Booking It Back to Blog

Before I get to my Monday Booking It post, I want to do a congrats shout-out to Zoe!  Yay, Zoe!  Her story, A SAFER LIFE, was selected for inclusion in the Better Sex Erotic Fiction Contest.  Zoe has full details up on her blog (so definitely check it out). Now that she’s in the contest, Zoe needs votes to advance in the competition. So if you get a chance, please head over to the site and vote!  And congrats, again, Zoe!

Now…on to Booking It…

Years ago, I used to love going on searches for the “hard-to-find” books. I’d spend hours looking at the shelves in the used bookstores.  I had favorite authors that I wanted–you know, when you’re desperate to find the backlist books.  I wanted all the old Jayne Castle books. I wanted Diana Palmer’s initial releases. I wanted Anne Stuart’s early Harlequins. Ah…the hunt.

Today, hunting for the old keepers is a much easier endeavor. Generally, if I’m looking for one of those hard to find books, I’ll hop over to eBay and see what I can find.  Ebay has made the books much more accessible to me–a few keystrokes and I can generally find the books I want. But–

But sometimes I miss my old searches. They were fun, and, often, while I was searching for one book, I’d stumble across another book that seemed just as interesting.  The used bookstores in my area don’t carry the classics anymore. I think they just ran out of shelf space.  So when I go to those stores (and I still go often), I have to limit myself to books that are a few years old. (As opposed to 15+ years, LOL.)

Lucky for me, eBay doesn’t have a time limit–er, book publication limit?

But what about you?  Do you enjoy hunting for the older, keeper books? And what is the best book “prize” that you’ve ever found?

And thank you very to everyone who asked about my son! No fever today–sweet!–so I think he’s on the mend. I’m even going to try the ice cream temptation again soon.  🙂

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10 responses to “Booking It”

  1. Zoe Winters says:

    Hey Cindy, Thanks for the shout out!

    A few corrections:

    If I win voting in this round, I get into the anthology, get $100 and go into the semi-finals. (voting is all this week)

    Semi-finals with the other weekly winners go into a voting round sometime in January I believe.

    Out of the semi-finals, three finalists will be chosen by popular vote.

    THEN a panel of judges will pick the grand prize winner, who gets $3,000! 😀

    But right now I’ve just gotten through the first round, which was the selection from the hundreds of entries. But I can’t win the money if I don’t get through this round! 😀

  2. Cynthia Eden says:

    Whoops, Zoe! Do you know what that was? Me using my crazy mad psychic powers to predict that you’d make the finals! Yes, I have made the prediction–and my predictions always come true!

    I have–ahem–amended my post to say that you aren’t in the finals (yet) but that you’re in the contest and can use votes to help you advance.

    And thanks for putting up with a crazy woman today. 🙂

  3. Edie says:

    I already voted for Zoe. Her story was the best. If people vote on good writing, she’ll win.

    I miss those searches too! I don’t do it anymore. I got to the point where I was reading books and realized I already owned it. That was happening too much. Now I either buy new or read them from the library.

  4. Brandy says:

    Every now and then I find an older book when searching the UBS’s. I found an early Loveswept of Janet Evanovich’s. But, here’s the funny. I have most of the first prints of books by JAK, Jennifer Crusie and others. And now they’re reprinting them!

    Glad to hear your Son is feeling better.

    Off to read Zoe’s entry……..*G*

  5. Zoe Winters says:

    Hey Edie, thanks! I appreciate the vote. But that’s the thing about these things, it’s a popularity contest. Unless people who go to the site to read and vote who don’t know anyone in the contest, outweigh the number of people going to vote for the person they know, it’s popularity not quality that wins.

    And I’m definitely NOT saying my story is best (I don’t know, I haven’t read the other stories), but it’s easier to lose to someone you know is better, than to lose to someone who knows more people or spammed more people.

    Thanks for reading, Brandy, let me know what you think! 😀 (Good or bad.)

  6. azteclady says:

    So glad to know your baby is doing better, Cynthia!

    You know, it’s been a while since I’ve been on a hunt for older, out of print titles. I think one of my best was when I found copies of the first four Tall, Dark and Dangerous by Suzanne Brockmann…

    Off to read Zoe’s entry and vote.

  7. Zoe Winters says:

    Thanks azteclady!

  8. Willa says:

    Well, if he doesn’t want the ice cream – can I have it?? Lol! 😀

    Pleased to hear your little man is feeling better.

  9. Cynthia Eden says:

    Edie, I did the same thing! I’d find a book, get super excited about it, and then twenty pages into the thing, I’d start to think…hmmm, this seems familiar to me…

    Brandy, they do seem to be reprinting them all, don’t they? And because many of my older copies have yellowed with time–and, um, started to fall apart on me, I have to confess that sometimes I pick up the new versions as replacements on my shelf. You know I remember, I *think* it was Elizabeth Lowell. When one of her earlier books was reprinted, she added new info to it. I wish they did that with all reprints! I love to read extra scenes.

    Thanks, azteclady! I am so glad he’s better, too! He’s better, but, wow–grumpy. Hoping that grumpiness eases up today.

    Hey, Willa! Sure, there’s always plenty of ice cream to go around!

    Good luck, Zoe! 🙂

  10. Michelle says:

    Cindy, I love those searches. With my 3yo in tow (which he usually is) I can’t do such a meandre as I used to. One eye always has to be watching what he’s up to. But I did a general online search a couple of months back looking for books on spies through the ages, and a couple of hits came up, but one, Spies, by Joseph Gollomb, published in 1928, was my best find. When I received it in the mail, I just couldn’t believe my luck. He personally interviewed a number of spymasters for WWI. And he had great stories about spies from centuries back. It has already inspired two books for me.