Most of my book purchases are relatively thought out. I see something lauded in the New York Times Book Review. I know of it as a classic. It’s this month’s book club read. Or it came highly recommended. Rarely do I grab books blindly, in a vacuum.

But it has happened. And, in fact, led to the discovery of two books that are among my very favorites.

Book 1: Cyberpunk Brilliance

I was in my late teens, slovenly, ill-directed. Wallowing in college, asset-poor but relatively book-rich. I had not yet grown fully into my literary self, but read like the dickens. I was wandering around a suburban Border’s Books listlessly; I think it was the holiday season. Young though I was, I had a highly refined disdain for Yuletide cheer. I don’t know what possessed me, but I swiped a book at utter random off of some fiction-like shelf.

By my lucky stars, it turned out to be Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash. It’s like the book was written just for me. I had just recently come to the epiphany that I was probably going to be–and wanted to be–a geek for a living. Stephenson’s style actually informed my entire professional attitude (for better or worse). In a flash I realized that the Internet could be hilarious. This was in a time of news groups and Archie searches, way before LOLcats and Rickrolling. It was life altering. Stephenson is one of the funniest writers I have ever read.

Book 2: Western Reverence

The second random grab was in Powell’s City of Books. A bit older now, not much wiser. Starting to fancy myself as a young lady of letters (this was untrue; I was staggeringly ignorant, as I still remain today). This time I scored Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose. I was so bowled over that I wrote a long paean of a book review on my then-web-site, which was a blog, but the term didn’t exist yet. This in a time way way long before I ever made a habit of writing book notes or reviews.

Stegner’s work is in the same love-of-landscape-and-history vein as certain Steinbeck novels. It had that multi-generational epic feel that I am still a sucker for. And such a story. Perhaps if I am moved to complete a project I’ve long thought of doing–re-formatting old database dumps of “posts” on this paleo-site of mine into WordPress import-able posts–I’ll be able to share the record of my excitement for this random book. As a bonus, there was an incredible comment from an intriguing commenter. But I’ll save that, perhaps for later.

How about you: Luck with random books?

Have you ever discovered something super great by grabbing blindly off of shelves? Do you do this often? What’s the worst outcome you’ve seen (I grabbed a “staff recommended” paperback at an airport Powell’s branch for a trip to Vegas this year–oops, turned out to be bodice-ripping drek)? Do tell!

An aside: I realize I mention Steinbeck, Stephenson and Stegner in this post. How alliterative!