It’s printing history says that a portion of this book has appeared in the literary journal American Review in 1976, however the edition I have is from 1990. Basically, this book was printed by an American company that is owned by a larger American company. This book also includes a “Printing History” section on it’s copyright page. The title page says it’s a “Bantam Trade Paperback”, and when I researched this publishing house I found out it’s entirely owned by Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House. I will just be more careful when I decide to finish the story in hopes that the front cover doesn’t fall off. Other than the slight tearing and creased pages, the pages aren’t too yellowed and I would still call this book “in good condition”. The front cover is actually missing it’s bottom right corner, almost like it was folded and then ripped off. The binding is extremely creased and a little bit torn on the bottom. The initial price of the book was $11.95, so I guess I didn’t save as much money as I probably could have on this used book. The novel must have been bought used by somebody before it was sold to Barner because it had a used barcode sticker on the back cover. The book is in fairly good condition for a used book, and penciled in on the front page is the price whoever working at Barner set, a scribbled 8, which barely looks like a number and could easily fade away or be written over or erased. Creases on the corners of pages can be seen throughout the novel, indicating that I definitely took my time while reading Robbin’s writing. There is a dog-eared page on page 261 and I think that’s where I left off. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins is one of my favorite books, which might be weird to say about a book I haven’t quite yet finished. It sits on my bookshelf beside my collection of other used books, and I think the last time I took it off the shelf was when it was sunny and I could lay in the grass by the pond on campus reading it. This particular book was purchased at Barner. I love buying used because it’s nice to hold a book that could have been once cherished and is now once again up for grabs, looking for a new owner to make happy. I rarely buy new books now, especially if we’re talking those pesky, pricey textbooks. I’ve found that it isn’t too difficult to find used books in great condition – Barner Books, right in town, has a huge selection – as well as even ordering used from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Even cowgirls get the blues book cover