About a month ago, I put up an “Odds & Bits” post on a series of what I thought were fun items. One of those was a mention of the fact that we’d recently had a Half Price Books open in the neighborhood – cause for celebration in our house. As I mentioned in that post, HPB is not a place where we buy most of our reads – although I admit to recently picking up new copies of both “Circe” by Madeline Miller and “The Outsider” by Stephen King. I was intending to read both and they were just there on the shelf – begging me to buy them. That’s the exception that proves the rule; however, what we really love about HPB is the treasure hunt aspect that it offers.
We’ve probably been 6 times in the last two months – just to browse and see what might be on the shelves. I’ve found some really fun titles in near perfect condition, including but not limited to: two books in the “Avalon” series by Marion Zimmer Bradley, a copy of “Citizen Soldiers” by Stephen E. Ambrose, a copy of an OOOOLD SF classic – “Footfall” by Niven & Pournelle, a copy of “Gladstone” by Roy Jenkins and a copy of “The Aeronaut’s Windlass” by Jim Butcher. All fun finds but none rise quite to the level of treasures.
That changed two nights ago and let me show you how. I’ve mentioned that I’ve been buying and reading Ray Feist’s Midkemia series for 30 years. Here’s my 29 book collection:
Delighted to have them all but anyone who looks closely with a collector’s eye will notice two small problems. Here’s the first:
I have all three volumes of the “Legends Of The Riftwar” trilogy but one of my volumes is off size. I actually have two of copies of that edition of “Murder In Lamut” – the result of two efforts over the years to complete the trilogy with identical editions.
Well…checked in at HPB on Friday night – just decided to take a look and see if there was anything new on the shelves. I was walking through the Fantasy & Science Fiction section and – THERE IT WAS – a full size edition of “Murder In Lamut”. I’m delighted to say that – after many years – I’ve filled a hole in the collection – leaving me here:
That was a completely unexpected birthday gift from the God Of Books that I never saw coming and it put a cap on a very joyful birthday. That smaller edition has now been placed respectfully in the Inventory Pile.
I now just have one final problem to solve with respect to this series:
All I need to call this done is find a Doubleday Foundation edition of “Daughter Of The Empire”. I’ve been looking for that book for years and I’ve made multiple, unsuccessful attempts – currently leaving me with 5 of the standard, smaller size editions. I know it’s out there and it will likely come to me at the time when it’s least expected.
Still, that’s what the treasure hunt is all about and that’s why we love HPB.
And let me say it before anyone else does – I know I’m a bit OCD about my collections. I have no defense except to point out that buying and collecting books is my only real vice – one that my wife finds completely acceptable given all the less savory choices. I hope that provides just a little bit of perspective.
Hope June is a great reading month for everyone.
it is SO NICE to have a trilogy all in the same printing!