History KeepCirculatingTheTapes / Literature

** And that's counting the ones he ''published''. All his unpublished stories made before the release of ''Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye'' were donated to the library at [[UsefulNotes/IvyLeague Princeton Univeristy]] with extreme regulations so that they can only be read by qualified patrons of the University in a separate room supervised by the library without any recording devices or writing implements, and can only legally published 50 years after his death (meaning the earliest it can be published is January 27, 2060). But there are a few major exceptions: in 1999, three of the unpublished stories ("Paula", "Birthday Boy", and "The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls", the latter is notable because [[SalvagedStory parts of it were rewritten for the scenes in ''Catcher'' where Holden Caulfield talks about the death of his younger brother]]) were given an EXTREMELY small print run under the title ''Three Stories'', and were [[FailedASpotCheck promptly forgotten about until a copy appeared on eBay in 2013]]. [[note]] By the time the ''Three Stories'' book was discovered, Salinger had been deceased for three years, and even while he was alive he was the poster child for the ReclusiveArtist trope, so [[RiddleForTheAges it's pretty much impossible to tell if he approved of this small print run, if he even knew it existed, or how the publishers got hold of the stories considering the secrecy surrounding them]] [[/note]] From there, they were uploaded onto various torrent trackers and can still be easily found with a little know-how, the rest of the stories are still unaccounted for.

** And that's counting the ones he ''published'': all his unpublished stories made before the release of ''Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye'' were donated to the library at [[UsefulNotes/IvyLeague Princeton Univeristy]] with extreme regulations so that they can only be read by qualified patrons of the University in a separate room supervised by the library, and can only legally published 50 years after his death (meaning the earliest it can be published is January 27, 2060). But there are a few major exceptions: in 1999, three of the unpublished stories ("Paula", "Birthday Boy", and "The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls", the latter is notable because [[SalvagedStory parts of it were rewritten for the scenes in ''Catcher'' where Holden Caulfield talks about the death of his younger brother]]) were given an EXTREMELY small print run under the title ''Three Stories'', and were [[FailedASpotCheck promptly forgotten about until a copy appeared on eBay in 2013]]. [[note]] By the time the ''Three Stories'' book was discovered, Salinger had been deceased for three years, and even while he was alive he was the poster child for the ReclusiveArtist trope, so [[RiddleForTheAges it's pretty much impossible to tell if he approved of this small print run, if he even knew it existed, or how the publishers got hold of the stories considering the secrecy surrounding them]] [[/note]] From there, they were uploaded onto various torrent trackers and can still be easily found with a little know-how, the rest of the stories are still unaccounted for.

** And that's counting the ones he ''published'': all his unpublished stories made before the release of ''Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye'' were donated to the library at [[UsefulNotes/IvyLeague Princeton Univeristy]] with extreme regulations so that they can only be read by qualified patrons of the University in a separate room supervised by the library, and can only legally published 50 years after his death (meaning the earliest it can be published is January 27, 2060). But there are a few major exceptions: in 1999, three of the unpublished stories ("Paula", "Birthday Boy", and "The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls", the latter is notable because [[SalvagedStory parts of it were rewritten for the scenes in ''Catcher'' where Holden Caulfield talks about the death of his younger brother]]) were given an EXTREMELY small print run under the title ''Three Stories'', and were [[FailedASpotCheck promptly forgotten about until a copy appeared on eBay in 2013]]. From there, they were uploaded onto various torrent trackers and can still be easily found with a little know-how, the rest of the stories are still unaccounted for.

* ZigZagged by the works of Creator/EEDocSmith. While it's (relatively) easy to find his works in ebook and digital audiobook form, good luck tracking down any hard copies of installments of the ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' series and the ''Literature/SkylarkSeries'', ''Spacehounds of IPC'', or ''The Galaxy Primes'' to give the best-known examples. Along with the usual ValuesDissonance and [[PurpleProse writing style that is clunky by today's standards]], Smith's works have been LostInImitation. Despite being the first SpaceOpera universe to feature WorldBuilding, ''Lesnman'', especially, [[{{SeinfeldIsUnfunny}} has been eclipsed]] by franchises such as ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Franchise/StarTrek'' both of which instead get hailed as the uber examples of SpaceOpera.

* The notoriously rare ''Literature/FinalDestination: Death of the Senses'', the last ''Final Destination'' novel published by the now defunct Black Flame, was only on the market for a short time before being recalled due to a printing error, and it's almost impossible to get a physical copy of it (as one website put it — "getting your hands on a copy is like cutting off your own hand with a rubber spatula... it can be done, but it isn't easy...")

* No works by the Belgian illustrator and author Jean de Bosschère remain in official print editions, including two very strange, surreal fantasy novels for children, ''The City Curious'' (1920) and ''Weird Islands'' (1921). Each book features at least one lush illustration on each two-page spread, and the worlds created in them are unique among 20th-century fantasy literature. Because of their artistic quality and rarity, original copies regularly fetch $50-$100 online.

* ''Literature/MailedFist'', a World War 2 memoir by John Foley. The book is long out of print, and there is no electronic edition. In spring 2020, sellers on Amazon UK were asking £99 for paperback copies.

* ''Literature/ColonelSun'' by Kingsley Amis. An e-book edition exists but if you want a print copy, you're out of luck. Kingsley Amis' other ''Bond'' works, the ''James Bond Dossier'' and ''The Book of Bond'', are completely out of print, no E-book edition whatsoever.

* The autobiographical ''A Father's Story'' by Lionel Dahmer (father of UsefulNotes/JeffreyDahmer) is out of print.

* ''Literature/TheButterflyKid'', written in TheSixties, was so controversial for its positive-yet-realistic depiction of hippie culture that it nearly didn't get published. When it ''was'' published, it quickly went on to receive a UsefulNotes/{{Hugo|Award}} nomination, and became a cult classic, but its print run was short-lived, and now it's been out of print for over thirty years.

* In 2021, six of Creator/DrSeuss' works (''Literature/IfIRanTheZoo'', ''Literature/McElligotsPool'', ''Literature/AndToThinkThatISawItOnMulberryStreet'', ''Literature/OnBeyondZebra'', ''Literature/TheCatsQuizzer'', and ''Literature/ScrambledEggsSuper'') were all removed from publication due to their depiction of racial stereotypes [[ValuesDissonance now regarded as dated and insensitive]]. As a result, the only way to read the books now is to track down old copies that have rapidly increased in price on the secondhand market.

** ''Henry the Green Engine'' had to be modified after the Rev. W. Awdry gained controversy in 1972 for NWordPrivileges in "Henry's Sneeze," the book's last story. All editions have since said "black as soot" instead of the "original" phrase.

* Back in the 50s, the Creator/StratemeyerSyndicate began to rewrite and shorten ''Literature/TheHardyBoys'' and ''Literature/NancyDrew'' books to remove outdated slang and terms (ie: "chum", "roadster", etc.), [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain politically incorrect villains]], racist terms, etc., and took the old editions off the market. Then, from 1991 to 2007, a publisher by the name of Applewood Books reprinted the first 16 Hardy Boys books and the first 21 ''Literature/NancyDrew'' books with the original dustjackets and bindings. However, these have gone out of print (most can still be bought new), and the only way to get the original editions of the remaining books is to buy older editions from antique stores and eBay. [[CoveredUp Oddly enough, in-book ads for the original canon tout the revised books (plus the 20 or so that came after) as "The Originals"...]]

* The compilation of stories under Creator/StephenKing's PenName Richard Bachman (The Bachman Books) has been out of print for many years. This is due to the fact that one of the included stories, ''Literature/Rage1977'' (in which a student holds his class hostage at gunpoint after shooting two teachers), was found in the locker of a student who committed a school shooting in 1997. When King learned that his story may have had some connection to the event he requested that it go out of print. While finding the other Bachman stories in the collection is not difficult, the only ways to find ''Rage'' is old copies and Internet reproductions.

* ''Worlds Deadliest Fighting Secrets'' by Count Dante: Deadliest Man Alive. Actually more of a booklet that was advertised in comic books during TheSixties and TheSeventies. Although there really was a guy (real name John Keehan) calling himself Count Dante, no one actually ever took his claims seriously, and it is highly suspected that sales of the booklet were immensely exaggerated. Although the so-called Kata Dante (Dance of Death) can be learned from several other sources, it is rare to encounter anyone who claims to have a copy of it or the free Black Dragon Fighing Society membership card that came with it. Self proclaimed Ninja Master Ashida Kim does claim to possess a copy, and he has posted photos of his BDFS membership card online. Make of that what you will.

* Some of Creator/RosemaryWells's older books from the 70's and 80's (Especially the original copies of Literature/MaxAndRuby from the late 70's) are out of print. Some of her older books get reprints with new covers in later years with new art work. In recent years, some books like "Noisy Nora" (which is one of Rosemary's first books) get a newer art style compared to their previous look from the 70's and 80's.

* In 2006, a biography of Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos was released. One year later, legal action took it out of bookshelves (the resulting outcry even resulted in the Congress approving a law in 2015 that allowed biographies without authorization from the subject). Used copies reach prices on the three digits. The author eventually wrote a book about the whole affair and what happened after the lawsuit, as well another biography with Carlos' approval, split into two books (the first part came out in 2021).