I don’t hold my hopes too terribly high for what I can get from paperbackswap.com. I mean, I’ve gotten some good stuff, but I don’t expect the super popular stuff to come through there. I’m like #153 on the waiting list for The God Delusion, for instance.

Also, specialized books I don’t expect to show up there. So, despite that I’m #1 on the waiting list for The 5 Keys to Value Investing, I’m not holding my breath that it’ll show up at my door any time soon.

Also, I’m not sitting forlornly by the mailbox in anticipation of Good Vibes by Jay Cronley, which was the basis for the under appreciated Richard Dreyfuss movie Let It Ride¹. Largely because it is out of print, and you can’t find a copy for less than $140 anywhere. And that’s for the mass market paperback.

But, you put your wishes out there, and you never know what might be granted.

For instance, over the course of a few days, I’ve been notified that I’ll be getting Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, the highly regarded graphic novel that I understand is being made into a movie. When I listed it, I was around 25th in line for it. Perhaps the movie increased the number of books in wide circulation. Also, How to Draw the Human Figure: Famous Artists School, Step-by-Step method, one of the consistently recommended books on drawing. This I didn’t expect to get because of its specialized nature.

Also on their way are What Are The Odds? : Chance in Everyday Life, an out-of-print book recommended by a friend, and The Cobweb, the last Neal Stephenson book left for me to read, until he writes another one. I wasn’t in a hurry to get this one, because it’s under his pseudonym Stephen Bury, which actually represents two authors. The other co-production Stephenson did, Interface, was a big disappointment. We’ll see.

¹ Seriously, I love this movie. I love this movie like I love Joe Vs. The Volcano, which, like Let It Ride is a love that is doomed to be shared with no one but my brother.