THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 17, 1995 TAG: 9509150175
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Mr. Robert's Neighborhood
SOURCE: Frank Roberts
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
About a half century ago, I became interested in science fiction when someone gave me a book by Frederic Brown.
I made the mistake of telling friends how wonderful it was, loaned the book to one of them, and you know the rest.
The novel is ``What Mad Universe.'' Its plot: Man gets blown into another planetary system, where everything is a duplicate of what's on Earth, including his family. The only differences are that purple monsters walk around, and the coins are different.
While I thought of the book over the years, I never expected to see the out-of-print thing again.
When Tim Swain opened The Bookman in downtown Suffolk, I mentioned ``What Mad Universe,'' thinking he had as much chance of finding it as Ed McMahon's millions have of finding me.
Swain did find it, and he only had to look in a box of books in the back room - where he has more books than he does up front.
My original copy was paperback. This is a hardback with a picture of one of the purple monsters on the cover.
I re-read the adventure - fun, but not quite as brilliant as I remembered it. Now it's on a shelf with some other sci-fi favorites.
Swain says he has ``about one million books,'' and more are on the way. He spends two or three days each week on buying sprees - estate auctions, other auctions and thrift stores. Other dealers also buy from him.
Swain keeps some special books at home - books from the 18th and 19th centuries, and the complete works of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.
What some folks don't know is that the guy detectives originally issued a detective handbook, and the girl detective originally issued a workbook.
They're rarities, but Swain has them. ``They're staying'' at home, he said. Also there is a 1944 piece on Babe Ruth.
The two Rs - romance and religion - are major draws at The Bookman, at 155 W. Washington St. Also popular are history, especially Virginia and black history, and books by black authors.
Kids - no surprise - go for R.L. Stine's Goosebump series and the Baby Sitter Club books.
Their predecessors - The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins - remain popular and, a surprise to me, so does a large set of books edited by Alfred Hitchcock.
``Often, people have one or two books missing out of a set,'' said Swain, who usually fills it in.
Also popular are books about royal families and such stars as Elvis and Marilyn Monroe.
Poetry books are fast-selling. Westerns are popular, especially those by Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey. Old magazines, a recent addition at The Bookman, are popular, particularly Life and Popular Mechanics.
If you'd rather listen, there is now a large collection of 33 1/3 albums.
Swain has found ``McGuffey's Readers,'' some dating to the 1800s, for customers. Swain sold one for $35. It was listed for $109.
``A lot of teachers buy books for their classrooms, paying out of their own pockets,'' Swain said. Among them, a Nansemond-Suffolk Academy teacher who regularly buys Charlie Brown books.
Swain's favorite reading are book-price guides and, for relaxation, history.
He maintains a wish list for customers, so they can check their favorite categories.
One man is looking for a book on the 1986 Chevrolet with a 2.0 engine. I bet The Bookman has the drive to find it. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by FRANK ROBERTS
Tim Swain checks inventory at The Bookman in downtown Suffolk. Swain
spends two or three days each week on buying sprees at auctions and
thrift shops to stock his store.
by CNB