Eric Bryant has the first and for awhile-only- Pablo Neruda book I have. It also happens to be my favorite. He's had for almost a year and a half. I keep emailing him and telling him he should mail it, but I have yet to have received it and now he doesn't even respond to me. It severely pisses me off. I love that book. I have little markings of my favorite lines in red pencil (well not all of them but half are).
I rarely let people borrow books, only good friends who I know are very good about returning things. Yet for some odd reason out of pure idiotic stupidity. I let sir Eric borrow it and actually forgot to ask before school ended to get it back. I had other things on my mind then, but still. How could I carelessly forget about my book? The book. I have no idea, but it happened. And all I want is that book back.
I have the hardest time parting with books. Even the ones from the library, they're always overdue. I accumulate books like crazy to be honest. (My cousin also has this problem; she actually has more than one copy of several books.) I particularly like getting used books on Amazon that originally come from libraries that have gotten rid of the books. (Yes, libraries upgrade their books and get rid of the rest- either that or a lot of people keep them and then get rid of them- I'm not sure which is worse. I'd say both.) And then theres Half-Priced Books, which I happen to find a godsend. I went to the local one Monday (after a horrid day at Six Flags with my sister and mother) and went nuts. They had a clearance section and many of the books were $1 to $3 or $4. It was spectacular. I got about ten books. And I also purchased two vinyl records- The Beatles and Blondie. I spent about $20 altogether which is so much cheaper compared to what one would spend at Barnes & Noble or Borders.
But I realize the best place to get books is at thrift stores and flea markets. They always have the cheapest book. The majority being written by classic writers. They're the types of books that your old English teachers always talked about; the ones they told you should read if you wanted be well educated. For instance, I always seem to find books by Fyodor Dostoevsky. He is an astounding writer. I'm currently reading a series of short stories by him. I'm still on the first-its called White Nights. I find it hard to explain the story, there's so much I relate to in it. However, I can say that I love that his focus is not on the description of what the characters looks like or how they act but on the way they think. The way they feel. The way they see and how they see. He's more concerned with their personality, their inner self than what is on the outside. He's always persistent in revealing the inside of his characters mind. I absolutely love his writing.
Thus, if you haven't read something by Dostoevsky, I highly suggest you do ASAP.