Hiccup....

A few posts ago I outlined my intended "Book Challenge". For the first three weeks I was tracking beautifully and was even ahead of schedule. Then two things happened. First, with several work related details changing we are unsure of the exact details for our US trip. This has partially zapped my enthusiasm for speed reading as I may or may not be bringing books back with me. The second thing that happened came in the form of a book fair. I know. I know! I said no more books because I wanted to finish the ones I already had on the shelf. BUT with the exorbitant cost of books in NZ I am powerless to pass up visiting the book fairs when they happen. By pure coincidence, last weekend, a gentleman passed me a "book fair" flyer when I was walking down the sidewalk. Within the hour I was lining up and one of the volunteers was asking me, "How many bags do you think you can fill?". I almost laughed out loud, thinking, "Lady, you have no idea!!". I took just one bag and headed inside. Usually my mind becomes a complete blank the second I arrive; for the life of me I can never think any books on my never ending wishlist. I started by perusing the boxes that held the "travel writing" books as I'm a complete sucker for any Bill Bryson. Then something strange happened. Out of the blue clarity descended and my brain snapped to attention: "A Short History of Time". I made a short beeline to the "general science" section and starting looking through the boxes hoping against hope. After several boxes discouragement started to creep in and I propelled myself up on tip-toes to see into the last box in the middle of the table. Then I saw it: teeny, tiny, the silver binding glinting back at me. I swooped down on it as if someone else was about to grab it. In reality, no one else was even close to me. With the little book clutched tight in my hand I almost lifted it high in celebration but my brain overrode that notion and I smiled to myself as I looked at my new found treasure. You have to understand that I always find books that I'm excited about reading at the book fairs but it's usually a surprise finding them. This was the first time that I've ever found a book that I was actively seeking. Yes!!

From there I moved onto "Fiction", "Historical Fiction" and "Classics". I picked up a few other books for consideration as I edged around the long tables covered with a billion bound pages. I had really hoped that I would luck out and find a decent copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. It's been a favorite classic of mine but for some reason I have yet to acquire a copy. Alas, I seemed to find every other classic but this one. Slightly dejected I retired to a patch of the floor to sort my loot. In the end I put back half of the books I had put in my bag and made my way up to the cashier. While I was waiting I realized that I already had one of the books at home in storage! Classic book fiend mistake. So in the end I paid just 8 NZD for 4 books. Success! Walking home I thought about the "Book Challenge" and figured, "having a few more books isn't really a problem, is it?". :)