And that’s it for now. Until I hear from you again, I remain,
your friend,

Hunter

The takeaways here are: Rather than design ourselves around our goals, we need to design our goals around ourselves. Thompson warned against blind dedication of our lives to a specific ambition. This makes sense because our perspectives and what we want will (and do) change. Chosen professions should serve our life's vision, not devour it. The tangible goal is secondary. True value comes from the work, willingness, and conscious efforts we incorporate to build what we choose. Purpose allows our abilities to function at maximum efficiency. Freedom eclipses security, personally and societally. There’s more, but I’ll stop here.

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a Ride!'"
The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967, published in 1997.

“Buy the ticket, take the ride.”
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: 1971

Photo:
Hunter S. Thompson,
‘Self Portrait in Striped Chair’, c 1960

We make every effort to be accurate and fair minded with the information posted.

If you see something that doesn't look right, or if you are interested in any of the books associated with our posts, please contact us directly at http://spaffordbooks.ca/, through Messenger, or phone 306.525.4910. If the book you want is not in stock, copies may be brought in for you. Please, and I cannot stress this enough, buy direct and/or local. Thank you.

We respectfully acknowledge that we work and live on Treaty 4 lands, the unceded territories of the nêhiyawak, Anihšināpēk, Dakota, Lakota, and Nakoda, and the traditional homelands of the Métis/Michif Nation.

07/11/2026

Wow!

07/04/2026

Booksale!!!

06/10/2026

To all of Oxford’s friends and fans,

This afternoon (June 9), Leah and Spafford Books said goodbye to sweet Oxford. The heart and soul of the bookstore and a truly gentle soul, without fail, he made every day better with his endless enthusiasm for life. As you may know, he greeted everyone with unconditional love and filled the place with joy for nine years. Grief is indeed the price we pay for love. Hearts heavy with unfathomable sorrow, we are grateful for every moment we had with him and thank you for being part of his adventures. The dog parks, especially at the Cathy Lauritsen, will not be the same without him. Your love and support mean the world to us, but we ask for some time and space as we navigate this difficult transition.

In lieu of flowers, Leah asks that donations be made to the Regina Humane Society or the rescue of your choice.

All our love.

06/04/2026

Our civilization is flinging itself to pieces. Stand back from the centrifuge.

Professor Faber to Guy Montag,
Fahrenheit 451, Ballantine Books: 1953

Ray Bradbury, in full Ray Douglas Bradbury,
b. August 22, 1920, d. June 5, 2012

Bradbury also warned in an interview, “You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

Fahrenheit 451 was written in the early years of the Cold War, at a time when many Americans feared Communist infiltration and the destruction of their values and communities. Critics have compared the story to the witch hunt of Senator Joseph McCarthy and the censorship and conformity it had sparked.

The book is a critique of what Bradbury saw as the biggest issues in that era in American history.

Two of his early short stories, ‘The Pedestrian’ and ‘Bright Phoenix’ taken from ‘The Martian Chronicles’ (1950) were merged to became ‘The Fireman’, a novella published in the February 1951 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. Ballantine Books (Bradbury’s publisher) suggested that he expand the story and make it into a novel. The Fireman was then edited, revised, and expanded, and the world was presented with Fahrenheit 451, first published as a novel by Ballantine Books in New York on October 19, 1953. A limited-edition of 200 signed copies was also released by the publisher later that month. More about them in a bit.

The book has never gone out of print, it has sold more than 10 million copies, and has been translated into at least 33 languages since it was first released.

As you may know, it’s a dystopian story, one of a man (Guy Montag) who burns books to prevent the dissemination of ideas, but who comes to realize the error (and horror) of the choices he’s made. The novel is full of surprises, contradictions, and misconceptions.

The temperature 451°F, to clarify, refers to the auto-ignition point of paper. What this means is, the temperature at which paper will burn when not exposed to an external flame. Books will ignite at temperatures between 440°F and 480°F, dependent on the density and type of paper.

Bradbury had said that Adolf Hi**er was the inspiration for the novel. When he (Bradbury) was 15, Hi**er had burned the books in the streets of Berlin. Then he (Bradbury) learned about the libraries that had been burned some 5000 years ago in Alexandria.These things hit him hard and his soul mourned. Self-educated, he felt that his teachers, that is, the libraries and their books, were (are) all endangered, that his heroes could die. He thought that, and I think he was right, if book burning happened in Alexandria and happened in Berlin, it could happen anywhere, anytime.

Bradbury and his wife, Marguerite McClure, had two young children at the time. He needed a quiet place so he could write, but they couldn’t afford to rent a space. In an interview with the National Endowment for the Arts (2005), he’d said: “I was wandering around the UCLA library and discovered there was a typing room where you could rent a typewriter for 10 cents a half-hour. So I went and got a bag of dimes. The novel began that day and nine days later it was finished. But my God, what a place to write that book! I ran up and down stairs and grabbed books off the shelf to find any kind of quote and ran back down and put it in the novel. The book wrote itself in nine days, because the library told me to do it.” Those few in-library days cost him, by his own estimate, just under $10 and translated to about 49 hours of writing.

The aforementioned limited edition of approximately 200 copies (though I’d read there’s a letter from Bradbury that suggests the number was closer to 215) was published in late October, 1953.
These were bound in something called ‘Johns-Manville quinterra’, a white chrysolite asbestos material so they couldn’t burn. These copies have exceptional resistance to pyrolysis, which is, I learned, decomposition brought on by high temperatures. They were all numbered and signed.

Bradbury had feared, perhaps had predicted, that television would be the death of reading and that it could (would) extinguish a crucial part of our collective humanity. “Television gives you the dates of Napoleon, but not who he was”, he’d said. He also said that TV is “mostly trash”.

That said, he would write more than 600 works and allow his short stories and novels to be adapted for TV. He also wrote screenplays for ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’, ‘The Twilight Zone’, and his own anthology series, ‘The Ray Bradbury Theater’ that ran for six seasons (1985 - 1992).

Though he is considered to be a master of the science fiction genre, Bradbury regarded the rest of his work to be fantasy.

When the Fahrenheit 451 came out, headphones were enormous. In the book, Bradbury imagined ‘the little Seashells, the thimble radios’, which rested in the ear canal, and played ‘an electronic ocean of sound’ to Guy Montag's sleeping wife. Although in-ear headphones had seen registered patent decades before, it was Bradbury’s ‘seashells’ that went from science fiction to science truth when Jony Ive, the Apple designer, debuted earbuds in 2001, the forerunners to AirPods.

The novel makes it clear that Bradbury treasured the printed word. He refused for years to let 451 be released as an ebook. He was asked in 2009 if he'd allow one of his books to be put online; his immediate response to the publishers was “To hell with you and to hell with the internet. It's distracting. It's meaningless; it's not real. It's in the air somewhere.”

In 2011, Bradbury, then 91 years old, caved. Simon & Schuster had offered him an alleged seven-figure deal that included the rights to publish an e-book version of Fahrenheit 451.

Fahrenheit 451 and Ray Bradbury have won several distinctions. The book has sold well over 10 million copies, earned critical acclaim, and is considered one of the major novels of the 20th century. It has won several awards, including: The American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature (1954). Commonwealth Club of California Gold Medal (1954). A Prometheus ‘Hall of Fame’ Award’ and a Retro Hugo for Best Novel (1954). Bradbury also received two other Retro Hugo Awards, the first for Best Fanzine (1939)and the other for ‘King of the Gray Spaces’ (2019). He received the CableACE Award for best dramatic series for ‘The Ray Bradbury Theater’ in 1993, as well as others in various categories and years. His script for ‘The Halloween Tree’ won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program (1944). He got a Bram Stoker Award for ‘One More for the Road’, a collection of 25 short stories (2002). A Lifetime Achievement Award (1988) also from the Bram Stoker Awards and a Spoken Word Grammy nomination for the audiobook (1976) that he read himself.

There’s an underground band of rebels in 451 who memorize the great works of literature to preserve the written word. Bradbury was asked which book he'd choose to memorize. He answered, “It would be ‘A Christmas Carol’. I think that book has influenced my life more than almost any other book, because it's a book about life, it's a book about death. It's a book about triumph.”

Seventy three years later, Fahrenheit 451 holds the rare distinction as both a literary classic and an eternal bestseller.

Photographs:

Ray Bradbury by Helen Miljakovich (1951)

First edition, first printing
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451, Ballantine Books (1953)

One of the limited-edition run of 200 signed copies released by the publisher in late October 1953, bound in asbestos, to make them fireproof. A reputable advert informed me that a first edition copy in fine condition of the limited issue asbestos binding, hand-numbered and signed by the author on the colophon would sell today for somewhere around $45,000 USD.

NOTE TO READERS:

Spafford Books currently has in their collection a copy of The Limited Editions Club (LEC) issue of Fahrenheit 451. The LEC was a subscription-based membership book club started in 1929 by publisher George Macy. Limited edition books were sent to members’ homes every month, first restricted to print runs of 1,500 copies and then to 2,000 in later years. The LEC books were printed on high-quality paper with illustrations done by well known artists, some of whom were not associated with the book-making business (Picasso, Matisse, Rodin). All the books came with their own slipcase and ‘The Club’s Monthly Letter’, a two or four page newsletter that gave backstories about the author and illustrator and explained how typefaces, paper, printing houses, and binderies were selected.

Our copy, Number 1688 of 2000 printed, is signed to the limitation page by both Bradbury and Joseph Mugnaini, the artist of the fiery four-colour lithographs. The cover is wrapped in heavy aluminum with title printed in black on front cover and spine. Silver aluminum edges all ‘round, created “to simulate a book so durable that it would be able to resist a heat of 451 degrees—‘the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns.’”, states the Monthly Letter. Housed in a sturdy aluminum covered cardboard slipcase. The Monthly Letter of The Limited Editions Club: Number 527 August 1982 series 45 Vol. 4 is laid in. The tome is in fine condition. There is some light wear to the slipcase, as may be anticipated. The price point is significantly lower than an asbestos edition and this copy clearly holds its own in terms of attractiveness and durability. Photos available upon request. Please call or message directly if interested. Beautiful copy. Stunning, really.

If you see something that doesn't look right, or if you are interested in any of the books associated with our posts, please contact us directly at http://spaffordbooks.ca/, through Messenger, or phone 306.525.4910. If the book you want is not in stock, copies may be brought in for you. Please, and I cannot stress this enough, buy direct and/or local. Thank you.

We respectfully acknowledge that we work and live on Treaty 4 lands, the unceded territories of the nêhiyawak, Anihšināpēk, Dakota, Lakota, and Nakoda, and the traditional homelands of the Métis/Michif Nation.

05/27/2026

We are getting one of these, should anyone care to explore it with us. They had me at questionable decisions. 100% Canadian made with Canadian Humour.

https://e-upgames.com/products/american-dictator-board-game

Caution/Enticement: There may be cocktails involved.

Take control of the Pentagon! Twenty American cities are up for grabs, and you need to control as many as you can to win. Includes: Large foldable game board 58 QUESTIONABLE DECISION cards 20 City Cards 6 men's ties (player pieces) 42 upgrades: 16 golf courses, 14 resorts, 12 towers 2 x 6-sided dice...

05/15/2026

An evening of readings from 3 exceptional Saskatchewan authors. At the Artesian for the Cathedral Cathedral Village Arts Festival! Doors at 6; authors at 7.

University of Regina Press and Spafford Books present three exceptional Saskatchewan writers: Jesse Rae Archibald Barber, Ken Wilson, and Louise Bernice Halfe Skydancer.

There will be a panel discussion about the role of the land in their writings and our efforts towards reconciliation.

05/10/2026

Fellow booksellers of the world, I know we have all googled ZOOMBOOKS in the last few weeks and have gotten what seems to be a somewhat logical (terrifying) answer, but in case you need more? Here. Book Haven in New Zealand sums it up nicely. Welcome to the end of the world. At least, as we know it.




https://bookhaven.co.nz/blogs/blogs/is-ai-sucking-up-all-knowledge-including-here?fbclid=IwY2xjawRt5ClleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFnb3dsNG9oZk9ZZDVEazd4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHnB4aOW-rp4HQI-GkDX9vPXzUUFxWn6eaE7GQDYfqM9ZqedvsMxR3LkDdk7j_aem_2ALabEcRkVCK84QaPujMkg

Anthropic Project Panama ZoomBooks

04/28/2026

Harper Lee, born Nelle Harper Lee,
b. April 28, 1926, d. February 19, 2016

American novelist whose novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ (1960) won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and went on to become a classic of modern American literature.

When Truman Capote, her childhood friend, began to write his book ‘In Cold Blood’ (1966), Lee went to Kansas with him. She did much of the research work and contributed more than 150 pages of notes, conducted key interviews, sketched maps of the crime scene, bridged gaps and built trust with the local folks, and even tracked down the killers' planned route, all of which were critical to the book's phenomenal success. Considered by many to be the original true crime novel and by some to be the first nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood is also the second-best-selling book in the true crime genre, second only to ‘Helter Skelter’, Vincent Bugliosi’s book about the Charles Manson murders, published in 1974. Lee was not credited as a co-author, mentioned only in the acknowledgments, and this snub dampened their relationship significantly. ‘Go Set a Watchman’, the earlier draft of Mockingbird but set at a later date, was published on July 14, 2015 and ‘The Land of Sweet Forever’, a collection of her short stories and essays, on October 21, 2025.

The recipient of numerous accolades and honorary degrees, Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007 by President George W. Bush for her contribution to literature. She received the National Medal of Arts in 2010, awarded by President Barack Obama for her ‘outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts’. The latter is the highest award of its kind given by the United States government.

Harper Lee died of a stroke in her sleep on the morning of February 19, 2016. She was 89. Lee is buried in Hillcrest Cemetery in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama.

Photo:
Harper Lee in Monroeville by Donald Uhrbrock, Life Magazine: 1961

We make every effort to be accurate and fair minded with the information posted.

If you see something that doesn't look right, or if you are interested in any of the books associated with our posts, please contact us directly at http://spaffordbooks.ca/, through Messenger, or phone 306.525.4910. If the book you want is not in stock, copies may be brought in for you. Please, and I cannot stress this enough, buy direct and/or local. Thank you.

We respectfully acknowledge that we work and live on Treaty 4 lands, the unceded territories of the nêhiyawak, Anihšināpēk, Dakota, Lakota, and Nakoda, and the traditional homelands of the Métis/Michif Nation.