New Used Books

It's spring break so it's time to pretend I have time in my life for things other than school, work, and blogs. To that end, L. and I went to a big used book sale at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School yesterday because what we really really need in our lives is more books. (Note to self: Take picture of the half dozen completely overloaded and sagging bookshelves in our tiny apartment.) But you know, when good books are going for $1/each, how can you say no? Yesterday's picks for me were:

• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (because it was a dollar and it's been so long since I read it that I've basically forgotten the whole thing and the movie is coming and, well, I don't want to see the movie w/out knowing where my towel is, you know?)
• The Restaurant at the End of The Universe (see above)
• Life, The Universe and Everything (and again)
• Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut (because he's great and I haven't read it)
• Galapagos (same as above)
• Jailbird (again)
• The Trial by Franz Kafka (because I sadly must admit I've never read it and I know it should b/c just about every piece of literary criticism or theory I've read and loved has relied upon The Trial in some way or another)
• The Recognitions by William Gaddis (because the Wallace List talks about it all the time so maybe I'd like it
• Science Fiction: A Historical Anthology, edited by Eric S. Rabkin (because it contains some classic sci-fi short stories that I've never read)

In all, a great haul of books that I may never read and which I will move countless times before I admit that I will never read them, at which point I will donate them to another charity book sale where they will be sold again for $1/each, only to begin the whole cycle again. Or maybe I will read them since they're mostly tiny paperbacks that won't take that long to read and which will be easy to carry w/me on the train this summer. We'll see. Any thoughts on any of these books? Faves? Dislikes?

Posted 02:08 PM | Comments (6) | ai books

Happy Birthday, Denise!

Denise of Life, Law, Gender turns 50! today and all she wants for her birthday is a comment from you. Get thee to her comments window, friends! And if you want to add some fun, send your wishes in a language other than English. I chose Finnish since I have some (minimal) connections to that language and because it's so different from English. The Danish sounds fun, too, though.

Posted 11:41 AM | Comments (1) | 2L