February: Buying

4 books this month. Half of January's total, although it could have just as easily been 5 books. Who am I kidding? It could have just as easily been 20 books.

1. Effi Briest - Theodor Fontane. I just read about this 1894 German novel about adultery in The Rough Guide To Classic Novels, one of last month's purchases. New book.

2. The Foreign Student - Susan Choi. The March book for Talya's book group. New book.

3. Who Ate Up All The Shinga? - Park Wan-Seo. Big score! Park's autobiographical novel of growing up during the Japanese occupation had been eluding me for several months and countless bookstores. New book -- hardcover and very expensive, but at least I'll finally find out what "shinga" is. Then I'll go out and eat up some, perhaps all of it. Aren't I lucky to be in Korea?

4. It Can't Happen Here - Sinclair Lewis. There's no way I could leave this book behind. Since 1981, I've had a fairly continuous book crush on Sinclair Lewis. I hope to one day read his entire canon. Even better, this 1935 satirical novel about fascism in the United States was on the bargain rack. New book, yes, but I got out of Bandi & Luni's having spent only 5 bucks, which is almost like getting a book for free over here.

It's just as I suspected. If I have to confess my purchases, I'm much less lightly to trip the lit fantastic all the way to the cash register. Let's see how that theory holds up in the months ahead.