I thought the book sale was open until 6pm yesterday, but when we rolled into the Ozark library at 4:40, it turned out we only had twenty minutes to browse.
Which impeded me less than a current soon-to-be-forgotten self-discipline in buying books. No longer am I in the market for dollar hardbacks that might be interesting someday. Instead, I’m looking for items in particular subject areas or by authors I have read and will probably like. Which no longer includes John Sandford, by the way.
At any rate, here’s what we got:
You can see my beautiful wife got a bunch of magazines. She likes to browse through them pretty quickly and tear out recipes and other items of interest for later review. This particular sale is her favorite because they have so many that fit her criteria of interest. Also notice she bought a book entitled Black Belt Karate, which is funny because she is about a month shy of receiving a black belt in a different martial arts discipline.
At any rate, I got:
- Two Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher: Side Jobs and Changes.
- The Ancient Near East, a collection of primary texts from that period (which is suddenly one of my interest subject areas. Note that this practice of self-discipline often means I buy a collection of books in a current interest which then passes or pauses, and the books sit unread for years.
- Into These Hills, a bit of Ozarks history.
- The Pessimist’s Guide To History, a collection of historical anecdotes and not an epistemological filter on actual history.
- Learning To Kill, a collection of short stories by Ed McBain (and, perhaps, some of his other pen names).
- The Reagan Wit, a thin volume about the 40th President’s humor.
- Lost Boys, a book by Orson Scott Card. Presumably not about teenaged vampires.
That’s only 8 books, which is felonious self-restraint.
The biggest story here is the one that got away: I had picked up another book, a collection of stories about a Chinese folk hero whose name escapes me that was translated from the Chinese. I was surprised not to have it.
At any rate, I’ve read more books than I’ve bought this year, but the upcoming weeks will include the Friends of the Clever Library Book Sale and the big kahuna, the Friends of the Springfield-Greene County Library book sale. I will visit the latter twice: once on a week day for dollar albums and then on Saturday for the half price day to seek books in my preferred current interest areas and any CD lecture series that look interesting.
