Bibliophile

Woke up early this morning. Almost fell back asleep, but was so seduced at the idea of a day wholely to myself that I couldn't wait to start it. Started making a lists of the things I wanted to do. Deposit checks at bank. Mail check to JLITH and phone bill. Go to bookshop to find copy of Our Lady of the Lost and Found. Shop for groceries and take dinner to sister missionaries at Visitor's Center by 1730 (my only time constraint today).

So, I walked up Westwood Boulevard and got the first two done on my way to Border's Bookstore, that mocha-latte'd purveyor of cheap books. The first thing that caught my eye was a sign advertising a two-for-three sale. Hungrily wandered around the seleccted tables, grabbing whatever suited my fancy and sat down to peruse and judge the truly worthy. In the back of my mind, I'd pretty much decided to pick out three to buy, and just read one in-store, as I know Wry's (my new and clever nomiker for BFF) done in the past. Found a comfy chair and settled in. Wasn't altogether at ease ... the air conditioning was less than stellar, and small droplets of perspiration would continue to roll down my back, a testament to the muggy morning, but soon enough I was lost in the world of books.

The Know-It-All was a shoe-in. After reading a page and a half of the introduction, I was hooked. I should have stopped there and gone on to the next subject, but Jacobs had me hooked, and there was no breaking off until I'd finished that section.

Similarly, Reading Lolita in Tehran had outright appeal. Finished intro and placed in "To Buy" pile.

A History of God made me pause. I remembered reading Through the Narrow Gate (at least, I think that's the one) from one of the Reader's Digest condensed books that littered my parents' home. I remember being anxiously fascinated at her convent life, and very invested in her immersion into the secular world; probably because I was on the cusp of leaving elementary school, and wanted to be accepted and guided into womanhood by the cool girls, as she was. Interesting to see the change from believer to scholar. For me, this is a future read. Probably near future, as Muslim issues seem so particularly pressing these days. But for now, it goes into the return pile.

The Bookseller of Kabul also fascinated me, although I could tell that this book would get me up in arms about women's rights. Placed in the "To Buy" category.

Never Let Me Go almost turned me off by its blonde, blue-eyed, almost Barbie-ish front cover. But I was swayed by the author, with his distinctly Japanese name and as having written The Remains of the Day. The paperback (they were all paperbacks, which I find mildly depressing) opened with a fluid rustle of pages, and I started to read. I find Ishiguro's prose to be emotionally evocative and moving. Every once in a while, a word or phrase would seem odd and slightly mar the calm surface, but I was too engrossed to go find a dictionary to look it up. As I moved deeper and deeper in the book, these oddities started coalescing into a formidable picture of the future. The only thing I can compare it to is The Handmaid's Tale, although Ishiguro is much more subtle and shadowy. Was about a third of the way through when I realized it was 1630. What a quandry. I only wanted to buy three books, and yet here was a fourth. Intense inner struggle for one minute. Then I regretfully took Bookseller out of the pile. Maybe when I've done with these, I'll go find it in the library and read it for free. All I knew is that I couldn't not finish Never Let Me Go (with it's vaguely pop-romance-ish title) this very night.

Books. I love them. And if you're wondering about the book haven in the picture, Pilgrimgirl introduced me to the blog Book Lust. Worth a gander, although I wish Patricia Storms reviewed independent book stores outside of Toronto.