Bethanne Patrick

Dangers Lurk Everywhere: The W Shelves
October 28, 2007

Yesterday I took the younger mini-maven to the mall, and she begged to be taken to the bookstore (not that these daughters of mine neglect the other stores, oh no no no... thank goodness I wore my Danskos). I sent her over to see which Nancy Drew titles she doesn't have and plopped myself down on the closest stool, which happened to be in front of the Fiction & Literarture "W" shelves.

At first I leaned back and closed my eyes, but when I cracked one open to check on my daughter, I caught a glimpse of the colorful jacket of Madeline Wickham's latest, The Gatecrasher. Below it was an intriguing spine -- plain gold, with the words "Winner of the National Book Award." I leaned forward...

Little did I know that Winner of the National Book Award is a novel by Jincy Willett, whose collection of short stories, Jenny and the Jaws of Life was next to it. Hmmmm, Jincy Willett? I haven't heard of her before, and her books sound good. 

You've already guessed that I pushed aside my shopping bags to make room for a pile of books. Never fear, I managed to leave with just one (more on that book shortly). By now my eyes were wide open again and I was happily scanning the shelves. A (mercifully brief) sample of my inner stream of consciousness:

...only two Edith Wharton titles? Oh look, Bailey White; I loved Quite A Year for Plums. Hmmmm, I never have read Tobias Wolff's This Boy's Life, although I did read Old School -- should I add that one to the pile? And why is that Kenzaburo Oe shelved between Derek Walcott and Alice Walker? 

Ooooo, Irvine Welsh. I've seen but never read Trainspotting... and there's only one Colson Whitehead, Apex Hides the Hurt. I hope that means people are buying his books, because he's brilliant... 

At this point, I had six books next to me, and reluctantly realized that not only was there about a mile of mall-walking between me and the car -- I still needed to stop at L.L. Bean for  new dog bed covers (don't ask). 

This week, the book pickings were slim, but significant: I left with Emma Campbell Webster's just-published Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure, while my accomplice chose (with just a leetle urging) Astrid Lindgren's ever-classic Pippi Longstocking in a fabulous new edition illustrated by Lauren Child. 

                                  

Honestly, I cannot be allowed out of the house. How will I ever manage to finish last week's stack? 

Unfortunately, the truth is rather ugly. I already have.

P.S. I am buying Jincy Willett's books from this link. Because she said so.

Posted by Bethanne Patrick on October 28, 2007 | Comments (4)