2018-11-12 - Bookstore Adventure

I'm a fan of books, in particular old computer books. I'm fascinated by the evolution of computers and the different ways people have found to solve the same problem. Now it's easy enough to find old computer books online, and I've bought quite a few that way, but I would like it if I could buy some in person. It's easier to tell the condition of a book in person, you can read parts of it to find out if it's a book you would enjoy and you don't have to pay for or wait for shipping. So to that end I set out on an adventure to try and find a bookstore that would sell me old computer books.

The week previous I had gone to a second hand bookstore which said that their other location had computer books so that was my first stop. It turned out that they had new second hand computer books which aren't that interesting to me. I'm sure they are useful for some people but they weren't what I was looking for. I remembered there being a bookstore on 17th ave so I looked it up on my phone. I couldn't find another mention of the one I remembered but I did find two others around that area so I walked over there to check them out.

As I was walking I was starting to feel a bit thirsty but luckily there was a gas station around the next corner so I bought some water. I managed to find one of the bookstores my phone mentioned but it turned out to be a small retail bookstore that didn't have any computer books. I found a sign for the other store my phone mentioned but I couldn't find the actual store. I found out afterwards that the store my phone mentioned had closed down 5 years ago and that the bookstore that I remembered had closed down about a year ago. My guess is that because store which had closed more recently was part of a chain there were being around to remove it from maps and things while there was no one to bother about the other store so the information on it stayed around.

After wandering around there looking for stores I gave up and decided to take the train down south to a big retail bookstore. On my walk to the train I found a paper taped to a lamp post but didn't have a chance to read it because the light changed. While waiting for the train I saw a bus stop on top of the train tracks which I found a bit worrying. I did buy some fiction books at the retail bookstore but sadly they didn't have any old computer books either.

On my way home I decided that I wanted to take another look at the paper. So I went got off at the same train station I had gotten on at and walked back towards the paper. It turns out they were annoyed because sometimes they'd miss the walk light and have to wait for it to come around again and they wanted it to work without having to press the walk button. I can kind of understand that but I don't think it would ever annoy me enough to write out a letter and paste it around town.

While walking around that area looking for bookstores I remembered seeing a large convince store. I had gotten lunch on my way to the retail bookstore but I was feeling thirsty again so I walked over there to get another drink. After that I checked on buses and luckily there was a stop just a few blocks west of there for a route that would take me home. I walked over there and managed to get there just a minute before the bus came. I always find it interesting when things just seem to work out. You make a decision which just happens to setup other things. You don't plan it, it just works out that way.

Overall the adventure was more or less a bust. I did manage to buy some books but not the books that I had set out to get. That being said the walk was excellent, I saw some interesting things and isn't that what life's all about?