Reading (on the Cheap) is Fundamental

I'm not much of a shopper.  I tire out pretty quickly and lose interest.  Clothes shopping is the real killer.  Kate can attest to that.  I do pretty well with electronics and oddly, flea markets and art shows.  But stick me in a used bookstore, and hours disappear.  I love regular bookstores, too, but the cheaper than cheap, bargain basement, two steps away from using books as kindling stores are my favorite.

There's one in particular, in Wheaton, that I go back to again and again.  Not only are the books cheap; most paperbacks are one to two dollars, but they're also in decently good condition, alphabetized on shelves, and categorized by genre.  It's a wonderland!  It's as if some incredibly anal librarian with no concept of money let people come down into her basement and shop from her personal collection.  And I'm all too happy to take advantage.

I think what I love most about it, apart from the visceral sensation I get thumbing through racks of books, is the experimentation dirt cheap books affords you.  I can buy books I'd never think of paying full, or even half price for.  Books that I've never heard of but just have an interesting title, cool cover art or an author whose last name rhymes with some funny word.  I've discovered some really awesome books by scanning at random and buying in bulk.  I can't help but walk out every time I go in with a cardboard box full of books.

And since Kate and I have run out of places to store all those books, it's a good thing. Cardboard boxes store much better in the attic than plastic bags.  Who needs bookshelves?