And ... where we buy more books

My daughter came home from college last night to spend a few days with us before starting her summer internship. She asked me when we were going to that bookstore I had spoken about.

The newest stack

That bookstore is run by the Cincinnati Public Library, and it sells used books -- including the books of plays she deepy adores -- at a deep discount. I told her I needed to check when it was open, because it keeps irregular hours. She then announced plans to go to Half Price Books, and asked if I wanted to tag along.

What a stupid question. Of course, I did. Let's go.

So it was another day of adding to the stack. I didn't really plan to buy much, and decided if I did buy anything, it would be short novels or collections of short stories. I needed a break from my current reading on physics -- interesting, but difficult -- and wanted something light and short.

Well, I kind of stuck to my plan. All of the books are 300 pages or fewer. And some of them are light reading.

But perhaps not The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. I hear tell it's about a depressing future. But I'm looking forward to it. I'm not sure what to make of The Rain Before it Falls, by Jonathan Coe, a British author whose previous works I have enjoyed. It's labeled a "psychological thriller" that reveals "a heart-stopping family saga" in the voice of an elderly woman. Hmmm. And Grendel, by John Gardner, is the story of Beowulf as told from the monster's perspective.

I think Sandra Cisneros' Woman Hollering Creek looks like an interesting read. It's a collection of short stories, and I really liked The House on Mango Street, another book of hers I have read. And The Mermaid's Secret, by Katie Schickel, is classified as a "beach read." I've already started it, and while the story is set in a beach community on the Maine coast, it's not what I would consider a typical breezy summer read.

But we shall see.