A Book Hunter's Journal: Hunting in Hastings

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Hunting in Hastings

I'm a good hunter. I pride myself with this. I always get my book for a reasonable price - even if it isn't always the cheapest. For me, book hunting isn't always about knowing what I'm looking for, but finding why I was driven to the bookstore in the first place. Call it intuition, I wouldn't.

Last Saturday, of course, was no different. I had an itch that I couldn't just scratch. I went to Hastings looking for something, possibly the fourth book in the Vampire Chronicles because I think I'm getting deeper into Anne Rice than I previous expected. However, this novel wasn't found.

Moving on, I went to the new in used books shelf and skimmed. Found the book What Nietzsche Really Said, but that too seemed a tad wrong for me. I left it behind in the philosophy section for safe keeping if I should change my mind within the week.

Social Sciences and History sections later, I wound up in the the biography section to find the book Her Last Death by Susanna Sonnenberg. My eye had been on this book for a while, but that too was placed back. A certain defeating sensation came over me. I'm never wrong about this sort of thing. Never had I've been called to and come home empty handed.

I returned to the new in used shelf and skimmed the spines. Nothing. Almost. Wait! Viola Canales?! While The Tequila Worm isn't on the top of my Most Wanted list, but it has been a thorn in my spine since I took my first creative writing course five years ago. It's not an expensive book, it's just one I would probably never pay full price for. I flip it over. Do my eyes deceive me?! $3.20 for the first print hardback? Whoa! Is that an autograph on the title page?! Every book hunter's wet dream. The inscription reads: For Gabriela With friendship, Viola Canales. Why thank you Gabby (also written within the book) for the awesome find! I only hope that you didn't sell this book back because you needed the money badly or that you are no longer with us (I have many a book that came from a deceased English professor from UTPA).

While it is often pimped as Young Adult (which it just might be), I'm glad I came across this book. It shows that my skills are still burning in me, even though I don't have the cash flow to purchase books often. It's another trophy to "mount" on my wall. Next up in the YA list is Rene Saldana, Jr. book, Case of the Pen Gone Missing.

Happy Huntings!