It may be ancient. I am. Can you help me find an old science fiction story?

[jtuck004]

It was in paperback, I probably read it during the 60s or70s. Could have been any of the printed authors of that time. Could have been a short story or novel.

Part of my challenge is that I read. A lot. Far more than a normal human. I sometimes grab a whole handful from the used book store at a time, makes the pool rather large..and it is very difficult to remember back that far.

The story was about a woman who lived by the seashore, and she made her own solar panels from the sand. She had a creature, "the beast", I think she called it, who lived outside, protected her and her kid, I think.

It may have been a short story, or a paperback novel. I have been trying to recall it for some time. I don't have much from those years any more, too much traveling, so it is not among my collection.

Any ideas?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. Wow, I wish.

I, too, read nonstop. My bathtub has three stacks of read books I need to find room for in the book cases or basement. I routinely drop off cases of pocket books at the nearby nursing home and VA hospital, and my piles still keep growing. Even though my iPad has become a huge repository, I still love paper.

[MrModerate]

3. I just can't justify paper anymore . . .

When my tablet can carry more volumes (does, actually) than my hardcopy library — which occupied two rooms of the house, before I put it all in storage.

When I used to travel on business, I'd take 5 or 6 books with me, so I'd have something to read no matter my mood. They were bulky and heavy. I've even had them confiscated at customs a time or two.

Now when I travel on business, I take 7,000 volumes on the same machine I use to do my work away from the office.

I used to love holding a well-bound book, turning the pages, even smelling the paper and glue.

But nothing can compare to access, searchability, the Internet at my fingertips while I'm reading in case a passage sparks a question…and having with me every book I can ever imagine wanting to read.

I'll never go back. It's a Brave New World (of which I carry three different editions.)

[SheilaT]

2. Oh, dear. I'm chiming in just to say

I don't recognize that description at all. And I understand the problem. I'm another who reads vast amounts. Just last week I reread a book because, even though once I started it I KNEW I'd read it before, I could not for the life of me remember how it turned out. It's been a very long time since that happened to me.

Hope someone here does recognize it.