the Dalaverse

Why do I feel this overwhelming urge to go used book shopping? Not only have I got shelves and stacks of unread books and books I'd love to have the time to reread sitting in front of me -- not only did I just get two books from Meg for my birthday -- not only did I just discover a book I really want to read in the dining room -- not only have I gotten back in the habit of going to the library -- not only have I decided that my next paycheck will go towards the 20 GB iPod I cannot stop looking at on amazon --

.....

I have no idea how to end that sentence.

Anyway, point being, I STILL WANT TO BUY NEW BOOKS.

WTF is wrong with me? I was in Borders the other night and my parents had to, like, physically remove me from the store before I bankrupted myself. There's just nothing more satisfying then -- okay, first there's the satisfaction of buying a BRAND-NEW, never-been-loved book with an unbent spine and creamy pages and that new-book smell. And there's also the satisfaction of finding a hardcover edition of all Ray Bradbury's short stories for $7, or an Australian edition of Harry Potter, or that somebody has just gotten rid of their entire Patrick O'Brian collection. They're about equal, those two thrills.

I think this is why I so rarely buy books online, which is not the case with movies and music. I like being able to thumb through the thing, I like carrying it around with me while I browse, I like digging into the bag and reading a snippet at a red light on the way home (yeah, you don't want to drive anywhere near me when I'm coming back from Book Alcove). The sense of discovery's not quite the same when it arrives in a box.

Sigh. I did reserve a copy of the new Harry Potter. 40% off and then they tempt you into buying something else along with it with a 25% coupon. This will take careful deliberation. I've got over a month, I should be okay.