Return to Second Story Books Warehouse

Return to Second Story Books Warehouse

November 2023

It's been a couple years since last I visited the Second Story Books warehouse in Rockville, Maryland. So last week, on a mild Fall day, I decided to check out the warehouse. I prepared by including my portable urinal (below) in my travel gear.

While construction on I-66 has more or less been completed, an accident resulted in the slowing of traffic to stop-and-go levels. And then, when I got on the DC Beltway, construction in the vicinity of the Dulles Access Road meant even more delays. It took me 2 hours and 45 minutes to go from my front door to the Second Story lot.

Once inside I found a good selection of mass-market paperbacks, as always, just a buck or two each, and in conditions ranging from good to very good.

'The Godkeepers' is a 1970 noir novel; the author, E. Richard Johnson (1938 - 1997), was a well-regarded hardboiled crime writer.

'Earthwind' is a 1977 science fiction novel from Robert Holdstock, while 'The Last Hurrah of the Golden Horde' is a 1970 compilation of stories from Norman Spinrad.

The warden of San Quentin prison provides a memoir of his time at the prison:

I was pleased to get an Alfred Hitchcock anthology from 1966.

'Super-Tanks', from 1987, is an assembly of sci-fi war stories.

I got a copy of the 1968 Ace Books edition of Heith Roberts' novel 'Pavane'.

Finally, I picked up the original 'Sabre' graphic novel from 1978 for $6. Old School goodness, from the Second Story Books Warehouse !