I ♥ my bookstore

As January comes to a close, February beckons with a smile.

Partly, it is this mild Winter we are having in the Northeast U.S.  The increasing light makes more of an impact when temperatures are comfortably above freezing.  There have even been Spring-like days in that climate change sort of way.

Partly, it is the winding down of our family's slew of celebrations which begin with Sag's birthday/Thanksgiving and continue through our anniversary, Winter Solstice, Christmas, New Year's, Cap's birthday and then, finally, my birthday.

There's always some unexpected excitement, in our case presently it is the prospect of buying a new car, but generally, the mood at the end of January is: let's get back to business.

One of my projects this year is to work through my 2012 Book List.  Before I had kids, I used to read a lot.  Mostly fiction.  I started reading for pleasure when I was about five or six and I was a voracious reader through college.  I slowed down after college, in part, because I was "free" to watch tv.  (My tv watching was seriously limited growing up and I never lived in a dorm/house that had a tv in college.)

I now have more flexibility to read, but my love of tv is strong.  Last year, I read ten books that I remember (thanks to Goodreads...which I haven't always been consistent about using but plan to this year)... and only two of them were adult fiction.  (The rest were non-fiction, memoirs, young adult fiction and graphic novels.)

I decided to make a book list to spur on my reading of fiction this year.  My cap is 25 and I now have 24 selections.  I completely reserve the right to switch books in and out as the year progresses.

Cap has been giving me books from my list...for our anniversary, Christmas and my birthday.  I have Xmas and birthday money from my mom and MIL that is earmarked for "future books".  Yesterday, Danielle gave me a gift card for one of our bookstores in town.

Today, I took some time for myself and went to the bookstore.  This bookstore that I love so much.  It is an incredibly inspiring space with warm booksellers at the ready to help you remember the title or author of a book, make recommendations and/or order something for you which usually takes 1-2 days to arrive.

It's also a space that invites you to browse and browse and browse.  Which is what I did today.

all photos pulled from web.

I will admit being struck anew by how expensive books are.  (All books in this shop are discounted 10% off cover.  Hardcover bestsellers receive a bigger discount.)  But, the silver lining for me was that my budget and the prices dictated that I become highly selective and more thoughtful about my process.

I flipped through five books I thought I might add to my 2012 list.  (I am very tactile...whether it's books or yarn, I derive a lot of joy in the holding.)  But, I only bought one (Swamplandia!) and I wrote the other titles down so I could research them later.  They didn't have a book I wanted so I ordered that (Going Bovine).

So my gift card will pay for Swamplandia! and Going Bovine.  Gratitude.  See my next post for the new and improved book list!