Resisting Consumerism

When I wrote the other day about not buying books for a while, I didn't give specific examples of why this would be tremendously difficult. For one, there's Junot Diaz's new, longlonglong-awaited novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and a collection of essays by Luc Sante, and of course, next week, a new novel from one of my two or three favorite writers, Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo. Dwight Garner points out that the Boston Globe ran a review of Bridge last weekend, and signs point to yes:

That Russo manages to juggle so many characters, themes, places, and time periods through 528 delicious pages is an astounding achievement. From its lovely beginning to its exquisite, perfect end, Russo has written a masterpiece.

A good friend of mine got me an advance galley of the novel, and I've dipped in, but a Russo hardcover is a must-have for the library.

What I'm trying to say is that maybe the fall wasn't the best time to embark on this anti-consumerist experiment.