Overheard Testimonials
A signed hardcover copy of a book written by a Minnesota author who has a National Book Award on his mantle … for $12.99? Plus they’ll take another 20 percent off that? The Star Tribune says of this Pete Hautman book: “Besides being a hilarious, fast-moving read. … Mrs. Million is a first-rate adventure yarn.” And for that price, I fancy that I’ll enjoy it even more.
That book is just one of the many bargains — books and otherwise — I have been scooping up since River City Books started its after-Christmas sale. And I am hardly the only one who is taking advantage. I’ve seen people with tall stacks of books. Others with a full compliment of calendars (wall, page-a-day, engagement) and more than a few were saving dough on DVDs. And as I zipped about I heard a number of remarks from fellow shoppers (not that I was eavesdropping; people just like to tell me things) including a few of the obscenity-free ones I took down verbatim:
“That book is only four dollars and ninety-eight cents! Are half of the pages missing or something?”
“I just bought my wife that Louise Erdrich novel she’s been wanting to read for a year and the cutest puppy calendar I’ve seen since the Labs of 2002, plus that great Feist album, and I only paid $25.76. I’ll say mushaboom to that! My only worry is that she’ll find out. Do you think they’ll tell her at the beauty parlor? They know everything at that place.”
“Wait a minute. Someone told me you could get a bagel around here.”
“Saving 20 percent on bargain books is so November. I brought the blue bag my secret Santa gave me and now I save 25.”
As you can see, some of the deals are simply hard to believe. Get ‘em while they’re still available. When they are gone, they are, as they say, no longer here.
