Confessions of an habitual book buyer
Confessions of an habitual book buyer
The Lit. Chick
By Heather Brush
Everyone has a weakness; mine is the written word. I brought home several more books over the weekend. I have bookshelves lining my living room walls, I have bookshelves in my bedroom. I have boxes of books in the garage, in the attic, and stacks of them by my bedside. Yet, when I pass a used book store, I am drawn to go inside. When the thrift store offers a bag sale, I seek to fill one. That’s where I buckled under this week, at the Rescue Mission thrift store, I filled a red plastic bag with books, for $2.
“The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling, was one of them, a Puffin Classic paperback copy. I had one as a child, a hardback with a daunting, darkly illustrated cover. My grandmother had bought it for me, for “when you are older.” I was drawn to that book like forbidden fruit. Each time I visited Grandma’s house I would look at it, crack it open, and try to read a little. Years passed and eventually, the book was lost. I never read it in entirety. Now, I can.
Another title I took home is one of those you hear about. “The Gangs of New York” by Herbert Asbury was first published in 1928. Set in the saloons and alleyways of the Bowery and Five Points district of NYC, it dramatically depicts the violence and destitution of the times and place. It’s a book I should read, especially being a New York native. This copy isn’t a movie adaptation either; it’s the real thing.
“Black Alice” by Thom Demijohn (Pseudonym for Thomas Disch with John Sladek) is another “should read” novel. Set in the 1960s, the book is a candid look at the reality of America’s racial turmoil and change. Alice is an eleven-year-old heiress, with blonde hair and fair skin, who is kidnapped and held for a million dollar ransom. Her hair is cut and dyed, her skin tinted, until she resembles a black girl. She is hidden in plain sight in a house near Norfolk, Virginia. Alice adapts to her new life and slowly comes to realize who her captors are. The book is said to be a touching tale but also a political commentary, with nods to “Alice in Wonderland.” I look forward to reading it.
There though, is the problem. I have so many books, and so little time. I live that cliché. Yet I do not stop bringing more books home. I like to give myself the opportunity to read, even if I don’t have the opportunity, beyond a few minutes before sleeping at night. There are worse habits, I suppose.
