The Mad Chatter -or- Through the Booking Ass

Every fall I look forward to the annual book sales that take place in October. October is the month for book sales in this and surrounding areas. Having said that I recently went to one and have one more to look forward to, slated for a few days before Halloween.

Needless to say, I bought a ton of books for very little cash. I think maybe the most expensive book I bought was $5. Everything else ranged from 10¢ - $3. I love that. Anyway, I mostly bought handfuls of those little cook booklets that I love (collect) so much. You know, the little freebies that you get when you buy Wesson Oil or sour cream or something. I recently started sharing my vast collection of retro cook booklets and their recipes at my other blog, Jam Handy!

As you know, when you venture outside you often have to be exposed to other people. A real negative in most cases. Well, this book sale was no exception. Not unlike last year's fartacular experience, there was another idiot at this book sale too. This time he wasn't a book lover as much as a tagalong. Here's the story:


I arrive at the sale, grabbed a basket and start shoppin'. Enjoying the relatively low din of the usual background noise: the older women who run the sale talking amongst themselves, the stray customer being schooled on where things are, customers talking to fellow customers... Then there's the sounds that grate on my nerves: the cell phone idiots who let their phone ring for what seems like an eternity before answering it in their loud, donkey-like voice. The children who should have been left at home. And then there's the Chatty Cathy who fancies himself a comedian.

So, I'm standing there, rifling through boxes of books, tossing in the occasional "find," when I hear "How about this one? *ha ha ha !*"..."Did you want this book on insert subject here? *LOL!*" "Did you see this one? *HA HA HA*" and so on and so on and so on... It never ended. It was like this non-stop one-sided dialogue of retardation. I looked up to see this turd with, I'm assuming, his wife (God bless her). She had this shit-eating, half-hearted grin plastered on her face while he continued to deluge her with his oh-so-wacky interjections. I felt so bad for her, yet I wanted to beat him senseless with the nearest bookend.


Now, I'm no stranger to the "funny" interjection. My friends and I do it to each other whenever we go shopping somewhere together. You know, like when you come up to your friend at the bookstore, holding a copy of some god awful Anne Geddes (or some other such embarrassing/in-joke book) book and say nonchalantly to your friend "Did you want this?" or "Here. you dropped this." Then you both roll your eyes, laugh and it's over. Or in my case, when I go with my friend Nathan, I end up with a Sandi Patti CD in my basket or a copy of Veggie-Tales on VHS. Think of it as a different level of "There's your boyfriend," as you point out the biggest freakshow in the place. We've all done it.

My point is, we all do these silly, funny things, but the big difference is we know when to stop. No one wants to be forced to be put on high-alert because you won't leave them alone long enough to shop in peace.

Annnyway, the guy eventually left with his weary, worn friend and everything went back to normal. I eventually went to check out and found another fistful of free cook booklets on the "FREE" table on the way out. The FREE table is a table near the exit that is stacked with all kinds of books/booklets that for whatever reason (condition, no value, outdated, etc.) aren't book sale-worthy. You can find some groovy little treasures if you take the time to look.

Here's what I found:


• The Ghouls by Peter Haining
• Salute to the Thirties by Jannet Flanner, Photography by Horst
Comment: This book is filled from beginning to end with beautiful, rare photos of celebrities from all walks of life. Most of the images I've never even seen before. It was a must-have, even though there is one loose page. The $5 I paid for it sure beats the $25 and up other places are charging for this out-of-print book!
• Rosemary Clooney: Thanks for Nothing LP
• Doris Day: Bright & Shiny LP
• Charlie Chan: Meeting at Midnight (AKA Charlie Chan in "Black Magic") VHS
• Assorted cook booklets (not all are shown)
• The Art of Chinese Cooking by the Benedictine Sisters of Peking
Comment: I had to buy this cute little cookbook once I saw the illustrations inside. They're all so sweet and simple. I just love them. I also love that this book was obviously bought somewhere overseas (thus the Japanese [?] stamp on the back, inside cover) and authored by Benedictine nuns! A nice piece of cooking history dating back to 1956.