Times Are Bound

I'm proud to announce that a special hardback collection of the first three years of The Times is now available from Fantagraphics Books for $62.95. With beautifully etched illustrations by E. H. Shepard and a glowing foreword by Clive James, this limited edition anthology has been lovingly hand-bound and includes bonus cut-out moustache and beret. Dig:

"Now it exists in the real world. God help us all."
-Inga Clendinnen.

"Compelling, worthwhile and readable: three things this book is..."
-Kathy Hunt.

"Rampant obscurantism done as artistic achievement. Kid needs a life."
-Bob Christgau.

It looks pretty good on a bookshelf, too. And for all those value-mongers out there, I have written fourteen new articles specifically for the book which will not be available on this website. All that in addition to a thirty-page introduction detailing the conception and development of The Times. That's 379 fully annotated pages, not including the substantial foreword, introduction and afterword sections.

I shall field as many questions as I can predict. Firstly, have I redrafted any of it? In short, no. I want this to be a living record, documenting every half-cock, soggy grouse and wheezing sentence. Obviously I've not the balls to let the weaker pages slip by without severe footnotes, but all the text has been reproduced in its entirety, punctuation and all. Secondly, why pay $62.95 for a glorified print-out of a freely accessible and frankly mediocre website supplemented with additional material I could probably exhaust in a single browse in a bookshop? Well... Good point. But if you're looking for a gift obscure enough to delay the inevitable disappointment and allow you a swift getaway, look no further. Make sure you get a guide-dog or something first, though.