"raving book fetishist"

As part of yesterday's Town Day festivities, the public
library had a used book sale. A lovely great big one,
with almost all the books in good condition, set outside
in fine clear weather. (Arlington is a grand town for
buying used stuff, in general - enough people have money,
but are still in social classes where they have yard
sales or are active on the front lines of church or "friends
of the library.")

Connecting to the discussion of genre on truepenny's journal,
I saw a copy of Doc and Fluff in the general category of
Paperback Fiction. That's hard to argue with, though some
would have put it in Fantasy or Gay and Lesbian. And I've
seen it in Women's Studies. I'm startled to see it in any
library-related collection, at all. Rather pleased, even though
the book is not to my taste.

Also in paperback fiction, I found The Owl Service by Alan
Garner. My only experience with Garner is The Weirdstone of
Brisingamen, which I adored, and a multitude of recommendations
for Red Shift which I've never been able to lay hands on. I
picked up Owl Service and opened it at random:

"Our English master at Aber. He puts these labels everywhere. He's
a raving book fetishist: washes his hands before reading. It nearly
killed him to lend me this, but he said I had to read it, and the
library copies were all out. He'll blow his top."
(p.43, fairy tale imagery, pages flying everywhere.)

Ha. Ha! I read that in the sunshine, surrounded by a crowd of
people pawing through boxes of books after eating elephant ears
and samosas and sausages. I hardly think hand-washing counts as
fetishism. Reading a paragraph, then staring at a book in awe,
looking around at the crowd, and quietly kissing the book before
buying it...that might be crossing the line.

Other finds:
Robert Charles Wilson: Memory Wire
Peter Dickinson: The Last House Party
Diana Wynne Jones: Drowned Ammet
Steven Barnes: Blood Brothers and Iron Shadows
Elizabeth Lynn: The Sardonyx Net (read friend's copy, want mine)
Keri Hulme: The Bone People
Amanda Cross: An Imperfect Spy
Philip Pullman: The Golden Compass (read library copy, want my own)