A few weeks before Christmas I was lucky enough to win an auction on eBay for 400 second-hand Science-Fiction and Fantasy paperbacks…all for the magic price of AU$50.

At the time I thought it was a bargain, however on getting the books home I soon realised that the collection had previously shared a residence with a smoker, with the second hand smoke of many a cigarette strongly evident as I unpacked my winnings from their boxes.

I’m fairly particular with how I keep my books and I absolutely hate getting them soiled or damaged in any way. Many people who see my shelves ask me if I’ve even read half the titles as they still look new, with no dog ears, no cracked spines, no pen / pencil marks and definitely no greasy fingerprints on the covers. So you can probably imagine my disappointment being confronted with the strong smell of spent tobacco on each and every book.

Despite the fact that they are aflicted with a condition that will prevent them from ever joining my library as part of the permanent collection, they should certainly give me a good year or two of disposable reading with the auction containing a majority of titles I have never read before.

All in all, at 13 cents a book I suppose I shouldn’t really worry or complain about it too much.