I play a very dangerous game: I find a book at the thrift store that is right up my alley. It isn’t on sale. It isn’t on the list of books that I own (a very well cultivated and extensive list, I might add.)

But, I KNOW that I have this book. Haven’t seen it in a long time because I know it is in the back row of the shelf. But… it isn’t on my list. I have the World War II set of these, maybe I have this mixed up with those?

So, what do I do. Buy this at full price, find out I already have it, and have to bring it back for one of those annoying refunds where they have to call the manager up to the front to issue a refund card? Or, let it sit at the store and take a risk that I already have it. Hope that if I don’t have it, it will still be at the store. Wait a week, hope it is still there so that I can get it for half-off?

The trauma. I know in my bones that I have this book. I take the risk of leaving at the store, and the first thing I do when I get home… there it is! Turns out I bought it off an eBay auction in 2008, and it was with the World War II set of them in the back row, as predicted. That back row is tricky because unlike the front row, where I see the books every day, the back row is hidden and it is easy to forget what books are there.

Anyway. It is like playing the lottery in a way. Today, I win! The disturbing part is that there was a book on my shelf that wasn’t on my list. I’m quite a stickler with this list. Looks like I’m actually quite a… failure with this list.

Actually, that list has kept me from buying the same book many, many times, (books are often reprinted with different covers, things like that make obscure books in my library easy to purchase again on accident.) so this can be written off as a glitch, never to occur again.