I am a big ole book slut. My idea of a big night is to have dinner at home and then go out to a bookstore and spend the money we would have dropped on dinner on shiny new books. I am lucky enough to be married to someone who understands this addiction. Many times I have been known to lure Cal to the dark consumerist side of mass book buying, but he does have a semblance of control. I would rather spend 10 hours in a book store than 30 minutes in a bar, any bar and that includes vintage Trader Vick's in the former Plaza Hotel in New York City. So the invention of Amazon books has tested my financial and emotional self-restraint. I mean, come on, is there anything as satisfying than that final "click" to complete your on-line order?(Insert Homer Simpson drooling sound effect here) At least twice a week, I browse the Amazon site. I don't always buy and the only reason for that is because I'm an immediate gratification gal but too cheap for overnight shipping. I am also too lazy to put on my bra under my black tee shirt, take off my new fuzzy slippers, comb my hair so I don't scare the children and get in my car to go to the bookstore. In a way, I am the Sybil of book buying. Where and when I buy depends on the personality that is bubbling to the surface.
Tonight the girls are loose, the slippers are on and I feel way too fat to go out in public. Amazon, here I come. Of course, Oprah's new pick, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett has rocketed to the top of the list, lucky bastard. But I noticed this other title on the best seller list, something I hadn't heard of: Soul Communication--Opening your Spiritual Channels for Success and Fulfillment. Only $14.97. Damn, that's cheap for success and fulfillment. In the blurb it says the book strives to show the reader how to allow the inner essence of our souls to express itself through our bodies, our voices and in our communication with others. And for an added bonus, it reveals ancient secrets for accessing that power all in a conversational language.
Well sha-zam and yippee kie yae, let's get to it. That book had 23 reader reviews and all of them gave the book 5 stars. Either the author has a large family or a large therapy group, sometimes they are one in the same. Still, I'm a bit curious. My spiritual path needs some weeding and tending. It often gets overlooked in favor of napping or reading a trashy novel.
Does my soul have the communication skills of Marcel Marceau? Could than ancient secret told to me in a conversational style lead me to more success and deeper fulfillment? I need to watch my tone because this is the kind of thing that comes back to bite me in the ass. This is the kind of thing the universe uses to teach me a lesson, having a book I mock become the foundation of my spiritual enlightenment.
Well, it's going to have to wait until I holster up the girls and put on my shoes and it's not going to be tonight, that's for sure.
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I first started collecting books as a way of keeping the "memory" alive. As long as the book was still around, the story was somehow still being told. Later, I saved books to make a library; not unlike the libraries we would visit in the Vermont inns we vacationed at. Then, I kept my books as a way of saying, "Look at this! I conquered each of these."
The best part about buying a book is going back to it long after you've read it. Glancing at the pages, it takes you awhile to remember the rhythm, the intoxicating pulse that dragged you in to the story. Then, when you find yourself there again, it can bring back the memories of when you first read the book.
I love that someone else gets sold by a few good reviews on Amazon. That final "click" does feel good. And even if there's remorse, there's really no going back. How soon do you start to obsessively track your package? I wait at least 5 minutes.
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