"Johnny Depp collects first-edition works by Jack Kerouac, Arthur Rimbaud, Dylan Thomas and Edgar Allan Poe," the Hollywood Reporter noted in its preview of last weekend's California International Antiquarian Book Fair at the Pasadena Convention Center, which drew 200 booksellers.
Among other celebrities "afflicted with bibliomania" are Whoopi Goldberg, Kelsey Grammer, Sony chief Howard Stringer, director Charles Shyer and Sarah Michelle Gellar, all of whom "can find themselves committing serious cash for the hard-to-find, out-of-print books," THR wrote.
"I'm about to have a meeting with a gentleman who's nominated for an Oscar this year," said Mark Hime, owner of the appointment-only Beverly Hills shop Biblioctopus. "He's going to buy a book for $125,000. The last one I sold him was $200,000."
