Thrifty Thursday is a meme started by my friend Sal over at Motion Sick Lit, which is a phenomenal book blog.
The idea of Thrifty Thursday: each week you link up a used book you get for (preferably) under $5. Grabbing a book you've never heard of is encouraged. It's a cool way to support local shops and maybe find a new favorite book. Since I love judging books by their covers, this is just the activity for me.
THE BOOKSTORE: Myopic Books
If you live in Chicago, you're probably well aware of Myopic Books in Wicker Park. It's an absolutely enormous used bookstore with winding shelves and three floors. And they're open until 11pm every night, so it's kind of catered to my lifestyle. It's so much fun to get lost in, and there are a bunch of great stores, restaurants, and bars nearby.
Normally when I go into used bookstores, I kind of have a list of books in my head that I'm looking for. This time, I wasn't really finding anything. So I just grabbed two books based on their names and covers. I have never ever heard of either of these books. And they ended up being perfect for me (as far as I can tell based on the descriptions and reviews on goodreads). I need to do this more often.
THE BOOK(s):
Oyster by Janette Turner Hospital
Outer Maroo, a small, opal mining town in the Australian outback, is stewing in heat, drought, and guilty anxiety. Some ghastly cataclysm has occurred on the opal fields, but this is a taboo subject. At the heart of the mystery is the cult messiah, Oyster, dressed in white, sexually compelling, and preaching the end of time.
Small town! Harsh Australian outback! Cult! An ideal trifecta, honestly. According to the goodreads reviews that I skimmed, the writing is beautiful and it gets really dark. I want to start this one RIGHT NOW.
Chorus of Mushrooms by Hiromi Goto
"Chorus of Mushrooms" heralds the debut of a young Japanese Canadian feminist, Hiromi Goto. Until the publication of "Chorus of Mushrooms" in 1994, the primary voice heard from Japanese Canadians was that of the people interned during World War II. Hiromi Goto examines the immigration experience of the Japanese Canadian beyond war and into present day Alberta. Celebrating cultural differences as a privilege, Chorus of Mushrooms explores the shifts and collisions of culture through the lives of three generations of women in a Japanese family living in a small prairie town.
You had me at "Japanese Canadian feminist." I grabbed this one solely for the title, and that was a good choice. Apparently the protagonist is absolutely amazing. And the writing is lyrical. So I'm very excited.
TOTAL PRICE: $15
Not the least expensive, but I do what I want.
Thanks for hosting this, Sal!
What cheap books have you picked up recently? Tell me about your favorite used bookstore!