There are books that we’ve seen, usually read, and want to own, but can’t find available (or sometimes, affordable!) copies. Then the hunt is on, scouring the second hand lists, lurking, waiting, and, if we are lucky, pouncing.
We each had a classic example of this from our childhood. Charles was after
Martin Magnus on Mars, the third in the series, only ever published in hardback, and tough to find. So tough that, before the advent of the web, Charles was seriously wondering if he’d just imagined it! However, he eventually spotted a copy for sale,
and pounced.
I had a similar story with
Annabel and Bryony, a delightful children’s book I read when much younger. I did at least know it existed, since my sister had a copy. Eventually, after much hunting,
I got my own copy, a present from my sister who had spotted it lurking in a second hand bookshop in Robin Hood's Bay. And later still, thanks to my review of it on the web,
I got a further trilogy.
This evening, Charles announced: “Such a long challenge, rendered insignificant.
Martin Magnus on Mars is on Kindle!”
And so it is. At least we paid only a couple of quid for the hardback. And there is something different about a
physical copy.
Wait, I thought. If
MMoM is on Kindle, what about
A&B? Sure enough, it too can now be had in
non-dead tree format.
The times they are a-changin’. But I wouldn’t part with my hardback copy, battered dust jacket and all.
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