this post is brought to you by Waiting for the Melatonin to Kick In Enterprises

[spatch]

You were not there this evening when I bought some used books over at Harv Square (we're on a first-name basis now; I can call it Harv and it can call me Rube.) This means you did not hear the I've Got Books song. And boy did you miss out, for the song goes like this:

Oh, I've got books
I've got books
I've got books for me to read

The best part of this song is that not only is it infinitely customizable, but you can sing it as many times as you'd like, or until they call the police on you. For instance, once you've gotten your books you can go to Pho Pasteur and get a giant bowl of delicious soup, and then you can sing

Oh, I've got pho
I've got pho
I've got pho for me to eat

There also may or may not be a dance involved. I ain't sayin.

Oh I do so love used books. Mostly because they're cheap, yes, but also because sometimes you catch tiny glimpses of the book's previous life. For example, an airline boarding pass stub fell out of this copy of A Confederacy of Dunces and I don't think it's too much of an invasion of privacy to reveal that on an August first of a bygone year, a certain Mr. Stephen R. Smith, Jr flew a 9:30 AM America West flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. He sat in a window seat, 8A, and it must have been a short flight because he didn't get more than a hundred pages in. (But then again, Ignatius J. Reilly is a character best experienced after lunch, so no doubt Mr. Smith had good reasons for abandoning the book as he did.)

At any rate I'm just glad the copy fell into my hands for 1/3 of its list price, giving me one out of the several reasons I had today do the "I've Got Books" song and/or dance. Tomorrow I shall impress you by namedropping another high-class piece of Pulitzer prize-winning literature, this time in the guise of clever haiku.

Comments

[wahhappen.livejournal.com]

I want Pho! (At least I had some Spring Rolls this weekend.) ;D

[gilana]

Oh, I've got Spatch
I've got Spatch
I've got Spatch for me to read

[spatch]

It's written all over my face, isn't it?

[karyn.livejournal.com]

a friend once loaned me that book and i couldn't get far into it... thought it was BORING. :(

[scholargipsy.livejournal.com]

(But then again, Ignatius J. Reilly is a character best experienced after lunch, so no doubt Mr. Smith had good reasons for abandoning the book as he did.)

Ignatius's middle initial is "P," by the way.

[spatch]

Not in my copy. Strange, eh? Perhaps Mr. Smith, Jr went through and defaced the book for his busytime flight activity.

[scholargipsy.livejournal.com]

Very strange. When I read your post, my immediate thought was, well, the correction (or not) written above. I remembered reading Dunces, and I remembered the P., but to check I did a Google search. Ignatius P. Reilly, check.

After reading your comment, I did another search. Ignatius J. Reilly, check. My memory still insists P., but if your copy says J....all I can say is weird, yo.

[spatch]

Ad hoc Googlefight!

"Ignatius J Reilly" - 9,220 hits.
"Ignatius P Reilly" - 87 hits.

That is indeed odd. I wonder how the P made it into the Internet's collective consciousness. I tried other middle initials, and some of them hit on Google, too, though none are as popular as P or, well, J.

[archangelsk.livejournal.com]

Joel: Ignatius P. Reilly had better hygiene than this guy!

From episode 418, Attack of the Eye Creatures; also q.v. the "50 Most Obscure References" chapter in The MST3K Amazing Colossal Episode Guide (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553377833/ref=pd_sxp_f/102-0670610-7108956?v=glance&s=books).

[spatch]

THEY JUST DIDN'T CARE

[archangelsk.livejournal.com]

TORGO IS MY FACT CHECKER

FOUND

[rosalux.livejournal.com]

In a Christian Dating book, in the chapter on whether or not holding hands was acceptable for Christian Teens, I found a note that started out "Hi, sexxy! U R so HOT. I mean, your eyes are just CRAZY HOT." and then a plea for her to please, please, please write to him this summer when he's out of town. And a little sketch of the girl who was SO HOT, as a stick person with fiery eyes.

In The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy, someone's call list, names and phone numbers to call after Unknown Baby is born.

In some random chick-lit book, a postcard photo of someone changing a tire on a gigantic RV on the side of the road. The postcard said Texas was awful but they thought Hot Springs was great and were on their way to Branson. Never mailed - no postmark.

Those were both from the Lake Street Savers. Most of the used book stores are better about taking stuff out of the books, I guess. Though there are often things written in them.