A Tale of Two Books

I bought these two books from the Co-op today:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moonstone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Grey

They were $3.99 each. They are from the same publisher from whom I've bought approximately 80% of my current books. They're all old classics so a lot cheaper than newer books. Except they sell for $5.95 from Harbourtown. Shocking and I henceforth refuse to buy them from Harbourtown anymore.

I initially picked up Agnes Grey and The Professor by Charlotte Bronte... but then I went outside and dropped them both on the ground as I was trying to package them in paper to cushion them from any dents on my journey home. Disaster. The opposite of fantastic. I picked them up gingerly, almost too scared to look. Initially, they seemed fine and then I began to notice all the dents and creases.

Devastation. Utter devastation, my friends.

I had a bus to catch but my mind was a'swirl with many emotions and confused feelings. It was like an episode of The OC. In the end, I went back into the Co-op, turned on my feminine wiles and convinced the sales guy to let me swap them for different copies (truth be told, I just asked him politely. I have no feminine wiles).

Except that all the existing copies on the shelf had some sort of blemish. I had chosen the two only pristine copies, both now irreparably damaged. In the end, I chose a moderately unblemished Agnes Grey and swapped The Professor for The Moonstone. I figure I should give another style of "old classic" a shot and stop reading so much Bronte and Austen. They say The Moonstone is the pioneer of the detective novel and the very best one at that. I'm quite keen to start. Additionally, The Professor is apparently not super fantastic (although I think I'd still like it) and was, in fact, rewritten by Charlotte Bronte as Villette which is supposed to be much better.

So maybe I will just wait to read Villette. I'm just trying to console myself because I really wanted to read The Professor. The plot? Professor who falls in love with his student. Hello, my favourite book is freaking Lolita. This plotline, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Of course I'd like The Professor!

Sigh. I love books and reading so much. Fucking pompous asshole that I am. They are the greatest inventions of all time.

J