"literature is my utopia." - helen keller
With all the good bookstores closing down, I’ve always had a secret dream: books in the supermarket. Good books. As a lover of literature and a firm believer in how reading (good) books can improve our lives, today I was taken aback to see Austen in my local ALDI store.
For roughly the same price as ALDI brand fetta cheese, there it was smiling amongst the clatter around it. Bras, undies, tissues and not too far away from bread. The merchandising was spot on: a good book IS a necessity. I bought a copy for a friend and it’s even beautifully illustrated.
I pulled up to the checkout with my $1.79 a kilo bananas, traffic light capsicum and other less glamourous household goods and beamed as the assistant man scanned the book.
“Isn’t that great, this wonderful book in a supermarket!” I chattered happily.
He agreed, obviously a fellow lover of literature.
“Yep, and it would have been ten bucks elsewhere.”
Thanks, German giant of a supermarket. Next time I hope to find some Dickens!Austen in the undies bin. CAPITAL
books and briefs on the same bin.
