Regardless, it is becoming more and more of a common occurance for me to take a gander through the BYU Bookstore, see a book that catches my fancy, take it over to a blue chair with brown armsticks they try to pass as armrests, plop down and start reading the book. Normally, this is fine. Quite wonderful, to be honest. I just saved myself 2.5 hours at work and almost 8 months of suspense.
However, today it was not quite wonderful. I picked a book I had heard about for years, but due to its unavailabilty at the library had never read it.(Sidenote: I had also been a wee bit weary to read it as one of the “reccomenders” sometimes appeared a little queer to me, but I decided to chance it.) So far, so good. I pick up said book, weave my way past the candy section to the the blue material with sticks holding it up the bookstore passes off as a chair, and to my surprise – there is already a girl sitting down in one of the chairs. (There were three.) Apparently I’m not the only “book leecher” at BYU, that’s good to know. I take the chair furthest away from her. I sit down, and begin reading. Still good so far. I begin reading and almost to my shock, I find myself enjoying the book – emmensly.
The characters are developed, it’s written well, it’s not your typical novel in the genre. Well, the author happens to write so well she pulled off a feat that has not happened to me in MONTHS. I found myself getting teary-eyed and on the verge of crying. Now this may be acceptable at home, in my bed, wrapped up in fuzzy blankets, but I was not at home, nor in my bed, nor surrounded by blankets. I was in public, sitting on a uncomfortable product of machinery they call a seat, with the girl a chair away from me stealing not-so-shy glances in my direction. Uh…. . Sorry. I had no idea this book would get this reaction from me. I thought it would be a simple story with a generic plot that somehow slipped past the publisher, not a captivating chronicle that would touch my heart. And that that heartburn would somehow cause an allergic reaction causing water to flow out of my eyes and snot to seep its way through my nose.
I should know better. Really, I should. I should carry kleenx or at least realize that this is what I should expect for reading a book in public. Sooner it was bound to happen. Me trying to contain the firehose flood of tears. In public. With random men walking by thinking there is a crazygirl crying in public from reading a book, and a fellow book leecher making not so subtle glances at me trying to figure out what my problem is. As if I knew this was going to happen.
Moral of the story: if you are a book leecher, take some advice from our friends the boy scouts: be prepared (preferably with kleenx). Or, better yet – just wait for it at the library.
