31 March 2010

A quick side note...

As mentioned in my first post, I occasionally visit a bookstore in uptown Whittier. It is called Little Old Bookshop and is located on Greenleaf Avenue. They carry both new and used books. You can even take in your old books for store credit. While the selection doesn't nearly rival that of a large chain store such as Borders or Barnes&Noble, they do have some hidden treasures on the shelves.
According to their website, due to a lack of business/sales/profit/whatever, they are facing having to possibly close the store. Now, while I don't go there all the time, I would hate to see a cool little independently owned bookstore close its doors. So all I am saying is that if you are in the area and need a book to read, stop by and check them out. You might be surprised by what you can find there.

All of their details (address, phone number, hours) can be found at their website: www.littleoldbookshop.com

Books, books, and more books

Just over a year ago, I decided to keep track of how many books I read. Well, now that a year has passed, I can say that I read 72 books over the course of one year. That is an average of 6 books a month, yet I was kind of hoping to hit a higher number than that...
Granted, I had returned from my "extended vacation" in Knoxville on March 20, 2009, so I figured I would use this as my starting point, but I'm not sure exactly when I started reading my first book of the year. That being stated, I could possibly boost the number to 73 because I finished a book on the 24th (or even 74 if I count the audiobook I listened to while at work.)

This 'quest' I embarked on has since created a problem for me... I can't stop buying books. I currently have 8+ books in my closet waiting to be read, yet I still took a trip to the Little Old Bookshop in Whittier and proceeded to buy 4 more books!
I signed up for a Borders Rewards card a while back, and receive weekly coupons, which only feed the problem. I have had to limit myself to only using them if the are for 30-40% off.
Now, I know a lot of you* are saying, "what's the big deal? Books aren't that expensive," and you're right... but if they were, I'd be in some serious trouble.

So...... I've decided that, in addition to posting random/stupid thoughts here, I'll also review/recommend books from my list that I read over the past year (and ones that I end up reading in the future.)




*Who am I kidding? Like there is even going to be a few people that read this, let alone "a lot of you."