Yesterday, my friend Sara called me to tell me about a used book sale going on in the next town over. She’d gone earlier and acquired a treasure-trove of beautiful old books for a total of $1.75 ($1 and $2 books for 50 and 75% off!)

Well, I went this morning before heading off to ComicCon, and they were having a bag sale—all the books you could carry in a paper shopping bag would cost you $5 (it was a fundraiser for a local school). Here’s what I brought home (minus one that I gave to my sister):

There are some I’ve heard of and some I’ve never heard of and bought because they looked like an interesting read from a time long gone and are probably long since out of print. To start, there is this gem from one of my favorite wits of all time, George Bernard Shaw (a 1928 publication):

I’m not sure if it’s a serious work or not… that time period was rife with things that would sound misogynistic these days but which were considered quite complimentary almost 100 years ago. I guess we’ll see just how intelligent a woman I am.

The purple cover below just made me smile - a combination of the title, the illustration… the whole cover treatment. Amusing. And it’s from 1909!

Then I found this very cool 1944 edition of Crime and Punishment. I love the embossing on the cover.

I have to admit that I bought this next book for the novelty of the title and the cool logo action. It’s from 1924…

And an interior that removes any possibility of having stumbled across interesting 1920’s erotica… I don’t think “happy ending” had taken on a lewd secondary meaning yet at that point.

And the Tempestuous Petticoat from this post’s title? Well, that’s from 1948, surprisingly. But I love this illustration.

I’m going to sit here for a bit enjoying the look and feel of these. Maybe I’ll even start reading one once I finish obsessing…

I’m glad I didn’t purchase a laptop this year. Because now I will have an excuse to seriously consider the MacBook Air.

Of course, it’s been all over the interwebs. I’ve just been reading and looking and absorbing. I do like the Mac (though I use a PC mainly, I have ready access to a Mac and the fun that comes with it) and since a notebook computer might be a good thing to have (it’s come up a few times) this would allow me to have both. And at something like 3 pounds and less than an inch thick? Oh, yes, please.

Here’s a nice little Wired piece on it (about its unveiling at the Macworld expo).

Clearly, I won’t be able to buy it when it comes out - and that’s just fine. I’m sure they’ll be hard-to-near-impossible to get at first, and it’s usually a good idea to wait a while before buying a brand new Apple product (prices drop, bugs are worked out, etc.)

But when I do finally acquire it (maybe next summer or fall) I already know what kind of case I’ll be getting for it. I’m sure you’ve heard the gimmick from Steve Jobs’ presentation: he pulled an Air out of a manila envelope to show off the slimness and size of it. Some hipster designers have already taken that and run with it. They call it AirMail.

“handmade out of durable upholstery-grade vinyl, and lined with fuzzy, soft fleece, a manila envelope for your MacBook Air.”

While it’s not my personal esthetic (or aesthetic or æsthetic - choose your spelling), I do love the look of these minimalist black and white designs, patterns and graphics. And I think I’ve just discovered two things to put on my Christmas list:

This brilliant mug right here (brought to my attention by Neatorama) is printed with a heat sensitive pigment. It changes color from black to white and vice versa when it’s filled with hot liquid (like coffee or tea… I drink a lot of tea). The designers of the mug decided to be clever. When the mug is empty, it says “OFF”; when filled with hot beverage, it says, “ON.” Ha ha ha. That’s funny. Like when people say they’re not awake until they have their coffee? Yeah. Funny like addiction is funny. I kid. For the devoted coffee or tea drinker in your life, it’s still a fun idea.

It’s $25 - which is just about the limit for most office holiday gift exchanges - and that’s not a horrible price to pay for useful novelty. It’s available for purchase from Charles & Marie.

Then there’s the apron. It grabs my inner Martha by the wrist and yanks her into the kitchen to create a spun sugar nest for placing gingerly around flan or creme brulée. Or asks her to create hand-stenciled wrapping paper using holly leaves and silver paint.

Either way, this apron makes me want to do things like that because it’s a good looking apron. It also makes me feel like I’ve set womankind back at least 50 years, too, because I’m salivating over an apron.

Speaking of setting back, this apron will set you back $34 and it’s available from Violet, which has a nice selection of snazzy gifts (like the matching oven mitt) but also these cool cognac glasses, a scented eye pillow, the fantasy Post-It system, and a super cool acrylic and stainless steel globe.