A copy of a 1975 science-fiction novel called "Bid Time Return" went missing from a public library in Great Falls, Montana back in 1982. It's by a guy named Richard Matheson, who also wrote "I Am Legend" . . . Will Smith did the movie version in 2007. And he wrote "What Dreams May Come", which was turned into a movie with Robin Williams in 1998.
Anyway, the library assumed the copy of "Bid Time Return" was gone, until they recently got a package in the mail from the guy who stole it . . . along with an apology note, and a $200 donation. He said he took it 35 years ago . . . it's one of his favorite books of all time . . . and he's read it at least 25 times since then. But the fact that he stole it always bugged him. So before he returned it, he paid to have it professionally RESTORED. And he also got the author to SIGN IT before he passed away in 2013.
So now it's a major collector's item. Even without a signature, first editions are going for as much as $1,100 online. The director of the library says stealing books is never acceptable. But she added that the, quote, "effort and funds he put into caring for the book are remarkable."