My new bookshelves are coming today. Two of them. Big'uns.
[Dichroic
does a Happy Dance][1]
They say more people are reading these days,
thanks to Oprah and Harry Potter and all, and maybe it's true. Granted some of
Oprah's picks look like crap, but then again, some of them are Alice Walker. The
Harry Potter books really do live up to their hype; I only get annoyed when people
call them better than any other children's books ever. The competition for that
honor is very, very stiff.
And it doesn't matter anyhow, I figure;
once people start reading, whether it's feel-good pseudo-literature or football
stories, Dick and Jane or Sweet Valley High, they can go on to find what else is
out there, and decide what they really like.
Besides, maybe Oprah's
books aren't all that bad. I have to confess I've never read any, except the
aforementioned Alice Walker.
What gets me wondering is the plethora
of GIANT HUGE bookstores springing up around here. I was thrilled to be moving to
an area that had a Borders, because they carry music I hadn't been able to find
since moving out of Philadelphia -- this was before the Internet became a major
shopping option. Then I found out there were two, no, three, in town. Then they
built more. Now, just within the area I can drive without feeling like I've left
my part of town, there are about 6 very large stores.
The new mall a
mile away that's opening in October has a Barnes and Noble, presumably for those
who don't want to drive 10 minutes to the next closest one. There's a Borders 5
minutes away as well as the one 20 minutes away, not to mention the new one
they're building up by ASU (15 minutes away plus another 5 to park). And there's
a Half-Price Books -- a used bookstore chain that doesn't feel like a chain -- and
a large local store called Changing Hands. I liked the original one of those, over
at ASU better. It had nooks and crannies and a feeling that you might find
anything there. They've moved closer to me; the new one is nice and bright and
friendly, but more of their books are new (and full-price) rather than used as the
name implies. Still, they're great for unique cards and calendars and other
assorted stuff. Half-Price and Changing Hands, by the way, are nearly as large as
Borders and B&N.
I'm amazed that this area can support so many
bookstores. And happy to have to many chances to get rid of any extra money I
didn't happen to need. (Food? Who needs food?)
[1]The Dichroic Happy
Dance derives from the Comanche Happy Dance, used when I was on a team working on
software for the Comanche helicopter. It is much less impressive when performed by
me, than when rendered by a 6'1" 350lb former coworker. His Happy Dance was a
thing to behold.