For the Love of Books
There is a used bookstore near my home, within walking distance. Today, while walking past it, I decided to backtrack and go in. Note that “walked” is the important word in this story.
Just outside the front door was a library cart full of books, the kind that looks like it’s on its way to a reshelving project. And on that cart was the most magical sign: $1 hardcover, $0.50 paperback.
Eleven books later, I had a stack that was a foot and a half tall, and I hadn’t even walked through the door. I had Barbara Kingsolver, Margaret Atwood, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ernest Hemingway. I even found two book club selections, The Bookseller of Kabul and A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. The price: $9.33 including tax. I was giddy. This sort of thing is a bookworm’s dream come true.
Now, how was I going to get them home?
Fortunately for me, the owner was there and offered to let me stash the books in her bottom desk drawer until I returned with the car. Now they stand on my “To Read” shelf, beckoning me every time I pass. I’m only 30 pages from completing my current read, Swimming to Antarctica (a bargain books 2-for-1 steal from Borders), and then I have to make the tough decision about which book I should read next.
October 8th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
When I saw this in my email, logic told me this store couldn’t possibly exist within walking distance of the guys I know who write here. I held out hope, but it looks like I won’t be walking by this store anytime soon. Good luck trying to hold onto your money with that kind of temptation within walking distance.