Dear Reader,
Alas, today contained another memorial, and after extending condolences, lunch was Chinese food followed by a pop-by to Ollie’s Bargain Outlet.
(Not an ad!)
Y’all, it might be my and Word Raccoon’s new book addiction spot. Even as I complain about needing more bookshelves and bargain with myself and Word Raccoon about weeding out some books, I couldn’t resist! I mean…look at those prices!
We first wandered into an Ollie’s when we had half an hour to spare a few months ago. Apparently, that was all it took.
Most of the books are $3.99. At that price, leaving them there began to seem financially irresponsible, or so sayeth WR.
In case the photo doesn’t do it for you:
When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It by Ben Yagoda
Trajectory by Richard Russo
Elsewhere by Richard Russo
Art Objects: Essays on Ecstasy and Effrontery by Jeanette Winterson
The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes
Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry edited by Billy Collins
The Only Story by Julian Barnes
The 50s: The Story of a Decade by The New Yorker
I even checked our library’s catalog while we were there, and of the books I was considering, they only had one, a Nancy Mitford, so I put that one back and bought the rest because you’re not going to find these just anywhere, and certainly not for $3.99!
Why, the shipping would be more! (I sound like that unintentional ASMR curtain woman, am I right?!)
There were a few more books I kinda wanted, but I told myself they are niche enough that they are likely to still be there when we return sometime. And then there were a couple that were right author, wrong book.
But I keep thinking if I bide my time, I will find the elusive creatures without having to pay full price.
I think I’m most excited to read Winterson (that title!) and the volume of poetry. Then again, maybe the Russo. And didn’t I start the year reading Barnes’s latest? Maybe I should catch up on him.
Oh, and I saw Patchett’s Tom Lake on sale at a distance there, though it had its own special display case, so it might not have been $3.99 like the rest. But it’s at a discount store? Already?
It came out in 2023, WR reminds me. Still. That seems like just yesterday.
And wait, wasn’t that the year my own Southern-Fried Woolf came out? (I see the sales reports monthly and well, I still get a bit, but Word Raccoon and I are not exactly getting wealthy from the proceeds. Which is fine, because that’s not why we wrote it.)
WR might be on her walking pad right now trying out her new handle so she doesn’t fall off like she did the first time she tried it, but I’m going to be reading very soon.
I’m also contemplating pretty seriously a DQ pumpkin pie Blizzard.
The gym is reopening tomorrow after the renovations, not that a Blizzard deserves penance. Hmm. I think WR just convinced me to upgrade from a mini to a small. I mean, the PPB is only available once a year, am I right?
Drema