We were in Barnes and Noble seeking to buy a book, any book. We had a 10% coupon, but after 2 hours, we just couldn’t get ourselves to buy anything.
Nowadays people don’t buy books or magazines to learn things – it’s more like joining a club for self-affirmation. Book titles are now so imperative: Make 7 figures in 7 years, Impeach Bush, Take back America, Expose Liberals Gone Wild, I hate Ann Coulter, Why we want you to be rich. Other how to books don’t really have any practical advice you couldn’t figure out yourself – for example, the Automatic Millionaire, or Suzie Orman – if you can’t follow their advice for wealth, you might as well make them rich. The worst are cookbooks that are entirely impossible for the average home cook to pull off, but are a nice fantasy anyway. The Nobu cookbooks are the most obvious offender –unless you happen to be a sushi master that apprenticed for at least 7 years in Japan, the books are just going to sit on your coffee table. Magazines are even worst – pick the most esoteric pastime, and someone will have a magazine for it.
I’ve got half a dozen books on computer programming, project management, and an anthology of ethnic Chinese writers of English in Hong Kong on deck as well as 3 wedding planning books, so I that’s what I’m going try to get through that this week for my birthday and Thanksgiving. And maybe a game of Civilization IV or two….
Lupa is on deck for tonight — let’s see if Mario Batali comes through again.