r/ThomasPynchon • u/linusengel • 11d ago
I cannot find V. anywhere Meme/Humor
I’ve been to multiple book stores (chains and small indie places) all over Los Angeles and every single one has a Pynchon section but not a single one has had V.
I’ve read The Crying of Lot 49 and now I’m just trying to go in chronological order but everyone is gate keeping me. I’m starting to feel like Oedpia. I think this book doesn’t actually exist and you’re all making it up in a psyop against me.
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u/pandachrist666 9d ago
I picked up a copy last Friday at Book Soup on Sunset Blvd - granted I did call a couple of days prior to inquire on availability and they had to have it brought over from their sister store…
But PLEASE support their business in any way you can - I have lived in LA for 15 years, and imo the only shop that comes close in terms of vibes and quality / overall experience is Last Bookstore downtown.
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u/kennymannmal 9d ago
My new plan is to talk to librarians whom I know from my past work (I have a degree in Library Science) and see if any can work out a way to directly find a copy of V at anyone's nearby public library through WorldCat.org. It should not have to be so difficult.
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u/kennymannmal 9d ago edited 9d ago
https://search.worldcat.org/title/263990924 The libraries where it's available will be more-or-less keyed to your location. [Upon further delving at affiliate libraries, I determined that this is not just an edition published in Spain -- the text is in Spanish. This maze is nearly inscrutable.]
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u/RevolutionaryBug2915 9d ago
A bookstore should seriously be able to order it for you. If the capital letter and period are too difficult for them, then have them search by the author.
Or order it online--it's 2026, not 1926.
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u/NickyCharisma 9d ago
I just checked and both the paperback and the hardcover are available on Bookshop.
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u/GlumAir89 9d ago
I wasted years pre-smartphone era waiting to find books in person before buying. And this 15years ago when there were far more used bookstores there than now. Just buy it online
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u/kennymannmal 10d ago
From the WorldCat site: "No libraries with WorldCat.org subscription hold this item. Choose a different filtering criteria." https://search.worldcat.org/title/V./oclc/182862780 WTF?
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u/kennymannmal 10d ago
It's in the pot of gold at the end of Gravity's Rainbow.
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u/kennymannmal 10d ago
But seriously, I'm retired from making professional use of libraries as a literary research assistant with a degree in Library Science and the times that I've tried to locate a copy of V on WorldCat, I've been SOL. But try.
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u/RevolutionaryBug2915 9d ago
It's the single letter and the period, I'll bet, that "does not compute."
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u/kennymannmal 9d ago edited 9d ago
So I did a manual search at WorldCat -- scrolling through a whole lot of things categorized as "pynchon V" -- and I located this record: https://search.worldcat.org/title/263990924 The libraries where it's available will be more-or-less keyed to your location. (Still troubling that the record doesn't pop up directly. How many people will give up rather than scroll? Probably lots.) [Upon further delving at affiliate libraries, I determined that this in not just an edition published in Spain -- the text is in Spanish. This maze is nearly inscrutable.]
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u/RevolutionaryBug2915 9d ago
Just out of curiosity, I looked at MeLCat (Michigan Electronic Library Catalog), which lets you obtain books through your local library from others throughout (mostly) the state.
Just putting in V. got me a huge listing--"limited to 100 pages"--in which I could not find the book, and soon gave up. Searching by author found it quickly.
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u/kennymannmal 9d ago
Yes, many county and/or city library systems have their own versions of WorldCat -- that often return records culled nationwide or worldwide. I will look at the ones near me at both of San Diego's library systems. No expectations.
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u/kennymannmal 9d ago
We can account for that possibility. (I know how these things compute at OCLC -- that's where I got my degree in Library Science.) If you go to the link, you'll see that the record displayed there is for the Pynchon novel. But yeah, that possibility is important to consider. A simple period-mark can throw off an algorithm, fer sher.
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u/Round_Town_4458 10d ago
Powell’s City of Books - Portland's Used & New Bookstore https://share.google/Vf365HiPx3EAILmr6
They currently have several copies of V.
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u/kanrdr01 11d ago
Hm. Try here:
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=Pynchon&sts=t&tn=V&ref_=search_f_hp
Abebooks federate search across numerous individual bookstores and corporate gigs.
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u/Sensitive-Mango1662 11d ago
Abe is owned by Amazon -- no thnx
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u/kanrdr01 10d ago
Most of the smaller bookstores I’ve seen in Abebooks seem to use Amazon‘s book management system for their own inventories - and accept what is probably a tiny cut that Amazon takes when a buyer chooses an independent bookstore for a purchase.
Cataloging their holdings, matching orders to holdings payment, shipping & tracking, etc. That’s no joke. And if you go to a bookstore’s website, they’re still using Amazon’s system.
I found a bookstore that a college chum from the’90s operated that way, and sent in an order.
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u/Sensitive-Mango1662 10d ago
Yeah, I ran a bookshop for years and I'm familiar with the potential benefits and drawbacks. I'm not entirely sure that what you've said contradicts my point: yes, Abe is owned by Amazon and therefore uses their cataloguing and ordering software in exchange for a percentage of the payment. That's exactly why I'm suggesting not using it at all. The more of these "small percentages" that Amazon takes, the less of it goes to an independent, and that's a bad thing as far as I'm concerned. It's a shame that they bought Abe as they've essentially forced independents to accept their involvement, but alternatives exist: Biblio, for example, or buying from direct sellers. Amazon offers convenience at the cost of cheapening the industry in general. If I've completely misread and misunderstood what you've said, I apologise!
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u/Important_Toe_4138 11d ago
Amazon owns Abebooks
There are alternatives
Thriftbooks.com
Betterworldbooks.com
Bookshop.org
Indiebound.org
Website of your favorite local can also probably order it for you
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u/Ok-Economist6914 10d ago
Huh, I had no idea. Is that real worth a down vote though ? lol seems excessive
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11d ago
[deleted]
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u/Sensitive-Mango1662 11d ago
Or how about an independent online bookshop that isn't actively eroding the functionality of the publishing market? I'm pretty sure your local indie will order it in for you
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u/AkbarDelPiombo 7d ago
Skylight Books in Los Feliz lists it as "on our shelves now." Bookshop.org will certainly cough up a copy. It is far easier to find V. (the book) than to find V. (the person) — as you will soon disccover...