Book Sale

The St. Tammany Parish Library book sale started this weekend. I went. I saw. I failed to conquer my urge to spend. I like to pick up hardback copies of books that I really love at such sales, and this time I found hardback copies of Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard and Peter Straub's Houses Without Doors. I also found a hardback copy of Stephen Gallagher's Red, Red Robin. I've liked Gallagher for a long time but he's a British author and I almost never see his books on the shelves of bookstores here in the States. I'd buy 'em new if I did because he's also a very nice guy.

I've heard some good stuff about Michael Connelly so I picked up something by him called Void Moon. If I like it I'll buy some more of his stuff new. I also picked up a couple of Ed McBain's books of the 87th Precinct, some of the earlier ones in the series. I've only read one book by him but I really liked it. I got some older David Morrell thrillers, and a hardback copy of Binary by John Lange, who is really Michael Crichton before he got big.

Also arriving today, were copies I'd ordered of David Morrell's Lessons From a Lifetime of Writing, and as I delve into this I'll be posting more about it, and a collection of literary essays by Robert Reginald called Xenograffiti.

And now? Time to get reading.

Book Mooch

Sid posted about Book Mooch some time ago and I recently got around to joining. So far, so good. You get points for uploading books that you're willing to give away, then can use those points to mooch books from others in the group. So far I've mooched one and been mooched for one, but I sent two more requests today. I had quite a few extra Louis L'Amour books because I inherited a collection from a friend's Uncle and ended up with quite a few duplicate copies. I've picked up various duplicates over time, as well. The only cost is postage to mail books that people mooch from you. Seems like a pretty cool idea, especially since many of the books I want are actually older ones that aren't on the shelves at the local bookstores.

For more on Biblioholism, check out Sphinx Ink's post today.

Biblioholism

Sidney Williams has a great post up about his Biblioholism. There are some hilarious lines here, made all the more so because they are true. I know because I've experienced the same thing. Sid is also talking about finally reading a book that he feels he should have gotten to long ago. I know what that's like too, and, in fact, two days ago I started L. Ron Hubbard's Fear, which I've heard much about over the past five years or so. It's certainly interesting so far, and holds my attention. There are plenty that don't.

At the risk of admitting my own poor education, there are a few other books on my shelves that I should have already read but haven't. I hope you all won't think less of me, but, hey, we've been talking about honesty in writing, haven't we? I'm just being honest. Besides, Sid admitted his failure first.

Here's my list:

Tolstoy's War and Peace. All I can say in my defense is, My God, it's huge.

E. R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros. My God, it's huge.

Lord Dunsayny's The King of Elfland's Daughter. Uhm, I can't even claim that it's all that big.

David Lindsay's A Voyage to Arcturus. It seems sort of big.

Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. I've been working on this slowly for about two years.

Charles Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer. It's big, and well, kinda old.

There, that's enough for now. I can only take so much embarrassment in one post. So go ahead, leave me as the illiterate slob that I am. I promise, I promise. I'll get to them. I will.