On Seeing the WalMart-Amazon Price War

My bookseller of choice is Goodwill Industries, and I'll match the personal library here with most any one's for scope, depth, and sheer numbers of quality tomes. The investment of time can be heavy, but the monetary cost averages something under fifty cents a volume, including some rather good finds. How about a first of P.H. Sheridan's memoirs, both volumes, foldout maps intact?

Of course Goodwill offers me no best sellers until long past their Fifteen Minutes. Fortunately, this is ameliorated by my personal society which is composed of people who do not care to discuss John Gresham's latest lawyer any more than they would care to discuss television programs.

Still, I'm ambiguous about seeing best-sellers -- as bad as many of them are -- selling in hardback for $9. Writing is brutally hard work. Even ordinarily competent writing may offer us joy, enlightenment, wonder. I think of that as I consider the fact that the value society places on any endeavor is measured in dollars.