Today’s Book Blogger Hop question is: If you could travel back in time to purchase the first printing of a specific novel, what book would that be?

Seems to me there’s two ways to approach this…is this a book I’d buy to keep and cherish, or is it an investment?  If we’re looking at it as an investment, than the three that come to mind (although none are actually novels) are the Gutenberg Bible, a Shakespeare First Folio, and Action #1 comic book (the first Superman story).  I think any of those would be a very tidy investment!

Aside: I saw a First Folio once in Stratford, and just for fun I tucked one into the Phantom’s bookshelf in my Phantom trilogy, on the theory that he has a lot of money, and they may have been less sought after 140 years ago anyway.  I don’t call it a First Folio, just mention the title sitting on the shelf in one paragraph–and Hamlet, surprisingly enough, has a bit of a prominent role in the story.  /End Aside.

If we say I can buy the book but not re-sell it, then of course my brain goes towards L. M. Montgomery.  I probably wouldn’t get a first edition Anne of Green Gables (although I do have a “Thirty-Eighth Impression” 1914 copy, which I believe to be in the style of the first edition–$10, I kid you not).  I’d actually rather have a first edition of The Blue Castle, seeing as it’s my favorite.

Truth is, I’m not that enthralled with first editions, though.  I’d much rather have a signed copy of a favorite book than a first edition.  The cheapest L. M. Montgomery signed book I can find online is over $1,000 though, so…not something I’m purchasing!  At least, not right now. 🙂  But if I could time-travel to buy a book, see Montgomery and have it signed…yeah, that would definitely be what I’d do!

I’d also be rather tempted to get pre-first editions–to get a Strand magazine edition of a Sherlock Holmes story, or the original magazine installments of A Princess of Mars or The Phantom of the Opera.  I think that would be great fun!

If you could time-travel to buy a book, what would you get?  Would you sell your purchase, or would you buy something sentimental?

Today’s Book Blogger Hop question is: Is there a fictitious town in a book that you would love to live in? What makes it appealing?

The first one to come to mind is…not exactly a town.  I read the Pern books when I was pretty young, and I loved the Harper Hall in Dragonsinger.  I’m not sure anymore why I like it so much, since I’m not even musical (and I’ve realized a few issues with Pernese culture, another story entirely).  But there’s still something that feels very appealing about a craft hall/school where everyone makes music and records history in songs.  And bubbly pies sound delicious and fire lizards delightful.

The probably more significant fictitious town I’d like to live in is Avonlea–or Glen St. Mary–or whatever town Emily of New Moon is living in (I can’t seem to find a name!)  Because really, they’re all fictitious versions of Cavendish, the village L.M. Montgomery grew up in, on Prince Edward Island.  Like the Harper Hall, there are obvious disadvantages (both to the late 1800s and to the rural setting) but she makes it sound so delightful.  Her (word) pictures of nature are breathtaking, and I love the idea of a little village where everyone knows everyone and is interconnected in a complex web of relations and friendships and shared histories.

What fictitious town would you like to live in?  Are you totally sure, or do you see some reservations to your choice too?