This afternoon, to reward myself for finishing up my “design a network for a small office” (blech!) assignment (12 hours late, naturally), I went to the twitch-inducing Barnes & Noble at the mall to return Case Histories. Not because I’ve lost my desire to read it, oh no.
I was at the library, waiting by the elevator with a cart of books. This is the prime grazing location for our ‘sale books,’ the stuff that people donate that doesn’t make it to our own shelves. And there was a copy of Case Histories. Slightly beat up. The UK edition. A mere $2. So of course I buy that.
Which leads to me trundling back to the mall to pick out something shiny & new. I go through the same dilemmas again. I still want The King of Attolia to own & cherish, but if I returned the ‘new to me’ book, I should get a new ‘new to me’ book, right? I considered the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation of Crime & Punishment (I own a different translation and can’t seem to make it through in one piece), I again circled past Kavalier & Clay, but then, with near-perfect certainty, I fell upon Octavian Nothing. Worth the extra $4, I’m thinking (well, $6 if you add the $2 I paid for Case Histories).
When will I have time to read these? Sometime after I finish The Girls and The Secret River. And the other five library books on my shelf.
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October 18, 2006 at 6:05 pm
Katya
I’m always circling Kavalier & Clay, both in the bookstore and in the library, but I have yet to pick it up. I don’t know why.
October 19, 2006 at 3:21 am
Julia
The NYT has the first chapter of K&C on its website:
http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/c/chabon-amazing.html
October 19, 2006 at 8:46 am
jessmonster
I think it’s the comics thing. That doesn’t grab me. I KNOW I’ll like it once I start, but with so many other things on my shelf…it’s hard to start.
October 19, 2006 at 12:33 pm
Kitri
I think I’m finishing more things on your shelf than you are. ;o)
October 19, 2006 at 1:54 pm
jessmonster
You are – but you’re finishing the shortest things!
October 19, 2006 at 2:43 pm
babelbabe
Case Histories – I LOVED it. I love Kate Atkinson.
October 19, 2006 at 2:48 pm
babelbabe
also, have been eyeballing Octavian for a bit now…
October 19, 2006 at 9:31 pm
Bif
I HIGHLY enjoyed The Girls. Great treatment of a weird subject matter without the exploitative feel…
October 23, 2006 at 10:04 am
Booklist Blog Digest - saga continues
[…] When will I have time to read these? Sometime after I finish The Girls and The Secret River. And the other five library books on my shelf. Posted by jessmonsterVery nice article. Thanks to authorLink to original article […]