{Sunday Post} — Death on the Nile, Horns, and Star Trek

The Caffeinated Book Reviewer's Kimberly hosts a weekly meme called "The Sunday Post"! 

* Weekly Tidbits * 

• My Black Friday on-sale Keurig coffee maker went kaput, forcing me to buy the cheapest replacement at Walmart. Surprisingly, the off-brand one works better.

 

• I had to buy a new toilet to replace the old, leaky toilet in the basement. The installment was a breeze; it took me longer to remove the old one.

• Believe it or not, the Kansas City Royals went on a seven-game winning streak before losing two more games. They're now 36–77.

What Am I Currently Reading? 

I've been busy for the past few weeks, with little time for reading. I'm slightly over at the halfway mark in The Only One Left by Riley Sager.

 

Recent Reviews

West of Sundown: Vol. 2
★★★★★

Yellowstone: Season 5
★★★★✰

Book Finds at an Antique Mall

On Thursday, I went to a big antique mall in the city—the same store I went to at the tail end of December 2022 and discussed in January 1st's post (you can read all about it here). I was intent on finding DVDs or Blu-rays of The Exorcist 2 and 3 at a movie booth, but I lucked out. However, I did pick up several books, and not shockingly, they're mostly Star Trek titles.  

 

For $3 each, I got four hardbacks: The Star Trek Reader II by James Blish, The Star Trek Reader IV by James Blish, Crisis on Centaurus by Brad Ferguson, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Gene Roddenberry. 

 

The Star Trek Reader books are compilations of James Blish's anthologies that featured short stories based on Star Trek: The Original Series' scripts. "Reader II" (published in 1977) contains the books Star Trek 1, 4, and 9. "Reader IV" (published in 1978) has the books Star Trek 10, 11, and Spock Must Die! (the first original Star Trek novel for adult readers, written by James Blish and first published in 1970).

For $2 each, I got the following Star Trek paperbacks: The Kobayashi Maru by Julia Ecklar, Traitor Winds by L.A. Graf, Web of the Romulans by M.S. Murdock, Mindshadow by J.M. Dillard, The Next Generation: Exiles by Howard Weinstein, and Deep Space Nine: The 34th Rule by Armin Shimerman and David R. George III. 

For $1.98, I got Crucible: Spock: The Fire and the Rose by David R. George III.

Let's move on to the non-Star Trek books. First up, for $5, is a hardback of The Day of the Beast by Zane Grey. I'm not 100% sure, but it might be a first edition. The copyright is 1922. A stamp on the title page reads, "From the Private Library of Judge A. B. Underwood of Akron, Ohio." After some research, I learned the man died in 1981 at age 92. Ironically, I was born in the same year. Plus, I have Underwood ancestors from Ohio in my family, but I found no connection to him. He had no children, brothers, or sisters and left his vast book collection, mostly non-fiction, to a local library.

Last but not least, for $2 each, are Millennium: Gehenna by Lewis Gannett, Quantum Leap: Heat Wave by Melanie Kent, and Dance of Death by Preston & Child.

What's New on the Shelf?

My town's Dollar General finally restocked their book rack. I only picked up one paperback, Horns by Joe Hill. At the thrift store, I found Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon.

 

The Dollar Tree also restocked its books. I picked up Death of the Nile by Agatha Christie, An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Peekanen, and When All Light Fails by Randall Silvis.

At Walmart, I grabbed The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager.

New books on my Kindle are Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle and Star Trek: The Next Generation: Intellivore by Diane Duane.