150K Blog: Rare Books and a Chance to Game with Pat

This is a Worldbuilders blog.

As I write this, we’ve raised over $202,000 which means we’ve beaten last year’s total by over ten thousand dollars.

This seems to indicate that we, as a group, are awesome.

I’m going to celebrate by moving our donation goal up to 225K. Part of me wants to shoot for 250K. It would be nice to say, “We raised a quarter million dollars this year.” But we only have a week left, and I don’t want my reach to exceed my grasp….

Unfortunately, this burst of generosity draws attention to the fact that I haven’t posted the 150K bonus blog yet.

I’ve been slow posting this blog because I wanted to do something a special for this milestone. Specifically, I wanted to post up a video of me reading a picture book to y’all.

The book is called Beatrice’s Goat, and it’s the story that made me fall in love with Heifer International.

I’m donating 10 copies to the fundraiser:

I’ve been planning this for months. I got permission from Heifer International to read the book in a video. I found a guy that does video editing here in Stevens Point. I looked into the proper pronunciations for the names….

I even (and this should really underline how seriously I was taking things) got a haircut so I wouldn’t look like a hobo on the video. Or at the very least, I’d look like a halfway respectable hobo.

Lastly, in a stroke of genius, I decided to bring my son into the project. He’s way more photogenic than I am, and he loves books. Why wouldn’t I shoot a video of me reading the book to him?

So yesterday I got the edited video back, sat down to to watch it…. and was appalled.

The problem is my voice, you see. I never realized that my voice goes up about three quarters of an octave when I read to little Oot.

You know how that uncomfortable feeling you get when you hear your own voice played back from a recording? That’s how I felt watching the video, except about a hundred times worse. I was in a constant state of cringe.

I know it’s a silly thing to be embarrassed about, but I don’t know if I want a video out there of me reading to my son in this goofy-ass voice.

Why am I telling y’all this? Well, over the last month, I’ve told a lot of people that I was planning on posting the video, so I figured I owed you an explanation as to why I’m not posting it up here with the books.

Sorry to sissy out on y’all…. Let me make it up to you by tossing some more cool stuff into the fundraiser.

*     *     *

As some of you on facebook might have already seen, when I was out at Confusion a week ago, a bunch of authors got together and played a game of D&D. Old school D&D. AD&D.

There was a lot of talent at the table: Peter V. Brett, Joe Abercrombie, Jim Hines, Scott Lynch, Elizabeth Bear, and Jay Lake. Myke Cole and Saladin Ahmed ran things.

Brent Weeks did a write up of the adventure over here, if you want to hear the epic details of how we were almost killed by goblins.

Simply said, it was a great time. I got to cast Magic Missile and everything.

In order to pass on some of the geeky love, I’ve decided to run a game at the next convention I’m attending: Stellarcon 36.

So if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to have an adventure in the Four Corners, this is your chance to find out.

The winners of this auction will get to play in a one-shot role-playing geekfest set in the Four Corners world. You will join Pat Rothfuss and Steve Long of HERO Games for a collaborative storytelling experience of such intensity that it will doubtless leave you a shattered wreck of a human being.

Pat will pre-generate characters and provide a brief explanation of the HERO gaming system. (You don’t need to know the system in order to play and enjoy the game.) The game will be run on Saturday, March 3, 2012 in the afternoon or evening.

In addition to a seat at the gaming table, the winners of these auctions will receive free memberships to StellarCon 36 where the game will be held.

StellarCon 36 runs from March 2nd – 4th, 2012. The convention will be held at the Best Western High Point Hotel in High Point, North Carolina.

Please note: this auction does not include food, lodging, or transportation to the convention.

Two more seats will be in auctioned or raffled off at the convention itself on March 3rd. Folks who are through registration by 11:00 AM will definitely still be able to throw their name in the hat and/or bid on those at the convention.

You can bid on the first game seat here.

The second seat here.

And the third seat here.

Or you can stalk all the auctions at once by following this link.

  • 10 first edition hardcover copies of The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. The first WMF books ever signed by Pat.

I wasn’t going to include any copies of my book in the fundraiser, then Penguin sent a couple boxes of books along to help out with the fundraiser.

They were the last remaining books that I signed in New York back in January of 2011, months before the book was even out. I wrote about the surreal experience in the blog.

I’ve taken the liberty of dating these books January 26, 2011. Which makes them something of a rarity, as they’re dated two months before the publication date.

  • One hardcover copy of Subterranean Press’s Tales of Dark Fantasy.

A long out-of-print collection featuring an early version of my short story, “The Road to Levinshir,” as well as stories by other notable authors like Mike Carey and Poppy Z Bright.

  • Three first edition copies of The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle. Signed by the authors and doodled by Nate Taylor.

These are first edition copies that Nate was kind enough to doodle in:

I wish I could doodle….

  • Three hardcover copies of Gollancz 50th anniversary edition of The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

Gollancz printed retro-style copies of 5 classic fantasy books in celebration of their 50th year in publishing. The fact that Name of the Wind made it into the mix still makes me blushy with pride.

The introduction in this book by Steaphen Deas makes me kinda blushy, too.

  • One copy of Your College Survival Guide. Signed by Patrick Rothfuss and doodled by B.J. Hiorns.

This book was my first publication from back in 2005. A shameful piece of my sordid past.

It’s a collection of of humor columns I wrote for the college paper between 1999 and 2003. Columns dealt with pressing philosophical issues such as the fast zombie/slow zombie debate as well as everyday problems like how to bribe your professor or start a career as a prostitute.

The book is full of illustrations by BJ Hiorns, the same guy that occasionally illustrates my blog. It also contains annotations where I explain how some columns got written, the lies I told, and what sort of trouble various jokes got me into.

Only 500 of these were printed, and I have less than a dozen left.

The last time I looked online, the only ones I could find were being sold for over 800 bucks on Amazon:

Here’s the doodle Brett did in this one.

You can see why I love him….

  • AUCTION: One-of-a-kind Leather-bound Hardcover of  The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

(Click to Embiggen. It’s worth it.)

Last but not least, we have a real gem.

This is a one-of-a-kind copy of The Name of the Wind, hand-bound in leather by bookbinder Hunter Ford.

This hardcover book is bound in blue Northamptonshire goat leather and decorated with gold acrylic paint. Printed on acid-free paper with marbled end pages, it is 636 pages with size 12 font and narrow margins.

It’s not just a rare book, it’s a unique book. And I’ll gladly sign it to the winner, if the winner so desires.

Our thanks to Hunter Ford for this treasure.

To see more pictures or bid on this book, click here.

*     *     *

Remember, for every 10 dollars you donate on our Team Page, you get a chance to win these books and many more.

Even better, if you chip in before February 7th of 2012, Worldbuilders will match 50% of your donation.

If you’d like to see all the auctions Worldbuilders is currently running, you can find them over here.

Or, if you want to see the other items that have been donated to Worldbuilders, or learn more about the fundraiser itself, you can head over to the main page here.

This entry was posted in a billion links, BJ Hiorns Art, gaming, geeking out, Tales from the Con, Worldbuilders 2011. By Pat40 Responses

40 Comments

  1. Filipa
    Posted January 31, 2012 at 5:59 AM | Permalink

    Ohai! Is bidding/donating possible for European users? And if it is is there a chance that this Portuguese geek can win books? (my soul feeds on books)

    • Jen-cha
      Posted January 31, 2012 at 7:23 AM | Permalink

      Hey Filipa– I didn’t see a direct answer to your question anywhere, but you may get a reply faster if you email [email protected] instead of waiting for a reply here. This close to the end, it’s hard to say how many comments Pat is reading :)

      • Posted January 31, 2012 at 11:28 AM | Permalink

        This is covered in the FAQ. But the short answer is that you can win books no matter where in the world you are….

      • Filipa
        Posted January 31, 2012 at 2:28 PM | Permalink

        well thank you :) btw keep up the good job at making me poor you’re close to breaking my government’s record! :D

  2. Geekgirl
    Posted January 31, 2012 at 6:45 AM | Permalink

    I’m reading your blog over breakfast and I’m making little whimpering noises and so my husband wanders over and with concern asks me what’s wrong. At this point I have to explain that I’m overcome by the idea of a D&D session chock full of writers. I start listing them. He blinks once or twice, proclaims it awesome and then wanders away.

    Of course I click through to the story and laugh so hard that I cry. I have mentioned this before here, but we used to kid (one half of this partnership more than the other ::cough::) that I married my husband because he was the best DM I’d found. We had one campaign wherein a new player spent every last copper buying up farm animals. At the end of character creation he had a goat, a brace of oxen three chickens and a goose. We made him leave them at the closest town, but as such I can completely envision herding barn fowl through a dungeon before you in order to set of traps and completely confuse the natives.

    I will not be heading out to the west coast for that convention, but damn I wish I were. Happy bidding to the lucky bastards who are heading that direction.

    • CrymsynEve
      Posted January 31, 2012 at 7:57 AM | Permalink

      I’m reading this while making pancakes and I’m also doing the whimpering thing.

    • kdculb
      Posted January 31, 2012 at 8:52 AM | Permalink

      Lucky bastards indeed if they can find North Carolina on the West coast and probably very stoned. :P

      • Geekgirl
        Posted January 31, 2012 at 1:06 PM | Permalink

        This morning I totally read that as ‘Northern California’.

        I plead head-cold. /facepalm

        • Posted January 31, 2012 at 2:13 PM | Permalink

          You scared me. I thought I had bought plane tickets to the wrong part of the country….

        • Posted January 31, 2012 at 4:43 PM | Permalink

          To our knowledge, StellarCon has not relocated to California. On the other hand, please keep an eye out for StellarCon 50 aka StellarCon goes Hawaiian.

          • Posted February 1, 2012 at 1:54 AM | Permalink

            Please don’t move the con to Hawaii. You don’t want to see a bunch of pale Piedmont haoles all drunk and in grass skirts and shit. Don’t do it, I abjure you. Stay here. There’s barbecue and Krispy Kreme. Isn’t that good enough?

  3. marchoftheclouds
    Posted January 31, 2012 at 8:04 AM | Permalink

    To Oot, your voice probably sounds like music. At least we should be able to see the haircut!

    • Little My
      Posted February 1, 2012 at 11:02 AM | Permalink

      Maybe Pat should offer a seat at the game table to the best voiceover for his video. The video could go up on YouTube, and people could create their own sound files or whatever. . .my mind boggles. Pat could recreate himself as the guy who does all the movie preview voiceovers.

  4. Sokol
    Posted January 31, 2012 at 8:59 AM | Permalink

    I officially apologize to all the readers of this blog, but my caffiene deprived brain cannot remember when the World Builders deadline is. I know it used to be today, but I have vague recollections of it being extended. Of course this could just be the lack of caffiene talking.

    Much thanks,
    Sokol.

    • He without a clever name
      Posted January 31, 2012 at 9:35 AM | Permalink

      Feb. 7th, Sokol.

      • Sokol
        Posted January 31, 2012 at 9:47 AM | Permalink

        Thanks, HWCN.

        You don’t work for the “Organization Without a Cool Acronym” (OWCA) by any chance?

  5. DShannon
    Posted January 31, 2012 at 9:47 AM | Permalink

    Oh my god. Must win auction. Must wiiiiin!

    RPing with Pat. Having an excuse to attend a Con that Pat will be at. Having that con (FOR ONCE) being WITHIN driving distance?

    MUST WIN.

  6. Posted January 31, 2012 at 10:26 AM | Permalink

    If we reach the original $250K goal, then will you release the video?

    • Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:36 PM | Permalink

      Or how about the current 225K goal. That would give us something to shoot for…..

      • Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:37 PM | Permalink

        Not that we’re not shooting for 225 anyway, of course….

  7. Constance
    Posted January 31, 2012 at 10:36 AM | Permalink

    As much as I would want it for my own, it would be AWESOME if the Handbound NotW became an heirloom like the ARC of Stardust. Passed on from brief owner to owner with a little note left inside on acid-free paper (pressed between protective tissue, mind you).

  8. Stevo
    Posted January 31, 2012 at 11:37 AM | Permalink

    Hey Patrick,
    I have one really serious question about the Heifer international project so it would really help convince me to donate if you answered this question.
    A main goal of this project seems to be to give families in Africa a goat or a cow to produce milk. But as a matter of fact more than 90% of the African population has a lactose intolerance (like me by the way. That’s why I know this.) which means they can’t even drink the milk because it would make them more ill and malnourished due to the diarrhea caused by the lactose. So doesn’t this make it pointless to give them goats and cows (except for the meat they can get when slaughtering them)? Please excuse my English, it’s not my first language.

    • Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:56 PM | Permalink

      You need to spend some more time looking at the Hiefer site. All the answers are there.

      First, they aren’t focused in Africa. They help people all over the world. Asia. Romania. Turkey. South America. Haiti. The USA. They’re everywhere.

      To address the lactose intolerance issue briefly. Infants and young children are rarely lactose intolerant. They’re designed to drink milk. What’s more, milk products like cheese have very litte lactose in them, so they’re good sources of income and food even where people aren’t big into milk.

      But lactose aside, while they’re called Hiefer International, they don’t focus on Heifers. And while Pat talks about goats a lot, they don’t focus on goats, either. (Though it makes sense that pat does, given the book that he mentioned above.)

      What they _really_ do is provide environmentally sustainable improvements to communities. Some places that means planting trees that provide fruit and prevent soil erosion. Other places that means flocks of sheep so that people can sell the wool. Other places it’s pigs for meat. Or bees for honey. Or gardens for food. Or chickens for eggs.

      Heifer has been doing this for 60 years. They’re not idiots. Not to put too fine a point on it, but do you really think they’d keep giving peole milk if those people shit themselves inside out afterwards?

      No. They’re smarter than that.

      • Stevo
        Posted January 31, 2012 at 1:32 PM | Permalink

        Thanks so much for this great answer.
        To answer you last question… well I HAVE heard stories that some organisation used to send massive amounts of milk-powder to Africa. The Africans never touched them since they couldn’t drink the milk but the organisation didn’t care since sending milk-powder was cheap and required little effort so they could keep more money for themselves.
        It’s good to know worldbuilders is thinking long-term. It makes just so much more sense.

  9. IvoryDoom
    Posted January 31, 2012 at 11:49 AM | Permalink

    OMG, I’m so jealous of whoever wins that game session. I’ve been thinking that an adventure in the Four Corners would be just about the best thing that ever happened for a while now!! Great idea Pat! I started to drool a bit just thinking about the twisted storyline you’d throw at your PC’s. And I agree with whoever stated up ^ there that we at least deserve a picture of the haircut…sheesh. (Just say you didnt cut the beard?!)

  10. Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:32 PM | Permalink

    Pat! We’d really like to see the video!

    It’s true that when you hear your own voice recorded, it’s kinda unnerving. But only to you. I’m sure most of us wouldn’t even notice.

    At worst we’d think it was kinda cute…

    Please reconsider?

    • rjleduc
      Posted February 1, 2012 at 8:12 PM | Permalink

      Pat,

      have you considered re-recording just the audio for the video?
      But this time, read to adults?

      I’m guessing this would give your normal reading voice that you use during book readings.

  11. KoolKoal
    Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:52 PM | Permalink

    So what are the odds someone does a write-up of that session you’re auctioning off Pat? I’m sure everyone who doesn’t get to participate would love it.

    I’m not trying to ask that you go out of your way to get someone, I’m actually wondering, if someone approaches you about writing it up, whether you’ll turn them away.

  12. The_Eleventh_Evien
    Posted January 31, 2012 at 3:53 PM | Permalink

    I just want to say that if I had several hundred dollars saved up in my Roleplaying Fund, I would spend *ALL* of it bidding on a seat to roleplay with Pat.

  13. Posted January 31, 2012 at 5:10 PM | Permalink

    I just wanted to pop in and say how much we’re all looking forward to seeing everyone at the con in just a few weeks.

    We’re particularly excited about the game Pat’s running Saturday afternoon, as it sounds like everyone is going to have a lot of fun. I’d also like to include a shout-out to Pat’s assistant Kat who was really awesome to work with as we were hammering out the last few details.

    If anyone has any questions about the con, they should feel free to drop us a line at [email protected].

    • Kat
      Posted January 31, 2012 at 7:52 PM | Permalink

      Thanks much and my pleasure. Pat’s a great gm and this sounds like it will be a blast! Someone please do a write-up and provide pictures.

  14. Posted January 31, 2012 at 7:49 PM | Permalink

    Knew I should have bought my copy of the College Survival Guide when it was only 200$. Arg. Seriously, more of these things need to be printed…

  15. Job
    Posted February 1, 2012 at 2:37 AM | Permalink

    That moneymeter is moving up fast! It may be time to raise the bar to a quarter million after all. Up to new levels of awesomeness!

  16. Erzberger
    Posted February 1, 2012 at 11:13 AM | Permalink

    Oh wow. I REALLY want that College Survival Guide, but I can´t pay the price currently asked for it. If I´d win it here, it would be so sweet. Well, I was gonna donate some more money anyway (paycheck arrived, yay!), so I´m inreasing my chances a little bit. :-)
    Awesome collection of prices, Pat. Kudos and thank you.

  17. Sokol
    Posted February 1, 2012 at 1:02 PM | Permalink

    Just put in my donation last night. My daughter sat on my lap as we browsed the catelog looking at all the cute animals. Then I got to explain to her about how we were helping change peoples lives for the better.

  18. Constance
    Posted February 1, 2012 at 5:33 PM | Permalink

    Beautiful, Sokol!

  19. Jack Lancaster
    Posted February 2, 2012 at 9:20 AM | Permalink

    Is that Arms-Commander by Modesitt behind the Name of the Wind?

  20. Kirie
    Posted February 2, 2012 at 11:36 AM | Permalink

    I sooooo wanted the hard bound T.T… I almost cried when I saw the bidding price. They should make more! :D

  21. Posted February 2, 2012 at 4:06 PM | Permalink

    Completely unrelated, but I found out this weekend that the hardcopy of The Wise Man’s Fear that I got for Christmas is a SIGNED COPY. I didn’t notice when I first got it (because I wanted to reread The Name of the Wind first before I started it) and apparently, the gift-giver didn’t even know it was autographed when she gave it to me.

    To say that I was excited is less than an understatement. I don’t believe I’ve ever uttered a “squee” in real life until last night.

  22. chat
    Posted February 25, 2012 at 1:13 PM | Permalink

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