bookstore sale
i was out in town for an appointment and a meet up with friends.
after the appointment, i had time to kill before meeting them so i decided to go to the bookstore. i told myself i will just scan around and not buy anything. i went to the photography section, briefly looked since the bookstore didn't have much to look at. though i kept an eye out for any book that says film photography or was anderson but didn't see any. not like if i see it, i'll buy it. just to sift through if it's not wrapped in plastic, look at the price, and put it back.
wandered to the non-fiction area, didn't really know much so i was clueless, tons of autobiographies displayed on the wall, even more travel books, dictionaries, self-help, the areas of the bookstore i don't really go often. i walked aimlessly, looking as if i knew what i was looking for.
then i went to the section i know too well.
fiction
i saw stacks of books in these small tables in the middle, modern classics i saw 1984, the handmaiden, lolita, the animal farm, the one book with a glass of milk on the cover, and the other familiar titles, the same books. i look at the bookcases on the walls. i feel like they change it all the time. i swear i saw murakami's books lined up at the upper right corner, now it's at the bookcase across at the bottom left corner. i reminded myself again that i'm not going to buy a book today.
i realised something while i was scanning the many books on the walls. the fiction section is quite famous, many people standing and looking. like me. finding a certain name, author, title. instead of looking at the books, i looked at the people around me, all either walking very slowly scanning from left to right, up and down, or stood still a few steps away from the bookcase getting a better and clearer view of most books. it reminded me of being in a museum. how people stand a few steps back from a piece of art and just looking. that was cute.
as i was walking out, i saw the same little tables, few of them around the entrance/exit of the bookstore, with stacks of books on sale. then i saw the sticker on one of the piles.
buy one get one
HALF PRICE
of course i saw HALF PRICE first. my fingers grabbed a book from the pile. i turned it over to read the blurb. i ignored the voice in my head screaming to put the book down and walk away. i'm literally three steps away from outside. the blurb was something about finding yourself in somebody else that looks like you. a doppelgänger. i grabbed another book that was about libraries and had a cat on the cover.
i stepped out of the bookstore with 3 books in my bag. i always carry a book out just in case i'm in those moments where i find myself going 'i wish i had a book or notebook right now'. and 2 new ones i heard nothing about.
june, stop buying things just because they're on sale.