Going out of business. The Borders book store, right next to the Coffee Bean. I was disheartened. I get a warm feeling just going inside, checking out what's new in the lit business, it's relaxing just being around their books. Then I read, “Everything Must Go.” Gee-Wilikers, maybe they'll have a sale. Then I read, '20% off!' I was dancing in the sidewalk!All those pricey hard bounds. I'd read maybe the first ten pages of I don't know how many. All those 'How to write' books I should have on my 'Writer's reference book shelf,' the one I've been meaning to build, in case someone stopped by, “So you're a writer, all these books, impressive.” Heck, I'll miss the book signings, where I'm standing in the back, dreaming of one day when I'm...
But my mind went into over drive: If everything must go, closer to Christmas, it'll be 30 % off, then maybe, OMG! 50% off. What to do? What to do?
But, risky. What if all the 'good stuff' is gone? What to do? What to do?
I couldn't resist. Coffee in hand, I wandered in.
I must confess, most of my research (believe it or not I do research for this blog) comes from Google. So I wander a lot, I look at lots of books, even go upstairs, but when it comes right down to it, it's either; I pretty much know what's in this book, anyway, or, if I buy this book, it will just take time away from my rewrites. Or, I'm just too cheap. But hey, 20%.
Well, I found the perfect book. An hour in the evening won't take me away from rewrites, and it might even be beneficial. I felt excited. But should I really buy it?
My legs held me in line, my hand cramped up when I opened my wallet, I saw the money leave my wallet, it was there on the counter, and I was being handed a receipt. “Thank you, sir!” A deep breath, I'd done it. I had a cold chill. I'd bought the book. (I'll watch TV this weekend, rather than a movie, pay for some of it.) Who said I was cheap?
Okay, here's what happened. The book I was interested in was, “Write Like the Maters,' by William Cane. Flipping through, it dissects the styles of such writer as Hemingway, Melville, D. H. Lawrence, 12 in all. This would be extremely helpful, showing how such well known writers produced their works. But, right next to it was another book, 'Travel Writing,' by L. Peat O'Neil, former Washington Post writer, now a UCLA prof. Travel, then write about it. How much fun can that be? Well, I know it was spontaneous, (did someone say frivolous). A pen, a pad, and my Nikon. I can see it now,...“your hotel room over looking Waikiki, the warm trade winds, a cool Mai Tai, hula dancers in the distance...”
Over the next few days I'll report on my progress with this book. (New career?) Should be good to review it. Not only grist for this blog, but maybe its insights will be valuable for all of us.
Did I do the right thing? Will a travel 'who to' book be helpful? Was it worth the price, even at a 20% discount? We'll see.
The other book? I'm sure it'll look that much better when it's 50% off!
Thanks for reading this far. Please comment. Until tomorrow,
Cornelius Butterfield
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