Timeless romance

[resonant]

My aunt sent me two big bags of old historical romances. She says I can throw them away, sell them, whatever I want. I have no idea why she didn't sell them herself. Can't be that much more difficult than taking them across two states to give them to my parents, who then brough them across five states to me.

I'm sitting here with my dust mask on (because the dust and mold in these old books was wreaking havoc on my already troubled sinuses), checking these old books one by one to see of there's any point in selling any of them on Amazon. (The verdict so far: twelve No, two Yes.)

The covers are hilarious, because while what constitutes a "beautiful, romantic woman" has changed surprisingly little since the late seventies (the chief difference seems to be that back then they had straight hair), what constitutes a "handsome, rugged man" has changed a lot. These guys, with their long shaggy or curly hair and their hip sideburns -- how can I really be expected to accept them as lairds or buccaneers when clearly they're nothing but Playboy subscribers?

Comments

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

You should make a poster out of the book covers. I used to do that with the covers of the pulp fiction novels that were left after the library book sale -- a collage of bad taste, as it were. Fun stuff :D

[yahtzee63.livejournal.com]

Don't forget that you could drop the No books off at a local used bookstore and see what they'll give in trade. They almost always take romances, if the books themselves are in good shape, and then you can trade in for fun stuff.

I'd give ANYTHING to see the covers.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Oh, I wish I had a scanner so I could show you! Just can't be getting too hot and bothered over men who look like Glen Campbell, you know?

I'll definitely be cruising by the used bookstore. I imagine they tremble in dread when they see someone backing through the door with a paper grocery bag in each arm ...

[jadarene.livejournal.com]

I second the used bookstore plot, and if you don't have a decent local one, this one is positively brilliant, so much bang for your buck: http://www.coasbooks.com/

Any Kathleen Woodwiss, Johanna Lindsey or Amanda Quick in the pile? Those might be worth selling since they have big followings.

[ngaio]

Henry always checks http://www.abebooks.com/ for possible value too before selling things on eBay. He's had a few nice surprises!

On a totally selfish note (and, I assure you, not related to Henry's eBay), you don't happen to have a list do you of the non-Amazon-able ones? Just the authors maybe? I read some old historical romances and I'm sure I can't be the only one on your Flist (or maybe I am!).

[mzcalypso.livejournal.com]

Maybe she was sentimental about the books ... I always feel better sending ones I enjoyed to good homes. You can spritz 'em with dilute Tea Tree oil to cut down the mold - it's a non-bleaching fungicide.

How do you do?

[julia-fractal.livejournal.com]

Hi! I've been a huge fan of your writing for years (I'm the one who sent you that long e-mail in March), so I immediately friended you after setting up a LJ today. I hope you don't mind. I'm mostly going to post HP femslash and slash in my journal, but of course you don't have to friend me back unless you want to.

And thank you, thank you, thank you for the profusion of smutlets lately. I'm in awe of how much emotional impact and hotness you can pack into so few words. I love them all, but I was especially bowled over by Transition, Fascination, and Surrender.

P.S. Sorry this is utterly irrelevant to your post :)

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And welcome to the LiveJournal timesink community!