Give me books, fruit, french wine and fine weather and a little music out of doors. --John Keats

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

How I happen to have purchased Even More Books

Each of my kids recently lucked into a tidy sum of money. Five whole dollars! I offered them a trip to Books-A-Million, and promised I would make up the difference if they each chose one book to buy. A much better idea than buying $5 toys, don't you think?

I hadn't planned to buy any books for myself (for goodness' sake, I have an embarrassing number of unread books on my shelves already, and I am trying to curb my spending) but then I realized I hadn't purchased my August book club selection yet. And of course book club books are a necessity, so they don't count when there's spending-curbing going on.

When I found a copy of Gone (Charity, it's way fatter than I expected it to be!) it had one of these lovely stickers on it:


So of course I HAD to at least look for two more books with the same sticker. I mean, FREE BOOK! Need I say more?

So. I'd gone from "buying no books for myself" to "looking for more." You know me. The first place I headed was the bargain aisle. Yes, I know they never put the aforementioned stickers on the bargain books. But they do put these stickers on them:


You've got to admit, if you're anything like me, that makes a book awfully tempting. And, surprise surprise, something caught my eye. It was this title:

Which reminded me of this book:


Although, now that I look at it again, I'm not sure why it should have. The only real similarity is that the title is slanted at the same approximate angle. But still! The book had caught my eye.

And what should appear directly below the eye-catching title? These words: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson. Oooh! The Ripper Killings? As in Jack the Ripper? As in one of history's most intriguing mysteries? AND . . . by the Dr. Watson? Of Holmes and Watson fame? It just kept getting better and better. I HAD TO HAVE THIS BOOK.

My bookworm daughter didn't understand. Why was I getting two books for myself when she was getting only one? (Never mind that my two together cost less than her one.) My son told me I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I said, "I didn't! I judged it by the title and the blurb!" He gave me an odd look, then reminded me, "Those are on the cover." Oops. Busted by an eleven-year-old. It's OK, though, because I quit after two. I know my limits.

I just now realized I did not follow through with my usual book-buying procedure. I didn't crack Dust and Shadow open to a random page to make sure the writing doesn't suck. And now that I've gotten the book home, I'm almost afraid to look. I'd rather hang on to the promise of an amazing story in hopes that I won't be disappointed. Along with the hope that I won't have to make my kids eat their books for dinner any time soon, or burn them for fuel next winter. (Don't worry, it's really not that bad. Yet. At least not until my next trip to Books-A-Million.)

P.S. My youngest, blissfully oblivious to my unfair double purchase and cover-judging, had this to say at the bookstore: "I want to stay here for the rest of my life." Me too, baby! Do you think they would let us?

14 comments:

Lesa said...

Yay! You are back! And what a great bargain book tale-- please consider linking it up to Bargain Book Bonanza this week. The linky is open till Friday.

Those two books do look very similar to me too.

Renae said...

Wait - did you not get three books (buy two get one free??? Glad to see you posting again! And just how fat is Gone?? I've got to get it and get started!!

Kathy said...

Yes! I'm back! I'm not sure yet if it will be with a vengeance or not. But I do have EIGHT books I need to post about, so it's not like I'm lacking in material! I think I've been mainly lacking in inspiration. But maybe it's coming back? We'll see! I'll have to check out your linky, too.

Gone is nearly an inch and a half thick (when I was expecting more like half an inch!!) and it's 558 pages!! The text isn't very densely packed, though, so it might go pretty fast. And no, I didn't get three books--Dust and Shadow wasn't part of the buy-2-get-3rd-free offer, but you can BET if it had been, I would have found a third one for free!!

Anonymous said...

I'm exactly the same way. Amazon sent me a Literary Fiction alert for my Kindle and they almost NEVER have anything worthwhile, but they have The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto for $3.04 (odd amt) and The Glass Room (which I read and loved) for $1.99! So I bought the Yoshimoto book and have been telling everyone to buy The Glass Room.

Had I been in an actual store, I would have come home with more than that, guaranteed.

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

I love this story! People who aren't big bookworms don't understand that shopping for books can be an overwhelming experience.

And I can totally relate to spending money in order to save money, where books are concerned! =P

Lyd-ee-ah said...

Can I stay at the book store too?? I love the bargain book aisle...I hardly ever find anything I want, but I still spend a fair amount (read a lot) of time searching in hopes to find something.

Guess I better quit slacking and start on that book for book club. OH and guess what? I am reading the Narnia books. :)

Lesa said...

Thanks for linking up to BBB!

Which Gone did you buy? I read a YA Gone that I really liked but haven't continued the series yet.

Hey, you may have to make a trip to Lgv-- my mom has seen a tv ad for Books & Coffee which apparently has 40 thousand used books!

CharityReads said...

Well I'm sorry about the thickness, I didn't notice because I bought it on my NOOK. I did notice that it had a lot of pages though, I have started it and it has captured my attention, enough that I want to read instead of blog. I made myseelf however post a blog this morning and update my page, now I can go back to bed and read like I've wanted to all morning! Ha!

CharityReads said...

Oh, and I bought 3 new books at BAM on Friday as well, shame on me I'm trying not to do that... It's like a drug to me... :)

Amanda said...

Great story! I love buying kids books so much more than toys!! Glad they all want books! Wish we had a Books-A-Million around here!

Kathy said...

Ti--how do I always miss these sales?? The Glass Room is already back up to $7.87. Which is probably actually a good thing, if I look at my ridiculous number of books TBR.

Enbrethiliel--Sad that a lot of people I know wouldn't be able to relate to this story. But I knew anyone reading my book blog would! Glad you enjoyed it!

Lydia--So excited to hear you're reading the Narnia books! Which one did you start with? Are you still on the first one or have you finished any of them yet? Can't wait to hear what you think! Also . . . I still haven't started Gone . . .

Lesa--I bet the Gone I'm supposed to read is the same one you read--it's YA, and part of a series. The author is Michael Grant. And definitely tell me if you get a chance to go to Books & Coffee--I hope it's not a disappointment like the used bookstore I went to in Texarkana--but just in case it is, I'll let you be my guinea pig before I drive all the way to Lgv. :)

Ha, Charity, it's OK, you don't have to apologize! Glad to hear you're enjoying it, though. Have you finished yet? You'll have to tell us at book club about the books you bought on Friday, too!

Mandy--I kind of can't believe you *don't* have a B-A-M nearby! Do you have any good "new book" stores to shop?

Amy said...

LOL! Bookstore bliss...I love it! But this is exactly why I try to keep myself out of bookstores - and stick to the public library as much as possible - it's just so tempting! Enjoy your reads!

Kathy said...

Thanks, Amy! You have the right idea in sticking to the library. What I really need to do right now is stick to my ridiculous TBR at home!! But you're right, new books are so tempting.

Hi, Lola! Glad you enjoyed my blog!

Anonymous said...

Hello ladies