TANSTAAFL. But Sometimes the L Goes on Sale

I told myself for a while that I didn't need, didn't care, wouldn't get.

The Complete Works of RAH: The Virginia Edition

But they're having a sale.  So...

It'll be a while before it they get here (The 'rona + book rate) but when they do, I think it'll actually be hard to move my current RAH collection to the basement.  Even Number of the Beast.  Each of those books - the Ballantine box-set juvies with the Darrel K. Sweet covers, the 1-point font Signets, the ugly-cover Berkeley's, and the big-ass hardcovers, has a big memory (or two) for me.  I grew up with them - they entertained, informed, and instructed me.  (Well, maybe not Number so much.*)

But it's a lot of books.  And if I'm upgrading them...?

Gotta keep 'em though, because as we know, one is none, and two is one.

* I read this recently that claims Number is actually an instruction book for writers. I'd have to re-read it again to see if it holds water.

SciFi Sacrilege?

I just posted this on a movie thread on the Starship Modeler board:

He (paraphrased): 2001: A Space Odyssey put me to sleep twice and when I did watch it all the way through I didn't get it.

Me: "That's because it's not a good movie.

It's a spectacular visual cornucopia of snippets of input wrapped around a story it never tells you, but as a movie, it's crap."

There.  I said it.  Well, I typed it.  And because opinions are free I'll list a few more classic items my SciFi tastes tend to run counter to, although in these cases I don't think it's because they're bad books or movies...

• Dune.  Hated it.  Overly long, dense, and boring.  Never bothered with the rest of the trilogy. At a friend's urging I read a little more Herbert, but found it unbearable.
• Neuromancer.  Got interrupted with 2 pages to go, never bothered to finish it.  An utterly forgettable sampling of a subgenre that never appealed to me.
• Blade Runner. Might as well call it Nap Runner. I've slept through parts of it both times I tried to watch it - theater and rental, and a movie where the sets are more interesting than the characters is not my thing.  Still, this one I should probably dial up again just to see if I can see what the fuss is all about.

O, to be such a heretic!