I had
no idea how busy my Saturdays would get after kids -- not the slightest clue. (I spent my first ten years in the publishing business reading manuscripts all day Saturday -- The Wife was in retail and always worked that day, so it was a quiet, sit-around-the-house-and plow-through-work day.) Nowadays, I barely even get to look at my computer until 9 PM on a Saturday, and baseball season is only just starting.
(On the other hand, the boys are lots of fun: today we watched
The Cannonball Run![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_v9cFE5s_ZZZY59g7CNr2U45hEDro-oT6LOFojSBbIW7ocZk57AmcN-6x84mm0tWQy5lxtqQB3UPWHVLZ2mY2nBx_puDFTKSZg8rSzOq3WoveA5smTmADE6jYMQA0XsIksbkawlsOegy8pAA2d_R3M-kDNzWHX-Z1Sv2IBU3NKUx6_vxniQncK3=s0-d)
together and I got to see Thing 1 discover Farah Fawcett's nipples -- not unlike the way me and an entire generation of American boys discovered them, actually -- and lose the battle
not to mention that out loud, while Thing 2 looked on in mystified silence and The Wife and I shared a "we're got a
teenager now" look over their heads.)
That's all preamble: I always want to write a long, thoughtful review on a Saturday -- this time, the hope was either
Among Others![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_ui2wtNk_tuyLIh8cGe9xuViU3I0Gaqa7dKjV0poKDAbUjUy91AvyfYxFo9HzAeE9Dbz3mkLkrjIfiUhmLa9PCRyQeVb-fwktTEtoW0U1uAal_NzU6lgPw79_gV0W26vtOGwFkKb3tlmOkeX4KEHCOBgPPbnv4xfPB867w0iRiKRWe1NPUTVFAXfA=s0-d)
or
Blackout![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tRNdfFIGWuVAoTKgrNYg0CUdQOf_I78PIYg90ZCplc0XTNttr4w5yLe7v3IXDfGbSyDCFXbferUehtAZFetwuRwJyrZlJr_eG_zpdGzVvNsqkPqRKXoW3Cgxs5jmWiRylgRaDhF4EhZ0jEdWpAO7sirVrlpqxL8nGx5xZWWtWOEQuZONz32XVZ_A=s0-d)
/
All Clear![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sviXwY8Mrw7NCAcLsazEzb9GMFBL942Ck3mZRnktguXptX74wFFEdY8N1nSLQ_fb7RA5x5meX0bLkJ44ttu0HJNlaIjoVVucrUGo9eW5DwPCyrR-sU94ZvMDJgWxSwPsVHzqD2xr07yMDE-WGW1QJ3312gMaxg0Z-SDgcr3VtNzg-tzLFHiYnuSg=s0-d)
-- and I'm always foiled. So, instead, I'm going to tell you about the books I bought.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiogQqFtnYC5rAsMXWtS01-Bw6xDypAewWD6-loRCAo0Khs5RfR_LuRMSjBLM2SILgWn6yhP9_vXUaUC2TQ_8tlE7RlppfAN7he_VE3y5RxUto0Ps_0Ka-_cY3M071ZZ1YBsAXf9A/s200/Final+Solution.jpg)
As you probably know, the major bookstore chain Borders is closing 200+ stores right now, and I hadn't managed to get to one of them before today. It's kind of a big deal in the book business, so I wanted to see it for myself -- and grab some bargains along the way, maybe. On top of that, Thing 2 whipped through
The Bad Beginning![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sK4EtYS7w_qWPpCqNidki70sunE5Ip_lb9P_9neLrA0B5DMjrw8iIMxFlX3m85_HZSUr4yObz5N7GlwVySjdxETtBVxdbhdIH2T__uQ6cSJnkLhczK94iNoyDP5gvx0WEt0AqCtPJDJHXBgdrZ551MCnZjVXclCpvfKuxzSsEalEk24ojV4_VApA=s0-d)
(first of the splendidly awesome "Series of Unfortunate Events" series by Lemony Snicket) in one night earlier this week, and I realized I needed to seriously replenish my "read a novel, get a manga free" shelves. So I checked in with the boys, got a long list of manga to acquire, and set off.
(This particular Borders is in the biggest mall in my state -- which is pretty darn big in general -- sending me deep into unfamiliar territory; I don't spend much time in malls these days, seeing as how I'm not a teenager nor do I care deeply about clothes.)
Anyway, I came big with a huge haul -- eighteen manga for the boys to earn (various volumes of
Shaman King![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_usIrBrQL8tuEA0-OyIWJc-wAfgLEPKHkM_Dxc_3MAzU3BdoGernBFMpdzYJbk0tyaPJ-Mnomm1l8OnLWI6WG8Gs140NUms9Vt05WU9WyUeW-AVf9c6dvaWfn7qxdzZRBLmv44c0uawc0YGFEC64fS1_qAAbumWXnYVf-3Lj5r7Eck9qsseZ6Na4Q=s0-d)
,
Yu-Gi-Oh: Duelist![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s_ZdRt9oe46x-9VBG_KfWq5HVIn39vKF3mSDkYvsyTaO0zpo0PmCVWiMamVR44-0_Scukpc8upM4a3uUmtYsoAPKU6S2TtytgmtBSlt_yGuDgsCCT1Va4ZVgyXgTdU3oNI_zOoO6XL_uNjIMflrenwaoN7IE6q9iWvO04V0vW6OBheaCaaCQeo=s0-d)
, and
One Piece![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tTgc4rczqPs8Tlg82o9ZyzI6SQoYKLSWtcszTEN2kL7cHwgSCEuGyoFhmVtg8bN0qRJ0kITVKV_j31llfc89UL4M0ptRTQo3M_e0ZIuZFG1-UHz3wUvu9jHbNNIWTj_u4s1zRmc8NrdPMgBMZODCKbv6x2FPL5GURT8pcXIA8P1HTRRH6B11S1Cg=s0-d)
), plus a random
Garfield book. Along the way, I
also found a few books for me, since i always do:
The Infinities![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sdRIXIthvIZowlfzfYt1_m9qqMRQu1EEksnZjSgCIrHsP_V6sZZshq4U80iFdbPl5LaDsmoruX3ZIwy7Hg4R6dD9QNvOT_coTMOjKAplH32VpWl1A16bGn-ivRvKgR09aRXf_MEhBcqsmzL88tEy85JGjFGaNOLG_RjWA0tfZT3h3k_ytA8VJi9A=s0-d)
by John Banville -- Banville is probably the most "literary" writer that I read regularly; I'm in the habit of keeping up with his books, and they're definitely thorny and require effort but have also been worth all of that effort so far. I'd half-forgotten about this 2009 novel, since I was waiting for the paperback. I now
have the paperback, so let's see if I can find time to read it.
The Final Solution![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_ucMzYlpE2o3-AzXL2j2riL_DDvXUeaEq9MXc7pH0SM8z6kKdZHMu1BbdTQuC-g6Z2IDS21chTrdcMgJJfMrYYR6RkQMXSuWE2QjvSqHyVWfOMIXs2bSX60wxxfZ49r5qrwE-Lq2Dp7pyvFtlj7eo5FayAjgTc4aSDa-ToeQ8WrTPE7K7aweoUPSA=s0-d)
by Michael Chabon -- I need to read more Chabon, and I'm not likely to dive into my big hardcover of
Kavalier and Clay![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uZu06EBUdzg8DN1KEWFNTs4In2S2Fc25leqml1XlbY7_66nhUX0L6BOa_CHbNCVQStsXpyLOYUtsDBO2cXT0elCnEi4yD8_oWnN5dEChd1j5a2macayb_kJhUllxc3dByrzUKpXaPYVHXxgKMYnM_6Q14BnAkLOtd1h7FusT7l5RxS_4RsDQcm=s0-d)
any time soon. So a short paperback might be just the thing to jump-start my interest in his work...I hope, at least.
The Collected Short Stories of Lydia Davis![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vFs5RhE0OZPLv5xPOJMXYXJcxz8W7zEzBiCxZaFZhxuK04SrMAr-dZocUW1HGeehQlc00k0cwQmSDS00d-EdBwim6VnMLhe2dT9m6V85VMzRzxMWrQjl0lF30xT8xuiO6Mz3Lfp8BAOIkriQwZjGZXlvJUAAkvFzoW7mGgJpceoz69Mhwq5AU9=s0-d)
-- I do have a mental image of myself as a more serious, more literary-focused reader than I probably am, but
a review of this in
The New Yorker last year made me really want to read it, and I've picked up the hardcover several times in the library. Finding a paperback -- at 50% off -- made it impossible to resist. And I didn't notice until I was grabbing an image for this post that the rules on the cover -- that double box around the text -- is all hand-drawn, which is a great subtle little touch.
The Hammer![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tvl_e8jfOzmXklopEsd0HA61NVBnLygbcjtF7nR4BwZR5RIN9QWdSE-nxQKU3GtGWXB-Srmiq5b8U2UcJjfYTH034ccOEJMV15ZtZkD2esXTiLSB4yixjmBeUxvDsLbOZqHUZKDsUOrQ7ocujMJA5DNFyGgGeztPFPnYg3QAx-Z980Wp94vYDWgQ=s0-d)
by K.J. Parker -- I absolutely
loved Parker's "Scavenger Trilogy," which I bought and glowingly blurbed at the SFBC. (Though they didn't sell all that well -- ungrateful wretches that club members are, as usual.) And I've felt guilty for not reading any other Parker books since then -- they're all tough and serious and grim and quite dark, much like a character named Parker written by a man called Stark, though I don't
think that was a conscious echo -- so I've
almost bought several of them. This one stands alone, it wasn't shelf-worn, and it was half-price. So I got it.
The Sex Lives of Cannibals![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vVz1zu8Y26Eo4wXiZ5vJ7E6ByGJJ2ztp6ag3hsLYq1ZAIiwmOAevjK9_U9jnsjI_ppsxPceiRTMJOYpVjxbPddFQZU8Bh32obleWca01xQR0nrCHmgOxkp1OKCGBWuVwFirhnk3WDxLza7JIMwbKYqi6Iheq1RAtYvibfxKGom0YvHnaDyEbiO7A=s0-d)
by J. Maarten Troost -- This is another book I've picked up half-a-dozen times over the years -- this paperback edition is from 2004 -- and never quite bought; it's a humorous travel narrative about a then-young Dutch guy who ditched his regular life and went off to the South Seas, which turned out
not to be the Gaughin-esque paradise he expected. Again, seeing it for a bout half price finally moved the needle.
And last for me was
Bloom County: The Complete Library, Volume Two![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sPVdCJvorf_Oa2hxZLJypffZrjIA18rtnOc5JqFqdjgMnwYv56L3kFLEjCakH9wLyeBFx1y0hUMfH480WuFKlPQQqUrhhrdk6TPa-UbGhf2E-bRzMI1ByQuQtzzZ-N_L8mjLgGSJ25kgLhecMiqrqEo47tOgOx9TDNddDoXYQzfg5mY2WuQo8Q=s0-d)
by Berkeley Breathed. I loved the
Bloom County strip at the time, but I was young enough then, and Breathed's subsequent efforts have been so underwhelming, that I worried that the strip wouldn't stand up this many years later. But the reviews for this IDW series have been excellent, and I find myself drifting more and more towards the great American strip comics [1] recently, so I was happy to see this volume still available in the picked-over Borders store.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9JLsakCv7ZBcoYTJn_VnZPbCoUEIDcypm1jepi-78eSY1OHfoUnskhhB6PjclsDJ22_b1iOmbgpI8q7iE3CXetdHlA4LSEaglDciZAGW6sSJcbhDu5yO6AVGMwy4mq70-kHWoSw/s200/Hammer.jpg)
As to the store itself, it was a liquidation sale, and those are always a combination of grimness (half the store roped off, with fixtures taped together for sale; hand-printed signs; messy shelves with lots of face-outs) and joy (the thrill of the hunt through barely-organized shelves; the restless energy of the bargain shopper). As I understand it, it's not really "Borders" running those stores anymore, but a liquidator, so the efficiency and organization doesn't reflect on Borders' current management team. (Whoever that is this week.) Borders does have a chance to reorganize and come back as a strong, stable bookstore chain -- they're still the second-biggest chain in North America, even after all of those stores are closed. But they'll need to focus on selling books -- which are quirky, persnickety things, sold to quirky, persnickety people -- to do that, and they've been very lacking in book-focus for a long time now. I'm a natural pessimist, but I want to be optimistic about their chances -- so I'll just say that they're not out of anything yet.
[1] As a thousand other comics critics/reviewers/readers have before me; it's not a new tendency at all.