Serendipity And Then Some

First, a reminder: I'm an ex-fundamentalist puzzle writer who is fascinated by evolutionary science, and I'm currently planning a mystery novel---my first-ever foray into the genre---where the sleuth is an imam. Got all that?

Then get this: Yesterday, as I was going to the bus, I noticed out by the street trash that someone had left a bag full of old books. After making sure the bag was fresh and un-peed-on, I rummaged. Here's what I found:

Mathematical Puzzles of Sam Loyd, by Martin Gardner. (The first puzzle book I ever read.)
Why I Am Not a Christian, by Bertrand Russell. (Never read it, always intended to.)
A small textbook called The Process of Evolution.
A View From the Eye of the Storm: Terror and Reason in the Middle East; a Scientist's Vision of Hope, by Haim Harari.
And three modern mystery novels: The Gondola Scam by Jonathan Gash, The Fear Sign by Margery Allingham, and The Death of an Irish Tinker by Bartholomew Gill.

So now I've got seven new books in my library, and all of them free! Also, I suspect someone in my building would make a good drinking buddy. Thanks, universe!