Reading books and owning books are two different things. I have resumed my love affair with the library when it comes to books I want to read. Generally, these are popular fiction or mysteries that I will read in a few days. They are all part of a series with, in some cases, eight installments. And they rarely come up in the bargain ebook bin. With five of them under my belt, I’ve probably saved $50!<\/p>\n
Which I then invested in analog books. The library will never replace buying a book for me and it seems as though book shops have been throwing themselves in my path. I had to take an extra suitcase to San Antonio that would be essentially empty coming back but still have to be checked. What to do? Fill it with books!<\/p>\n
I investigated independent bookstores in San Antonio and found The Twig Book Shop<\/a>, but it was too far away with my limited schedule. One evening, however, I wandered through the Rivercenter Mall and came upon the Thai Princess Book\u00a0Shop<\/a>. It was an intriguing shop, small with extensive collections of a few popular authors and then an interesting smattering of other stuff including San Antonio authors. That’s mostly what I bought along with two of the Thai Princess’s books.<\/p>\n Yes, there is a Thai Princess and she’s been endorsed by Oprah! Her name is\u00a0Nuensie Nancy Suku Oakley. Poor, abused, she fought hard<\/a> to become a successful businesswoman. The proceeds from her books go to charity. I had the privilege of talking with her and she promised to come help me when I’m ready to open my own book shop.<\/p>\n Here’s the list<\/a> of what I bought. I’ve already finished Simple Genius<\/a><\/em>, the third book in David Baldacci’s King and Maxwell series. It was a well written version of a pretty formulaic genre. So much so, I borrowed the first book in the series from the library. Split Second<\/a> <\/em>was also good…a little creepier than Simple Genius but with similar dead ends, plots twists, and generally well-developed characters.<\/p>\n My folks invited me to spend a few days with them in their condo at Massanutten. It was a last minute trip…they didn’t expect to have a second bedroom. I accepted and had a lovely visit with them that included some Skyline Drive, an interesting lunch at the Thomas House<\/a> restaurant in Dayton, and a trip to the Green Valley Book Fair<\/a>. I resolved to only fill one basket and managed to do so quite nicely. I bought a couple cookbooks and six other books. Here’s the list<\/a>, which\u00a0includes books purchased when I was there in the spring. I picked up Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter<\/em><\/a> today and am finding it intriguing and a bit fun.<\/p>\n Speaking of book shops appearing out of nowhere, I don’t think I posted about the books I bought when I was visiting in Pennsylvania in early May? Turns out BJ’s Wholesale Club has a pretty good selection of recent titles. I walked away with a few books including Edward Rutherford’s new tome, Paris<\/em><\/a>, which I started but then abandoned until I have a few days when I can immerse myself in the sprawling novel.<\/p>\n I did write about my visit to Blue Whale Books<\/a> in Charlottesville.<\/p>\n It has been a good book shop year so far…not sure what I’ll find this summer. It’s going to be an airport summer, and I found some great books last summer in the airport book stores. I’ve already gotten started with Flight Behavior<\/em><\/a> by Barbara Kingsolver. I bought it in the Richmond airport and finished it during a recent trip. I did bring it home…any one want to borrow it? It’s a novel with a message about environmental stewardship woven into a complex tale of family and community.<\/p>\n I’ve been reading quite a bit, it seems, escaping the afternoon heat and incoming emails for an hour here and there. I’ll post a longer review of Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose<\/a>, <\/em>which\u00a0flowed richly from the page, a big story of the West that managed to also be an intimate portrait of a marriage.<\/p>\n I am going to start my career as a bookseller this summer. We’re going to have a table at the local farmers’ market, and I’m going to fill up my book spinner with a few paperbacks. I think I can part with a few things. I need shelf space for the new books I bought.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reading books and owning books are two different things. I have resumed my love affair with the library when it comes to books I want to read. Generally, these are popular fiction or mysteries that I will read in a few days. They are all part of a series with, \u2026 Continue reading