Crescat Graffiti, Vita Excolatur » Book

Book revision: now with more thanks!

Quinn — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:52:43 +0000

The bad news: there’s going to be a delay on Amazon distribution for Crescat Graffiti. Apparently the cover text is too close to the edge (fair enough, there’s been a few copies where the final “o” is a tiny bit cut off).

As a rule, revising a book once you’ve purchased the extended distribution pack comes with a fee. But since it hasn’t actually been distributed yet, and there’s a problem with the cover, I get to do a revision for free. There’s a couple “warts” I’ve noticed as I’ve picked through the book that I can now clean up (there’s a page missing a header, I wouldn’t mind getting rid of the page numbers on the section title pages, maybe numbering the sections, minor stuff like that.) But, more importantly, I can also update the “Acknowledgments and Thanks” section to credit all the people who’ve gotten in touch with me since the book first came out.

So, if you’re responsible for any of the graffiti in the book, and haven’t gotten in touch with me yet, please do it soon so you can make it into the revision!

“Crescat Graffiti” at the Seminary Co-op

Quinn — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:06:44 +0000

I dropped by the Seminary Co-op this morning, and indeed, you can now find “Crescat Graffiti” there on the shelves. Well, less “shelves” and more “the counter to the right of the right-hand cash register” (here’s a close-up).

At the moment, Hyde Park’s indie bookstores are the only place to get the book, since my personal living room distribution center is out of stock until Thursday or so. You can still e-mail me or use the PayPal link on the book page in the meantime, and I’ll let you know as soon as I can ship/you can pick up.

“Crescat Graffiti”: now on Google Books and in Hyde Park bookstores

Quinn — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:29:50 +0000

If you want to preview “Crescat Graffiti”, you can now check it out on Google Books. And if you want a copy and are in the Chicago area, you can now support local bookstores by dropping by Seminary Co-op, 57th St. Books or the Hyde Park Powell’s. All bookstore copies are signed.

At least at the moment, the copies at Powell’s up at front, right next to the maps of Chicago, which are next to the Kleenex, which are next to the cash register (see photo). There might be a couple random books stacked on top of it, but it’s there.

If you’re outside Chicago, or want to get one from me directly, you can still get them on this site, but I might not be able to send them until late next week when more copies arrive.

Alexa, master of A-level graphs, clears some things up

Quinn — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:25:47 +0000

Towards the beginning of winter quarter 2008, Alexa and her friends had a pretty prominent place in the photos I was taking on the A-level. Alexa made some pretty great charts, two of which found their way into the book (second photo on pages 42 and 103, respectively.)

When Alexa’s current roommate, Loranne, showed her the book she recognized the graffiti she’d written and wanted to set the record straight.

The graph from page 42 was written in response to some obnoxious guys who were in the adjacent cubicle, loudly discussing their inability to get laid. As such, Alexa’s note was to them, rather than to herself.

On a more heartwarming note, the graph from page 103 has a happy ending. While Mike caused a precipitous decline in how fun the Reg was in January 2008, today Mike and Alexa are dating.

You can find a few more fun whiteboard graphs from Alexa that I couldn’t fit into the book here.

Books are here!

Quinn — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:54 +0000

As if it wasn’t cluttered enough with luggage and the piles of books that are always there, my living room is now covered with the 5 boxes from Lulu containing 10 copies of Crescat Graffiti each. If you’d like a signed copy (that comes with a button!), here’s the book order page (courtesy of a long wait at Boston’s Logan Airport this evening). If you’re in Chicago and want to get one in person with cash, just drop me an e-mail at quinn – at – crescatgraffiti.com.

Firsts

Quinn — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:34:27 +0000

A 20-lb box containing 50 copies of Crescat Graffiti is waiting for me back in Chicago. Tomorrow I’ll have have signed sale in person and via PayPal ($12 + shipping and envelope costs, as low as $3).

In the meantime, though, a couple firsts. The first copy of the book– the final proof, as poorly modeled by my less compliant cat– I gave to my father and his wonderful fiancee Kate as an early wedding present.

David Birnbaum, perhaps the world’s finest Medieval Slavic Techie, has the honor of being the first person to pre-order the book. (Perhaps the only person to pre-order the book, assuming nobody gives me cash between now and when I get my hands on that giant box of copies tonight.)

First book proof

Quinn — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:46:57 +0000

The proof copy of Crescat Graffiti, Vita Excolatur: Confessions of the University of Chicago came in the mail yesterday. On the whole, I’m really pleased with it. There’s a few changes that I need to make in the text (spelling “acknowledgments” consistently, fixing page references that changed after I wrote the text, adding a few more explanatory notes, aligning my headers consistently) but nothing major.

In the “Time” section, though, a couple of the photographs fell victim to the shadows the A-level lights cast on the whiteboards, so I’m replacing a spread there with one in the “Motivation” section. Sadly, among the victims is one of my favorite pieces of graffiti– a timeline for becoming a math genius in 13 hours.

At the moment, I’m mostly done with the revisions, and figure I’ll order the new proof before the end of the weekend. At that rate, I’ll get the revised proof by the end of next week. If everything looks good I’ll place a bulk order (for selling signed copies through this site) and get it submitted to Amazon. On that timetable, I figure it’ll be published sometime around the week of November 16th.