Since I decided to get back to reading Appendix N back in October 2024, I’ve had a great time tracking down old paperbacks and reading books.
The mental shift to this being something I can do as much or as little of as I like, however I like, has been great. I’m currently chipping away at my first goal, which is to read at least one book by each of the twenty-nine authors/editors listed in Appendix N.
I’ve read five Appendix N books since October:
I’ve been reading other stuff alongside my Appendix N books, and I’m in no hurry. Four out of these five were excellent! The fifth was decent.
- The Legion in Space: Fast-paced pulpy goodness, like I imagine cracking a ’60s SF magazine to be.
- Twice in Time: This went nowhere I expected, and it’s a hoot. Would love to read more Wellman.
- The Warrior of World’s End: A shotgun blast of proper nouns, but enough fun ideas to be enjoyable. Not my favorite.
- Rogue in Space: Snappy, surprising, and straight to the point. Would love to read more Brown!
- Witch World: Book one was so good, so full of surprises, that I started buying the rest of the series halfway through reading it. I’m delighted there are so many of them. A classic, and Norton is a master.
I’ve already taken a detour, too: Gary didn’t list specific works for Andre Norton, and my pick, Witch World, was so good that I’m continuing the series with Web of the Witch World.
My side of the office is being overtaken with little piles of moldering pulp novels. I love it! Here’s my main to-read pile:
The on-deck pile is mainly authors who are new to me, feeding straight into my goal of a one-book survey of 100% of Appendix N authors, but there are a couple of exceptions. I’ve read several Farmer novels and I think I’ve read a Derleth novella, but I want to read a listed Farmer book (The Maker of Universes) and a full-length Derleth book (Mr. George & Other Odd Persons).
I’ve also got a little pile of three books which would close out two authors for me, Zelazny and de Camp.
…And then there are the further excursions into authors whose work I know I enjoy. When the shelves at the used bookstore aren’t turning up new-to-me Appendix N titles, I usually pick up a Burroughs or Norton novel as they tend to be readily available.
I’ve done a little eBay and Amazon shopping, too, notably for authors no one ever has in stock locally. But buying used books in person is much less dicey — and it’s more fun, and supports bookstores I want to stick around.