Basement Books is located in the underground pedestrian concourse between Broadway and Central Station. After knocking off work yesterday afternoon, I took shank's pony down Broadway. A classmate told me on Thursday evening that a copy of The Best Australian Profiles, edited by Matthew Ricketson, could be found there for four dollars. So I jumped at the chance to secure a piece of Australian publishing history at a discount price.

Walking was not my first option but after deciding that no bus would arrive within two minutes that wouldn't take five minutes to load, and wouldn't be carrying less than 150 passengers, I opted for healthful locomotion over rapid transit.

But the book wasn't available: they sold the last copy on Thursday, I discovered when I asked the young man behind the counter for assistance.

Instead, I picked up four more books for about $30:

The Icarus Girl, Helen Oyeyemi (2005)
Joshua Reynolds: The Life and Times of the First President of the Royal Academy, Ian McIntyre (2003)
Martini: A Memoir, Frank Moorhouse (2005)
The Nehrus and the Ghandis: An Indian Dynasty, Tariq Ali (2005)

The reasoning behind my profligacy? The Oyeyemi I'd seen recommended on MetaxuCafe. The Moorhouse we'd read an excerpt from in preparation for class some weeks ago. The Reynolds book reflects my interest in the eighteenth century. And I'd recently started reading another book by Ali, which I'd enjoyed.