It was only much later in the evening upon arriving home when I realized, that on this very same day last year, we were also at that huge lupine-titled book sale on the south side of the city. No conscious effort on our part to fulfill any annual religious devotion or ritual really, but just an innocent coincidence for us three (little pigs) who just happen to love books.
Ach so, for two years straight, that world-famous peddler of more than a few thousand titles had once again returned to our city bearing gifts, and for the same number of years, we have obliged; gobbling up its offerings of new reads to enjoy. At least, in this alternate universe, us wee pigs do the huffing and puffing for a change, as we carry our heavy loot home.
Growing up for as long as I could remember, me and my three younger brothers had shared one great passion for books, especially during our school years. We were never coerced at home in any way to read, although books were all around. So I reckoned that each of us must have had gotten the fever from outside (shoutout to peer groups, of course).
When it came to preferences, I was never sure of what each really liked best, but we all passed through the whole run, from Hardy Boys, to westerns, mystical to inspirational, autobiographies, and then our common thread of course, fantasy. Many a time, we ended up recommending books to each other and passing along the good ones we’ve finished reading. I’m just glad that the same bug resides in our son who has likewise grown to become such a voracious reader. The fact that he never flinches at the steep prices of books nowadays is legend, especially when they’re from his fave writers. With that said, the book sale had us feeling cool and relaxed as he sifted through the collections.
Of course, as additional ammo to that ongoing argument from millennial’s today about their preferences to reading online, there will always be a world of difference between a digital version and a real book. The crisp feel of paper, the delicate smell of print and even the mere flipping of a page, all release an undefined amount of feel-good toxins in the brain, compared to the mere swiping and scrolling action of the finger on a LED screen. Aside from that as a proven scientific fact, it is also such a waste of money when you try to squash a roach with a tablet.
Yet seriously, I am just glad that this wolf visit has taken a semblance of regularity, as the city’s readers breed like crazy, bookworms and piggies that we are. So, well done wolfie, keep it up and hopefully blow the house down again next year.
