hello my name is...

I confess. There's no hiding it. I love the big box stores. I love them. I love heading out into suburbia and perusing the over-sized stores in search of good deal. I love the vaulted warehouse ceilings of Cost-Co, and its lack of decor and personal style. It's as though I can breath easier inside the large buildings, while chomping on my hotdog in search of a sample suitable for dessert. sigh. I love them. BUT...not as much as I love the small independent business, nestled away in a side street of downtown Victoria. Where you inevitably find one of the same two or three people working behind the counter, excited to share with you their treasures which they seem to be so passionate about.

Today's adventure was Munro's Book Store on Government Street. Oh, how I love Munro's. So much so, I'm tempted to swear off Chapter's and other big box bookstores. I am a moderate reader. I am not someone who ingests a book within days, nor have I read many classics. I do have my favorites, though. For instance, everytime I am perusing the fiction section I check to see if there is any Madeleine L'Engle books. I am pretty sure I have read all of her books written for adults, but I always search with the hope that there might be one tucked away betwen a chic-lit novella and period romance. Alas, today there was nothing. But it won't stop me from checking next time I go in.

I immediately feel more intelligent upon steping inside the store, my breathing slows down, I hear the classical music playing softly in the background, and the ritual begins: the Munro's perusal. It begins at the new releases, and then to the Canadian fiction, general fiction, cook books, biographies and non-fiction and climaxes at ...drum roll, please...the discount table. Glorious, crisp, hard cover books, 12 months ago sitting at the new release stand have suddenly become available for only $6.99! heaven. I walk around the tables repeatedly, each time my arms become more full of purchase possibilities. Generally, I'm afraid to say, avoiding anything that has "Oprah's Bookclub" stamped across it...mostly because I just think she has to much power over what we already deem "Our" favorite things.

Unfortunately, here in lies my second confession...85% of the books I pick up are chosen because of their cover. Hello, my name is Elise, and I judge books by their cover. The only exception to this pattern of my superficial behaviour, is if I know the author already...for instance, the Douglas Coupland novel I bought the last time I was at Munro's (It was called "Eleanor Rigby", by the way...a curious, west coast, post-modern novel - if you're interested). I don't know what I would have done 100 years ago, when there were no design teams around to create the perfect font for every book, or find the best illustration to catch the reader's eye at the new release stand. I probably would've chosen them by color of cover...reading only purple and navy books, or something bizarre like that.

If I may, I will take a moment to make a small argument for the person, such as myself, who finds themselves being drawn to books by their cover. For it is not only the artwork and layout and font that attracts me, it is the tone of all of these things put together. Which I am sure the advertising and sales teams devoted to each author by their publishers are paid to do...but, I will be the first to admit...it works. Now - all this being said, I do not choose a book strictly by it's cover...I will flip through the pages, read an excerpt here and there, and see who's reviewed it and what they've said. So, I guess I'm not completely superficial...maybe, just a little bit.

In any case, I am going to go read my new book now ("Hatbox Letters", hardcover which I purchased for a mere $6.99!!!)....