The experiences and exploits of a college grad trying to make it in the "real world:" leaving school and friends in New England, moving south, and living with her boyfriend. Watch as I pretend to be an adult.
About twenty minutes away, just over into Centreville is this great used book store called McKay's. This is one of the things I missed most about being away at school, believe it or not. I've been going there since I was a little (and I mean little) girl, when they were in their old location and just a one room store. Their prices can't be beat and their selection has grown considerably over the years. It's staffed largely by what look like a sort of hippie/almost goth crowd, who tend to be much more friendly that one might expect. But, perhaps best of all, they offer trade credit...which means I can bring a couple bagloads of old books, get $30/$40 worth of credit for them, and since books there cost $2-$4, be set for a month or so. I love it.
I went yesterday, and here's what I picked up:
Naguib Mahfouz, "The Harafish": A book I almost bought at B&N when it first came out, I got this virtually new copy for $3!!! It's translated from Arabic. "Harafish" means riffraff or rabble, and the book is the tale of common people who perform menial jobs, and of the homeless and poor. The description isn't very specific, but when I read a few random pages I was definately hooked by Mahfouz's writing style.
Voltaire, "Candide, Zadig and Selected Stories": I've always loved Voltaire, and while I've read Candide already, I haven't even heard of many of the other short stories in this small volume. I'm really looking forward to this one; when it comes to social commentary, Voltaire is a master, and his tends to read quickly rather than drag like that of others. His humor is biting.
Asimov, "The Naked Sun": This is another one of the Robot series, which (gasp!) revolves around the murder of a man that may or may not have been commited by his Robots. That of course, would violate the Laws of Robotics. I enjoyed Asimov's Foundation series, but I think I picked this book up more for a change from the rest of the books I purchased than anything else.
Anthony Trollope, "Phineas Finn- The Pallisers": This is a British novel about a sort of country boy who wants to go to Parliment. The twist comes when he realizes he needs money to accomplish this, and decides to obtain funds by "marrying up." This, in typical British comedic fashion, proves easier said than done. It looks fun and a quick read.
Marquez, "Love in the Time of Cholera": One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of my all-time favorite "intelluctual" novels (right up there with Crime and Punishment, 1984, and Catch-22). While I've read exerpts of LITC, I've never read it through. I'm really excited about it.
Miriam Williams, "Heaven's Harlots- My Fifteen Years in a Sex Cult": This is an autobiography, and is exactly what it sounds like. Miriam Williams lived for fifteen years in a cult called the "Children of God," which over time changed from your "typical" religious cult to one that preached "Sacred Prostitution." Women were supposed to used their bodies to lure new members into the cult, or gain donations- either was fine. Their "husbands" were supposed to pimp them out. I decided I should make an effort to start reading something other than fiction. Biographies/autobiographies seemed like a good place to start, and this one sounded intruguing. I mean, come on- sex cults? How can that not be interesting. I'm actually reading this now.
After 22 posted at 10:13 AM
