From their Shelf to Ours

My weakness:  used bookstores.  I love them.  I love the endless hours of browsing that they offer once you step across the threshold.  I love the books crammed together on the shelves, piled on top of one another on the floor.  Now, I'm not looking for cheap books although the reduced price is a nice little perk.  I like high quality used books.  They have lived a life as can be attested to by the creased spines and yellowed pages but it was a life in which they were well cared for.  I am no longer just looking for myself but also for two little bookworms.  Children's literature opened up a whole new world to me that I had thought I had left behind many years ago.  I am so glad I didn't.

Last weekend, I brought home some treasures from a used bookstore I was able to find while we were away.  (Truth be told, I already knew the name and address of the store.  I did my research before we left.)  First is a collection of short stories by the Newfoundland writer Michael Crummey.  In his last book Galore , he created a fantastical world embedded in the heart of Newfoundland.  It begins with the man Judah being found in the belly of a beached whale and comes full circle at the end.  read it.  next was American Gods by Neil Gaiman and I cannot wait to throw myself into this one.  (If you read earlier in the week, the Sookie Stackhouse book has fallen by the wayside.)  Two Pippi books also managed to find their way into my arms because, well, it's Pippi.  Last but not least, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.

okay, now brace yourselves.  This is actually the first time I have read Roald Dahl.  I have no reason, no excuse.  I just never came across his work when I was a child.  When I saw this book, I knew now would be a great time to introduce all of us to his work.  Sometimes the boys, especially the oldest, have pretty particular ideas about what books they want to or don't want to read.  When I first showed this book to Kee, he actually didn't seem that interested.  I didn't let that stop me.  On Monday, when they were both sitting at the table drawing and playing with playdough, I decided to take advantage of my captive (kind of) audience.  i sat down and I just started reading.  They listened.  And the more I read, the more their eyes lit up.  They loved it.  And we are continuing to love it.  I say we because I am also totally hooked.  i look forward to reading it every night before bed.  And it is such a great book to read out loud.  Ah, so many years without Roald Dahl.  So many books now to discover.