Spring may have sprung, but this weekend is Christmas

A gift certificate from The Strand has been burning a metaphorical hole in my pocket, and this weekend, I intend to spend the whole thing.

I usually shop with a list. Not this time. This time, I’m going exploring.

I shall enter the store with a sense of wanderlust, rather than a sense of purpose. I’m going to stroll down the aisles and let my fingers caress the spines. I plan to stand on tip-toe and bend deep at the knees. I intend to let myself be swayed by interesting titles and colorful cover art.

Then, once my feet begin to tire, I shall fill my red basket to the brim with romances, mysteries, thrillers, fantasies, historicals, biographies, occult books, poetry books, cookbooks and reference tomes. And when the gift certificate has been thoroughly depleted, I’ll haul my treasures home and dive in.

I can’t wait!

(Photo by Bitterfly)

“Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?” –Henry Ward Beecher

As I wandered through the Chapters/Indigo store in Toronto today — browsing the shelves of biographies, bestsellers and bargains — my “to buy” pile grew taller and taller. At one point, an alarmed clerk spotted the stack of books in my arms, rushed to my side and offered me a basket. I politely declined for fear that I would see that basket as a personal challenge. Even still, I ended up buying a reusable bookbag to help carry my purchases back to the apartment. I didn’t want to risk dropping one in a puddle before I even had a chance to read it.

So how many books did I buy? Let’s just say my suitcase will be a bit heavier on the way back to the states than it was when I arrived in Canada.