Copyright © 1997 by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone. All rights reserved. For information, address St.

CHAPTER 1

We came to book collecting because our birthdays fall eight days apart.

When married people have birthdays that close together, a certain natural competitiveness develops. Or maybe it was just us. In any event, birthday week had degenerated into extravagant spending and a furious determination on the part of each to outdo the other that inevitably resulted in our squandering money that we could not afford on gifts the recipients didn't particularly like but, because of the cost, could not admit to disliking until months, sometimes years, later.

Finally, with the maturity that comes with advancing age, we decided to put a stop to the problem. As a result, four years ago something like the following conversation took place:

"I want you to promise me that you won't spend a lot of money on my birthday."

"Sure."

"Ohhh no. That's what you said last year and look what happened."

"What do you mean? The nightgown wasn't that expensive."

"Two hundred dollars is expensive when I only spent fifty."

"Nobody asked you to only spend fifty."

"You asked me to only spend fifty. You would have gotten upset if I spent more than fifty."

"Depends on what you got me."

"You never like what I get you."

"That's why I didn't want you to spend more than fifty."

"It's not fair. You have it easy. You always go second."

"Look, you knew my birthday fell eight days before yours when you married me."

"Ten years and eight days."

"Very funny."

"Why don't we just set a limit this year and stick to it for once?"

"Sure."

"No, I mean it. Besides, it's more creative. Unless you don't want to be creative, of course."

"I can be as creative as you."

"Great. How about forty dollars?"

"How about thirty?"

"Twenty-five."

"Twenty."

"Fif ... okay, twenty."

"Great."

"Remember, no cheating this year. If you cheat, you lose."

"Lose? What, are we competing?"

Thus began the search for War and Peace.

If you want a book, the obvious place to begin is a bookstore. In Lenox, Massachusetts, where we had lived since abandoning Manhattan three years before, the local bookstore is called, conveniently enough, The Bookstore. The Bookstore ("Serving the community since last Tuesday") is owned and occasionally operated by Matthew Tannenbaum, a shaggy dog of a man who considers it a bookseller's responsibility to provide a convivial atmosphere for his customers.

"Nancy, did you hear about the two cannibals who were eating a clown?" asked Matthew. "One of the cannibals stopped for a minute and turned to the other cannibal. 'Do you taste something funny?'"

"I liked the one about the near-sighted fireman better."

Matthew looked disappointed. "So did everyone."

Jo walked up to the desk. Although she is technically an employee, Jo is actually more of a spiritual figure, a cross between an aging hippie and a schoolmarm. She has long straight gray hair, pulled back, excellent posture, a low, throaty voice, and a serious, unflappable manner. She will occasionally clasp her hands in front of her while she is speaking.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" she asked.

In addition to the usual best-sellers and major new releases, The Bookstore stocks a larger than normal selection of obscure poetry, alternative fiction, Judaica, women's studies, Native American studies, African American studies, paranormal...

Author: Lawrence Goldstone
Bio:  

Lawrence Goldstone's first novel, Rights, won a New American Writing Award. He has written for the Advocate and teaches creative writing at New York University.

Nancy Goldstone has written articles for the New York Times, Washington Post Magazine, the Boston Herald, Lear's, the Boston Phoenix, and the New York Daily News, as well as several novels. The Goldstones live in Westport, Connecticut.
Author: Nancy Goldstone
Bio:  

Lawrence Goldstone's first novel, Rights, won a New American Writing Award. He has written for the Advocate and teaches creative writing at New York University.

Nancy Goldstone has written articles for the New York Times, Washington Post Magazine, the Boston Herald, Lear's, the Boston Phoenix, and the New York Daily News, as well as several novels. The Goldstones live in Westport, Connecticut.

"Rarest of all, [Nancy] Goldstone can write. Her sentences are clean, flowing, intelligent, even arch. This Goldstone woman has a talent that you cannot buy." - Los Angeles Times Book Review

"[Lawrence Goldstone] can tell a story!" - Los Angeles Times on Rights

"No doubt about it. Nancy Bazelon Goldstone has written a very funny book." - New York Times Book Review on Trading Up