Whoot! Victorian Hero Loot!

[Steve Long]

I love eBay. I just won an 1896 World Almanac for very little money. It would have been little more than pocket change had some people not come in toward the end and attempted to steal my prize away, but I foiled 'em. :sneaky: Great VH research material is on the way.

And I got a set of 1921 World Book Encyclopedias from the same seller for even less! :D

[Steve Long]

And the fun just doesn't stop!

My copy of The Encyclopedia Of Fantastic Victoriana just arrived, along with half a dozen other books I ordered recently. Some days, it is good to be Me. :D

[austenandrews]

Are you writing a Victorian Hero book?

[Steve Long]

Well, eventually I hope to. In the meantime it can't hurt to pick up good research material cheap. ;)

I'm perpetually in research-material-gathering mode. For example, some of the books I used to write Pulp Hero were purchased eight or ten years ago in the knowledge that eventually I would need them to write PH. I've spent thousands of dollars on books about weaponry and military technology so that when the time comes, I can dive right in to researching and writing The Ultimate Weapon.

[TheQuestionMan]

Truely a Gentleman and a scholar. I look foreward to it.

Cheeers

QM

[austenandrews]

Cool. I'll buy it if you print it. :)

[JeepGuy01]

Let's hope it doesn't take 10 years before we see a Victorian Hero book!

[ShelleyCM]

Let's hope it doesn't take 10 years before we see a Victorian Hero book!

Hey, is that a dig? :) I have good reasons for taking my sweet time!

-Shelley

[Bazza]

I'm perpetually in research-material-gathering mode. For example, some of the books I used to write Pulp Hero were purchased eight or ten years ago in the knowledge that eventually I would need them to write PH. I've spent thousands of dollars on books about weaponry and military technology so that when the time comes, I can dive right in to researching and writing The Ultimate Weapon. As a person who constantly buys books that never seen to get read...

Where do you store all your books? How many rooms in your house are designated "library"?

Any tips about the best way to store books from one amateur-librarian to another? :)

[Thia Halmades]

This is why I don't buy books - 'cause they'll never get read, although I'm a fiend when I have to actually know something. And it's a need, not a want. I don't "want" to know about ship design, the switch flips and I need to know it. Partially because of the campaign I'm running, partially because I love the wood splintering shock of cannon fire. Mmm... ship board battles.

Okay, I retract my earlier statement. If Pirate HERO were to include expanded ship-to-ship rules and blackpowder, I would buy it. Regency HERO is also anticipated to have that, so I'll buy it, too. I could design the stuff myself, and to a large extent I will (TUV, where are you?) but I'd be curious to see what y'all do in genre.

[Steve Long]

Where do you store all your books? How many rooms in your house are designated "library"?

Any tips about the best way to store books from one amateur-librarian to another?

I have one main library (in my office) with other books scattered throughout other rooms. There's a good chance I'll be moving later in the year and will take that opportunity for another "consolidation" and reorganization -- though inevitably the ongoing purchases of books will cause me to run out of however much bookshelf space I have.

The key to storing lots of books is: there's no such thing as space where you can't put a bookshelf, or a wall where you can't build one. ;) Obviously you don't want to block your halls or create a fire hazard, but most rooms have some empty wall space where you can put a unit bookshelf or build some shelves. I'm a lousy carpenter, and I dislike doing household chores, but I'm always willing to pick up the hammer to build some more bookshelves.

It's also worthwhile to periodically winnow the libary and store stuff you're not actively using or planning to use. I mostly do this with gaming books, since I acquire a lot that I want (for whatever reason, including sheer greed;)) but don't need to keep on a shelf. I put 'em in leftover boxes that used to hold printer paper and store the boxes where appropriate.

[Steve Long]

Hey, is that a dig?

Nah. ;) It was a reference to my saying I'd bought PH reference material 8-10 years before getting to write the book. ;)

[JeepGuy01]

No dig intended. That was in reference to what ... yeah, what he said!

[JeepGuy01]

I'll also add that I have looked over your Regency website from time to time over the years (wanting to see more - hint, hint) and love the material but I doubt I'll be able to find anyone in my small group interested in playing.

Anytime, I mention something of a semi-historical nature, I see the whincing faces. Ah, well ... at least I can enjoy a good read and possibly read of others' campaigns.

[ShelleyCM]

I'll also add that I have looked over your Regency website from time to time over the years (wanting to see more - hint, hint) and love the material but I doubt I'll be able to find anyone in my small group interested in playing.

Anytime, I mention something of a semi-historical nature, I see the whincing faces. Ah, well ... at least I can enjoy a good read and possibly read of others' campaigns.

One thing I've found about historical games is that they're particularly well suited to PBEM. My GURPS 1793 game (http://mactyre.net/shelley/1793/) hasn't had a face-to-face sessions in ages, largely because I've focused on Regency HERO (one player did translate his PC into HERO and continues to play him, though the others made new characters). However, if you visit the yahoo! group associated with the game, there are recent PBEM posts by people who never even played in the FTF game! I set the PBEM portion up as completely self-governing epistolary posting, and it works fabulously.

-Shelley

[JeepGuy01]

Thanks for sharing, I will most certainly have a look!

[input.jack]

THANK YOU! Ive been waiting for Victorian Hero since about 1988! :D

[The Monster]

Victorian Hero was on my "I will buy this when it comes out" list from the moment I heard it might actually be written - and after seeing Pulp Hero (which was also on that same list), it will stay there until delivered.
(Btw, that list is my highest, even above my "I will buy this as soon as I can afford it" list, or my "I really want this" list, which include most other Hero stuff in genres I actually run.)

I do own a full set of 1920 encyclopedias; they are fun to read, sometimes a hoot. For example, there's no entry for "airplane" or even "aeroplane" - it's under "flying machine."