Used Books

breaker n. dealer who breaks apart rare art books, atlases or Bibles and sells the illustrations one page at a time to maximize profits.

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Brodart v. or n. enclose a book inside a protective clear plastic cover. From Brodart, the major manufacturer of the covers. “Brodart that Grisham for me.”

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deco books n. books bought by the yard by decorators, set designers and the like to be displayed, not read. syns: furniture, filler.

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ghosting n. stains left by tape or other long-removed foreign object inside a book. “I’d give you top dollar for that first-edition Hawthorne if it weren’t for the ghosting.”

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glop n. unsaleable junk books. syn: blecch.

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hurt n. badly damaged book sold as is. “‘Slaughterhouse Five’? Our only copy’s in pretty bad shape--it’s back with the hurts.” syn: W.A.F., “with all faults.”

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remainder v. send unsold books back to the publisher; often, these eventually find their way to used-book dealers, which sell them at heavily discounted prices. rel. O.P., “out of print.”

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sheep n. readers who flock to bookstores in search of suddenly hot authors or trendy topics. “After those Heaven’s Gate suicides, I must have had 20 sheep in here looking for anything on flying saucers.”

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sleeper n. undervalued book, a find.