I took my 10-year-old Little Man (LM10) out for a date last weekend, just the two of us. We ate dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (his choice), then headed over to Barnes & Noble so he could spend a gift card that had been burning a hole in his pockets since his birthday.
After carefully making his selections, making sure he stayed close to the amount of the gift card, we made our way to the front of the store. Ah, the front of the store, where all the cool little extras are displayed …
I pointed out an umbrella on display; available in hunter green or black, it features quotes from various well-known books. LM10 took one look at it and said “Call me Ishmael, that’s from Moby Dick!” Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather, as the saying goes. He’s TEN, how does he know that line?!? It turns out, he’s reading a series of books by Rick Riordan, and the volume he just finished, The Sea of Monsters, mentions Moby Dick, Herman Melville, and that famous opening line. Apparently LM10 retains what he reads!
So, hats off to Rick Riordan for including that literary reference in his novel. And, yes, we bought the umbrella! Have you made any non-book impulse purchases at a bookstore lately?
Impluse buy yes, but none book..no, however when I left the book I bought yesterday on the kitchen counter, (52 recipes for homemade ice cream) I found everyone in the family searching the freezer!
I haven’t purchased a non-book item on impulse recently. I have been known to purchase a few items though, especially around Christmas, in the past. It’s the books I can’t resist!
On my trip to Denver, I hit the Tattered Cover Bookstore (twice!) in search of that perfect read. The problem was, there were too many choices. Too many for my feeble brain to process so I bought a copy of Bookmarks magazine instead. Then later I went back and got an illustrated hardback of Anne of the Green Gables because I could not leave Denver without buying a book at The Tattered Cover.
What a cool moment for you and LM10! You will always have that memory and I think its really neat. As for implulse buying of non-book items, its hard, but I do refrain. I’d much rather have a book. My wish list is always huge!
I haven’t actually bought anything, but I came very close to buying those reading shelves they sell at Barnes and Noble.
Kelly – that is so funny, that you had your family going on a wild goose chase for ice cream!
Lori – yes, my impulse buying hits a high around Christmas! I usually get some extra “stuff” for those people I leave off the list by mistake. I like to do a local bookstore or coffee shop gift card for teachers and bus drivers.
Ti – I bought Bookmarks when I was out with LM10 on Saturday (I have a post brewing about time travel based on an article in the July/Aug issue). I have never been to Denver, but The Tattered Cover sounds like quite a store if it was that overwhelming and warranted a second visit on your one trip!
Lisa – I always forget those moments, even with good intentions to write them down. Now that I’ve blogged about it, this could be floating around for eons!
Amy – tell me more; I looked online, but apparently the reading shelf isn’t offered on the web. I’ll look for it the next time I’m in the store.
I love when books kids read point them to classics they haven’t read yet. My friend, Lewis Buzbee has a new series of books coming out (your son is the perfect age for them) that are contemporary mysteries that relate to literary classics — the first one is called Steinbeck’s Ghost. When my 9 year old read it, I was afraid all the references to Steinbeck novels would throw her since she hadn’t read them. But instead, her response was, “Steinbeck sounds great. I can’t wait to read him!” Of course, Moby Dick — well, I haven’t tackled that one. Sounds like your son might have one up on me very soon
karen – thanks for the recommendation! I’ve added it to my wish list for LM10, and will look for it when it hits the shelves in September.