Jack Carr is a cool dude. A NYT bestselling thriller writer, he’s got a gimmick to drive sales to indie bookstores. The last couple of books, he’s taken to bundling up a tranche of title pages, taking them to the range and shooting them with a specific firearm type that is featured in that novel. That an an autograph make for a limited edition distributed only to independent bookstores. My local indie, Paulina Springs Books, is not on the list — but I’m gonna see if I can get it into Mr. Carr’s crosshairs for the next one.
Here’s the caper:
In April of 2020 as businesses were shutting down across the country due to COVID-19, I wanted to do something to drive traffic to local independent bookstores at a time when most people were sequestered in their homes. My small gesture of support came in the form of limited edition Savage Son bookplates available only through independent bookstores. I published the list of participating bookstores with contact information on my website and they sold out immediately. In April of 2021, in an effort to continue supporting the local independent bookstores I love so much, I replicated that campaign for the publication of The Devil’s Hand. Those also sold out immediately. For the publication of In The Blood, a sniper centric novel of violent resolutions, it was time to move things to the next level and send a bullet through title pages that are bound into the book, those bullets making each novel a one of a kind edition. Once again, they sold out immediately. This year, I am continuing the tradition for the publication of Only the Dead. This time I am using a clone of an Iraqi Tabuk AK built by the legendary Jim Fuller of Fuller Phoenix. It is a clone of the Kalashnikov that James Reece uses at the end of The Devil’s Hand, a rifle I researched through the Vickers Guide AK Kalashnikov Volume 1. I shot them at the Park City Gun Club in Park City, Utah. If you are looking for a unique addition to your library, find limited “shot through” editions of Only the Dead, a novel of truth and consequences, at independent bookstores via the links below.
Monk says
Almost as good as a William S Burroughs shotgun painting,
that he’s a cool dude I kinda figured,after all he put blurb on
McCloskey’s Damascus Station……spot on with that too !
Quixotic Mainer says
When I realized I couldn’t get more than a few dollars for it at the end of semester book sale, I killed my college algebra textbook with my Hawken gun in similar fashion! I’ve become a big fan of Carr’s podcast this last year, he’s the sort of influence we could use these days.
JimC says
That is a suitable fate for an algebra book. And I agree… his discourse is thoughtful and full of enthusiasm for achievement and service.
lane batot says
I regularly profusely illustrated/commented in many of my college textbooks, usually during class when I wasn’t paying much attention to the professors, and was bored out of my mind. And my illustrations rarely had to do with any subject in the book, except something derogatory about them, sometimes. My used textbooks were always sought after by others after I’d had done with them!
Quixotic Mainer says
I am betting the annotated texts were vastly more entertaining! Even more so when illuminated with illustrations and the occasional lampooning. Academia can wring joy out of subjects at times, though a few were great. I expect I read more history after graduation then I did at school.
lane batot says
You might like this story then, Quixotic, of my infamous college career. I had a wonderful Botany professor, a Brit, named Dr. Mainwaring. Despite his expertise and lecturing skill, I flat out failed his course–had to take it again, almost failed again! But squeaked by with a beloved “D”! I always felt he might have just given me that “D” the 2nd time around…..Anyhoo, most of his exams were discussion question types, which I had a lot of fun with, even when I had no clue what the correct responses were(which was most of the time!). So I just made up all kinds of bizarre theories and explanations, profusely illustrated with all manner of nonsense! The more outrageous, the better. One day Dr. Mainwaring took me aside and said he LOVED my exam efforts, even if he did have to fail me. He said he LOATHED grading papers more than almost anything, so whenever he had a batch of exams to grade, he’d quickly flip through them until he found MINE, then insert my exam somewhere in the middle of the pile. He said his laughing at my attempts gave him a break that helped him get through the rest of them!
JimC says
That is wonderful. Hats off to the prof for telling you that.
Matthew says
You know I just don’t like the idea of shooting books. It seems disrespectful. Though I think if it was the Great Gatsby or A Separate Peace maybe not so much.
David Wrolson says
My roommate and I annotated many of our college notebook with notes about various young ladies in the class or of our acquaintance. 35 years later, it is amusing to run across one of these notebooks.