I spent part of my day wandering the Galleria, a favorite place of mine. I had to go look for a reference toy at an upscale toy shop there. The girl behind the counter said she'd never heard of a hobby horse, when I inquired whether they carried any, and looked at me as if I were a hundred. Impertinent snippit. I wanted to poke my cane into an already teetering display of electronic whoopee cushions (which makes me wonder - why mess with a good toy? let's leave well enough alone...) just so she would have something to do later. Instead I wandered around, and came across a rack of marbles. How cool is that? Another timeless toy.

Anyway, I had some time to kill, and wandered back to Barnes & Noble to do some browsing there. I can spend a lot of time in a book store. My niece Meghan called me while I was there so I asked her if she wanted me to pick up something for her and her sister. She said yes, she wanted a mystery, maybe with a murder in it, or something. Or, she asked, can you get me 'Dear John' and tells me who wrote it. She's only 12, but she reads a lot, and is JUST at the point of starting to read adult books, maybe. I tried hard to find some books I thought she'd like in the kids/teen section, but every time I read the story synopsis to her, she seemed not especially excited. I kept looking.

In the meanwhile, I heard someone in the phone background: my sister wants me to look for newest Dan Brown novel, but she wants the paperback. I make a mental note.

In the other meanwhile, Kaitlyn, who's 14, says she would like The Guinness Book of World Records 2010. lol... Okay! Now I have a list! hahah... (And I remember poring over the Guinness Book of Records when we were growing up - so I totally get it! Just like Whoopee cushions and marbles, some things never change.)

More searching leads me to decide to get the following for Meghan:
* The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
My niece has never heard of this book, but it looks intriguing, and it's a thick book that I think she'll like. And it was in the kids/teen section (yay!) which made me feel much better buying the other two for her from the regular adult section:
* Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
* The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
I was excited to think of the Lovely Bones because it's well written, a good story, with a murder, yes, and the sort of book that makes a great read for teens to adults.

I had to disappoint Julie, because Dan Brown's newest is not out in paperback yet.
And Kaitlyn wil have to wait till I find the new Guinness Book.

But all in all, a fun day at the bookstore. When is it not? :) The kids novels are usually only $6 to $8, and they can pass them on to their friends or cousins when they're finished reading. $24 I spent on my niece today encourages a continued lifetime of reading and learning. Need I say - priceless?