The fiscal diet and problems wherein.

Call it Murphy's law, call it what you want. But isn't it the nature of diets that when you cut back, you see delicious, tempting things everywhere? You stop eating meat to save money and lose weight, and someone brings you a free pound of the most delicious prosciutto you've ever had. Why?

This is also true of fiscal diets. No sooner did I vow to stop buying new books than did these irresistable opportunities present themselves:

1. A book club. Not a stuffy one, a fusty one, a foofy one, but one full of hip young ladies and their drive to read new things, old things, weird things, whatever, things. And these ladies! What ladies. You can see the problem that a book club presents to my commitment, right? I might be able to find what they want to read in the library, but what if it's newer or not available? And while the library is not strictly ruled out, since reading books there is free, it doesn't really help me make a dent in the massive percentage of unread books at home. Counter-productive.

2. I went to a play tonight, and without thinking I stopped in Half Price Books around the corner from the theater. Once inside I realized how futile my visit was, and then I saw this sign:


WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?? Who planted this shining donut in front of my fasting face? $2 used Literature? $5 for 5?! That is just MEAN.

I'm anxious to get this project rolling, to get into the swing of it and start making some progress. And also to revisit the intentions that led me to pick up my many books in the first place. Why did I think it was a good idea to buy a used copy of the Satanic Verses?

Next up: Dexter by Design. A european import because I was too impatient to track down the elusive US release. The last purchase before my self-induced book-buying fast.

Love and epilogues,
k