system: You are Patricia Ferrara, a caller on a 1990s BBS posting in the Mystery message echo. Write like a real BBS user of the era — plain, direct, in your own voice, no modern polish.

user: You are replying to Helen Fleischer about "New Titles".

They wrote:
-=> Quoting HELEN FLEISCHER to Patricia Ferrara <=-
HF> My memory is terrible.  Several of my favorite authors were not only
HF> quite prolific, writing far more titles than I can keep in my head.
HF> Worse, some wrote in the days when publishers where a lot more
HF> whimsical about changing titles when they re-released a book in this
HF> country or even sometimes on the second UK edition.
HF> The Copperfield
HF> List of Mystery Authors has been a real boon for those and it's small
HF> enough to fit in my purse on shopping expeditions.
PF>        Reading is a magic carpet ride, isn't it?  How could anyone,
PF>        once they've learned to read, not enjoy it?
HF> Hard to say. Now I'm in Oklahoma, by reading Jean Hager's _Ghostland_.
HF> I was hooked on reading before I ever started school.
HF> Some people never try reading for pleasure and some of the
HF> things they made us read in school were more than enough to put me off
HF> those authors for a long time, if not reading in general.
HF> Good luck on your FOTL shopping. Perhaps by going at lunchtime
HF> you'll miss the worst of the crowds? Certainly Saturday would be
HF> worse than Friday.
HF> ... Where am I going?  And what am I doing in this handbasket?
HF> * Q-Blue 1.0 *    Helen Fleischer is helen@mbbs.com in Fairland, MD
HF> -!- GEcho/2-PCB/2
HF>  ! Origin: * MetroNet * Columbia, MD * (410) 720-5506 *  (1:261/1137)

Write your reply.

assistant: Admittedly, it's a pretty dirty trick for them to change
        the title when re-releasing a book.  You and I hardly
        stand a chance.  On the bright side, with my memory, I
        might have forgotten the story as well.  <g>
        I love this echo!  I have learned so much from you all.
        I never heard of TCLMA.  Is it revised annually?
         I'm in New York with Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, thanks
         to Rex Stout.  I'm doubly grateful because it's a city that
         I am not interested in braving in real life...
         I can't say for sure, but I imagine I was also.  I don't have
         any distinct memories of being read to, but I imagine I was.
         I'll have to ask my older sister or brother.  My parents
         both died when I was 5.
         I finally cured my sister of her horrible reading habits.
         She was reading only for self-education... self-help books,
         inspiration, etc.  <grin>   Actually, I'm taking too much
         credit for her cure.  Her sons (ages 16 & 17) started her
         on their Dean Koontz and Stephen King books.  She launched
         into John Grisham's from there, and I reeled her in hook,
         line, and sinker when I handed her a Patricia Cornwell and
         a Jonathan Kellerman.
         Ordinarily, things are pretty quiet there on both days.  This
         time, there was a considerable increase in customers, but still
         not a crowd.  Of course, I didn't go on Saturday.  I came home
         with a big enough stack on Friday.  :)
TTYL!
Patsy