Scouting

I've been reading Sweet Tooth, the new Ian McEwan novel, on my laptop for the last couple of days.  

I understand why publishers don't want to print advance copies, but curling up with my laptop just isn't the same as curling up with a good book.  Basically, I have another 48 hours to finish reading before this file vanishes from my computer.  I started taking notes as I go because there's no going back to check the facts, which I find annoying.

Stupid digital download. 

I'm on Chapter 15, better than halfway through, so I took a break this afternoon and went scouting.  Half Price Books mailed me a 50% off coupon, so I drove over there.

There was nothing very interesting in their collectibles case, but I did find this Thurber first edition in the fiction section:


The Beast In Me And Other Animals (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1948)

I'm a sucker for Thurber, everybody knows this.

 

I have lots of Benchley and Perelman and Runyon and Thurber on my shelves, but I see them so rarely that whenever I do find one, I usually buy it.  It was only $5 with my coupon.

 

My poet nephew has been listening to Graham Parker lately, and as I was flipping through the record bins, I found Purity of Essence, the third long-player from Parker's frequent backup band, The Rumour.

 

This same nephew is also an enormous Squeeze fan, and Purity of Essence contains the song "Depression" by Glen Tillbrook. 

 

There are also songs by Nick Lowe and Randy Newman and a bunch of originals by the band (Brinsley Schwarz, Martin Belmont, Andrew Bodnar, and Steve Goulding).

 

I've never herad the album, so I'll probably listen to it tonight while I make dinner.

 

I scoured the rest of the store, and ended up in the vintage paperback aisle.  There was some fun stuff, but a lot of it I either had or felt was overpriced. 

 

Except for this:

 

The cover art made me wonder if James Avati had painted it, but it doesn't matter.  I'd buy this book for the scent alone.

 

Both the Bellow book and the Rumour lp had several price stickers.  If I'm reading the tag correctly, the album was originally marked $7.50 (in January 2010), then steadily reduced until June of this year. 

 

I think I paid $2.50 for it. 

 

The Adventures of Augie March was originally marked $4.  I found it sitting in the clearance box, priced at $2.

 

Did I mention how good it smells?