And that is what I should say every time I swipe that “Barnes & Noble Member Card” at the B & N checkout counter. The Member Card is not one of those free keychain cards, like the Kroger card or the Petsmart card (you could also insert footlocker, cvs, brookshires, vitamin world, etc…). You have to actually pay for the Member Card. You swipe the card and get 10% off your coffee at the Starbucks Café. Members get an extra 30% off of all best sellers and 10% off everything else in the store. Members also get kick ass coupons sent to their e-mail. Seriously, I had to get my husband to build me a bookshelf to put in my bedroom just to support my habit.
Last week, I visited Barnes & Noble 3 times. Out of those 3 visits, I came home with 6 books and 2 magazines for myself, 2 books for my husband and 3 books for my 5 year old daughter. And that was a slow week.
I am not one to read just one book at a time either. I am currently reading 7 books (technically 8) and I’m sure after my weekly visit to B & N on Sunday, I’ll add one or two more to that. I always keep one book in my car and I read it when I’m sitting in traffic. I usually keep another one in my purse and read it when I’m in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, waiting for my oil to be changed, or waiting for Madelyn’s gymnastics class to be over. The others are in a stack by my bed or stashed in various locations around the house.
Books currently in my queue:
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer – I actually have 2 copies of the first two books in the Twilight series. One copy of New Moon is my “car book” and one is in the stack by my bed. I have read the entire series twice; this is my 3rd go round.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath – This book is amazing. Sylvia Plath was so descriptive with her writing and you actually “live” the main characters nervous breakdown. P.S. This book is semi-autobiographical. She just changed the names of the people in the book and wrote it under a pseudonym (Victoria Lucas) so as not to hurt her mother. I guess there’s something to be said about someone who commits suicide by sticking their head inside a gas oven.
Ariel: Poems by Sylvia Plath – Want to feel better about your life? Read some Sylvia Plath poetry. She was totally screwed up (hence the suicide) and you can read it in her “confessional” poetry. I’m not a fan of poetry, but there’s something about her writing draws me in.
The Journals of Sylvia Plath - I’m intrigued by her writing, the fiction and the truth. I haven’t started reading the journals yet, but I’m sure they’ll have a striking resemblance to The Bell Jar.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon – I usually tote this one in my purse. Most of the chapters are short and to the point. It’s fiction and the main character has Asberger’s Syndrome (a mild form of autism). He has a problem with emotions and relating to people, but he knows every prime number up to 7,057. The book is about him writing a murder mystery about the neighbor’s dog getting killed. The chapters are not numbered cardinally (1, 2, 3, 4...)….he numbers them with prime numbers.
The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud - I have barely cracked this one, but so far, it is interesting to see how mental disorders were treated, diagnosed and rationalized by Freud in the late 1800s. I do have to keep a dictionary handy when I’m reading this one. Those damn smart folks tend to use big words!
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons – I desperately want to see the movie, but I will NOT see a movie until I have read the book. Seriously, Marley & Me and Atonement are both on my bookshelf, and I refuse to watch the movies until I read them. This one though, is tricky. It’s a graphic novel. AKA, a really LONG comic book. I’m trudging through it, slowly but surely.
In summation, if you see a book at B & N or Borders and wonder if it’s worth reading…you might want to ask me, because I probably either own it already, have read it already or it’s on my “to buy” list.
