“One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others.”
~Robert A. Heinlein (Stranger in a Strange Land)
Let it not be said that I am not generous, for I want to share my happiness with you! I arrived home Friday afternoon to find a package on my doorstep from Annie, the 10 year old reader extraordinaire, who participated in the recent Once Upon a Time Challenge. During the challenge Annie read the Lord of the Rings books for the first time. Due to some wonderful good fortune I was able to share my love of the Lord of the Rings films with Annie and her mother. The above arrived by way of thanks on Friday: 2 packages of delicious homemade brownies (which we have been slowly devouring over the weekend), a gift card to Barnes and Noble, and the most wonderful homemade card:
Isn’t it fantastic?
This image was on the inside of the card with a very sweet message that I am going to cherish for myself. Thank you so much Annie for the extremely unnecessary and yet much appreciated ‘thank you’.
“May you live as long as you wish and love as long as you live.”
~Robert A. Heinlein
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This past weekend was the Robert A. Heinlein Centennial here in Kansas City. There were many events scheduled throughout the weekend honoring the man and his contributions to both science and science fiction. Timing and expense prohibited attendance to the main event, but for $10 Jeff and I were able to go look through the dealer’s room Sunday morning and do the one thing we wanted to do more than anything, which was to meet John Scalzi and get a book signed. Mr. Scalzi was very personable and gracious with his time and it was a pleasure to be able to say ‘thanks’ in person to a man whose work has made him one of my favorites in the science fiction genre.
You can read John Scalzi’s very nice thoughts on the Centennial here.
“Early rising may not be a vice … but it is certainly no virtue. The old saw about the early bird just goes to show that the worm should have stayed in bed.”
~Robert Heinlein (Time Enough For Love)
There were only two book dealers at the Centennial, but they were both excellent, carrying signed fantasy and science fiction works from classic and contemporary authors. Jeff happened upon a hardback copy of The Wizard by Gene Wolfe to complete my hardback collection of these books. The best thing about it: It was signed and was being sold for cover price!!! Jeff got something nice too but I’ll let him share that in the comments section.
(Chris, the bookmark they put in my Gene Wolfe book leads me to believe that this group was from your state. They are Edge Books based in Kentwood, LA.)
“A “critic” is a man who creates nothing and thereby feels qualified to judge the work of creative men. There is logic in this; he is unbiased  he hates all creative people equally.”
~Robert Heinlein (Time Enough For Love)
As we were able to get our convention needs met early, we hit a few local bookstores (dont’ worry Cameron, we avoided the ones that we want to hit with you) where I was able to find a number of reasonably priced goodies.
At Reading Reptile, a fantastic children’s bookstore, I was able to pick up the audio version of the children’s book of Mirrormask, read by Stephanie Leonidas who plays Helena in the film. I have been on the lookout for this for awhile, so thank you again Jeff for your eagle eyes.
At Half-Price books I was able to snag pristine copies of an Edward Gorey biography and the DVD Down with Love for next to nothing. You gotta love HPB!
Last, but not least, I could not let a 20% off Borders Coupon go to waste, so I picked up The Game by Diana Wynne Jones. This will be my first Wynne Jones book and is one that I had to have simply because of the fantastic Rick Berry cover art. The picture does not do it justice at all.
“A committee is the only known form of life with a hundred bellies and no brain.”
~Robert Heinlein (Methuselah’s Children)
I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. Welcome to Monday!
“An elephant. A mouse built to government specifications.”
~Robert Heinlein (Time Enough For Love)
Sounds like some quality purchases Carl. And that card is lovely.
What a great card! And with the homemade treats, no wonder you were so pleased.
Sounds like a great weekend! I hope you’ll let us know how The Game is; I’ve never read a book by Wynne Jones, either, though several people have mentioned that they adore her writing.
I loved Ascending Peculiarity! Great stuff there!
I’m so glad you liked everything! Thank you again for everything you’ve done! I can’t wait for your next challenge!
–Annie
ARGH!… not 5 minutes ago the mailman passed and in the mail I found my hardback copy of Gene Wolfe’s “The Wizard”.. but is my copy autographed? Nooooooooooooo! lol You are so darn lucky sometimes! hahahaha. (but I did find a “new” hardback copy for only 7.00 so I’m not really complaining!)
My favourite Wynne Jones is “Fire and Hemlock” but I really like that cover… but you are not supposed to judge a book by the cover, right?
pfft. nah. Off to add it to amazon wish list.
I’m with Kailana – my favourite is “Fire and Hemlock” (one of my favourite books EVER), and I have not yet read “The Game”, but I don’t think you can possibly go wrong with Diana Wynne Jones. She’s an amazing author and I think you’ll love her for sure.
Annie is simply amazing! This post put a big smile on my face.
I still need to read The Wizard/Knight (or any other Gene Wolfe for that matter).
I’ll put Fire and Hemlock on my list and whoever hasn’t needs to put these Gene Wolfe books on their list, they are amazing.
What a great post!
Annie is such a cool girl! As soon as this post popped up on the screen the words “yum” came out of my mouth 🙂 And I love those drawings! They’re great!
Kentwood is that lovely little town here in Louisiana where everyone’s favorite trash celebrity Britney Spears comes from :p That’s great that they’re based out of here though! Something to redeem the town.
Very cool that you got to meet Scalzi…I’m sure that made you a happy camper. And I love the cover to The Game. Really cool…come on Jeff, what did you get?! Inquiring minds want to know!
Annie – Those drawings are great!
As for for my lucky finds. At the same dealer that Carl was able to get the autographed copy of The Wizard I was able to purchase a copy of The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilght Realm. It was a hardback and was signed by Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling, and Chrales Vess. I also got it for cover price. Needless to say Carl and I started off our day very well. 🙂
Meeting John Scalzi was also great. He was incredibley nice and I had him sign my copy of Ghost Brigades.
I also picked up a copy of The Game ( my first Diana Wynne Jones novel as well ) and Freaks by Annette Curtis Klause. That Carl’s a terrible influence. 😉
Lastly at Half Price Books I picked up on DVD Season One of American Dreams. I’ve never seen it but I’ve heard good things about it plus it was only $ 13.50 which will seem like a steal if my wife and I enjoy the show.
The reading reptile is also a wonderful kids book store that I know I will be taking my kids to soon.
Carl, I had a great time and Cameron we can’t wait to go book shopping with you too later this month.
Great find Jeff! I have a copy of The Faery Reel sitting on my shelf that I haven’t read yet, but it looks like such a great book. Signed by Datlow, Windling, and Vess! Doesn’t get much better…ok, you could’ve had it signed by Gaiman too but that would just be getting picky 😉
That’s one of the best covers I’ve seen on a Diana Wynne Jones book — I’m jealous. She’s one of my favourite fantasy writers, my favourites being “Howl’s Moving Castle” and “The Merlin Conspiracy”.
Those brownies make me munchy.
Ooh, those brownies…*salivates. Realizes she has no chocolate. Bloody hell.*
New Jones book? I must go and read it posthaste. And think longingly of HPB…
Those are wonderful drawings, Annie. You’re a talented young lady. Carl, I’ve been writing down book titles as I went through this blog. I believe it’s time to hit the library instead of Borders. I loved the Heinlein quotes, especially the one on critics. It rather reminded me of someone who writes for the K C Star.
Love Annie’s card!
My husband is drooling over your Scalzi and Wolfe books.
Chris, I have the same hardcover Faerie Reel on my shelf and haven’t read it. Hopefully will remedy that soon. There were some great autographed books there.
Pat, I was thinking the same thing when I saw that quote on critics.
Stefanie, no drooling on the books!
pat – Thanks. That comment on the KC star critic.
Yes. A Gaiman sig. would have been great. Another dealer at the show though did have a 1st edition copy of Coraline signed by Gaiman with a very small head sketch and they want $ 150 for it. Needless to say I put it back on the shelf before I might accidently damage it.
Sounds like you had a great time at the Centennial!
Jeff: those are some great purchases! I have yet to read The Faerie Reel, but with all the names involved it just has to be a winner.
And yikes, $150… that is a bit too much.
Nymeth – yikes is right. That same dealer also have a set of LOTR signed books by Alan Lee for $ 200 and a 1st edition Wheel of Time Book 1 signed by Robert Jordan for $ 750. Lots of other cool signed books but way out of our league on prices. As for The Faerie Reel I agree. I’ll bet there are some gems in there; now I just have find the time to read it. 🙂
Great loot Carl!
Love the card from Annie 🙂
Ah….how sweet! What a great thing to do!! Those brownies DO look yummy!!
I have Jones’s Witch Trilogy. I haven’t read it though!
Oh those brownies, so tempting! Sounds like you had an awesome time and made some great finds.
I love those Heinlein quotes. They’re great.
I did a research paper in college on Heinlein’s “Stranger in a Strange Land.” Wish I still had it, actually.
Wow, that is so sweet! Love Annie’s card and good for her for joining the reading challenge!
That is sooooooo sweet. Annie is a class act.
Carl let Tori and I eat some of the brownies. They were very yummy!
Apparently Heinlein’s famous phrase T.N.S.T.A.A.F.L. (There’s No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) from The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress does not apply to the lovely Annie. She generously bestowed free brownies, and the even better card; who could ask for anything more? It touches my heart that she responded to your Challenge, and her prize, with such a warm spirit.
p.s. How are those brownies helping the lose ten in four months plan? 🙂
Sometimes you just have to chuck weight loss aside, especially when homemade brownies are in front of you! 🙂