Marisa and I had to go to a wedding yesterday. Now, I’m not the most social person in the world (shocker) and I’m even worse when I don’t know many people I am supposed to socially interact with. At this wedding there would be almost no one I knew, other than Marisa, but being the good husband I was happy to accompany my lovely wife. She sweetened the pot, however, by promising me a visit to the Plymouth Meeting Mall during the 2 hour break between the ceremony and the reception.
A trip to some random mall generally wouldn’t result in a placated Scott but this mall is home to an outlet of Ukazoo Books which sells both new and used books. I figured I would give myself a limit of $10 and see what treasures I could find (a favorite past time of mine).
We had no idea how fortuitous our timing was because it would seem that the Plymouth Meeting Ukazoo location is closing, and they were having a big clearance sale. Of course I’m sad to see any independent bookstore close, but that is balanced out by my insatiable desire for MORE BOOKS. I was struck, as we entered the store, by a certain melancholy which I last felt visiting the Borders that used to be in Center City Philadelphia during its last days of operation. The shelves are pretty bare, the staff is milling about trying to figure out what to do next with their lives, and I’m there looking for some cheap books like some sort of readerly vulture.
Anyway, not only were they closing (sad face), but we were visiting on the last day they were open (happy face). My plan to spend only $10 was thwarted by the particulars of their clearance sale: $5 for as many books as you can stuff into a brown paper bag (they provided the bag).
Let me tell you, when you’re paying $5 for a bag of books your selectivity takes a hit. Marisa and I managed to find 35 books that piqued our interest, and crammed them all into one bag. 14 cents a book? Why not!
Out of the 35 I take credit for snagging the following 12 books:
- Murder, She Wrote: Margaritas & Murder: I find Murder, She Wrote entertaining, and this whole series of books has lots of fans. Why not give it a try for a few cents?
- Homegoing: I haven’t read as much Pohl as I should (I don’t think I’ve read anything by him, to be honest). Plus kangaroo like aliens? You know that’s going in the bag.
- The Undersea Trilogy: You can’t judge a book by the cover, but that’s what I did with this one.
- Visible Light: Another great cover that I couldn’t resist.
- The Skinner: I’ve been meaning to read some Asher, and the cover describes this as “Dune meets Master and Commander.”
- The Forgery of Venus: Marisa and I both think we’ve read The Book of Air and Shadows, so it makes sense to get this one.
- Medicus: An ancient Roman doctor detective? Duh.
- The Catch: A Joe Gunther Novel: I’ve read another of Mayor’s books and found it entertaining (and it allows me to more fully flesh out my fantasy of moving to Vermont).
- Company: Max Barry is an amusing author.
- Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story: I might own this already, but for a few cents why not get another one just to make sure.
- Shampoo Planet: Douglas Coupland isn’t my favorite writer, but I appreciate what he tries to do with his work.
- Space Vulture: Another great cover, and this book was co-authored by a priest.
Marisa picked up a slew of books, which I shan’t list here (though I might read a few of them over the next couple of years.
One response to “More books then expected”
All great finds except Company. I thought it wasn’t very good. But at a going rate of 14 cents a book, there really isn’t such a thing as a bad book. Many a shelf in my own home have been filled in a similar fashion.