My blog last night got me thinking about a British writer named David Hallamshire - and a tiny sin that I want to confess.
My sin is that I stole a book... Well, actually I've stolen many books in my lifetime. But this is a book that I felt particularly guilty about stealing. I came across it in the Rotorua public library in 1991. It was easily the funniest book I've ever read. I laughed so hard that I cried. I searched bookstores for a copy - to no avail. And so I took the book out of the library and I photocopied it. The whole damn thing. This is a breach of copyright law, but I didn't have the heart to just steal the book from the library outright - it was so good, that I thought that other people deserved to be able to read it. It was called What With Being Stone Deaf and Everything... The Rock Musician's Survival Guide by David Hallamshire - published by Ebury Press in 1989.
You see, part of the problem was actually that last bit: the publisher. Thanks to the Internet, at various times in the ensuing years, I've been able to search for David Hallamshire... I found nothing.
I searched for Ebury Press... I found nothing.
All I wanted was to find someone, somewhere, who had a copy of this book that I could buy. I felt bad that I had spent so long enjoying my dog-eared photocopy, and the author hadn't earned a red cent out of me! But apparently nobody had a copy. It was as if the whole book, the author, the publisher, had just vanished!
I remembered David Hallamshire in last night's blog - so out of interest, I Googled him again... And this time I got a hit.
What I discovered was that Stone Deaf & Everything is back in print! Sort of.
As it turns out, Ebury Press were bought out in 1989 - just after having printed 10,000 copies of this book, but before distributing all of them. The new owners dumped the remaining copies on the market at a bargain-basement price, and poor David was left with no more book-deals and no substantial income from the books that were sold. As to how a copy of this book made its way to the Rotorua public library in New Zealand: that's anyone's guess! But I'm glad that it did.
The author actually ended up writing for radio, which has obviously kept him in rent - but people who loved Stone Deaf (and who had one of the rare 10,000 copies) kept tracking him down. I am obviously not alone in my affections. The continuing interest has prompted him to revise and reissue the book via www.lulu.com. The link is here: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/stone-deaf-and-everything/365838
So, after waiting 18 years, I've finally managed to legitimately purchase a copy! I'm waiting with bated breath. :)
As to why I found this book to be the funniest book ever... well, I guess you just have to really love rock musicians.
Being able to laugh at rock musicians also helps. :)
Thanks Oldgroupiesneverdie. You made my day. I hope you enjoy the new updated version.