Things That Still Makes Being Me Just That Bit Better... Number 1

[sallymn]

... And of course, I will start with a book, one I have mentioned a few times in passing. Not a brilliant book, no - what this was was a really rather good 1950s short story padded out to pulp novel length, and I know perfectly well that its age, its pulp nature and its padding do show. And that he wrote far better (Wasp, "And Then There Were

Comments

[sallymn]

I have Men Martians and Machines too, and rather love it (the martians are indeed wonderful aliens, and someone REALLY ought to make a TV show based on the stories :)

[lost_spook]

*makes note* I hadn't even heard of him, but I definitely have a thing for sf written decades ago. (Stuff written now-ish is just no fun, heh. :lol:)

[sallymn]

I think you'd enjoy his better stuff, yes :)

[jhall1]

I haven't read much Eric Frank Russell, but I've very much enjoyed what I have read. I suppose it's quite possible that he was a fan of the Goon Show.

Have you read any Fredric Brown? His sense of humour was rather different from Russell's and often had a dark edge to it, but the two of them were probably the leading writers of humorous SF in the 1950s. (I originally wrote "different to" and had to correct myself.)

[sallymn]

Oh yes, I love Fredric Brown, I bought the hardback set of his stories a couple of years back - and Night of the Jabberwock is one of my favourite books :)

[reapermum]

old, cheap second-hand books, but then they're the ones that would be almost impossible to replace

And that's why I never know how to value my book collection when we have to renew the contents insurance on the house.

EFR is one of those writers I turn to when I want comfort reading.

[sallymn]

Comfort reading he is great at :)

And I agree with you about the value - there's a Patrick Moore I paid 20c for, would have the devil of a job replacing. And our shabby (and disintegrating Ghastly Beyond Belief...last time I checked, a decent copy was several hundred dollars :(

[snailbones]

I love the cover artwork - I'd want it for that alone!

[sallymn]

It's by Chris Foss, one of my favourite cover artists (I may do a post on them in the challenge, there's at least three cover artists I absolutely adore)

[snailbones]

I didn't recognise it as his, but I love his work. I've got a book of his illustrations around the place somewhere *gazes about vaguely*

[sallymn]

Me too... plus a LOT of paperbacks with his stuff on the cover...