A Random Handful of Goodwill Goodies: Science Fiction Books

So today I'm tossing a bunch of different books under the Random Handful banner. This time around it's Science Fiction as the theme.

I actually found book three of the Star Wars trilogy for .99 cents at Goodwill BEFORE I posted about the Empire Strikes back novelization here! At the time I was still on the hunt for book #2... but if you haven't read that earlier post, spoiler alert: I got it. 

Honestly, I've never been a huge fan of Hellboy. I like the movies, and I've found all of the trade paperbacks of the Hellboy comics series second-hand, or on the cheap at Mardens... so I HAVE almost all of them... but I just haven't gotten into them yet. Hell, I even have an action figure from the animated series that I also have never seen. That doesn't stop me from continuing to pick up Hellboy books whenever I see them in hopes of someday loving them. So I got this Hellboy Novel, "The Lost Army" at Goodwill for .99 cents. 

Ehhh... I don't know if you can EXACTLY classify this one as "sci-fi" but it comes pretty close... Right? It tells the tale of a middle-school megalomaniac super-genius who puts his goals of world domination on hold for a bit while he tries to win an election at his school, just to prove a point to his father. It turns out to be harder than he thought. Hilarity ensues. I really like the concept behind this book, and I hope it turns out to be a good read. 

You can see Mardens price tags on the front of this book, but I did indeed pick it up at Goodwill. I probably overpaid however, because at Goodwill I suspect these were on clearance for .50 cents and I paid .99. C'est la vie. I am actually interested in reading a novelization of Nu-Trek. 

Garth Nix is hands down one of the authors I am most excited to track down and read more of. I love his Abhorsen series, and the Keys to the Kingdom series, and recommend them highly. I've tracked down almost all the books in the Seventh Tower series, as well as his book Ragwitch, though I haven't read any of those yet. Add another to the pile! .99 cents. 

I've just been meaning to read this ever since I read Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I picked it up for no other reason than that. .99 cents. 

I actually thought that I had bought this book, Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, at one point, but when I went looking for it, discovered I didn't actually own it at all... Jaime Hood over at Shezcrafti threatened to revoke my Geek Membership once if I didn't read this book at some point. I tend to take her threats more seriously than some... So the very next time I saw it at Goodwill I picked it up. Haven't read it yet... but it's only a matter of time now. .99 cents.

I had already seen a ton of super-positive reviews for Paolo Bacigalupi's "The Windup Girl" online before I discovered it at Goodwill. I picked it up for 1.99 and added it to my read pile. I guess it's a novel about the seedy side of bio-engineered slaves. Like that could have a seedy side. Described as "bio-punk" this book is extremely high-concept with a complete reinvention of how the world works bio-technologically in the 23rd century. It's another one my fingers are itching to turn the pages in. Steady fingers. Your time will come. 

Picked this one up the same day as The Windup Girl (and a couple of other books I'll talk about during my upcoming Halloween Countdown... it was a good day for good Sci-Fi). Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter team up to bring us "The Long Earth" I was pretty much sold as soon as I saw Pratchett's name on the cover, and considering this is a collaboration, and a non-Disc-World book, I was intrigued. The book deals with alternate Earths, and travel between them. It deals with a pair of exploratory protagonists and the other Earths they explore. It deals with the way the world would react to the fact that there are suddenly millions of other Earths to expand out onto... and the sorts of dangers that might dwell out among those millions of potential worlds that would in turn discover us. I got this one for 1.99 as well. 

Well that's it boys and girls! A Random Handful of Sci-Fi books I've picked up at Goodwill. I hope you enjoyed reading about my hopes to read them as much as I enjoyed writing about hoping to read them! I'll be back soon with more Geeky Goodwill Goodies! Until then, Happy Hunting!

Payday Friday Week Comes to an Ends: Loose Items

This is it folks! The last entry in my week of Payday Friday posts detailing the scores I made when I went to Goodwill last Friday. 

I'm starting out with the crowning jewel. I found this Hellboy Animated action figure (WITH BIG BABY) for 1.99. The only thing I'm missing is the base (which I can easily make/replace) to support Big Red's massive girth (those twiggy little legs are NOT load-bearing). I thought maybe I was missing a trench-coat as well, but apparently unless you got the special edition of this figure, he came without one. I'd like a trench-coat though. He looks a little naked without it. I paid 1.99 for this bruiser, and he's absolutely beautiful. He'll take his proud spot next to Buffy just as soon as I can get him standing. I can see him training that huge pistol on the winged skeleton I got out of the grab-bag on the same day. 

There was a pile of Marvel Legends figures, including some Spider-Men, Captain Americas, and even a Leader (Hulk villain) figure I toyed with (pun!) brining home. Ultimately I settled on these three. The Abomination and Rhino figures were 1.99 apiece, and Black Widow cost just .99 cents. I'm seriously considering just giving the two big guys to my boys to play with (they'll make awesome TMNT villains) but the Black Widow I'm keeping all for myself. Maybe she'll make out with Hellboy. 

Here are just some loose random items I picked up for .99 cents apiece. I keep saying I don't collect bean-bag characters, but I also seem to keep coming home with them. Guy Smiley!!! How can you say no to a Guy Smiley mini bean-buddy? The stoic Shriner figure was just perfect weird. He needed to come home with me. And that Mystery machine is one of those magic rebounding pull-back toys that bumps into things and then starts going in reverse. 

This is Frog from the Frog and Toad books. I love Frog and Toad. I searched for a Toad to go along with this Frog for like fifteen minutes. I brought home Frog for .99 cents, all alone. I am still looking for Toad. Don't judge me. I love children's literature, and Frog and Toad are some of my absolute favorite, most respected books for children. 

Second-Hand Cinema! I found a couple of DVDs to bring home as well! 2.99 a pop. "So I Married An Axe Murderer" is one of those movies I've kept meaning to pick up for years now, because I liked it so much. A pre-Austin Powers Mike Myers, still just throwing funny ideas at the wall. "The Mothman Prophecies" I remember vaguely being creeped out by, and honestly, I just thought it looked interesting. I know that there is a pretty steep divide between those who liked and those who disliked the movie (53% Rotten on Tomatoes) but I'm a sucker for cryptozoological/urban legend themed horror movies. 

My boys own one of these Play Town (We're semi-made of wood!) Pirate Ships, but now I have one I can scrape the decals off of, and repaint to make into a pirate ship for these guys. I'll let you know how it goes. 

These two came taped together for .99 cents, and I will be using them to dress up that pirate ship. 

The very last item I have to share is a bizarre looking board game called The Emperor's Challenge. I haven't read the instructions yet, but there are princes disguised as old men, dragons, and scepters used as game pieces. There are a handful of different games that can be played with the set, and the rules are included for all of them. This game is gorgeous to look upon, and if it's awful to play I will at the very least put some of the playing pieces out on display. 

You can learn more (but not a lot more) about the game over at Board Game Geek. 

So that's it! That is the full load I brought home from Goodwill last payday Friday. I'll be headed back to Goodwill this coming Friday, but in my heart of hearts I know there's no way I'll be coming home with as much fun stuff as I did on this one trip. For the rest of my Payday Friday scores, see Part 1: Little People Toys, Part 2: Grab-Bags, and Part 3: There's Always Books. 

I've got some other fun stuff to share in the coming days, so keep your eyes peeled. I'll be back with more Goodwill Goodies soon. Until then, Happy Hunting!