Slightly Sinister Acquisitions
Today’s Book Purchases
My girl’s have been aching to hit the bookstore this week and me, I am always game. Off we went, a leisurely Sunday trip to our local bookshop. I was hanging with the girls, watching them enjoy shopping while my husband picked his book and grabbed coffees for us. When he got back, I had in my hands a gorgeous box set of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women series. I had been looking for the other three novels; Good Wives, Little Men, and Jo’s Boys and had never seen them sold altogether. The bonus is they were 50% off! He handed me coffee saying I couldn’t hit the clearance section (which I love) because my hands were full. I laughed, drawing much attention to myself I must say, and said, a bit too loudly, “We’ll see about that!” Off I strode while a lady shopping near me laughed.
Even when I don’t find anything, I love strolling the aisles admiring covers, reading synopses, and straightening the displays. A table caught my eye with the $10 or less sign. Classics with lovely art and covers that feel like cream were on at 3 for $10 and covered the table’s surface. I chose three in less than 10 seconds.
The lettering caught my attention and showed me an incredible title: “The Ballad of the Sad Café”. I love ballads and the image of a sad café appeared instantly in my imagination. The cover art is intriguing. Knowing nothing of Carson McCullers, never even having heard the name, this author and I were off to a grand start. This is a novella that tells the touching story of Amelia Evans, who is “estranged from all other places in the world”. What a line! I’d bet I am in for a thrilling read.
With a cover that makes me think of sinister wallpaper, it is no wonder it has evil in the title. I have always known that Nietzsche is a highly controversial philosopher and writer. This is a book very much out of my comfort zone. It will take an open mind and a willingness to consider different perspectives and ideas. Why did I chose it when the author’s name fills me with trepidation and there were several other titles to choose from? It is on the Gilmore Girls book list. Rory, I’ll do my best and give it a try.
Oddly, the cover art on this one makes me think of a Paint Nite painting. Simple, high contrast, with a cool silhouette. I have read Henry James’ Daisy Miller which, like this book, is also a Gilmore Girls book list read. (Those aren’t the only books I read but there are over 360 books to get through and I want to challenge myself to read them all.) The Turn of the Screw title puts me in mind of “putting the screws to someone” meaning to force a person to do something by scaring and threatening them. This novella “shows a woman haunted by an eerie and evil presence that emerges from the terrors of real life.” Creepy.
My three choices seem to be connected by a sinister thread. I have the feeling these stories will stay with me longer than it takes to read them like Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper whose images still linger.
As an aside, I put the Alcott’s back, knowing that it would be a long time before I’d be likely to pick one up and read it. It would have been more of a buy-to-have rather than I buy-to-read purchase.