I can easily think of half a dozen books from the last six months that I simply had to pick up immediately upon becoming aware of their existence, the last of these being Millard Kaufman's Bowl of Cherries.
In fact it was on a lunch hour trip to Barnes & Nobles with a friend where I struck out on picking up the nonagenarian debut novel, when said friend asked "you still buy books?" That question partially planted the seed of my attempt to not buy books. I later found the book at Tattered Cover after deciding the library's wait list for their one copy was too long.
Invariably, my experience with Bowl of Cherries mirrored many of my must-read-right-now purchases; I devoured the first third, slowed down through the second and the final rests on my bookshelf caring not a whit whether I ever get around to finishing. Not that you have to finish a book to enjoy it.
And so the familiar madness afflicted me late this morning when I learned of an overlooked gem of a baseball book that featured the 1982 Brewers, Daniel Okrent's 9 Innings: The Anatomy of a Baseball Game. How could this be? How could I not read it already? I must have it right now!
And there it was on Amazon, presumably not in local bookstores (it was written over 20 years ago), but easily obtained within the week.
Except I’m not buying books.
I logged on to the Denver Public Library's site and steeled myself for the prospects of an interminable wait while my ILL request traced through the nation’s federated library systems. Then, huzzah! There it was, in DPL's system and even on the shelves. What luck! What happy, happy luck!
Within half and hour, my transaction - not purchase - complete, I happily thumbed through my book with thoughts of really sinking my teeth into it later this evening.
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As a follow up to yesterday's list on the best bookstores in the world, today I came across an AP story on the Seattle Times site of must visit bookstores in the U.S. Happily they include the LoDo Tattered Cover along with Seattle's wonderful Elliott Bay Book Co., which I still pine for.
In fact it was on a lunch hour trip to Barnes & Nobles with a friend where I struck out on picking up the nonagenarian debut novel, when said friend asked "you still buy books?" That question partially planted the seed of my attempt to not buy books. I later found the book at Tattered Cover after deciding the library's wait list for their one copy was too long.
Invariably, my experience with Bowl of Cherries mirrored many of my must-read-right-now purchases; I devoured the first third, slowed down through the second and the final rests on my bookshelf caring not a whit whether I ever get around to finishing. Not that you have to finish a book to enjoy it.
And so the familiar madness afflicted me late this morning when I learned of an overlooked gem of a baseball book that featured the 1982 Brewers, Daniel Okrent's 9 Innings: The Anatomy of a Baseball Game. How could this be? How could I not read it already? I must have it right now!
And there it was on Amazon, presumably not in local bookstores (it was written over 20 years ago), but easily obtained within the week.
Except I’m not buying books.
I logged on to the Denver Public Library's site and steeled myself for the prospects of an interminable wait while my ILL request traced through the nation’s federated library systems. Then, huzzah! There it was, in DPL's system and even on the shelves. What luck! What happy, happy luck!
Within half and hour, my transaction - not purchase - complete, I happily thumbed through my book with thoughts of really sinking my teeth into it later this evening.
---
As a follow up to yesterday's list on the best bookstores in the world, today I came across an AP story on the Seattle Times site of must visit bookstores in the U.S. Happily they include the LoDo Tattered Cover along with Seattle's wonderful Elliott Bay Book Co., which I still pine for.
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