Is there a 12-step program for this?

I think I can officially call myself a book-buying addict. My pile of to-be-read books is probably somewhere between two and three feet tall and, in some cases, stretches back to books I purchased or received two-plus years ago. And yet, I cannot stop myself from buying more books. My most recent purchase: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, by Michael Chabon.

Last night Anne and I went to hear him speak, read, and be interviewed at the 92nd Street Y. I loved The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Wonder Boys, and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (The Final Solution left me cold) and was excited to hear him talk about and read from his new novel, which introduces an alternate world history and takes place in a fictional Yiddish community in Alaska. He told a wonderful and detailed story about how this novel was indirectly inspired by the phrase book, Say It In Yiddish; he also talked about the tension he always feels between developing his characters and progressing his plot and his need to hole up in hotels and other away-from-home places to work most productively. And, in a great side note, he talked about receiving a phone call from Sam Raimi while out to dinner with his father in Kansas City, MO. Raimi called to ask him to work on the Spiderman 2 script and said simply, “Spidey needs you.”

After hearing him tell these stories and read an excerpt from The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, I knew I’d end up with the book in my collection sooner rather than later. Since the Y was sold out, Anne and I hoofed it six blocks to the nearest Barnes and Noble, which was ten minutes from closing. They’d already blocked off the entrance, and the security guard looked fairly disinterested in our Chabon craving, though he did ultimately let us in. After scouring the new releases section and “C” section of the fiction area, we realized that all the other Y attendees had beaten us to the punch and bought every last copy in the store. We were now women on a mission, though, and would not be defeated! Two avenues east was another Barnes and Noble, and we heard tell that there were still 40 copies left. We made our way (in the rain now) to that other store and finally got our hands on copies of the book. It was a wet and windy road, but this book junkie needed her fix.

Oh, and the mystery of Chabon’s name pronunciation is finally solved. For all those curious, it’s SHAY-ben.