Like a moth to the fire I am drawn to the bookstore...
Well, Vidya is very, very happy at the moment. (And Vidya is going to stop talking in third person before she slaps herself in the face.)
I went to Half-Price Books today. Not the one I usually end up going to because it's next to Fry's. The nice one on Lamar that's not as big as the the main one in Dallas, but is still pretty nice and big, and has an entire room devoted to rare and collectable books. The first thing that took my breath away - an advanced reading copy, hardcover, of A Game of Thrones - not sure if it was signed or not, as it was behind glass, but a lot of the books in this section were signed. The downside is - it was $500. I thin one of the weird things for me is that that book was responsible for my being in the store that day - I was looking for the books following A game of Thrones and The Phoenix Guards.
Other finds:
Several Anne Rice - 1st eds or signed - didn't really look too haard at these
Tigana - 1st edition and signed - $200
The entire Fionavar Tapestry - 1st edition and signed if I remember correctly - also $200 (probably a good thing it was sold as a set - I don't have the last two which would have made that purchase very tempting.)
Two 1st edition Lord of the Rings in boxsets - one hardcover and one paperback. Justin found these first and wouldn't let me look at the prices. I think he was scared I would damage the books somehow.
1st edition leatherbound Pern Collection that had very pretty pictures and silver edging and a bookmark. I've gotten tired of the Pern series, but I did like those stories, and I'd probably have gotten it for the pictures. You know, if it hadn't been $100. Or $200. I can't remember which right now.
There were a lot of other beautiful books there, including artbooks, graphic novels, and some other books I really wouldn't have expected. If I get a job, I get the feeling that a nice chunk of my "celebration" money will be spent in that room.
Books I did Get
George R.R. Martin - A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords (They didn't have a copy of A Feast of Crows)
Steven Brust - Five Hundred Years After(Pretty much all they had of the Khaavren Romances except for the Phoenix Guards)
Steven Brust - The Sun, The Moon and the Stars (I had to separate this out. This is part of the Fairy Tales Series. I have two other books from this series, Snow White, Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede, and White as Snow by....Tanith Lee. Snow White, Rose Red was the book that bridged fairy tales/mythogoly with comtemporary fantasy for me, introducing me to Patricia C. Wrede and the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. So finding a book from this series that was written by one of the authors I happened to be looking for - yeah, there was no way I was passing this one up.)
Ursula Le Guin - The Earthsea Trilogy (I've been meaning to read this since the movie came out. I remember being a little nitpicky about the movie, but still enjoying it, and I've heard the books are much bettter - well, they usually are. So when I found this as a boxed set, I really couldn't resist.)
Jennifer Roberson - Lady of the Forest. (Ok, this book was my true guilty pleasure of the night since I already have this book. However, the copy I got tonight was 1st edition, hardcover with the dust jacket, and signed by the author And a hell of a lot less expensive than the rare books room - I'm not sure why they didn't put it in there except maybe Jennifer Roberson isn't as popular an author? I don't know, really. I've only read this one book by her, and I loved it - I might be a little biased because it's a Robin Hood retelling, and I have a soft spot for that legend. I haven't really been tempted to pick up her other ones, though, and I've heard a couple of peaple say that they're not that good. ::shrugs:: Anyway, I'll have to see what Half-Price Books will give me fror my old copy.
And now, on to LibraryThing to catalogue my new purchases!!!!