Bandwagon

I love to read, but I am picky as sin when it comes to choosing books. I'm very cautious about spending my money on anything, but books are particularly difficult for me. I think it's because they live in your house once you're done with them, as opposed to, say, an extra large cheese pizza, which one just eats until it disappears. I guess the obvious solution to my book-buying-then-housing problem is the library. But, really, I don't like the library, which is kind of a daring thing to say when you're as cheap as I am. Maybe this is just the libraries I've been to, but all the books are kind of...lame and old. Not to mention hard to find. Especially amongst all the running and yelling children. ANYWAY, all of this to say, I am frequently in Barnes & Noble for three hour stretches and ultimately leave empty handed. Well, last week I was determined not to let that happen again. I finally bought The Help. Of course I've been listening to the praise for this book for months, but when I picked it up, saw the $25 price tag, saw that it was a period novel set in the South and centered on racial tension, well, I just set it back down. Five or six times. Oh, come on, the cover isn't even turquoise! (It's easier for me to buy and house turquoise-colored things.) Anyway, my heels were starting to dig into me and the B&N staff had already asked me a dozen times if I needed help finding something (Hi, do you have anything turquoise? Really, anything.) and I was quite hungry, so I just grabbed the huge book and paid for it...and let it sit on my kitchen counter for a week. Finally, this weekend I read it.

Of course, I loved it.