I've been ripping through the TBR lately, as you've probably noticed from the giveaways that have been hanging around on the blog. I've been continually victimized by polar vortices and because of this have made leaps and bounds forward in writing, reading and knitting. I also may have become slightly anti-social and stopped wearing makeup.
But I'm not sure that last bit has anything to do with the weather.
In any case, as I plow through my pile of ARCs I've also been wading into more weighty tomes. I'm a fan of the classics and I've recently rediscovered a less-well-known author of British parlor-room-and-Parliament drama, Anthony Trollope. If you have a spot in your heart for Dickens or Thackeray I highly recommend delving into Trollope as well.
The title I just finished - CAN YOU FORGIVE HER - is the first in what's called the Palliser novels by Trollope. I grabbed an old tattered paperback at a library sale some years ago. I love well-worn, cheaply made books. I really do. The pages are like onion paper, the print is smudgy, and there are various fingerprints all over the thing. All four corners are feathered from who knows how many pairs of hands rubbing their thumbs on the edges while they hope and pray that the wellborn women they're reading about make the right choice of husband. Sigh. Yes, even I fall prey to such things when couched properly.
So having escorted one such lady to the proper decision, I'm happy to move on to the next title - PHINEAS FINN - when I discover that the overly-handled set of paperbacks I grabbed on a whim a few years ago doesn't have that one. It's an injustice and an inconvenience so I tromp up the stairs from my library, up to my flannel-sheeted bed and burrow in to order a copy.
Except... I don't really have to. Because I can download it. For free.
Now I'm in a pickle. A few minutes ago I'd been grumbling under my breath about inconvenience and here I find that I can have the words I'm searching for delivered to me. Right now. For free. But... my iPad doesn't feather on the edges when I grip it during tea-time with a rascal, and the only fingerprints on the shiny screen are my own. What's the fun in that?
On the other hand, I'm also a highly practical person and I'm unsure I want to spend money on something I can have for free. So I hit up some lovely book swapping sites - Bookmooch and PaperbackSwap - only to find that I appear to be the only person in the world with a Trollope addiction.
It looks like I'll be spending money in order to fill out my Palliser set. I'm fine with that. Spending money on books is a good expenditure. Except... I can spend $9.00 on a brand new paperback and have it delivered for free because I'm an Amazon Prime member, or I can spend roughly the same amount of money and wait extra time for shipping because I'm buying used.
Yes. I am essentially volunteering to wait longer and pay for a dirty book.
I guess I just learned something about myself.