Rejoice!

I am finally about to get my ever-so-grubby little hands on Tobias S. Buckell’s Ragamuffin–I’ve already discussed my driving desire to have this book, and why that desire was faced with a temporary roadblock, so understand that I am overjoyed. This is like a second Christmas. Or perhaps first Christmas, since June comes before December… or maybe only Christmas, since I don’t celebrate Christmas proper.

Whatever.

What I’m getting to is a cool little thing that might need pointing out to anyone in the New York City area. I will assume that you locals are all familiar with The Strand, as it’s one of the best bookstores around (and I don’t generally go plugging things like stores, etc.). The thing about The Strand though, usually, is that it’s very good for browsing–when you’re looking for a specific title? Not so much. I’ve found many an obscure Dumas, or what have you, work there, but they aren’t necessarily likely to have this or that recent or particular book that you want to grab.

However, what I just discovered today is that, on their website, you can order new books (and Strand price for new books is usually half off) with the “shipping” option of simply going and picking them up from the store in a few days. This is really nice when you need a specific book but… oh, I don’t know… maybe you don’t have a permanent address yet, to which something could be mailed. (Ahem.) Plus, this way I’m still patronizing a local business.

So, in a day or two I shall finally have Ragamuffin. I am exceedingly excited.