Another Trip To The Used Bookstore
There has been a shakeup at the local used bookstore. They've cut way back on their workforce. Both lovely young ladies mentioned in my previous post have been affected. Scarlet was laid off, and Crystal only works on weekends.
You'd think this would result in me buying fewer books, but these changes weren't really sufficient. Scarlet quickly got another job at a nearby chain bookstore. The temptation factor is not quite as great, because Scarlet's new place of work, while nearby, is a little farther than the used bookstore. It's not a place I would just stop by while doing daily errands. Also, a chain bookstore is not like a used bookstore. There is no "yard sale" effect. I won't buy something at a chain because I'm worried it won't be there the next time I stop in. The supply chain isn't random enough for that.
But Crystal remains at the used bookstore. I dropped by to see her yesterday, and true to form, purchased 4 books. One of them was a well preserved copy of Tocqueville's Democracy In America, which is on my literary bucket list. The other three were The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammet, The Return Of Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse, and The Shroud Of The Thwacker by Chris Elliot. The Wodehouse book was the first I'd ever seen in a used bookstore. If I start seeing more of them I will take it as proof that the economy is not recovering after all. Why else would someone give up their Wodehouse? I almost bought a copy of Race And Culture by Thomas Sowell, but decided four was enough. I was proud of myself for resisting temptation.
I shouldn't have been, though. I went back the next day and purchased it. That and a book with the very intriguing title Schrodinger's Rabbits. As Crystal checked me out, she said "I thought you were going to not purchase any more books than you read this year?". I offered the lame excuse that it was only January and I had plenty of time to catch up. I also pointed out that I resisted the temptation to buy The Unbearable Lightness Of Being. Of course, I knew that was a pretty empty boast given my experience with Thomas Sowell. Crystal probably did too. She is a pretty sharp cookie.
You'd think this would result in me buying fewer books, but these changes weren't really sufficient. Scarlet quickly got another job at a nearby chain bookstore. The temptation factor is not quite as great, because Scarlet's new place of work, while nearby, is a little farther than the used bookstore. It's not a place I would just stop by while doing daily errands. Also, a chain bookstore is not like a used bookstore. There is no "yard sale" effect. I won't buy something at a chain because I'm worried it won't be there the next time I stop in. The supply chain isn't random enough for that.
But Crystal remains at the used bookstore. I dropped by to see her yesterday, and true to form, purchased 4 books. One of them was a well preserved copy of Tocqueville's Democracy In America, which is on my literary bucket list. The other three were The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammet, The Return Of Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse, and The Shroud Of The Thwacker by Chris Elliot. The Wodehouse book was the first I'd ever seen in a used bookstore. If I start seeing more of them I will take it as proof that the economy is not recovering after all. Why else would someone give up their Wodehouse? I almost bought a copy of Race And Culture by Thomas Sowell, but decided four was enough. I was proud of myself for resisting temptation.
I shouldn't have been, though. I went back the next day and purchased it. That and a book with the very intriguing title Schrodinger's Rabbits. As Crystal checked me out, she said "I thought you were going to not purchase any more books than you read this year?". I offered the lame excuse that it was only January and I had plenty of time to catch up. I also pointed out that I resisted the temptation to buy The Unbearable Lightness Of Being. Of course, I knew that was a pretty empty boast given my experience with Thomas Sowell. Crystal probably did too. She is a pretty sharp cookie.