Las Cruces, New Mexico: Coas Books
I can’t believe I haven’t listed Coas Books here yet. I found three of the Doubleday/Ballantine “Classics of Science Fiction” books here, as well as the elusive Volume IIB of The Science Fiction Hall of Fame•.
They’ve also had some nice retro BASIC books, which have been useful now that I’ve been trying to do things with a TRS-80 Model 100.
Las Cruces is almost exactly halfway between Round Rock, Texas and San Diego, California. One of my examples of “Texas is big” is that when I drive to and from San Diego, it’s a two-day trip. One day of the trip goes completely across New Mexico, Arizona, and California all the way to the coast. The other day goes through half of Texas.
Because I make it a two-day trip, Las Cruces is the natural place to stop, and for that reason I looked for used bookstores in the area. The best, by far, is Coas, both locations. Unfortunately, because it’s at the end of a nine-hour day, whichever direction I’m coming from, I don’t go as often as I’d like. In fact, the April 24 spree you see in the list below was because I decided to spend a day in Las Cruces, and that day was spent mostly browsing books, reading books, and eating Mexican food. Because I had a day to spare I was able to hit both locations. And it made a nice break between two full days of driving.
They have a huge and wonderful selection of fantasy and science fiction, including a lot of older titles. The Solano location is smaller, so if you only have time for one, it should be the main location on Main Street. But as you can see I found some nice things in the smaller location, too. Members of my writing group have been recommending Richard Ford for a long time, and they were right; I already knew that Michael Chabon was worth reading but wasn’t aware of his semi-memoirish Maps and Legends until I saw it there.
If you’ve got a long day ahead of you on Highway 10 and you need an excuse to stop in Las Cruces to walk around a while, Coas makes a great break.
Next to the Solano location is a Mexican restaurant called El Patron. I recommend that, too.
Coas Books
317 N Main Street
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Feb. 7, 2023
| The Great Iridium Con | Stephen Dedman | $5.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search for the Sensei | Joseph W. Liotta | $5.00 | |
| Omni’s Continuum• | Dick Teresi | $8.98 | hardcover |
Feb. 11, 2022
| Logic Machines and Diagrams | Martin Gardner | $3.00 | small trade paperback |
|---|---|---|---|
| being digital• | Nicholas Negroponte | $6.00 | hardcover |
| prefiguring cyberculture: an intellectual history• | Alessio Cavallaro, Annemarie Jonson, Darren Tofts | $8.00 | hardcover |
May 22, 2019
| The Moon is a Harsh Mistress | Robert A. Heinlein | $0.98 | mass market paperback |
|---|---|---|---|
| To Tackle the T.O.T.E.M. | Jeff O’Hare | $3.50 | |
| Terror by Night | Steve Crow | $3.50 | |
| Where Wizards Stay Up Late• | Katie Hafner, Matthew Lyon | $8.00 | mass market paperback |
March 13, 2018
| The Long Tomorrow• | Leigh Brackett | $0.62 | mass market paperback |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Farthest Shore• | Ursula K. Le Guin | $0.87 | mass market paperback |
| Night’s Black Agents• | Fritz Leiber | $0.87 | mass market paperback |
| A Wizard of Earthsea• | Ursula K. Le Guin | $0.97 | mass market paperback |
| 33 Challenging Computer Games for TRS-80/Apple/PET• | David Chance | $6.00 | hardcover |
April 24, 2017
| Lord of Light | Roger Zelazny | $0.75 | mass market paperback |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Best of C.M. Kornbluth• | C.M. Kornbluth | $0.98 | mass market paperback |
| Act of War• | Brad Thor | $1.00 | hardcover |
| The BASIC Cookbook• | Ken Tracton | $5.00 | hardcover |
Oct. 19, 2015
| The Best of Murray Leinster• | Murray Leinster | $0.98 | mass market paperback |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Best of Henry Kuttner | Henry Kuttner | $0.98 | mass market paperback |
| The Science Fiction Hall of Fame IIB• | Ben Bova | $1.25 | mass market paperback |
| Swords Against Darkness IV | Andrew J. Offutt | $1.25 | mass market paperback |
| Stormbringer | Michael Moorcock | $3.00 | mass market paperback |
| 57 Practical Programs & Games in BASIC• | Ken Tracton | $3.00 | small trade paperback |
| Swords Against Darkness II | Andrew J. Offutt | $3.00 | mass market paperback |
| Kyrik: Warlock Warrior | Gardner F. Fox | $3.50 | mass market paperback |
| The Southern Living Outdoor Cookbook | $3.58 | hardcover |
Coas Books
1101 S. Solano
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Feb. 6, 2024
| Thongor in the City of Magicians• | Lin Carter | $0.87 | mass market paperback |
|---|---|---|---|
| State of the Union• | Brad Thor | $5.00 | mass market paperback |
Feb. 11, 2022
| Sign of the Unicorn• | Roger Zelazny | $1.48 | mass market paperback |
|---|
March 13, 2018
| Creating Adventure Games on Your Computer• | Tim Hartnell | $5.00 | trade paperback |
|---|
April 24, 2017
| Third From the Sun | Richard Matheson | $0.13 | mass market paperback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Springs• | Richard Ford | $5.00 | trade paperback |
| Maps and Legends• | Michael Chabon | $8.00 | hardcover |
This was a great day for science fiction. Also, the (now defunct, unfortunately) motel served free Fanta.
In response to The bookstores less traveled: These aren’t the bookstores people travel across the country to visit. But if you’re already traveling across the country, you’ll want to take advantage of the opportunity to visit them.
- Coas Books
- There are two Coas bookstores in Las Cruces, and both are well worth-visiting.
- Review of the TRS-80 Model 100/200
- The TRS-80 Model 100 and Model 200 were very early laptop computers that saved automatically, had networking built-in, and lasted for nearly a day on easily replaceable batteries.
- The Science Fiction Hall of Fame•: Robert Silverberg (paperback)
-
Subtitled “The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of All Time”, it comes close if it doesn’t make it. This is the best science fiction collection I own.
More bookstores
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- Beckham’s Bookshop is a musty must-stop if you’re in the French Quarter.
- Palestine, Texas: The Palestine Public Library
- The Palestine Public Library opens their booksale room about once a month. If you’re in the area, it’s well worth a look.
- Buffalo, Texas: The Horse’s Mouth on Highway 79
- This tiny little bookshop and coffeehouse is worth stopping at if you’re on Highway 79 and need a browse, a coffee, or a shake.
- An I-35 book drive
- If you’re looking for a day trip to get you out of the house now that spring is here, why not drive up (or down) I-35 and visit some small bookstores between Round Rock and Waco?
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