You might think that I would always be in the mood to buy a book. In fact, I would have thought the same thing as well. But today I left the house without anything to read and I ended up having down time in the middle of the day where I had nothing to do. I had already done the daily Sudoku on the Metro and I still had about an hour to kill. And I was too tired (jet lag) to just browse for an hour.
Here are the reasons I didn’t want to buy a book:
- I am already actively reading four books. I wanted to read one of those, not temproarily move on to something new.
- My TBR is so big and so jam packed with wonderful things I want to read, I really didn’t want to add to the pile.
- It was Borders Books. If I am buying new it is not my favorite place to do it. If I am going to a big chain I would prefer Barnes & Noble where I have one of those discount membership thingies. But more than that I would prefer to buy some used and fabulous from Books for America.
But in the end I did find something that piqued my interest and proved a worthy tome with which to kill the hour. I ended up buying Sinclair Lewis’ It Can’t Happen Here. I am a huge fan of Sinclair Lewis. I have read about seven of his novels and I really dig him. He was not only the first American to win theNobel Prize for literature, but he also hails from my home state of Minnesota. Plus, this one imagines Americans marching off toward facism in 1935. Following my recent re-read of Atwood’s dystopic The Handmaid’s Tale it kind of makes sense to get another take on America run amok.
hogglestock 
Not a comment on this post, but I just got my Persephone catalogue and newsletter and LOOOVVVEEEE them. Thanks for telling us about them. Have to now start my list of what to order first.
Beth
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Beth: Isn't the catalog fun?! If you will permit me, I highly recommend The Home-maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. I got it from my Persephone secret santa and I loved it.
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Oh, I can never enter a bookstore without buying a book! I also had major jet lag last week and it was lovely to have the perfect book for it…the Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (review to come soon). Very creepy!
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Ooh – lucky you Beth – have fun choosing!
Thomas – I know the feeling you describe in this post – sometimes its just inevitable!
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I've been thinking about picking up this one for a while. I can't wait to see your thoughts on it!
Lezlie
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Mrs. B: I am finding that my cure for jet lag is lots of bad TV and getting all the vacation photos up on the blog. I haven't done much reading in the week since our return.
Verity: I agree, there is nothing like getting the catalog for the first time. I am just happy to be able to pass along the Persephone groove to others. I thought I was just preaching to the converted.
Lezlie: Are you a fan of Sinclair Lewis or just interested in this title?
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I haven't read any of his work yet. If you have other suggestions, I'd love to hear them!
Lezlie
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I am such a bad Minnesotan I haven't yet read Lewis. But I can claim wiggle room on that since I am not originally from Minnesota. Still, I gotta get around to him before I've lived here too much longer and I lose my transplant staus.
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This one's on my list, as I love Lewis, too. I'm surprised you managed to find it at Borders, since it isn't one of Sinclair Lewis's most well-known works, and my experience is that I rarely ever find that sort of thing at Borders. Perhaps your Borders you were in iis better than ours? (They're very hit-or-miss, depending on their locations.) Glad to hear you liked it.
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Lezlie: Main Street is what made him famous, and rightly so. Babbitt is great. Elmer Gantry takes on the theme of a crooked evangelist. Arrowsmith has a medical/science theme. Each of these is great. I also like Dodsworth.
Stefanie: After you read your first Sinclair Lewis and become a fan you can make a pilgrimage to his hometown of Sauk Centre.
Emily: Borders are indeed hit or miss. This store had this title and Main Street but none of the other Lewis greats.
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This has happened to me several times while traveling. I usually look for something in the airport bookstore that I can finish reading before the end of my flight.
I confess, I secretly love airport bookstores. The ones in San Francisco are particularly good.
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Wouldn't a good used bookstore be marvelous in an airport. You could spend hours getting lost in the shelves.
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