After a martial arts class on Saturday morning, I decided I was going to do a throwback leisure activity and go to a book signing at ABC Books since I was going to the gun shop anyway, and it was on the way [Ed note: The gun shop is not, in fact, on the way; it is in the opposite direction, as a matter of fact, as this particular gun shop is in Ozark, which is south of Springfield, whereas ABC Books is so far north in Springfield that it is almost north of Springdfield.] Fine, fine. What really happened is that I planned to go to the book signing then the gun shop, but as it happened, the book signing was from 1-3 and not 11-2, so I flipped the order. I also dragged my youngest away from his Magical Fantasy Mirror for a couple of hours. He was more excited than dismissive when I mentioned going to the gun shop and lunch and a book signing–I will leave it to your imagination whether the gun shop or the lunch offered the enticement [Ed note: Probably the lunch].
At any rate, the side quests killed enough time that we arrived at ABC Books a little after 1 when the party was in full swing. I say “party,” because the young author brought some friends, and they were having a great time playing hide and seek or tag in the stacks. But I managed to dodge them as I hit the usual martial arts and poetry sections.
And only got a couple of things.
Including:
- Teendyth: On Desecrated Faith and New-Found Religion by Steven-Mark Maine. He described it as a horror book about the son of a preacher who goes to the seminary and meets a different deity, presumably a dark one.
- Finding Libre: My Life in the Martial Arts by Scott Babb.
- Manual of Throws for Sport Judo and Self Defense by Fred Neff. Formerly property of Sigma 3 Survival School. Jeez, I hope it wasn’t stolen and some survivalists come to Nogglestead to try to take it back.
- Houses of Worship, a hardback Ideals book with a lengthy inscription from a woman who “crashed” a party with her husband and had a great time and is giving this as a gift of thanks. I pointed it out to Ms. E., and we talked a little about Ideals magazine. She said that people came in the shop looking for them. I’d hunt them in thrift stores and whatnot to bring them in for profit, but, c’mon, man: Kittens and books: Two things that never leave Nogglestead.
I left two books on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on the shelves as that is not my bag, baby (perhaps it will be someday). But, c’mon, man (he said, repeating himself like the populizer of the saying), if I bought two books on Tai Chi walking to clean the section out, the odds are very, very good that I will someday buy these books. But not today.
So now they will disappear into the Nogglestead stacks, likely for a number of years, although perhaps the Houses of Worship and Manual of Throws might emerge sooner rather than later. I’ll certainly think of them. The key is to find them.
And, yes, this now officially means I have bought more books this month than I’ve read all year. It happens less frequently these days, but still sometimes happens.
