Anyway, I had a coupon for 20% off, a discount card, and some gift certificates, so I went to the bookstore Saturday morning. The bookstore is, frighteningly for my husband, only a 15 minute walk away from our house. It's a good thing I'm cheap and don't buy a whole lot of books! I picked up 4 books Saturday morning and only spent $7. That's pretty good for 3 books and a magazine, I think.
How do I approach the bookstore? Like most shopping trips, I find it is better to go by yourself - you don't have to worry that your significant other is getting bored sitting over in the military magazine section while you debate for 30 minutes the merits of two nearly identical history books. Ahem. Anyway, I went by myself Saturday morning and I could wander around at will without worrying.
I wanted to try and stay under or around my gift certificate limit, which I managed to do, somewhat. In order to do that, I wandered around to all of my favourite sections, checked out what I liked, assessed the price and my interest, and then went back to all the sections to make my final choices. My trip around the bookstore went something like this: History, Mystery, Fiction, Fantasy, Cookbooks, Gardening, History, Mystery, and Magazines.
In the history section I picked up We Two Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill. It's a book about the relationship between Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. I've read many books about the Queen, but nothing that really focused on her relationship with her husband so specifically. I am especially intrigued by the promised excerpts from their journals and letters. A very close runner up was a new biography of Catherine of Aragon by Giles Tremlett. While I do own two books about Henry VIII's six wives, I haven't read much about them as individuals, so I think this would be very interesting to read.
In the Gardening section I picked up Lois Hole's Perennial Favorites by Lois Hole. The late Ms. Hole is something of a gardening guru here in Alberta, and her books are full of good advice and timeless wisdom. I very nearly picked up a different book on perennials, but you can't go wrong with Lois Hole!
I didn't find anything in the Cooking section that I wanted to buy - besides, my kitchen bookshelf is full, so I either need to purge some cookbooks or get a bigger shelf. Somehow, I think getting a bigger bookshelf will win out.
Likewise, I didn't find anything in the Fiction section that I wanted to buy either. Most of the fiction I read is classified as either Mystery or Fantasy/Sci-Fi anyway, so I'm probably not going to find anything I want in the Fiction section. Plus, I already have the new Jasper Fforde (which is confusingly sometimes classified as mystery and sometimes as fiction) so there wasn't really anything there for me.
In Fantasy, I hesitated over the Mercedes Lackey 500 Kingdoms series, as they had a number of them in paperback. But I didn't want to spend my entire gift certificate on one series, and I couldn't decide which one to get. So I didn't get any.
Similarly in Mystery, I hesitated over the Laurie R. King Mary Russell series: they had some there, and I am collecting the series, but I wasn't sure which one to get. Plus, they've changed the paperback format slightly, so the new copies won't be quite the same as the other ones I have. Which is so annoying - why do they do that? I don't mind having books of all different looks on my shelf, but it does make it difficult to organize them nicely by size if the editions in a series aren't the same.
While I didn't get a Laurie R. King book, I did pick up another Agatha Christie, as I'm trying to broaden my collection past the Poirots and Marples. I picked up the all-time scariest Christie ever - And Then There Were None. There were a few different editions there - I just picked the cheapest. I'm looking forward to reading it. In the daylight.
A random mystery/romance novel caught my eye about a Madam named India, a handsome British Spy, and espionage. I almost bought it of the shelf just for the picture on the front alone. It sounded really interesting. However, when I'm buying books, I tend to go for the tried and true, so I didn't get it. And sadly, I can't remember the name, so I don't know if I'll have any success in finding it at the library. I'm off to search for it after this.
And, finally, I finished up in the magazine section where I bought The Hockey News Magazine Draft Preview 2011. I'm a very well-rounded reader! The draft is coming up in two weeks, and I'd like to know a little bit more about these prospects. So far, they are scarily young. In a few years, I'll be old enough to be their mother!
So, that was my fun day at the bookstore. One note, however, don't expect posts about any of these books soon! I have just a few books on my beside table to get through first.... Right now, I am reading: Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert, The Lady Queen by Nancy Goldstone, One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde, Room by Emma Donoghue and I just finished my commuting book yesterday - Pat of Silver Bush by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Not to mention all the other books I've finished recently and haven't posted about, and some other new books that I got for Christmas and haven't had a chance to start yet, and the library book that's been sitting under a pile of Jane Austens for a few weeks....
As you can see, the trip to the bookstore was not necessary. But it was fun! And while I don't go that often, I do enjoy going when I can - although I will always prefer the library. Happy Reading!
Sounds like you had a successful shopping trip - obviously people who give you gifts know what to get you :)
ReplyDeleteThat is very true - they know I'll have a good time in the bookstore!
ReplyDeleteA bit late to the party ... but you would be proud to hear that I'm planning on buying my very first Mercedes Lackey book (Amazon is my Achilles' heel these days - so much more accessible, so much more dangerous). I'm going to get Black Swan - not sure if it's one of the books you've talked about in the past, but it's definitely an author I would not have found without you.
ReplyDeleteAnd I just finished the new Jasper Fforde, which was enjoyable as always. If you're looking for new library picks, I would also recommend The Churchills, by Mary Lovell. It's a fairly exhaustive history of the family from the 19th century on (with a fair bit of emphasis on Winston, naturally), which also coincides with 150 years or so of British history at its most tumultuous.