Hey, I bought some Star Trek books the other day!



It's true. There hasn't been much about Trek books here lately. But then, I haven't stumbled across much that's new.



But on the weekend we went to the nearest Chapters (near Gloucester Centre here in Ottawa) and something rare, if not unprecedented, happened. Just as I walked to the area where the Star Trek books are, two other people approached the same section! And as I moved in fast to grab my copies of Maker and A Time to Heal, they started looking at the Star Trek books. There was a man and a woman, not too much younger or older than me. One male, one female. They seemed to be surprised by the Star Trek books -- at least, she did. He seemed like he might actually have been looking for something in particular. She noticed the photo of Riker on one of the A Time to... books and said "Wow, he looks so much older now than he did on NexGen." He muttered something about it being a shot from the last movie.



My impression was that she was one of those people who were big fans back in the Next Generation era (no non-fan of my acquaintance is likely to refer to it as "NexGen," not that many fans I know would, either) but hadn't followed the show or the movies in recent years and wasn't aware of the books. He, on the other hand, apparently knew more.



I didn't make contact. Instead, I withdrew, books in hand, and Laura grabbed me before I could start looking at other books. Part of me wanted to initiate a conversation with these people. After all, the only people I know here in Ottawa who read Star Trek books are me and... myself. And I. There they were, making their tentative approach to the Star Trek books, and here I stood, someone who actually has a Trek books blog and one of the biggest Star Trek books websites on the web. I could have taught them so much!



No, I'm kidding. I'm not that far gone.



I haven't had many real world, face-to-face interactions with people who read Star Trek books. I usually do it by way of the Internet. That way, I'm dealing with people who actually want to discuss stuff with strangers. There's no weirdness on either side of the conversation.



Still, I hope they bought something.



(Now playing: Prince Far I, "Free From Sin," The Golden Years: 1977-1983.)