First Edition PaperbackVG - slightly bent corners on bottom of cover and back. small black remainder mark on bottom of book. Number "4" written lightly in pen on bottom of back cover.
Simon and Schuster, 1981
As noted in my last post, Cameron Crowe's Fast Times at Ridgemont High is one of my books that I have yet to read and may never get to read for fear of ruining my only copy. I know how delicate paperbacks are, especially when the binding glue has aged, and am afraid of adding wear to such a fine (or very good to near fine) copy. I'm probably not making any fans among those who think it absurd to relish a book you've never read.
This is not a new dilemma for me. Right now I have four books on my shelves that I won't read until I get a reader's copy; two are new publications that I'm saving as "As New" and the other two are really old books that I don't dare drag to bed with me. I haven't talked about any of these four on this blog yet, but am exited to do so as soon as I've found and read their reader's copies.
Reader's copies: That there's the rub with Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I didn't even know it was a book until presented with one, and I haven't seen another yet. AbeBooks.com lists it's cheapest offering of the self-proclaimed true story at $70, and that's for another paperback in only fair condition; seventy bucks is a lot to spend on a reader's copy. I'd ask my wife to get me a copy through the Eugene Public Library interlibrary loan to read, but I doubt there's one out there, gathering Dewey-decimal dust, waiting to be checked out. For now it will remain one of those "I haven't read the book, but I've seen the movie" things.
So where did I get such a glorious rarity? Not too long ago my friend Chuck was visiting from Colorado (see the entry "Geek Love by Katherine Dunn" June 4, 2007). As a gift, he brought me this copy of Cameron Crowe's book which he procured at "Mutiny Now" at Second South Broadway in Denver. According to the card in the book, Mutiny Now specializes in art, coffee to go, and grossly inexpensive used books that they have not bothered to look up on Abe, BookSence, or Biblio.com. If you're in the neighborhood, you might want to drop in and exploit their oversights.
I say all this because Chuck bought me the book as a bit of a gag gift. You see, when Chuck last saw me I was a copy editor for a small mountain newspaper and have since changed career tracks and have become a high-school grammar and literature teacher, hence the copy of Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Neatly written (thankfully in pencil - the folks at Mutiny Now did one thing right) is the price of $7 on the inside blank page. Soon after Chuck left (like within minutes) I fired up the PC and looked up Mr. Crowe's book, ecstatic to find prices for paperbacks ranging from $60 to $1,000. Incidentally, Nudel Books is the antithesis of Mutiny Now.
My friend Chuck doesn't scout books, so he had no idea that I'd take such glee in his gift, and if he did scout them he might not have given me the book to begin with. Ever wonder if your friends will stumble across your blog? Nicholas from "News, Rants, Soliloquies, Reveries" was right, the road to hell is paved with $200 books. I miss that blog.
But blog nostalgia aside, I think I've found my reader's copy - the one that's cheap enough that I won't feel guilty thumbing through it. It's been here the whole time and the cost was only $7! I should have no qualms treating this book like a Penguin Classics purchased at the airport, right? Sad to say, no, I can't bring myself to do it. I'm too glutinous, too shamefully proud to diminish the value of my fine collectible to use it for it's intended purpose. Instead the book goes back in it's place on the shelf, only to be taken down when the right company comes over and says, "Oh, I didn't know that Fast Times at Ridgemont High was a book. Where did you get this?"
I can only hope that my company won't look at my walls lined with titles and ask, "Wow, did you read all these books?" What would I say then?
