What seemed like a fun idea initially has
now become a chore. But there are two
things fighting in this little book cataloging project’s favor: (1) I am a stubborn individual and (2) I have
OCD, so I’m going to complete it whether I like it or not. I must admit that I want desperately to write
about something else. I have many things
to discuss, in fact, but these last two bookcases are hanging around my neck
like an albatross. So I will endeavor to
push through them so I can get onto the interesting stuff (like Julie’s and my
trip to Des Moines, Iowa, for instance).
Anyway, here we go....
This bookcase is another trip back in time, for the
most part. You will note that 99 percent
of the books on this shelf are “mass market” rather than “trade”
paperbacks. Who even buys mass market
paperbacks anymore? Not me. But I guess that’s because I don’t buy as
much sci-fi as I used to.
Hey, I wonder if this guy likes Isaac Asimov? There doesn’t seem to be any indication
here.
But honestly, Isaac Asimov almost singlehandedly
shaped my concept of science fiction in book form. I haven’t actually read Forward the
Foundation (his last novel) yet, but only because a while back I
started re-reading all of Asimov’s novels chronologically (according to when
the books take place in the future, that is, not according to when he actually
wrote them) and I’m only up to Pebble in the Sky.
I read Gibson’s Neuromancer in
college and it just didn’t grab me. I
look forward to reading it again now that I’m a little more mature (ha!) to see
if I’ll like it the second time around.
I really liked Alastair Reynolds’s
Revelation Space so I bought the sequels and Chasm
City, which takes place in the same universe, but I haven’t gotten
around to reading any of them yet. They
look nice all sitting together on the shelf, though.
I love Philip K. Dick but I own very few of his
novels. In fact, I own only two: Ubik and Do
Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Oddly enough, neither of these are among my favorites. My hands-down favorite is The
Transmigration of Timothy Archer but the two times I read it I
borrowed a copy from a friend, and the one copy I did buy
was a present for someone who hated it so much that she actually yelled at me
for giving it to her. And she didn’t
even give it back. What a bitch!
During my aforementioned/alluded to trip to Iowa
last week I bought half a dozen used C.J. Cherryh novels at the best half-price
bookstore I’ve ever seen, including the prequel and sequel to The
Faded Sun: Shon’jir, which I’ve never read. But yesterday I started reading The
Faded Sun: Kesrith (the first in the trilogy) and I like it a
lot. I can’t believe I’ve lived this
long as a sci-fi fan without reading any Cherryh. Blasphemy!
The Long Tomorrow and
Sar together inspired a science fiction novel I wrote in
middle school called Global Eclipse. It followed the exploits of an escaped slave
in earth’s post-apocalyptic future who travels the world in search of the
descendents of NASA’s abandoned moon outpost who settled in the Black Hills of
South Dakota. It sounds silly and it
probably is (I haven’t re-read it in years).
But both of the books that inspired it hold a special place in my
heart.
Gee, more Asimov?
Whodathunkit?
A lot of cherished classics on this shelf,
including The Magus, Salinger’s entire (in print) oeuvre,
Lord of the Flies, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest, The Chocolate War, and The
Handmaid’s Tale. In college I
wrote a paper on The Chocolate War in which I claimed that
the book was optimistic rather than pessimistic because although the rest of
the main character’s life in high school would suck utterly, he would be able
to look back on those days without any regrets because he had the strength of
character to stand against the corrupting forces of his school rather than
giving in. My professor loved it so much
and started talking about it in class, but because I’d written half a dozen
more papers in between writing this one and getting it back that it took me
several moments to remember what my thesis had been. After a beat my professor said facetiously,
“You did write this paper, didn’t you?”
From then on I made a point of remembering whatever bullshit I’d
generated in all of my college papers after that. What an embarrassing day that was.
I used to devour science fiction by the yard. Is that becoming clear? Between the Strokes of
Night was so good that it remains one of the few sci-fi books (not by
Asimov) that I’ve read twice. James P.
Hogan’s “Giants” trilogy was really good, and I liked the first two “Rama”
books, but I never read the last two in that series.
More cherished classics on this shelf, including
The Stranger, my dad’s 1950s copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four,
Frankenstein (a clean copy and a college-era version that’s been
underlined to within an inch of its life), The Time Machine, The Three
Musketeers, and The Black Tulip.
I have never read Dune, and
since I’m one of the few who likes David Lynch’s screen version I probably
never will. This is my dad’s copy of the
novel and he liked it enough to read all the sequels. Lucifer’s Hammer was
awesome and also, now that I think about it, probably an inspiration for
Global Eclipse as well.
I used to be really into James Bond. Can you tell?
Mirror of Infinity contains my
favorite short story of all time, Isaac Asimov’s “Nightfall.” It still chills me when I read it. Vonnegut, what can I say? I love that guy. May he live to be a hundred years old. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid
Test is a classic, as is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance. Then we have my
adolescent biographies of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, my pretend high school
girlfriend Drew Barrymore, Marilyn Monroe, and—yes—Madonna (my pretend elementary
school girlfriend).
You can probably tell why most of these books are
hidden in the back. I may be a
self-professed Star Trek geek, but owning Star Trek novels is going a bit too
far, don’t you think? Ditto on the prose
adaptations of all the original Star Trek episodes (though I
acquired those well before the proliferation of cheap VHS tapes and channels
like Spike TV and G4 TV that show reruns of Star Trek ad
nauseam). The Robot City spin-offs are
equally embarrassing, but only to other true Asimov fans.
On the other hand, all the books stacked in the
upper right-hand corner are true works of literature so I don’t want to hear
it. Kindly address all taunts to my
middle finger.
Edgar Allan Poe and Gonzo dominate this shelf that
is otherwise occupied by favorite old magazines and some semi-embarrassing
Anime cell collections.
More magazines.
Duh.
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