Retail Therapy

Today my friend Iris took a half-day off work and came up for a visit. We loaded Hambet into the car and took off for a day of shopping. Other women go to the mall, but Iris and I hate shopping for clothes. We went scouting used bookstores. There are six within reasonable driving distance; we visted two favorites.
We both had good hauls. I had good success with books for Hambet. Two Beatrix Potters — Hambet loved Peter Rabbit, so we’ll see if he also likes the tales of Benjamin Bunny and Mrs Tiggle-Winkle. I like the small, individual editions of the Potter books; they retain the intended pacing of the text and illustrations. I also found another one of those great books from Golden Books’ heyday: Joe Kaufman’s About the Big Sky, About the High Hills, About the Rich Earth, amd the Deep Sea. Does anyone else remember these books? Kaufman takes the Richard Scarry concept — vivid, detailed drawings explaining science and technology — to a level appropriate for older children. I had a copy of his book on the human body when I was a kid, and it was one of my favorite books (I’ll have to see if my mother still has it.) I know he’s written others as well — and they all seem to be out of print, which is criminal. Hambet isn’t quite ready for this book yet, though he will proabably like looking at the pictures. I’ll have to do some updating as we read; the book repeats the old canard that it took Columbus to demonstrate that the earth wasn’t flat, and will need some supplementation for discoveries made since 1978 (the rings of Jupiter, for example.)
It’s a shame, really; Golden Press had so many great books — so many of my favorites from when I was growing up — and so many are out of print! Many of the Richard Scarry books have been edited for political correctness, and many of his (and other) Little Golden Book titles are either out of print or difficult to find.
I had a great fiction haul at the second bookstore, all on the same shelf: Eclipse of the Sun, by Michael O’Brien, and THREE Aubrey-Maturins (usually difficult to find in used bookstores.) There were more PO’Bs available but I had to use a little self-control. Finally, a copy of G.K. Chesterton’s St Francis of Assisi, which I presented to my dear husband.
Iris found a book of Audobon paintings at an excellent price and a couple of books of natural history. She picked up a couple of PO’Bs for herself as well, and two by G.K. Chesterton (an introductory anthology and The Everlasting Man.) Iris, who attends a Protestant church, was kind enough to tape the Dale Ahlquist series on Chesterton for me when it ran on EWTN a couple of years ago (her cable company ran EWTN 24/7.) I thought she’d just use the timer function on her VCR, but when she brought the first set of tapes over, she demanded to know why she hadn’t been taught about GK before since everything he predicted had come to pass? So when I saw the Chesterton books today, I was an instigator and suggested she take a peek at them.
A stop at Starbucks for coffee and cake was the cherry on the sundae. Don’t know if today did anything for fixing that slipped gear in my brain, but it did wonders for my mood. All I need now is for my child and husband to go to bed early, so I can sneak downstairs and read.