Voyages' End.

In my previous post I mentioned buying a replacement copy of Stephen Tall's The Stardust Voyages, a collection of short stories that I originally purchased in 1975.  The stories deal with the travels of an interstellar exploratory vessel - the Stardust - and a variety of alien first-contact plotlines.

Replacement copies are one of the sad inevitabilities of being an avid re-reader: bindings crack, pages are accidentally dogeared, covers become creased and worn, and finally it's time to retire the text in question and buy another copy. 

When I do this, I prefer to purchase the same edition as the novel being replaced - it's an odd quirk, but I feel that it gives my collection a sort of continuity.  I was quite pleased to find a matching copy of The Stardust Voyages, but I'm a bit surprised that anyone could own an 41 year old book in such good condition. The copy on the right must have belonged to a collector. I feel a bit proud that my copy - on the left - is so obviously the property of a reader.

  - Sid