2009 September | Somewhere in Middle America

For the three years I worked in publishing, I never bought a book. Everything I added to my personal bookshelf was gratis, either from my company or via a trade with another publishing house. Now, several years later, I still rarely buy a book. Let me clarify: I hardly ever buy a book at full price. I love the bargain books section at Barnes & Noble and the several-times-a-year used book sale at my local library. The last book I probably bought at full price was the final book in the Harry Potter series.

Yesterday I caved and bought the latest Dan Brown novel, The Lost Symbol. I read a postive review on NYTimes.com (OK, actually I read only a couple of the preview sentences–I wasn’t logged into the website, so I couldn’t read the whole review), and it piqued my interest. But the deal was sealed when I went to Barnes & Noble yesterday in search of another book and found that first edition copies of The Lost Symbol were available. This just goes to show what a book nerd I am; first edition copies get me excited. Of course, I have no idea how many first edition copies of the book are on the market, and it’s not a signed copy, so it probably won’t be worth much in years to come, but still, it’s nice to know that I have one.

I remember when The Da Vinci Code was published. I was living in Washington, DC and a couple friends and I passed the book around our small circle once we each finished reading it. For several days I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning reading, and I did the same when I read Angels & Demons, which I liked even better. Anyone want to place bets on how long it will take for me to read The Lost Symbol?

The next book on my reading list: Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (once it’s published). 

What are you reading?

(image source)