Paradise or punishment?

I love books! I love everything about them, and it makes me truly happy to be surrounded by their inviting pages. It stands to reason that I also love book stores...to a point. That point being when I have to make my way to the exit. Rarely, if ever, has there been a time when I left a book store with "all I wanted"...because I always want MORE! It is also worth mentioning that I will almost never pay full price for a book, and almost never buy hardcovers.

This is what I was faced with on our recent weekend jaunt to Boston, when we ducked into the nearest place to find a restroom. The Coop at Harvard Square? Are you kidding? The front door is at the end of that magical row of bestsellers, all the way across the store from the stairs!
The walk up to the THIRD FLOOR to get my daughter to the necessary destination was bad enough, but the walk down, with less focus, was even worse news. The husband and son were waiting outside for us, so I dragged myself along. We quickly decided to take a stroll through Hahvad Yahd (some random thoughts on that next time).Of course the gates we eventually passed thru, on our road to nowhere in particular, put us right in front of a different book store...help!

As a coping mechanism for myself when it comes to having to leave some books behind, I have started to keep track of things that look appealing in a little book in my purse. There are currently ten books in my queue on the shelf at home, so even I can accept the fact that the pile doesn't need to be any higher. The reason my library has gotten so large is that a friend turned me on to the local used book stores. He mentioned the notion with thoughts of me getting some money for a few boxes of books I had convinced myself to part with. He did not realize what the trade in implications might be for me. I refuse to acknowledge that there is any fuzzy logic with me getting twice as much credit for the box of books as I would get in cash...credit that I can then use to purchase books that are marked less than half price. Nirvana? Almost!

Back to Bahston...we were traveling light and I had left my mamma bag at the hotel, so I had no pen nor paper for my therapeutic list. Then I realized that I did have a camera around my neck, so I decided I would try a different documentation tool. I can almost guarantee you that I would not have remembered a single one of these titles once I got around to trying to find them again. I thought I would share them here just in case you wanted to send me a little gift. Seriously, I thought perhaps if you loved or seriously disliked any of these titles, you could let me know and I would adjust their standings in my little book of lists accordingly.

Later, after checking out at the Coop (we had to return for the same reason as earleir in the afternoon) with the one purchase I decided to allow myself (The Happiness Project...softcover AND 30% off!), my daughter and I saw this book, flour, again. I picked it up only to find it was recipes from a Boston bakery. I told my daughter I could've bought that under the guise of souvenir, as opposed to just buying another book. She gave me a sweet smile and guided me out of the store. (That 20% off sticker is sticking its tongue out at me now!) Season to Taste was actually the one I was trying to document!














OK, anything here look familiar, as I don't know what I was trying to capture?!?! Oh, and there is one that I didn't photograph...13 things...or 13 questions...anybody? I thought it was in this group, but I might've lost my mind (and family) by then! (I do know it was not William and Kate or Glee.)