A small sample of what it's like to live with me.

[truepenny]

Yesterday, I discovered the answer to an interesting philosophical question, like how many angels can stand on the head of a pin or how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop or how many Dadaists does it take to change a lightbulb*, namely if I go into a bookstore with the express intention of NOT buying books, how long does it take me to get into trouble?

The answer is twenty-five minutes.

I was doing fine in the New Fiction section, doing fine in the SF section. No trouble in YA or Mystery or Horror. But then I walked around to the other side of the case holding Horror and found myself in Drama, staring at a copy of Noises Off. Then, since I have a long ingrained rationalization that if you're going to buy one book, you might as well buy two, I checked for Christopher Fry--no luck--and Tom Stoppard--jackpot! and it was only by the exercise of fairly draconian self-government that I came away with only The Invention of Love. And then, in the checkout line, I was ambushed by Public Enemies (with the further rationalization assist that mirrorthaw would probably be interested as well and I can always lend it to matociquala, too).

Twenty-five minutes and forty bucks.

---
*Fish.

Comments

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

Bookstore = Occasion of Sin

It's just that simple, as Mr. Perot would say.

[rarelylynne.livejournal.com]

...the only reason that this doesn't happen to me more often is that I get it out of my system at work.

It's secondhand bookstores that get me -- so many unknown ownership histories!

[motorbike.livejournal.com]

My favorite one goes,

Q: How many ADD kids does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A: Let's go ride bikes!

[tazlet.livejournal.com]

I work too close to Daedelus Books' warehouse (and if you haven't, you should). Any Box Booksstore = 1 maybe 2 books a month. Daedelus = 3,4,5 and up. Books so affordable that I wind up spending at least twice as much.

Oh, yeah

[tazlet.livejournal.com]

Q: How many Klingons does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A: Two. But they have to be very small.

[travellex.livejournal.com]

I was taught that it takes two surrealists to change a lightbulb. One to hold the giraffe and the other to fill the bath tub with brightly coloured machine tools.

I'm saving up to travel, now, so I don't go into bookshops at all anymore.

I feel your pain

[katwrites.livejournal.com]

I live a 15 minute walk from Powells.

Ahhh

[muneraven.livejournal.com]

Books don't count in the budget. So sez my adept-at-money-making partner. O god I love her so!! We just had to buy another bookshelf.

why...

[themadblonde]

would you even BOTHER to go into a bookstore planning not to buy anything? It's like going to a restaurant w/ the intention of not eating, or a cast party & not talking about your next project...