The Joy of Receiving

All around the world, people are finally receiving their Bava books. The response -- in the form of online postings and personal e-mails -- has been very gratifying for Donna and me, but the most endearing trait of this phenomenon, for us, has been how so many recipients have taken the time to photograph themselves with their new prized possession.

There are many reasons why this might be happening. They might want to convey visually to other people the sheer size and heft of the book. They may want to preserve the moment for themselves because it's one they've long awaited. It's also possible that they are responding to the way Donna and I involved them in our process, with the posted photos of the book's creation, shipping out, and delivery back. Whatever the reason, these are the closest thing to baby pictures my wife and I will ever know from our partnership, and it makes us feel great joy to see our extended Bava book family sharing in its arrival.

The photo above is one of several posted by our friend Jeremy Richey at his blog Moon in the Gutter. We were touched by the fact that he blogged about it and made the opening of his parcel so dramatic.


This fellow with the tidy workplace and the cool DIABOLIK showpieces is Bart van der Put of Amsterdam, who was previously pictured on this blog as a visitor to Mario Bava's gravesite. Click on it and it will become so enormous you'll feel like you're in the room.

We've also seen other pictures online of people proudly posing with their books, but we don't know them personally and so don't feel right about right-clicking them for redisplay here without their permission. But we'd love to post more! In short, e-mail us a photo of yourself with your Bava book and -- who knows? -- it may show up here in a future blog.

We also find ourselves amazed by stories of the book's good timing: We've already heard from four or five recipients that the book, which they ordered years ago (in some cases for their birthday), finally arrived... on their birthday. Another recipient is finding solace in the book while grieving the death of a recently deceased relative. And recipient Henrik Hemlin, a practicing numerologist, wrote with this fascinating tid-bit:

"I once asked you about Stephen Forsyth's birthdate, as I suspected that he was a 7, just like Bava. The only two 7s among Bava's stars I could previously find were his friends Laura Betti and Cameron Mitchell. Checking Forsyth's bio in ATCOTD, I figured right. In addition, Mario was in a 7-year when HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON was filmed (7-30-1968 = 61 = 7). Add the 9 for September when shooting started, and he was also in a '7-month.' And here comes the punch line: the HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON chapter in your book begins on page 777."