Return to The Book Stop

A week ago, Jyg and I decided to head over to The Book Stop - the used book store that Monica and I ventured to the other day - mostly because I wanted to show her the place that I had fallen in love with. Sadly, however, there place is closed on Mondays - something I have to note when Monica and I venture out later today. Because it's so close to Georgia's Thrift Store, we headed over there instead where I purchased a baby name book, a copy of Clive Barker's The Damnation Game and a horror book for Jyg. 

Sadly, however, when I opened the copy of The Damnation Game, I discovered that the spine was cracked and the pages jumped from 52 to 67. I contacted Mike to tell him the situation and he apologized and offered to replace the book. Saturday, Jyg, Izzy and I returned to Georgia's to do just that. 

Because there wasn't anything I particularly wanted from the store, we headed off after I replaced the copy and gave Mike the bad one - I haven't a clue what he'd want with it, but I wanted to show him I wasn't making an attempt to screw him over. We were headed home bound when I said we should stop by The Book Shop so Jyg can have a look-see. 

I beelined to the scifi section to see if the copy of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - a book later adapted to the scifi classic, Bladerunner. Lo and behold, the sacred copy was still there and I wasn't about to let it slip through my fingers as it once had over when Hastings was around. After I picked up that book, I started snooping around to see what I could find. Nothing interesting was catching my eye, so I decided to check out the classic section - because I'm a sadist and feel I have to torture myself that way - where I found a copy of Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. While it may not be a classic as of yet, the book has its memories in my mind - which is strange as I have never read the book, even though I love Chabon's writing. 

It took me back to the days in Creative Writing with Rene Saldana, Jr. and the many instances when he mentioned how awesome the book was. Having only read The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Wonder Boys at the time - the latter being my favorite, but for some strange reason, not really that great in Saldana's eyes (hmm, I still don't really grasp why) - I knew I wouldn't be disappointed if and when I picked up The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. 

The total price turned out to be $9.20 - including tax - which is awesome considering the cover price for both them. The lady and gentlemen - whom I can only assume are the owners of the establishment - were well versed in the taking care of books, suggesting that I place my copies of the important novels in zip-loc bags to protect them from the elements. I'm beginning to assume that Monica and I aren't the only book hunters in the Valley, which is both a reassuring thing and a dreadful one - competition has never been our strong suit. But I'm feeling more at home at the store - us hunters need to stick together, I say. 

As I gave the gentleman exact change, he placed my receipt, a book mark advertising the establishment and a handful of fliers into my bag along with the books. Normally, I can't stand when people just assume I'm going to advertise for them. But this place deserves to stick around. I love it there. It's my new home. I hope they can accommodate me.