Went to my favorite used bookstore today. Picked up Nicholson Baker’s Room Temperature to see what all the fuss is about (although I don’t think it’s one of his works of “erotica”). Anyway, it’s slim — 116 pages — so I’m sure it’ll find a place near the top of the stack.
I’m pretty sure that some of the folktales in this collection from Zora Neale Hurston are probably redundant in my library—I mean, I know I’ve got another collection of her folklore somewhere. But this one seems much bigger—and it has a great appendix. Look forward to a tall tale or two (or don’t; shit, I don’t care).
Back when I taught high school English, one of my favorite students “borrowed” (and never returned) my copy of Dune. Then he did the same with my copy of Riddley Walker (which, to be fair, I had stolen from a dear friend). Then he took Camp Concentration. I thought I’d replaced it, but when I looked for it the other day, I couldn’t find it. Anyway, this Caroll & Graf edition has a cool cover. I also picked up 334 on a reader recommendation (I was scolded for putting Camp Concentration on this list instead of some other Disch titles. Mea culpa). Anyway, I dig this pop art cover; I also think this is a first printing—-
Underneath (but not in) the 334 was this Thom Disch postcard. A fortuitous bookmark!
Biblioklept 
== You Lost a Couple of Books, I Lost an Entire Bookstore! ==
Your saga about letting even a trusted friend “borrow” any book from you reminds me of my recent visit to a friend’s new abode in Charlottesville, Va. We did some bookstore browsing there during that day-long trip from my home in Alexandria.
Here’s what I e-mailed him about my return trip:
I swung over to Culpepper to try to find that used-books store that my brother and I had visited about 20 years ago. I found that it had been sold to a new owner, who couldn’t make a go of it. I learned this from a 3-foot-tall female midget in her fifties, who was in a hardware store just off Main Street; she even suggested that the original owner’s son (who owns a bike shop several blocks away) could fill me in on the details on the defunct ACE Books, which he graciously did. The midget had told me she seems to recall the presence of a piano in the middle of the store’s main room. Anyway, not far from the hardware store, I found a thrift store that houses a decent collection of books. And, lo!, there I found a former library copy of the hardback (with D.J.) of the now-rarely seen “Report on Communion,” by Ed Conroy (1989). N.B.: all the books were priced at $.75 for hardbacks and $.10 for paperbacks. While I was a-browsin’, one elderly woman bought an entire armload of books (as if she were shopping in a candy store). She said she used to live in Northern Va., adding that her basement is full of books, that her name is Mary, and that her husband is a retired professor (of something).
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Note: I mentioned the piano, a small studio model, because it was during my visit 20 years ago, that my pianist-brother played it while I looked for (mainly) UFO books, for an hour or so. — Larry W. Bryant (11 Aug 11)
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I think they prefer “little people”—- but I treasure your tales, Larry.
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Being stalked by a wickedly-depicted Philip K. Dick sounds like a fascinating experience.
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YIKES . . . I see that I’ve misspelled the town’s name — which should read: Culpeper. Also, is there any chance that you could change the SECOND reference of “midget” to read: Little Person? Next, that comma after the word “ago” in the last paragraph should be deleted. Thanks for this consideration — and for your praise of my anecdotal commentary. — LWB
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Hmmm…I like the idea of your suggested edits remaining here under the original text. This way, interested parties can cut and paste and edit as they see fit, but the creative process is out there in the open. But if it’s eating you up inside, I’ll complete them…
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Well, “scolded” is a bit much. But 334 is probably his most ambitious book, and my favourite.
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Hyperbole on my part for dramatic emphasis. Thanks for the recommendation.
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