I Have a Problem: Volume VI

I have a bit of an aversion to book stores that look sterile. You know what I'm talking about- post-Borders wunderkind with too much open space, a mediocre coffee bar, light-wood shelves, and not a speck of dust to be found. I am definitely more comfortable in shops that look as if they would welcome a resident cat, sleepy and full of warm, heavy light, books stacked and scattered, some already well-loved. Don't get me wrong- both stores should exist. People have the types of spaces in which they elect to exist and there need to be all sorts of environments on which to embark that most wonderful of missions: looking for books.

I found myself in the first type of bookstore this week and forced myself to focus on the shelves instead of the IKEA chairs and found two great little volumes, one I have been meaning to read and one that looks made for me.

The very first thing that attracted me to Swamplandia! when I stumbled across it for the first time was that wonderful cover illustration and the title. I love bayous. I know nearly nothing about bayous, but I love them. Find me a decent tale set in the Deep South, with screaming crickets and murky water and I will love you forever. The grass is always greener, amiright?

I eat books on faith for breakfast, because I struggle through my own dealings with the Spirit and it is good to know that one is not alone in such heavy ponderings. I look forward to reading the perspectives offered in this book.

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