Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

I was writing in my dead-trees journal about The Book Thing Of Baltimore, and I was thinking about how their FAQ page on their web site spends a bit of time on "Free?" "Yes." "You mean really free?" "Yes." "What's the catch?". The "catch" is that the books are stamped, "Not For Resale. This Is A Free Book." And that's not much of a "catch".

Then a realization struck me: I'm not absolutely certain of this, but I don't think I've ever sold a book in my life. I've given them to friends, I've donated them to organizations (okay, not often), and I've moved them from house to house, but I can't remember ever selling one. I'm trying to remember whether I ever sold a high school or college textbook back to the bookstore -- I know I kept most; did I really keep them all? I haven't been able to think of any I sold back yet.

So books aren't just Nifty Things. They seem to be in a special, "things I don't think of selling" category in my head. Startling because I'd never really noticed it before. I wonder what else is in that category...

Somehow, I get the feeling there'll be a lot of "me too" responses to this post.