A third of the way there

[Victor De Long]

I just noticed in the new Diamond Previews that they're soliciting for the
thirtieth issue of the Doc reprints and I think the 31st of the Shadow
reprints, meaning we're roughly a third of the way through the Docs already.
(and somewhere around the 20% mark on the Shadows). I gotta say, I'm glad I
was wrong, but I didn't expect they'd make it this far. I've/we've come a
long way from blindly haunting the B. Dalton bookstore hoping that there'd
be a new Bantam out, never knowing when to expect it.

In addition, with the uncut/restored versions now coming out, I think I may
be almost as excited to get a new Doc now as I was thirty years ago.

[jmv]

Post by Victor De Long
I just noticed in the new Diamond Previews that they're soliciting
for the thirtieth issue of the Doc reprints and I think the 31st of the
Shadow reprints, meaning we're roughly a third of the way
through the Docs already. (and somewhere around the 20% mark
on the Shadows). I gotta say, I'm glad I was wrong, but I didn't
expect they'd make it this far. I've/we've come a long way from
blindly haunting the B. Dalton bookstore hoping that there'd be a
new Bantam out, never knowing when to expect it.
In addition, with the uncut/restored versions now coming out, I
think I may be almost as excited to get a new Doc now as I was
thirty years ago.

I know how you feel, I'm 51 and started reading Doc back in high
school. I remember regularly checking B. Dalton for new ones as
well as rummaging through used bookstores for old ones that were
printed before I started reading them. It took me years to complete
the Bantam collection, then fourteen years ago I stupidly sold them
all as I thought I would never read any of them again.

A few years ago I heard they were being reprinted and also didn't
think they would get much past a few of them as I didn't think there
would be very much interest in them these days. I couldn't even find
any of them as the retail bookstores in my area didn't stock them.

About a month ago I found most of the first 23 new Doc's at a Half
Price bookstore for $5.98 each, brand new not used, and found out
where I could order the rest of them online. Now I will be regularly
checking the online dealers for new ones, just like I used to check
B. Dalton. Only this time, once I complete the collection, they are
not for sale.

[Dave]

When I joined the Army, my DOCs, along with my baseball cards and my
comic books were left behind.. When my parents retired and had their
huge yard sale, I did have the presence of mind to tell my mother no
to sell the SPIDERMAN comics, and I pulled out about a dozen other old
comics and BRAND OF THE WEREWOLF. The rest went.

Got back into baseball cards during the middle 1980s. My original
collecetion was worthless, as it was well=thumbed through, and I had
the distressing habit of making pen-and-ink changes to traded players
on their cards/ Not to mention throwing away an old card when i got
the newer card for that player. I haven't messed with the card in
over 20 years and since the drop of the 1990s, I don't even know if it
would be worth it to try and dig them out and sell them.

The SPIDERMAN collection financed a Florida vacation in the 1990s.
Lord knows what that Punisher origin issue would be worth today.. The
rest of that dozen comics I keep for sentimental reasons. Never got
back into them, thank God.

And now in the best of all possible worlds we get new DOC and SHADOW
adventures monthly! I do throw out the old pdf DOC and SHADOW
adventures that I have whe I get the new editions, but now have to
justify shelf space for the Bantams.

dave

[Victor De Long]

I'm too much of a completist to toss anything like that. Fortunately, the
new place we've moved to recently has a much bigger space for the library
than the old one. I'm in the unfamiliar position of having occasional bare
spots on the shelves, and when they're finally filled, I actually still have
room to add enough new shelf space to accommodate another 500 - 1000 books.
Past that, I guess my wife's going to have to start parking in the driveway
and let me expand the library through the wall into the garage. Oddly, she
doesn't share my enthusiasm for that idea, but I'm sure she'll come around
eventually . . .

Post by Dave
When I joined the Army, my DOCs, along with my baseball cards and my
comic books were left behind.. When my parents retired and had their
huge yard sale, I did have the presence of mind to tell my mother no
to sell the SPIDERMAN comics, and I pulled out about a dozen other old
comics and BRAND OF THE WEREWOLF. The rest went.
Got back into baseball cards during the middle 1980s. My original
collecetion was worthless, as it was well=thumbed through, and I had
the distressing habit of making pen-and-ink changes to traded players
on their cards/ Not to mention throwing away an old card when i got
the newer card for that player. I haven't messed with the card in
over 20 years and since the drop of the 1990s, I don't even know if it
would be worth it to try and dig them out and sell them.
The SPIDERMAN collection financed a Florida vacation in the 1990s.
Lord knows what that Punisher origin issue would be worth today.. The
rest of that dozen comics I keep for sentimental reasons. Never got
back into them, thank God.
And now in the best of all possible worlds we get new DOC and SHADOW
adventures monthly! I do throw out the old pdf DOC and SHADOW
adventures that I have whe I get the new editions, but now have to
justify shelf space for the Bantams.
dave

[Dave]

A big added benefit of converting the garage into the new master
bedroom was the increase in shelf space.

I do admit that my tolerance for books in the "To Be Read" pile is
increasing again. I had it down to one year, but now it has climbed
back over 3 years. I blame Andrew tollin, bless him!

dave

[Victor De Long]

Yeah, my wife started making fun of me when I divided my "To Read" pile in
half. The primary pile, maybe two dozen books or so, is next to the bed.
The secondary pile, of maybe three dozen, is out in the library and consists
of stuff that I bought thinking someday I'd read it if I ran out of stuff in
the primary pile. Periodically, the primary pile gets weeded and the culls
go out on the secondary pile.

We moved six months ago, in two phases. Several weeks before the main move,
we rented a 17 foot U-Haul just for the library and spent a whole day
loading, hauling and unloading the boxes I'd spent several weeks packing up.
Grandma was watching our 10 month old at the time. On the way back from
dropping the U-Haul off, I'm thinking - hey, baby free time, let's take
advantage of it before we head back home. So as we pass the Encore Books
(second hand book store) I say "Why don't we stop in, I haven't been there
for a while." She did indulge me, but only after a mini-rant about how we
just moved 400 boxes of books.

Hey, it could be whiskey and whores, right? This vice is pretty tame.

Post by Dave
A big added benefit of converting the garage into the new master
bedroom was the increase in shelf space.
I do admit that my tolerance for books in the "To Be Read" pile is
increasing again. I had it down to one year, but now it has climbed
back over 3 years. I blame Andrew tollin, bless him!
dave

[Nicole Massey]

I have a friend who has a "to-read" pile consisting of three stacks six
feet high and a fourth one four and a half feet high. Somehow he manages to
have paperbacks (including several Docs) in between hardbacks without them
falling.

My "to read" pile is nonexistant, as everything I have pending has to be in
digital format. Since it's a mix of audio and text formats, size is rather
meaningless and would give no one any real basis for the scale. I figure I
have about 200 titles to get through in it, though.

Post by Victor De Long
Yeah, my wife started making fun of me when I divided my "To Read" pile in
half. The primary pile, maybe two dozen books or so, is next to the bed.
The secondary pile, of maybe three dozen, is out in the library and
consists of stuff that I bought thinking someday I'd read it if I ran out
of stuff in the primary pile. Periodically, the primary pile gets weeded
and the culls go out on the secondary pile.
We moved six months ago, in two phases. Several weeks before the main
move, we rented a 17 foot U-Haul just for the library and spent a whole
day loading, hauling and unloading the boxes I'd spent several weeks
packing up. Grandma was watching our 10 month old at the time. On the way
back from dropping the U-Haul off, I'm thinking - hey, baby free time,
let's take advantage of it before we head back home. So as we pass the
Encore Books (second hand book store) I say "Why don't we stop in, I
haven't been there for a while." She did indulge me, but only after a
mini-rant about how we just moved 400 boxes of books.
Hey, it could be whiskey and whores, right? This vice is pretty tame.

Post by Dave
A big added benefit of converting the garage into the new master
bedroom was the increase in shelf space.
I do admit that my tolerance for books in the "To Be Read" pile is
increasing again. I had it down to one year, but now it has climbed
back over 3 years. I blame Andrew tollin, bless him!
dave