Q&A: Are recalled or banned books valuable?

QUESTION: There have been a few books in the news recently from authors who claimed that the events they wrote about in their memoirs were true when in fact they were fictionalized. Recently one was said to be "recalled" by the publisher.

If you can find copies, perhaps these are good books to invest in and resell online later -- if the publisher doesn't dump them all as remainders, flooding the market. Do publishers destroy recalled books, or just pass them off to the public later?

ANSWER: This has happened so many times recently, you have to start wondering whether the publisher is really trying to do the right thing, or whether it's just a publicity stunt designed to sell more books. If you can corner the market, you can make a few bucks, I guess.

My rule of thumb for all "unusual" books -- whether they're autographed books, misbound books, banned books, special editions, or whatever -- is to consider the demand for reading copies of the book. If the book sells briskly at a good price, then someone will probably pay a premium for something they consider collectible.

But in this case, the book is a one-of-a-kind. It's the first book by an unknown author, so it's probably a crapshoot. What are the odds this author will write a blockbuster next time and push up the value of his or her previous books?

I think that some "recalled" books probably are pulped and never reach the public. Apparently this happened with the original edition of the O.J. "confession" book. Are these rare books or collectible books? I don't know. As long as there's nothing offensive about the book, I'm all for selling the books online at a profit. But usually I'm not willing to take a chance unless I think a book is a sure winner.

Throwing good books into the dumpster

You've got to wonder how often this happens. A school or library throwing perfectly good books into the trash:

Several garbage bags filled with copies of classic literature like "Little Women," "Sarah, Plain and Tall" and "Treasure Island" were discarded in a Dumpster alongside Intermediate School 73 in Maspeth.

"Those books, you open them up, they still crack, they're so new," one staffer said. "Why not give them away or hold a book drive at least?"

I've seen this happen at a regional public library near my house. Either these books should be given away or sold, or there will be a lot more dumpster-diving.