Orono Book Sale

I enjoy used books and used book sales. Whenever there is a used book sale going on in the Bangor area, I usually attend it. Yesterday there was a fantastic book sale put on by the Friends of the Orono Public Library and it's held every year around this time. While there wasn't quite as much in the science fiction section as there normally is, I still managed to walk away with a few things worth noting.

1. "Neuromancer" by William Gibson - I own a copy of this book already, but I loaned it to my brother and he has yet to get it back to me. For fifty cents, I figured, why not? For those that have not read it, "Neuromancer" is a fantastic cyberpunk novel that, in my opinion, cannot be equaled by anything else in the genre. A favorite book of mine and one that I recommend to most anyone.

2. "The Empire Strikes Back" by Donald F. Glut - After picking up "Neuromancer" and seeing how few science fiction novels there were this year, I was desperate to find something else. Anything else. Then, I found that something. While I may never get around to reading this book, a novelization of "The Empire Strikes Back" struck me as something I had to have. Or...I had to have it for fifty cents...I should say.

3. "Spirited Killer" on DVD - Touted as being Tony Jaa's first film, I have seen this on the shelves of many stores over and over again. Yet every time I see it, I pass by it because I know that no matter how cheap it is, it's supposed to be a fairly poor film. Yes, they have used pictures of Tony Jaa from "The Protector" and "Ong-Bak" to attempt to sell US audiences on it, but I have never been fooled. That is, until it was only a dollar at a local book sale. I was sold.

4. "Time for Revenge" on VHS - Part of the "Cinematheque Collection" from the 1980's, this VHS jumped out at me. Knowing the collection and how few films from that line made it to DVD, I absolutely had to pick this film up as it might be my only opportunity to see it. Doing a bit of research when I got back home, I found that it indeed has not been released on DVD, though the VHS can be had for fairly cheap online. Still, "Time for Revenge" will fit right in my VHS collection next to the "Cinematheque Collection" edition of "The Lift."

5. "Cure" on VHS - Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, it took me the longest time to understand this movie. I saw it when I was in high school, and it certainly is not a traditional "J-Horror" film. However, once I read up on it...I loved it. It's available on DVD and recommend those who enjoy Japanese cinema to check it out. This happens to be a VHS version, which I was unaware existed, and also appears to be a studio screener copy? Maybe? I'll report back later if anyone cares.

6 and 7. "Roger Ebert's Book of Film" and "BFI Modern Classics: The Terminator" - Both of these books were last minute pickups. They were the only books not in the fiction section of interest to me, and I'm actually quite pleased with both of them. I like Roger Ebert and I like "The Terminator." Nothing more to say about these two, really.

While not the best book sale ever, I found some truly neat stuff and am glad that I attended. Plus, they had cookies that were shaped like turkeys. That was just gravy added on to the already solid finds.