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A notice arrived from the Post Office today – my birthday. It says that there is a package waiting for me at the parcel section, waiting to be claimed. I cannot contain my excitement. It must be from Johnny, my brother who lives in New York City and works as a high school teacher there. We have been writing E-mails to each other for the past couple of months, and recently –since he’s a fellow bookworm– he decided to send over a box of secondhand novels and Granta magazines from when he was a university student (majoring in literature), as well as hot new paperbacks that he had purchased from Barnes & Noble. “I bought the books on an impulse that was helped by knowing it wouldn’t cost much to send them to you,” he said. (Whew! Thank god for free shipping.) “I hope that you’ll like the new Joseph O’Neill; you can thank me by reading and letting me know what you think of it.” Johnny has been very kind. This isn’t the first time that he has given literary presents, and I am certainly not the first person to receive them. I know that he used to spend a fortune on postage, sending books over to friends in countries outside of the U.S. – that is, until the United States Post Office, not too long ago, stopped all forms of international shipping other than by air. When he first learned of our similar interests, and then proposed the idea that he might, for my birthday, shop for books for me online, I felt rather embarrassed. “I’d be very happy, but don’t do it if it’s going to be too expensive,” I said, “or if it’s going to cost you too much trouble.” “Don’t worry, I know where to get good deals and discounts,” Johnny replied. “I have bookmarked a number of websites that sell used and out of print titles at extremely cheap prices. Some of them even have this promo which entitles me to free shipping.” How could I have refused? How could I have said no? At this day and age when everything seems to be available online (and consumed online), a non-electronic book has become a rare commodity. Even rarer, when I have come to acquire it for free. I promised Johnny that whatever happens, I would never make myself several dollars richer by selling the titles that I didn’t like. I promised him that I would read everything he gives me. And maybe soon, it would be my turn to send over what I have perused. It’s a brotherly barter. For now –a fine August afternoon to go out, with the weather all pleasant and summery– I am on my way to claim my box of books. On any other day I would have been scouring the used bookstores, or downloading classics online, or re-reading something from my humble library at home. But it’s my birthday, and my brother Johnny has just sent me a very special gift. Thank god for him – as well as for free shipping.
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