How To Buy Books

By Blair Stenvick


Bookstores can scare away a lot of people, because buying a book is kind of a big commitment. Most paperbacks cost around $15.00, which can easily mean a week’s worth of lunch for a lot of young adults. And don’t even mention hard covers — you may as well start negotiating a loan.

And books aren’t like albums or movies or really any other purchase you can make, because there’s always a chance you won’t even experience the book. Even with the worst of albums or movies, you can usually get through them at least once. But due to time and frustration and boredom, books can go permanently unfinished, which meant you will have devoted some money and time on a journey you never got to finish.

On top of that, the thought of someday having people over, them seeing a book on your shelf and exclaiming “I love this!” and having to sheepishly admit that you haven’t really read it is cringe-worthy enough to drive some people permanently away from the purchase counter.

But this really shouldn’t be the case, because owning books is awesome. They’re like a map of yourself; your different interests and sensibilities, the phases you went through, the people you tried to impress. Even the half-read books are great to have, because sitting right next to the books you’ve reread a few times, they serve as a contrast between how you see yourself and who you really are. Studying a bookshelf is a great way to address and come to terms with your true self, whatever that means.

Also, owning books means you get to lend them. If you’re lucky, you’ll someday have the experience of trading books with an acquaintance, and by the time you’re both finished and have traded back, you’ll have become friends. It’s almost impossible to read someone else’s dog-eared paperback copy of their favorite book and not fall a little bit in love with them, at least in a platonic way.

But even if you know all this, it can still be difficult to whip out a wallet to buy a book that you’re not getting paid or graded for reading. That’s totally understandable, so here’s a mental checklist to go through to ensure you won’t regret the purchase:

1. Even if it has a beautiful cover or an intelligent-sounding title, it should be something you’re more excited to read than to casually leave on your coffee table for people to see.

2. If it’s by an author you’ve never read before, make it on the short side. So yeah, the 1000+ page Infinite Jest looks cool, but maybe try reading something else by David Foster Wallace first so you can be sure you like his writing style.

3. Recommendations from friends are great, but your own intuition is better. Some books just feel better than others, and that’s not an instinct to be scoffed at or ignored.

4. Is it a recent bestseller or well-known classic? If so, put it down, text your friends, and ask if you can borrow it. I promise, someone has it.

Now you’ve bought a book, and hopefully one that you can be excited about. Go to the café next store, sip on some tea, start reading, and revel in your own quaintness.

music to my ears

Love is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time is a memoir by Rob Sheffield which explores the story of how he met and lost his wife Renee and the connection they had and have through music. As music enthusiasts their souls were intertwined in the magnetic tape of cassettes. They had mixes for every event and activity and with each mix comes memories and stories of their lives.
The book is right about love. Love is a mix tape. Life is a mix tape. My brain and your brain are mix tapes. Although not everyone appreciates music in the same capacity, everyone has some sort of relationship with it. Tons of people feel no shame in professing their love for music. We spent the mid-2000's reading 13 year old girls tell us "music is my life". And who are we to say they are wrong? Music is your life and music is my life. And where our lives come together, music is there to remind us of that. Although we might not have physical cassette tapes like Sheffield does in the book, our minds are linked to the music. Songs and musical artists remind us of people, places, events, times in our lives, etc. Music can make us laugh and reminisce. Music can make us cry and be quiet and still. Music is personal. Artists write music for whatever personal reasons they have, whether it be expression or a get-rich-quick scheme. They give it to us and then we share it with each other. I have friends who sent each other a mix CD every month when we first went away to college. It was a way for them to stay connected. It was, "hey this sone reminded me of you", "hey I know you'll love this one", or even just "hey I like this song and it will give us something to talk about together now that our lives are far apart and it is sometimes difficult to have real conversations."
I'm not exactly sure what my point is. Basically, I loved the book. It made me smile and cry and I like the message. You should read this book, or any book that can make you feel a broad spectrum of emotion. And then listen to music that does the same thing.

Music: Abbey Road (Album) - The Beatles

the average american male

i just finished a novel called "The Average American Male" by Chad Kultgen. did i love it? yea. do i recommend it to anyone? not really.

it is a ton of vulgar nonsense from the brain of an average american male who goes through relationship bullshit and just the over all bullshit of life. i suppose if you enjoyed Tucker Max then you might enjoy this one. the enthralling thing about Tucker Max is that it is a compilation of ridiculous, but "true" stories. this one is fictional, but accurate, and mostly just funny as shit. nothing special but i'll keep it on my shelf in the section of vulgar books i won't want my future children to accidentally find and read.

Music: Bad Reputation - Joan Jett, Shake That Ass - Eminem ft. Nate Dogg

Beer

i finally finished I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max yesterday. it was so bittersweet to finally be finished with it. Tucker Max is one of the most immoral, terrible people i've ever come across, and yet he is some how going on my list of heroes. if you don't already know (and i feel most people just should) I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell is a compilation of Tucker Max's most glorious antics and sexcapades. the stories, all true and from Max's point of view, are filled with lots of binge drinking, strip clubs, picking up chicks, poop, vomit, etc. basically every male reads Tucker Max and then aspires to be like him, but probably never will. i'm not sure what that makes me. i blame spending 7-10th grade primarily hanging out with males.

p.s. i hate updating so often but i just had to update about this. it is very important. today i bought My Horizontal Life: A Book Of One-Night Stands by Chelsea Handler. it is supposed to be like the female Tucker Max. we'll see.

he's just not that into you

this weekend i went to North Carolina for a memorial for my cousin. yes it was sad. yes i am ok. no, i dont really need to talk about it. anyway, on the plane home i read "he's just not that into you", a novel for all of you who are unaware. i saw the movie as well but the book was lol funny, literally. it also might as well have been called "if you are dating luke desio..." or "why your bullshit high school relationship is a failure". it was so truthful and funny. i came to many realizations. something even funnier would be a book for male's explaining similar misconceptions about women. reading them both and comparing them would be wonderful.

lately i've been having so many tests and so much dumb work to do for school. FML? noooo. things are ok other than i dont want to do any of it.

Music: Rooney - Calling the World (cd replaying in my car eternally. need a new mix cd)