Tsundoku

ONE Wednesday afternoon, at a resto, the wait staff asked me: “Wala moy discount, Ma’am?”

I didn’t ask her anymore what discount she was referring to. After the many instances I had heard that question in the past, I now knew what it’s all about the senior citizen ID. I guess it’s one way for the wait staff, cashiers, and retail salespeople to remind forgetful senior citizens about their privileges. Otherwise, those discounts would never be availed of.

It must be my turkey neck and not the white hair growing out of my nose. I even have two copies of Nora Ephron’s “I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman.”

Why two copies? I used to buy books without reading them thereafter, which the Japanese call tsundoku. I didn’t know anymore what the bookshelves had until the pandemic lockdowns began and I finally had the time to read.

I have or had at least five books with two copies each. But I bought the two copies of Anna Kendrick’s “Scrappy Little Nobody” after the lockdowns—what’s my excuse for that? Selective amnesia I guess. Hmmm.

This could only mean that my book preference seldom changes. If only I could remember what I already bought, I wouldn’t be wasting money buying the same book again.

My most recent purchases, though, are treasures—for the low-carb dieter, that is: “Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health” by Gary Taubes, and “The New Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight and Feeling Great” by Eric C. Westman, M.D., Stephen D. Phinney, M.D., and Jeff S. Volek, Ph.D. Only P187 and P20 respectively at Booksale! If only the store knew how essential these books are. Hush.

Browsing at Booksale requires a thorough search for such treasures. It’s the book’s spine or cover that the potential buyer sees first. If the author’s name is familiar, the browser may take it off the shelves and begin reading the first sentence of the first paragraph of its first page. If that first sentence is catchy enough, he may proceed to read the whole paragraph, and if that’s catchy enough, he will switch to the other chapters and continue to read some sentences and paragraphs. Then he will read the blurb.

Once he’s convinced that the book is interesting and thereby decides to buy it, the book may then say, “I can’t deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me!” a la Sally Field in her acceptance speech for her best actress Oscar in 1985.

But for the two low-carb-diet books, the only thing I did was to check the completeness of their pages. I was already convinced even before I saw them. These books are frequently discussed in low-carb YouTube videos, resulting in my curiosity plus the question: Where will I find them? Amazon, of course, but that could mean expensive. So, finding them at Booksale was a most pleasant surprise indeed.