Used Book Stores: An Endangered Species

When I was little, the library was this magical place that I tried to get to every chance I could. Can't tell you why, but it felt like an escape, with every book in that place an opportunity to get spirited away on some adventure - or to Hop on Pop, or what have you. And my first library card...I cherished the hell out of that thing. It was like an honest-to-goodness passport to me.

Then I lost one of the books I had checked out and racked up a fucking astronomical fee. Haven't been back there in a while...

I discovered book stores not too long after. If I remember correctly, we had three book shops here in town, and all of them were independent. One of them had been built into an old house, and the owner had painted each room to correspond with the genre it contained. Another was in a grocery store shopping center, and they would server butterbeer (no idea what it actually was) to kids when the new Harry Potter novels were released. The last was a science shop, but they had a ton of science-oriented books and I loved the hell out of that place.

It seemed to happen really fast, but all three of them shut down within a few years of each other. Barnes & Noble and Borders were doing some very aggressive expansion during that time, and a Borders opened up here in town when we really hadn't seen any major chains before. Yeah, it was a neat store, and had more books than I ever cared to dream about at the time. But there's just something about those big shops that just kills some of the experience of buying a book.

For nearly a decade, we went without an independent book store. I remember getting stupid-excited when I found that a local thrift store had converted their basement into an impromptu book shop, but that closed down too, eventually. I had almost forgotten the thrill those little book shops can supply, until I stumbled upon a place called Black Cat Books while on vacation in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

I'm seriously...that place is awesome. If you live in "The Springs" and haven't been there, do yourself a favor. At first it just looks like a quirky little shop when you walk in, and there's like...15 books on the shelf. But then you take a little staircase down to the basement, and there is a very decent selection down there, made even better by how the building hangs over the river that runs through the city. You can actually plant yourself next to the window and do a little reading with the sound of running water in your ears. There's no bathroom there.

That's all well and good for Manitou "We've got a COG railroad" Springs, but what about my town? Huh? Where's my used books store?

Fortunately, and more to the point of this entry, we just recently received one. I was on my way home from having lunch with my dad, when I saw the place out of the corner of my eye. Just about smashed my head into the windshield in excitement. My sister and I pull over and check the place out. I was seriously expecting to be disappointed; I thought it was going to be a repository for old Reader's Digests and Dean Koontz novels. Really glad I was wrong on that one.

Once I poked around a little bit, my excitement mounted until I started reacting like K'nuckles did when he saw the Colonel's backflip. The selection...is...amazing. There are comics, rare books, old books, new books. I've been trying to get a good copy of Darkwalker on Moonshae for a friggin month now, and they had two amazing copies just sitting there. The fantasy section alone made me want to pass out. They had every edition of Lord of the Rings, a ton of Star Wars and Star Trek books, practically every big series (Sword of Truth, Shannara, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Dragonlance, The Wheel of Time, A Song of Ice and Fire, Forgotten Realms, Elric, etc.).

I could have spent all day there...but I didn't. I had things to attend to, but I did end up buying four books for the not-so-bad-at-all price of fifteen wing-wangs:

* Darkwalker on Moonshae by Douglas Niles

* X-Wing: Rogue Squadron by Michael A. Stackpole

* Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock

* A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

Not a bad haul. Not a bad day. Now I gotta read all this stuff! That's the hard part! Gah!

Gift Card Results

Got a $50 gift card to Borders from my parents on Christmas. Went to spend it today and came back with these:

* Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen Donaldson

* Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

* Star Wars: The Cestus Deception by Steven Barnes (What the hell's with all the forms of Steve? That was not intentional.)

* The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

* Mass Effect: Retribution by Drew Karpyshyn

* Eon by Greg Bear

Not sure how most of these are going to turn out, and I still have a metric shit-ton of books still on my reading pile. Trying to get myself back into the habit of reading everyday, so hopefully that pile will shrink sooner rather than next year.

The Day A Good Cover Made Me Buy A Bad Book

For most of last year, I was obsessed with buying new books. Not necessarily because I wanted to read them, but because there was usually something I could learn from them. I bought Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb just to see what all the fuss was about. I bought Star Wars: Republic Commando - Hard Contact by Karen Traviss to see why she was one of the most respected names in Star Wars. I even bought Starship Troopers to experience Heinlein for the first time in my life.

But there was one book in particular that I'm still trying to learn from. After several trips to Borders, there was always one book that absolutely stood out from the rest. I never knew why, but I knew that I had to look at it at least one time before I left the store, even if I was leaving with another book. I would just stare at it, wondering why this book had be so captivated.

That book was Across the Face of the World by Russell Kirkpatrick, and, eventually, I did buy it and it sits on my shelf to this day. But not because I liked it. I didn't care for it at all, actually. When I finally got around to actually reading the thing, I didn't really care for the story, the characters, or anything like that. I won't sit here and say it's the worst thing I've ever read, because it's not, but it wasn't something I liked.

But the cover...Jesus Christ, it's probably the best cover I've ever seen. Every time I see it, it instills a sense of wonder in me. I see that bright moon, that lonely landscape, and the riders casually heading off into the horizon...and I'm in awe already. Even as I type this, knowing full well what sub-standard story lies in wait beneath that cover, I still can't help but feel inspired. I just don't know why.

My sister always says that everything has something to teach us. And whenever I started ranting to her about a bad book, she would repeat that, to an author (like my almost-self), even bad books have something to teach me. Well, this book taught me: Yes, sometimes a great cover can sell a book, no matter what it is. R.A. Salvatore talked about this, saying that a good cover is absolutely imperative to a book, contrary to the opinion of his agent that covers don't matter very much. And he is absolutely right.

After I read The Crystal Shard, my idea of what the main characters looked like was forever altered by the cover. That's how Drizzt, Bruenor, and Wulfgar will always look like to me. It's the reason why I decided to buy the old first edition versions instead of the newer, Todd Lockwood-drawn masterpieces. Amazing, though they are, they are not what first made that impression.

This would all happen again with The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, but that actually seems to be a good book so far. And Collision Course by William Shatner is another book that I bought on account of the cover, and it's still one of my favorite books. So, sometimes I get lucky.

But...yeah, it seems that the cover is very important. To me, at least. They have prompted me to buy good books and bad books alike; but, most importantly, bad books. And that's the magic of some book covers. They can cast a spell over us, even if the words beneath it do nothing of the sort.

Going on about 'Good Omens', Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Tori Amos

I don't really have anything to write about today, but I feel like it's been a while since I've posted here and I just got a new programme that makes my keyboard sound like a typewriter! And it's really therapeutic. So - I'm going to use this blog like a diary and just talk.
The last few days I've been reading 'Good Omens' by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. At about halfway through, I'm absolutely loving the book. It was recommended by the nice lady at The Critical Fiction Den - and thank goodness because otherwise I probably wouldn't have bothered (more on that later). But I'm getting that feeling of pure enjoyment from a book now - I rarely get this - when every chapter is perfect, and you carry the thing around with you at all times. I've been reading this in bed, in company, in the car (parked), whilst walking, crossing roads, listening to Best of Queen tapes... last night I dreamed that I was at a party in my honour, and met a girl... and carried on reading 'Good Omens' at a table in the corner.

It's dry, dark humour, nothing all that special in its style or plot - but just very very funny jokes and sardonic observations. I think it's just perfectly tailored to my tastes.

I say I normally wouldn't have read it because of the authors - I hate to criticise Terry Pratchett because he's living my dream, and he's a role model for me. A humble, pleasant, hugely talented British author - and more than that, one whose author photograph has genuinely shaped my life and ambitions. I got a copy of 'The Colour of Magic' at high school and looked at him with the big black hat and the beard and leather jacket... with a description full of self-depricating humour and 'lives behind a keyboard' and thought, 'that's what I want!' Now I'm bearded, typing comedy and SF/fantasy, and I still haven't been able to throw away my big, black hat. I don't wear it in public anymore, but it's still here.
But... I didn't particularly enjoy 'The Colour of Magic' at school. A few weeks ago I found it again, and had another go. (Largely because of 'Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor') I only got a few chapters in before getting bored. I dunno... it's clearly a very good book, I daren't say I didn't like it, but maybe it's his style. Or maybe I'm an uncultred Nintendo-generation git with no attention span. I still find the book very hard to follow, and the characters very hard to care about.


As for Neil Gaiman (no cartoons for him, he's too handsome) my experience is a little better, but much more recent. I became aware of him by listening to Tori Amos records (I believe the two of them are good friends, as she mentions him sometimes in her lyrics). I knew only that he was Amos' mate, and he wrote very successful graphic novels. And graphic novels made me feel uneasy. I'll tell you something else, I hate that term. They're not novels, people. I can see why you wouldn't feel the term 'comic books' is appropriate, but they're sure as hell not novels.
Anyway, I did eventually watch some films based on his work - 'Mirrormask' (which I liked) 'Stardust' (which I really didn't like) and 'Coraline' (which was amazing). Early this year I read the children's book Coraline and liked it too... and started hating how Americanised the movie was! I bought a copy of 'American Gods' but so far it's just been sat on the shelf, looking large and intimidating, whispering in a sickly voice about graphic novels and Tori Amos pretentiously standing up to play piano. *
After this, I will have to find time to give it a go. And maybe even 'The Colour of Magic' again, too.
This book by the both of them is just brilliant. I don't know if they were both having a good day, or if they just compliment each other perfectly, or what. But this book just seems flawless to me. The experience of reading it is pure fun - no boredom, no confusion, nothing bad to say about it. Not one thing... so far. Just a very funny book about an angel and a demon and the antichrist and the horsepersons of the apocalypse, that I can't put down. I haven't felt this way since 'The Princess Bride', or the last half of 'Ender's Game' (after the Giant's Game was introduced and I let myself enjoy it).

* I do find her pretentious, but Tori Amos is amazing. Amazing. I don't know much about music, but I really, really love her albums.
It;s jsut that need my performers and artists to be humble - once they start wearing sunglasses or big hats, like Duncan Banatyne I'm out. Tori Amos is one of those who is just so good that I don't even mind her showing off and talking rubbish.
I should do another blog about her, but now I have to go to work. I really like to think of her as a 'musical poet' rather than a musician. The music is fantastic, don't get me wrong, but her lyrics are really inspired. I have so many favourites.

Here's one which I... think is about Mary Magdalene? If so, it's damn good!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyoVrbcgbO4&feature=related

(Still) remembering Red Dwarf

I felt like writing something personal, so I thought I would talk about the huge impact Red Dwarf had on me, as a writer and in general.

If you're not familiar with the franchise, it's a British sitcom (and four comedy novels) set in space. It's a simple sitcom set-up about 'four or five people who don't get on having to live together' but which also satirises and/or pays loving tribute to all manner of space operas and science-fiction classics. The premise is simple - an amiable slob awakes after three million years of suspended animation in the middle of black, empty space. There are no aliens and no advanced civilisation. For company he has a hologram resurrection of the crewman he hated most, a creature who has evolved from cats, a senile old computer and a fussy, subservient robot.

From 1989 to 2000 they had a series of sitcom-style misadventures, and Star Trek-style adventures, all with perfect characterisation, a wonderfully dark and witty sense of humour, and fascinating storylines. I always think of it as 'Blackadder in space'. And I could spend the day writing an introduction to it!

I'm a big fan, and I'm amazed it's never come up on this blog until now. As a teenager, I watched my carefully-collected videos of this show religiously, believing every line to be flawless and the actors to be the finest comic talents on Earth. When I got older I started to see the flaws and grow tired of the well-worn tapes, but I can still remember most of the lines in the first seven series!

But one part of the franchise that remains at the highest in my estimation is the books. Beginning quite early on in the show's run, the two writers, Rob Grant and Doug Naylor (this was back in the day when British TV shows ran for six episodes a year and were written by only two people) began working on a series of Red Dwarf novels. Rather than write a spin-off or simply novelise the shows, Grant and Naylor (using the pen-name Grant Naylor) decided to begin anew, so that they were writing two seperate versions of the story at once - the TV version focused on jokes and brief adventures, and the novels' version was more dramatic and epic.

The novels Red Dwarf (AKA Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers) and Better Than Life are genuinely brilliant sci-fi comedy. Much like Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams, but... maybe this is me... so much better! So much deeper, funnier and more engaging.

Then came the great divide, where my heroes Grant and Naylor had a personal argument of some sort, and split for good. It was like watching my parents divorce. Grant went on to write excellent comedy novels and Naylor continued Red Dwarf, but not very well. Despite bold new ideas and characters, the show never quite recovered. It teetered away and ended on a whimper and a false 'to be continued' (well there was the recent 'Back to Earth' special, but that's another story.)

And it killed me that the show never had an ending. Now I would never know - does Lister find his way home? Do Lister and Kochanski finally fall in love? What becomes of Rimmer after his brave departure? It sounds very silly, but it took years for me to accept that I'd never know.

---

But, I distinctly remember a wonderful moment, when I was reading the last chapter of Last Human by Doug Naylor.

---

See, after the split, both authors wrote one more Red Dwarf book - each of them contradicting and disregarding the other, and each a direct sequel to Better Than Life. Now my divorced parents were asking me to choose which one I loved most. At high school I wrote a novel-length fanfiction which feebly attempted to bring the storylines into one.

Grant wrote Backwards, which took a very dark turn, but evolved to become extremely witty and with deeper characters than ever before. As well, it was a thrilling, scary adventure with brilliant science fiction in the first half (on 'Backwards Earth'). Best of all it included a massive, dramatic expansion of my favourite side-character, 'Ace Rimmer' - the dashing alter-ego of Rimmer with his legendary catchphrase, 'Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast!'

And Naylor wrote Last Human - much more the traditional style, but with a tight, excellent space opera plot, great gags and...

... an ending.

In the final chapters of the book, Lister and Kochanski are in love, together and perfectly happy. They never made it to Earth (well they kinda did) but that's all part of the climax. All of the transformations and journeys that began in Red Dwarf and the first episode of the series come to an action-packed and fantastic conclusion, and there is nary a joke in sight. The third act of Last Human is what dreams are made of.
And though there is no Ace Rimmer, the real Rimmer brings his story arc to a close, by fathering a son and becoming the hero we'd wanted him to be since we grew to love him in episode 6.
And as he sacrifices himself to save his son and his crewmates, Rimmer sends a message in Morse code - S.M.A.K.I.B.B.F.B. Get it? It's an allusion to a character who never even appeared in this book's time-line, but that's what makes it so powerful.

I cried! I cried tears of joy that the dearest fictional character I'd ever read had finally become what I wanted him to be. I'm not saying that I prefer the Naylor book to the Grant book (don't make me choose, mum and dad!), but it left a powerful emotional effect on me.

And I re-read that book over, and over, and over again. I remember the third or fourth time I reached that ending, that perfect last chapter, and thinking, "This is what I want to do. I want to write stories with jokes and rich characters, and I want people to feel like I do now, just because of printed words. And I want to keep trying to write a book as good as this, but never make it! That'll keep me trying"

I've been through various odd phases in my life since then, but I'm never happier than when I write fiction, hear great comedy or find myself unexpectedly moved by something. Red Dwarf taught me 75% of what I know about writing, and completely shaped my sense of humour. Rimmer gave me an attitude, The Cat gave me a sense of childlike wonder, Kryten gave me too much self-deprication, and all of them have effected my strange accent. Lister gave me a laugh, some ideals, some beliefs and a hopelessly romantic soul.

Now I even like to imagine parallels between 'Buch and Knight' and Grant and Naylor!
Last year I got a tattoo of the Morse code for 'SMAKIBBFB' on my left arm. I'm not a tattoo kind of guy, but it's to remind me of my goal as I write. I can see it in the corner of my eye when I type. Like those books and some of the classic episodes, it never fails to inspire me.

The final line of Last Human never left my head. I keep wondering about featuring the line at the very beginning of one of my own stories. It would have to be a special one!

Slowly, gently, almost impercebtibly, the grass began to sway.