The "words" part of this blog .

I've mentioned "books" on here a few times, but never really wrote anything about them. While I haven't visited a music store in a while, I find myself irresistably drawn to second-hand book shops and the local Goodwill. The thrill I used to get by spending an hour or so looking up and down the shelves of used CDs and records, I now only seem to experience in the book stores.

I think part of the problem is that I've already bought most of the music I wanted that was available commercially. Too many instances of "Cool, I'd buy that... if I didn't already own it." It seems as if that'll never happen with books, though. For me, part of the fun is finding something unusual or hard-to-find mixed in with "the usual suspects." Despite knowing that many of these books are available at the local libraries, I still insist on owning them. I'm a quick reader, so you'd think I'd continue getting stacks of books at the library, as I did when I was younger, and have them all done days before the due date... but instead I spend my money on "my own copies"... even though my existing books are stacked two deep and my shelves are bowed.

Goodwill appeals to me the most, since I can "trade in" the books I don't want to keep (that I couldn't sell anywhere else) for a discount coupon and bring home another bagful for close to what one new book would cost.

So, today I took a break from listing books on half.com and listing some of my grandmother's vintage cookbooks on Etsy to take another bag full of stuff to Goodwill. I returned with another bag of books. Already, I can hear my significant other groaning: "Why'd you buy more books?"
But there were some great finds today! A copy of Harlan Ellison's Angry Candy, which I hadn't read since I'd checked a copy out of the library when I was younger! A paperback by one J.D. Ratcliff that proved that Chuck Palahniuk wasn't making up that bit from Fight Club about the Reader's Digest stories that were narrated by human organs! (The title is I am Joe's Body, in case you were curious.) Two more John D. MacDonald novels I haven't read (Slam the Big Door and Nothing Can Go Wrong)! A copy of Isaac Asimov's Murder At The ABA (which, according to Wikipedia, has a protagonist inspired by the aforementioned Mr. Ellison. At any rate, the book is dedicated to him.) The list goes on...