Quite a few years ago, I participated in a thing called National Novel Writing Month, where the goal is to write a 50,000 word manuscript during the month of November. I made an attempt to explain what I was doing to some family members who were – to put it as delicately as possible – not regular readers. That led to a conversation where I assured Party 1 that novels were fiction, that fiction was what made it a novel, that fiction and novels were the same, that fiction was “made up”, and on for a few more rounds. It did not go well. And just when I thought the conversation could not be more frustrating, Party 2 chimed in and said, “Yes [Party 1] – all novels are fiction. The other kind is autobiography.” So there you have it, you lovers of other so-called genres of writing – there are only two. Sort of a binary option, if you will.

I’m not sure how that impacts the veracity of this sign, which is also binary, only the categories here are “thin” and “thick.”

But the good news is that, per the sign, a thin book is priced at one-quarter of a cent, which is indeed a bargain. Or, rather, would have been a bargain except that the place is being torn down.

Lorenzo, Texas
photographed 4.18.2025