1. Yesterday, the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book came out. My 9 year old LOVES these books. She initially wanted to pre-order it online, but I knew that her "instant gratification" bent would lead to the following discussion which would have occurred yesterday:
Her: Dad, why isn't the book here?
Me: Honey, it was just RELEASED today so it was sent today. It will be here Thursday.
Her: But my friends already have it.
Me: [With no place to go but an unhelpful "I told you so."] I told you that would happen three weeks ago.
Her: Well, can we go BUY the book today and return the other book on Thursday?
Which is what probably would have happened. So, I successfully fended off her suggestion to pre-order. We went to buy the book yesterday. For some reason I cannot fathom, the Greatest Store on Earth (some of you call it Costco) wasn't carrying the book. Also, my daughter's aunt (my sister in law) had freaked my daughter out that the book would be sold out everywhere (how this could possibly be is beyond me, and how it gets my house riled up is also beyone me). They only had, oh, 75 copies in a display at the front of Barnes & Noble and another, oh, 50 copies in a display right by the check out line.
2. The two members of the Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club started Anathem over the weekend. One of us is 100 pages in. The other is intimidated by the timeline at the front of the book, the glossary at the back and the fact that (and I quote from an email) "There was so much made up language [vs. the Lord of the Rings trilogy] (I also spent too much time on the timeline) that I had little reference for what on earth they were talking about." Dude, they're not on earth; that's part of your problem.
3. While it is confession time (see my previous post), as I may have alluded to in earlier posts, I wasn't as dedicated a reader in high school. Well, that's not entirely true--there were plenty of nights that I was up late reading Pet Sematery (not a favorite) or Christine (a surprisingly excellent book given the ludicrous premise of a haunted or possessed car). But Grapes of Wrath? Not so much. Let's just say that in 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985 I received holiday cards from John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (you know them as the publishers of Cliffs Notes--and despite my intimate knowledge here, I don't know who "Cliff" is).
4. I've blogged about paperbackswap.com, good bookstores, etc. If you want great used book options, the site to use is Alibris.com. Alibris.com is an online marketplace for independent sellers of new and used books, music, and movies. I especially like the site because I often prefer hardcover copies of books (which is a big reason why I am a library consumer for books which have been out a while), and used copies can often be purchased for under $10 (even after paying shipping). Like borrowing from the library, though, make sure that you apologize to Mr. Publisher and Mrs. Author as these books have been bought and paid for--your purchases will not result in any royalties. However, you will be helping some terrific used and rare bookstores throughout the country.
What are you reading? Remember, RIF.
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