The fact that our experience on the Antiques Roadshow set was so darned fast meant that we had the whole rest of the day for touristing! Except for one problem. It was 8:30 am. Nothing we wanted to see opened until 10. DRAT! So we headed back to the hotel to drop off our priceless treasures stuff and Jon’s Dad’s Louis XIV vase perfume bottle and headed out to our first destination; the book and music store, Hastings.
Really, I’m surprised that more book stores and music stores haven’t discovered that you could double up your efforts and draw in a whole new crowd. Jon loves shopping for records, and he could stay there all day. I can’t. I putter around the music area for a little while poking randomly at a few artists I know. If there are movies, I’m good for another twenty minutes or so, as I check out the documentary/history section (usually sorely lacking) and the chick flicks (subjecting myself to chuckles from Jon…).
And, by the way, chairs are conspicuously absent from almost all record stores (occasionally I find one of those circular plastic stools like they have in libraries, but they make your butt go numb after awhile) – this is really poor strategic planning, if you ask me. HELLO? If I had a comfortable place to hang out, with books, I could totally be in for the long haul. The other thing that Hastings had going for it were these pieces of paper taped all over the bookshelves that said – Sale – Saturday Only – All Used Books $2.99. The fine print said something about the fact that they were only marked down if the regular price was $29.99 and below.
We had actually stopped in the evening before on our way to sushi, and I asked the clerk about the signs. Are audiobooks on sale? I’m a huge fan of audiobooks – I listen to them on my treadmill and in the car on those long drives to Portland to see my brother and his family. But audiobooks are SUPER-expensive. Anywhere between $25 and $50 for a new audiobook! OUCH! As a result, I have never actually purchased a new audiobook. And even the used ones are pricey – so the only time I ever buy a used one is if I run across a good one at the library book sale. I usually just check them out from the library, but that is a challenge with some longer audiobooks, because they can be hard to finish in three weeks. If somebody else has a hold on the same book – no renewals…
Hastings had their audiobooks regularly priced anywhere from $5 to $17.49 for used one. The clerk didn’t know if the sale included audiobooks, but she went and asked her manager and BINGO! I was in! So we had to go back Saturday! At any rate – I loaded up. I looked at all of the audiobooks and loaded up my basket with all sorts of great finds! I got some for myself and some for my parents for their road trips. I had so many audiobooks that the clerk gave me some really funny looks as she was ringing us up. It was awesome. The most fun I have had in a bookstore in a very long time, and I love bookstores!
How about you? Are you a Kindle reader, an audiobook listener, or a die hard traditional paper book fan?
Wine and History Visited 