Saturday afternoon ...

Although I have been fighting an obnoxious chest cold-sinus infection since Wednesday, the weather was outstanding in sunny Southern California today, and I was unable to resist the lure of the ocean breezes and the "Friends of the Library" bookstore at my favorite public library in Newport Beach. I have become accustomed to purusing the shelves at NBLP's FOTL store, and today I came away with a couple of gems-in waiting. In fact, over the last month or so, I have developed quite a habit, thanks to bargains like these:

"Dictionary of Classical Mythology" by J.E. Zimmerman

"The Iraq Study Group Report" by Lawrence S. Eagleburger, Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Edwin Meese III, Sandra Day O'Connor, Leon E. Panetta, William J. Perry, Charles S. Robb, Alan K. Simpson, James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton

"Half a Life" by V.S. Naipaul

"Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith" by Jon Krakauer

"We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: stories from Rwanda" by Philip Gourevitch

"The Story of Civilization VII: The Age of Reason Begins", by Will and Ariel Durant

"The Story of Civilization II: The Life of Greece", by Will Durant

"Fiasco: The American Military Adventure In Iraq" by Thomas E. Ricks

"New Recipes From Moosewood Restaurant"

"Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages" by Mario Batali

Another goodie waiting for me, as soon as I finish a couple others which have been on deck for a while longer, is "de Kooning: An American Master" by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan, for which I confess I paid something closer to retail, so anxious am I to get into it.

Another I'm watching the bargain bins for is "The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century" by Alex Ross. It SOUNDS like something concerning the kind of music my youngest listens to these days (with vocals a cross between screaming and vomiting), but it's about twentieth-century and contemporary classical music (and hopefully some 21st century things as well). I'm holding out for a bargain, but may be unable to resist the temptation to pay Amazon-type retail prices if I have to wait much longer.

Mario has several ideas I can't wait to try. If I can only get the family (other than number 1 son, who's away at college and who'll try anything his old dad will try) to try fresh anchovies, we'll be having some fun.