I Got My Book!!!!!

I can't believe Dad bought this book for me. When I first found it on Amazon and told him about it, he said that he wouldn't be able to get it for me until next month (I have a feeling this is my Christmas present. No complaints here.) and I sort of just stood there looking at him and not saying anything for a few minutes, while he looked everywhere but at me. Then, he said, guiltily, "Go and get my wallet." and while I was walking down the hall, he yelled, "Does that place take debit cards?"

Most all of my Anne Rice books are first edition, except for a few. Of course, My copy of Interview With The Vampire isn't. I also don't have $500-$800 dollars to spend one a first edition of that one. I'm hoping I'll come across it in a used book shop one day where the people don't know how much it goes for. (I know it's an evil wish. I don't want to scam anyone, I just want the first edition copy without having to give my arm, leg, firstborn child....) My copy of The Vampire Lestat is also not a first edition copy, but I think it's more likely that I could get hold of one of those way easier than I could the other one. As far as the rest of the Vampire Chronicles, I have them all. All first edition hardcovers. Oh, I almost forgot, I don't have Memnoch The Devil and Tale of the Body Thief, which are part of the Vampire Chronicles. So, that leaves that part of my collection 2 short.

I also have Servant Of The Bones hardcover first edition signed by Ms. Rice. I got the chance to meet her briefly at the book signing for Servant Of The Bones just by chance. Chance, because Sally called me and told me about the book signing. Otherwise I would never have known. If I remember correctly, we talked about margaritas.

My copy of The Feast of All Saints is a first edition, but it's not hardcover, it's tradepaper, which means it's not paperback and not hardcover, but something in between. My collection of her books rounds out with The Witching Hour, which is a hardcover, but not a first edition and I don't have the two sequel books Lasher and Taltos. Well, I have them in paperback, but I want them in hardcover, first edition preferrably. My copy of Violin is a harcover first edition. That was a different book for her. A departure, but I think she put more of herself into that book than she has any of her others. Sally got me Christ The Lord for Christmas last year-hardcover, first edition. Finally, I have the Beauty books, for which she took the psuedonym, A.N. Roquelaure. They are, in order: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, Beauty's Punishment, and Beauty's Release. The copyright pages of these books say that they are "first edition Ballantine printings". They aren't hardcover. I don't know if these particular books were ever published in hardcover. I've never seen or heard of anyone who has them or has seen them in hardcover. The ones I have are printed in tradepaper.

The other books I'm looking to get are: Belinda, The Mummy or Ramses the Damned and the one short story she wrote whose name escapes me right now. That is a really rare book. I don't know if I'll be able to get my hands on one of those, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

And yes. I'm one of those freaky Anne Rice fan collectors who want everything she does no matter what it is-in hardcover, first edition and signed (the signing is not really a matter of importance to me, but it's a nice touch.)