I would now like to present exhibit A:
These are the books I bought in Beaverton over the weekend. As you can see, I bought a few more books for me than I bought for Grace, but she still made out quite well.
Most of these books are used. I know that The Forsyte Saga, The Twentieth Wife, Vanity Fair, and Variable Star are brand spankin' new, but almost all of the rest are used. I don't really mind if they're used or not; they still have the same words on the inside!
I am most excited about Variable Star by Robert A. Heinlein and Spider Robinson.
I have been a HUGE fan of Heinlein's since I first read The Number of the Beast in the early 1990s. I think I was about 12 when I laid my hands on that novel, purchased from a library book sale and in really rotten condition. I have read it so often that if I'm not careful, entire sections of the book will fall out of their place. I have devoured almost everything that Heinlein wrote, from his early juvenile fiction originally published in magazines like Boys' Life to his later, sometimes controversial novels. I also own at least one copy of each novel, sometimes even three or four.
Variable Star was a manuscript left behind when Heinlein died in 1988. When his widow died in 2003 or so, the executors of her estate found a few manuscripts that had never been finished. The decision was made for a writer to finish this particular story, and Spider Robinson was chosen for this honor.
I adore Spider Robinson. He's a hilarious writer. I will be reading one of his books and erupt into gut-wrenching bellows of laughter so loud that I'll wake up Kurt. I have read several of his books many times over and they are still funny.
Robinson has also been called the "new Heinlein." I guess that's another reason I like him so much.
And just to sweeten the pot a bit, this copy of the novel was autographed by Robinson. How much better could it be??
I'm in love.
The other books are mainly historical fiction. For some reason I have been stuck in a historical fiction rut. From the time I was about 10 until I finished college, I was reading sci-fi and fantasy almost exclusively. Now I just can't get into it much. Maybe it's because I am very picky when it comes to my sci-fi/fantasy. I don't like any fantasy that's terribly hardcore (I really dislike the novels in which all the characters have unpronounceable, made-up names), and I don't do sci-fi that's too heavy on the science bit. That's what I love about Heinlein so much -- his stories are fiction with a sci-fi bent to them. He writes about real people, real situations that just happen to take place about 2000 years in the future. And in at least two of his novels (Time Enough for Love and my absolute favorite of all time, To Sail Beyond the Sunset), Heinlein delves into historical fiction. To Sail Beyond the Sunset even begins in the late 1800s, although the protagonist ends up time traveling to the year 3000-some.
But yes, it's good stuff.
And now I have my addiction fueled, which should keep me busy for about a month or so.
Then it will be off to the used book store!