Acquisitions

I went to the Westerly book sale on Thursday. I bought a lot of stuff.

CDs were only a buck apiece!

1. Dream Theater When Dream and Day Unite: It’s called an “Official Bootleg,” which seems like an oxymoron to me. But I like Dream Theater, so why not check it out?
2. Duran, Duran Decade: Because who doesn’t like to revisit some of the best music of the 80s every once in a while?
3. Megadeth Countdown to Extinction: This is Megadeth’s best-selling album, but one I had never heard, so I thought I’d remedy the oversight.
4. Queensryche Empire (The 20th Anniversary Edition): It horrifies me that we are past the 20th anniversary of music that I remember listening to as a teenager. I was never a huge Queensryche fan, but I really liked the song “Silent Lucidity.”

DVDs were only $3.00 each

1. Singin’ in the Rain (Two-Disc Special Edition): Because, believe it or not, I did not already own this on DVD. I haven’t seen it in years and I can’t wait to rewatch it.
2. Music and Lyrics: In spite of its uninspired title, Music and Lyrics is a sweet, nostalgic, and mildly humorous movie, so I’m looking forward to seeing it again.

The books I bought ranged in price from 50 cents to $3.00.

1. The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table by Oliver Wendell Holmes: It was a beautiful, old, pocket-sized edition. Too bad there’s damage to the cover and at least one of the interior pages. I hope it will hold together as I read it!
2. A Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Another beautiful-looking, oldish book.
3. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman: This one was recommended to be by someone at some point. It has lingered on my “shopping” list for a while. I thought fifty cents a good price.
4. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd: Is it as good as everyone would like us to believe?
5. A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut: Cuz it’s Kurt Vonnegut.
6. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett: Another book from my shopping list. This is supposedly a fun story about Queen Elizabeth, corgis, and reading.
7. Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo: With a title like that, it has to be good, right?
8. Duma Key by Stephen King: I’m behind on my Stephen King reading.
9. The Green Mile by Stephen King: OK, make that really behind on my Stephen King reading.
10. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger: I didn’t care for The Time Traveler’s Wife, but I’m not one to hold a grudge (against authors, anyway). I was curious to see if she could write something better. Plus, who wouldn’t be attracted by the phrase “fearful symmetry” (“What immortal hand or eye / Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”)? I’m might well be disappointed again. Most Amazon reviewers seem to think it’s a stinker.
11. The Brown Fairy Book by Andrew Lang: Someday I will have all the colors. And yes, I could simply buy a collection of all the fairy books for my Kindle, but I think these are the kinds of books that need to be in true book form to be properly appreciated.
12. Glimmer Train (3 issues): Just curious, and the issues were cheap enough that I could afford to satisfy my curiosity.
13. Milton Cross’ Complete Stories of the Great Operas: a reference book that I’ll be glad to have the one or two times that I ultimately need it. For a buck, why not? Besides, I thought I should read up on my favorite opera, Aida. I love, love, love the music but know little about the story except that it’s set in Egypt.
14. Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning: I find small editions of classic poetry very appealing.
15. Assorted small books for the kids, the most popular of which seem to be Three Ducks Went Wandering by Ron Roy and I Was Walking Down the Road by Sarah E. Barchas. You just never know what will strike a chord with kids, but anything with animals (featured in both books) is a likely choice. At 25 cents each, I wish I had had the patience to pick out more!

Total: $22.00