i was supposed to be wedding shopping with sister #3. but the thought of looking at ribbon to make pew bows made me want to pick out my liver with a used spork. i ducked out and headed to half-price books. oooohhhh, half-price books. i love that store. love it! i picked up a copy of david foster wallace’s “a supposedly fun thing i’ll never do again” for $4. i also got katherine dunn’s “geek love.”

“i love this book,” i murmured while fondly caressing the cover.
“you mean you already read it?” she said while manouvering her giant elephant-like blazer through the parking lot.
“yes.”
“then why did you have to buy it?”
“because i don’t own it.”
“that’s dumb. just think of all the things you could have if you didn’t waste so much money on books.”
“i like books,” i answered weakly.
“you’re never gonna get a man.”

she shook her head. she doesn’t get it. she missed the tantrum. i was perusing the shelves and ran across a copy of “a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.” who in the right mind would sell that book? gah! what kind of an idiot would part with such a magnificent book. i picked it up, rubbed it against my cheek and tried to think who i could give it to. sadly, nobody in my life would appreciate something so wonderful. so i left it there, allowing someone else to discover the magic.

the book store was packed. it was great. loads of little kids, which makes my heart smile. one woman was sitting in the children’s section reading a teletubbies books to her enraptured daughters. this woman’s voice was so lyrical and hypnotizing, i wanted to plop down and listen to her. i could have sat for hours as she read about tubbytoast and la-la.