I
recently received a box in the mail. It was from a life-long friend, a gent
named Bill Plant who is responsible (or maybe irresponsible) for shaping much
of my taste in literature. While Bill and I remain close friends, we aren’t in
the habit of sending each other gifts on the spur of the moment, so I had no
idea what was in the box. It could have been anything from a head to…well,
anything. After making sure that it wasn’t ticking, crying, or leaking, I
commenced to open it, a formidable task since Bill apparently used three rolls
of scotch tape to seal it. After some effort, I folded the flaps back, pulled
out some newspaper packing, and…well, I’ll confess, The Kid got just a little
misty-eyed.
The
box was full of books. Paperback books. From the 1950s. They were marked up and
in one case a little chewed up and some of them had the binding falling loose and
they all had that sweet scent of slow but inevitable decomposition. In other
words, every one was a little treasure. These were USED, used books. Bill deals
in antiques, and will buy items such as books in inexpensive lots in the hope
of finding an acorn or two among the Buena
Sierra. Collectors, alas, aren’t much interested in paperbacks that are
dog-eared, or have had a crayon taken to them, or that have been labeled, using
an indelible marker, with a five cent price tag. took a bunch of such and sent them to me. I
don’t think I’ve had a better present in quite a while. It reminded me of one
Christmas, some fifty years ago, when my mother ordered a bunch of science
fiction paperbacks for me from the gone but not forgotten S & SF Bookstore in
New York. It was a laborious procedure back then --- check books off an order
list, write a check, send the whole kit and caboodle off in the mail and wait six weeks
for delivery --- since the only “Amazon” most folks knew then was either 1) a
river in South America or 2) Irish McCalla. But when that box arrived, it was
special. And so was this one.
So
what would I possibly want with such a litter of mutts? The idea of it, pure
and simple. These were books that had been read and re-read before being consigned
to a cellar or an attic or the back shelves of a used bookstore. Most of it was science fiction. There were Ace
Doubles in that box. Ace doubles. These consisted of two covers and two novels
bound into one; read one, flip it over, and there was another novel waiting for
you. Hard Case Crime is going to publish
two Lawrence Block novels in the doubles format in May 2012, and I can’t wait.
But these were the original thing. A few short story collections were in that
box, and included forgotten stories by famous authors (“Death of the Senator,”
by Arthur C. Clarke, for one). There were a couple of early and forgotten
novels by authors who have gone onto better things (Robert Silverberg’s THE
PLANET KILLERS); and some soft core science fiction porn (are porn paperbacks even
published anymore?). Then there was a copy of GALACTIC DERELICT by Andre
Norton, one of the first science fiction books I ever read.
Yes,
there were a couple of mysteries and thrillers as well. I was six years old
when Marjorie Carlton wrote ONE NIGHT OF TERROR. It got past me the first time
but I’m going to read it this year. And there were a couple of Carter Brown
novels in that box. Most of the ladies
who contribute to The Kill Zone are probably too young to remember Carter
Brown. but gentlemen, certainly most of you do.
“Carter Brown” was the pseudonym for Alan Geoffrey Yates, and there was
a time when he ruled the revolving wire paperback racks. Who could forget those
Signet covers? I fogged up my eyeglasses in many a drugstore perusing the wares
of those gaudy damsels while pretending to look for Mad Magazine paperback
collections. I have discovered, belatedly, that the stories aren’t bad
either. It occurred to me a couple of
nights ago, while reading NO BLONDE IS
AN ISLAND, that I had never actually read a Carter Brown book until now. I had
committed many a cover to memory, however.
Some
of the older paperbacks are now appearing in e-book format. I discovered recently that all of those Edgar
Rice Burroughs' books which I purchased with my allowance a half-century ago are
available in Kindle format, and for free; and there are even three Carter Brown
books up for sale. It just isn’t the same, however. The smell and the small,
non-adjustable print and the feel of paper and ink aren’t there. It’s like
having a rabbit and a hat that sit next to each other without any involvement
or relationship: there’s no magic.
That may sound strange --- if pressing a couple of buttons and having an entire
book appear in a wafer thin tool that you can slip in a coat pocket isn’t
magic, then what is? --- but it’s true. We get something, true, but also we
give something up.
So.
If you had a friend as good as mine (and Bill, I know you read these posts, and
you remain the best), and that friend sent you a box such as I received, what books
would you want to find in it? What would bring a smile to your face, and a tear
(or five) to your eye?
Unlike another blogger said, I didn't find this tightly knit or narrated. It's more like a loose narrative, with just episodes following each other. Some of the episodes are more entertaining than others and Block creates some pretty good characters through dialogue and action. The fate of some of the characters was also entertaining and not something I anticipated.
