I {heart} Half-Price Books

We stopped into Half-Price Books the other day to drop off some books and videos we don't want to dust any longer and I had it in my mind that I would like to see if they had a book I've been wanting to read.

Just one book, thank you.

Well, if you love bookstores as much as I do, and you love bargain books as much as I do, then you'll understand why I left with more than "just one book."

After perusing a few different areas, I did spot the book I was looking for . . . (or should I say, the book for which I was looking . . . you'd think all the reading I do might improve my grammar.)

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand for only $9.98. I've been meaning to read this book, and I just recently read an article about how the book is flying off of shelves again since it is viewed as "prophetic" concerning our current economy, so I decided now was the time to tackle it's 1,168 pages.

Yes, that's right, over 1,000 pages. This will be a record for me, if I ever get through it. Don't expect a review anytime soon.

Moving on to the Children's section, I found Elijah deeply absorbed in an "I Spy" book. I gotta get me one of those books! He was enchanted!

And Alli was busy locating any and every book that was pink and had a princess on it.

I started looking and found this . . .and had to have it because I remember checking this out of our school library hundreds of times during my elementary career and even reciting one poem for a contest in 5th grade. I looked, and sure enough, "Homework Machine" was inside. I relived my childhood in 3.5 seconds right there on the spot.

"Homework Machine"

The Homework Machine, oh the Homework Machine,

Most perfect contraption that's ever been seen.

Just put in your homework, then drop in a dime,

Snap on the switch, and in ten seconds' time,

Your homework comes out, quick and clean as can be.

Here it is - "nine plus four?" and the answer is "three."

Three?

Oh me . . .

I guess it's not as perfect

As I thought it would be.

If I recall, I didn't score well with that poetry entry. I remember a judge saying something about it being awfully short for a 5th grader to memorize. Why do you think I chose it?

And after reading some poems and deciding that I HAD to have this book in my children's library (after all, Shel Siverstein inspired me to write poetry more than any classical poet) I sat down to look at some books with the kids.

Elijah found a wonderfully illustrated book about the human body, so I added that to my growing stack of "just one book" (no pic of that one, I haven't been able to pry it out of my kid's hands since we bought it), and then I proceeded to clean out every children's book I found.

Okay, that is exaggerating. I really did stop with just 3 books. But I went home feeling like I had conquered Amazon, for they were cheaper than even the used books on that site.

And now I have to remember to shop there first, before I buy online.

I just love Half-Price Books.