One of my Favorite Things…
By The Misfit | December 20, 2008
I love hunting for new books. If there’s something by a treasured author I’ll generally hit one of the big name stores, but there’s nothing that compares to browsing in a thrift store or used book store to find something of interest; something that, perhaps, I’d never have found otherwise.
Today, despite my being sick and feeling like utter crap, I had to make my weekly trip to Stirling for provisions – the campus will essentially be closed for two weeks which means I’m on my own for food, etc. K.W. had a couple of additional stops to make, as did I, so before we got food we ran those errands. We went into one of the charity shops to look at books as K.W. was looking for something to read on her flight home. I perused, too, of course, but I have a method to how I decide which books to pick up and check out and which I bypass.
The first is whether the spine stands out from those around it – sometimes it’s a different color (say, teal, instead of black) or maybe the title stands out. If something catches my eye I’ll pick it up and read the back cover. If it sounds interesting, I carefully open the book and read the first page. If it catches my attention by the end of the first page I’ll buy it. If not, it goes back to its spot on the shelf.
Granted, it’s not the most scientific method, but it works well for me. Granted, there have been some duds along the way – books that I had, upon further reading, absolutely no interest in or connection to, but that’s a gamble I’m willing to take.
Anyway, K.W. and I were perusing the book section in this little charity shop, and I saw a book entitled Silent in the Grave. I picked it up and read the back. The first thing I read was: “To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband’s dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching on the floor…”. I actually giggled out loud because I do so love a bit of smart-alec-ness and something that wasn’t entirely expected. So, I opened up the first page and realized that the above line quoted on the back of the book was, in fact, the first line of the book. I didn’t bother to read further – that was enough to get me hooked. We’ll see if my first impression holds up.
I’ll be sure to let you know.
Deanna Raybourn has a blog if you’re interested in checking it out – just go here.
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