Friday 22 February 2008

Socks and Books, Books and Socks.

Knowing full well that the new Interweave Knits was imminent, I've been scouting my usual places of purchasing looking for the magazine. Not having checked the day the issue would hit the newsstands, I decided I was heading for the big guns. Chapters, here I come.

Taking myself to Chapters is sort of like taking me to a yarn store. My wallet sighed before I opened the door. I of course, moved forward, undaunted.

A visit to a book store is an adventure. If you are me, you have to go through all the zones. I checked out all the mark downs (sorry authors, but my wallet obliges that I do this), and found nothing of interest. Well some things of interest, but they were not at the price I wanted to pay, just yet. They were books that people will send soon enough to the good used book store.

I moved on, down to the back of the store (otherwise known as the mall entrance) where the magazines are. Ah, they had it, as well as a couple other interesting looking magazines on knitting, crocheting, and needlework. I could have stood for quite some time, just looking at covers and flipping through pages. But I was trying to get home, so I picked up a couple including the Interweave Knits, and wandered down the other side of the store.

A friend recommended writer Geraldine Brooks a while ago, and I'll tell you, her books never show up in the used books stores (3 of them) that I visit fairly regularly. So as I cruised the store last night, I thought to check if they had her latest in.

Her latest is called People of the Book. I've read the Washington Post review, and it sounds like a very very good book. Here is what a friend says after reading it. So if you are looking for a good read, this looks like a winner.

The stores files by authors last name, alphabetically, so I hied off the the 'B' shelves. One lone book. Year of Wonders. I sat and read the back cover (OK, I read the last chapter. I often do. - it was wonderfully evocative). I think I read about this book before. The story of a woman and a village in the time of a plague. I kept that book in hand and went off to check the terminal to see if they might have other books hiding in another section. The store showed 4 copies of People of the Book, but none of March, her 2006 Pulitzer Prize winner. I hunted for those 4 copies, and voila, right where I never look, in the hot books section. So I grabbed one of the 3 on the shelf, and debated a bit if I should take the Year of Wonders. Which I did. FYI, there were only 3 copies, because one was in the hands of a lady just in front of me at the tills - great minds think alike.


My wallet sighed when I left tills, but you know, I, firm believer in finding homes for books without, did not even care. The yarn budget sort of became the book budget but oh well. Some things are meant to be.

There was knitting last evening. The toe and some of the foot on the Tutti Fruitti socks. I've a picture, but blogger doesn't seem to want to post just now. Maybe later.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love Geraldine Brooks! I've got People of the Book from the library - have only read the first bit of it so far.

mostlylurking

Sandra said...

Yeah, I can't get out of a bookstore with JUST what I went in for, either! Same with yarn stores...