My husband, the mighty hunter.

My husband really does go deer hunting in November. Only once has he been successful, but that's all right--it's a hobby. His father, uncle, and cousins typically send home enough venison with him that we save on beef for a month or so.

That's only once a year. It's tough on him. Another hobby of his, though, is haunting used book stores--both brick-and-mortar and online. It's a mixed blessing, as he usually finds something--but it's cheap. Like his near-complete collection of Giuseppe Ricciotti's works(no more than $15 each), the Douay-Rheims Confraternity Masterpiece Edition Bible ($25), or Will Durant's Story of Civilization (all 11 volumes, $40).
He also brings home treasures for me. Like the DeHarbe's Catechism I mentioned a while back ($5). Or Louis Veuillot's Jésus-Christ, copyright 1875 ($25). Or Pierre Grimal's Dictionnaire des Biographies, both volumes, copyright 1958 ($25).
Yes, those last two are in French. Why do you ask?

With the impending desecration/abridgement of the Little House books, I asked him for a favor that channeled both of these talents. How many of the soon-to-be-cut books could he find?

Heh. Once Bob the mailman does his job, we'll be missing one. Out of 15. For less than $85 including shipping.

UPDATE 2/28/07--In looking at his favorite used bookstore for our missing Little House book, he instead found a second-edition hardcover On the Banks of Plum Creek, published in 1937, priced at $6. Which coincidentally is the one I'm reading to Madeleine. It's before the Garth Williams illustrations.
And it's ours.