Revisiting my childhood…well, pre-young adulthood

Revisiting my childhood…well, young adulthood

My dad had been collecting and reading science fiction books since he was a kid. He still blasts through them at an alarming rate. He never wanted to write them, though, just read and read and read and read.

Sometime around fifth or sixth grade, I asked my dad what to read. I’d been introduced to Madeline L’Engle, Anne McCaffrey and of course J.R.R. Tolkein by this point in school, but I didn’t know of any others I might like.

Dad’s book collection was monstrous although most were stored in boxes rather than on shelves. We’d had a basement in our old house, but after moving, my dad had to give up the bookshelves in favor of boxes in the garage because very few houses in California have basements. At least not where we’d moved.

Anyhow, “I want to read something science fiction, Dad.” I interrupted him from one of his Ace Doubles. “What should I read?”

“Well, there’s a lot of books out there. What do you really want to read?”

“I dunno. That’s why I’m asking you.” I figured if I had the same taste in books as my dad, I’d probably never have to buy a book ever because I’d just work my way through his library. (Yes, I have always been cheap, but I like to think of it more as ‘making the best of what’s around’.)

“Hmmm… Well…” He thought on it for awhile. And then awhile longer. “Let me see what I’ve got that you might like.”

It took him a while of hunting, but he produced The Swordswoman by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. “I think you might like this. You seem to be more into fantasy and I just don’t have a whole lot of that, but this one, I think you’d like.”

“Thanks Dad!” I took the beat-up paperback (I don’t think Dad ever bought brand new books, in fact, I think he still gets all of his books at thrift stores and flea markets!) and shut myself up in my room.

I read The Swordswoman in about a week.

And then was assigned a book report for school, so I read it again.

After that, the book was stored with my growing collection in my closet for a few years before being swallowed up and overtaken with romance novels a few years later when I discovered Jude Devereaux and the used book store that had moved in about six blocks from home. I don’t know what eventually happened to that copy of The Swordswoman, but I do recall the cover falling off and the book breaking in two halves at the spine. It’d been thrashed when I got it and continued to decay as I grew up.

I’ve looked to replace my copy a few times since then because I remember that book being, like, the best book I’d ever read, but I couldn’t remember who’d written it.

Until last week. While sifting through boxes of some old stuff of mine (hunting for an old story I’d written), I found that book report! And jumped with glee because now, the next time I was in a bookstore, I could look for it.

Well, that time came while I happened to be at Powell’s Book City in Portland, OR. I was in town (dragged by Jason) for a few days and was staying a couple blocks away. Even though I wasn’t going to the convention with him, he figured he’d offer to bring me along so that I could get some writing done.

I did.

And I got to start reading The Swordswoman by Jessica Amanda Salmonson and it is every bit as good as I remember. Complete with a little romance in it, too. And the copy I found at Powell’s is in way better shape than the one I’d read years ago.

Yay!

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