I was off from work yesterday for a very important late morning talk over coffee with my life coach.  We had a good talk.  Our conversations are always beautiful.

Since she had to leave for a date with her husband, I had my late lunch with a dear friend in a Japanese restaurant just close to the coffee shop.

The whole day was so relaxing.  Just the kind I needed.  There were no more sorry-for-bothering-you-on-a-day-off calls. Or those I-badly-need-to-be-in-the-office-soon feelings.

Since we had all the time in the world, my friend and I decided to have a massage but we first went to a local bookstore to check on new arrivals.  And I guess you know what happens next when a book lover goes inside a bookstore.  Buy  books of course!

How can I resist an Agatha Christie when she’s one of my first favorite book authors on mystery stories?

I’m not done with my planned classic reads and haven’t even finished Follet’s sequel to Pillars of the Earth.  Now I have a new published book added to my list.

We had a really good massage after visiting the bookstore.

Holiday rush?  Yes, there is.

But I’m glad that it’s not really as bad as I expected it to be.

I went to one of the city malls early this morning so as not to get caught in a long queue for last-minute gift buying.  Thanks heavens, I didn’t have to fall in line to pay for the 3 items in my basket.

Must be the economic crunch, I told myself.  The mall was a bit “quiet” that I even had a quiet time having my cappuccino at Starbucks while reading a few pages of Follett’s Pillars of the Earth before going to my sister’s house to bring the gifts for the whole family.

A thought just crossed my mind as I was about to leave Starbucks: what does a book author do during Christmas? Giving books? Or probably thinking or planning about how to publish a book – a new one, a new plot, a new theme?

So much about publishing.  I need to get going and enjoy the chilly but very comforting air.

It’s a beautiful Christmas day.

I spent the weekend with a close friend buying books at a local bookshop. We both bought about eight-hundred-dollar worth of books together and only heaven knows when I would ever finish reading all the ones I got for myself!

A newly published book by Erwin Raphael McManus, one of my favorite book authors, was available and I couldn’t resist buying it even if I haven’t even started reading his last book I bought only a few weeks ago!

Plus, there are several people on my Christmas list and what else is a better gift than a good book?

I think that now justifies my weekend indulgence. After all, my friend and I ended with a super nice massage in my favorite spa!

When I was finally home, I went through each name printed on the covers of the books I bought. I was wondering how many of these book authors actually knew how to get published when they were still starting their manuscripts…

Before I try to answer my question, there’s one pressing thing that I must do. Expand my bookshelf!

Books are just scattered everywhere that my pad now looks like a beleaguered library.