DR William F. Orr, my lovely wife says the same thing to me about the FRUIT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BOWL when I start getting obsessive. I use Harriet Craig references on her.
The book discussion late last night sent me into my library to pet my books...yes, you heard me right, to "pet" my books...to hold, open, fondle them, gaze lovingly on their dust jackets or caress their pages, to climb the library ladders (two, count 'em, two) like Romeo to get lost in their scent and delicately finger their spines. (Hold! Enough! It's beginning to sound like a very kinky porno site. "Guys who do books.")
Anyway, I made a couple of delightful discoveries. One, I have a small autographed short story in a decorative pamphlet form by Ray Bradbury called The Dragon which I had completely forgotten I had.
The other, I happened to open a book called THE SNAKE & THE SWORD by P.C. Wren (author of BEAU GESTE), with the idle thought: wouldn't it be nice to find one of those forgotten treasures inside it...and low and behold, there was a lovely old stiff cardboard bookmark inside it, with a Christmas Greeting and a Dickensianish character on it...I suspect Mr. Fezziwig from Christmas Carol or Mr. Pickwick...that looks like it might be hand-painted. There is a little poem: "When you leave your book/Tuck me in the place/Next time you need only look/ For my jolly face." It looks like it comes from the era of the book, late twenties/early thirties, and will go nicely with my book-mark collection.
By the by, BK, the obscure swashbuckler that our friendly bookdealer, Mr. Len Unger, was offering for $225 at the book fair last weekend...I went online and found it...in almost as good a condition, with dj...for only forty bucks. It should be winging its way to me from the wilds of Canada. Damned President's Day that will delay the mail one day.
BK, you are not the only one underwhelmed with Mr. Bradbury's skill as a playwright. A fellow noted author equal to Mr. Bradbury's reputation, a mutual friend of his and mine, told me one time..."I've got to go see this bad play of Ray's tonight. God knows, I love the guy, but he's not a playwright."