Occams Razor

Henry Gondorf peered around the open room now that the atmosphere calmed down. Noting a few faces puttering around the area he eyed his options. Henry chose the corner opposite where the improvised lab stood. A small adjustment of one of the nearby tables and he was set. He set a few empty stools around the table. The final touch came when he set the sign over the edge of the table.

The words "Garrett P.I. Book Club" stood out in bold, albeit slightly crooked, black marker. "Find a seat and kick up your feet" in smaller letters. Henry took his seat in the back corner and set his satchel down beside him.

With a chuckle as he passes, Billy pauses to regard the sign. He looks at Henry, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Are we only allowed to read detective novels here?" he asks. "Or are we allowed to spice it up with some Westerns? I have a few I've been meaning to catch up on."

:: Liberty looks over from the next table over ::

Is this Book Club capital B capital C, as Madrigus told me about, or is it just a book club for people who want to read?

:: There is a pause, then she adds ::
I read.

:: In emphasis, she folds her hands over the Deadpool comic in front on her on the table ::

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Liberty Blue
aka Kim

Kelsey is on her way out of the diner when she passes Henry's table. She pauses, then grins as she reads the sign. "Hey, Henry. Billy. Liberty. Mind if I join you?"

When no one immediately objects, she settles herself down on the nearest stool.

Billy glances between Liberty and Kelsey, and shrugs slightly. He makes a sweeping gesture towards the chairs and Henry.

"I certainly won't object to some company," the private investigator offers, his tone friendly. Billy turns his attention towards Liberty, and narrows his gaze slightly. He thinks for a moment, and then shakes his head. "This... wouldn't be the book club that Madrigus is talking about. I think this is just a place for people to sit and chew through paper backs. Less secret knocks and hand shakes, more guilty pleasures."

Billy pulls over a stool, reaches into a pocket of his vest, and pulls out a thin, old Western that looks older than he is, and sets it down on the table.

Guilty pleasures. :: liberty nods ::
I am not a fan of secret handshakes or organizations that use them. Guilty pleasures are better.

:: she digs in her backpack and pulls out two books which she places on the communal table. One is a basic writings if Nietzsche with papers sticking out from various pages; the other is a copy of C.G. Jung's Aeon, heavily dog-eared ::
I've read these a few times. Does anyone want to trade for a bit?

:: there is a pause, then she adds :: The Deadpools are mine.

The Professor comes limping over, leaning on his cane, a bundle of wooden rods and a large roll of paper under one arm and a small backpack over his shoulder

"You all looking for something to read?" He asks with a grin.

Placing the bundle of wooden rods, which have lines and dashes carved into them, onto the table

"That's the epic poem of Táin Bó Cúailnge or more commonly said, The Cattle Raid of Cooley. Quite a fun read in the original Brythonic"

Placing the roll of paper on the table, it partly unrolls to show that it's a rice paper scroll with a beautiful illustration of a warrior on a horse, Sinitic script flows down the page

"That's a translation of a first person account inside Ghengis Khan's camp during his campaign against the western Xia Dynasty"

And putting down the small backpack, he unzips it to show a small stack of paperbacks.

"And for the modern English reader, a few Heinliens, Kushiel's dart by Jacqueline Carey and the last few Dresden files books by Jim Butcher. Dibs on "Changes", I'm currently rereading that one myself."

Looking at the growing collection of paperbacks, Billy blinks a couple times. He tilts his head to the side, narrowing his gaze as he seems to be thinking of something. He reaches up to rub at the scar that runs under his chin.

"Huh," he intones after a second. "This gives me an idea. With the amount of people coming and going from the AAA Diner who aren't residents of Whisper Hill... we could theoretically set up a loaner library. Since, you know, the town library over at Shadegrove is more for residents. Might not be a bad idea, all things considered."

Billy looks at the additions given by Professor Challenger, and gives him an unmistakably dubious look.

"Though, personally, I'm just going to take your recommendations on faith, professor. Just... out of curiosity... How did you get those past quarantine? Or did you happen to have them with you when the bus got stopped?"

"Melly, my secretary....Sorry, administrative assistant down at Yale Languages Department shipped them up when she found out I would be staying in the area for a while. Parcel post took forever, but they got here. I had been sending her tapes of sessions to transcribe for my patient records, but the recording quality has been so bad, we gave up on that."

Henry lowered his book.

"This?" He said, making a small effort to look over the side for his sign, "It seemed to fit given the way things turned out here. I figured with all the bizarre happenings it seemed to fit. As for reading guidelines? Whatever catches your eyes and holds your attention."

Henry set his book on the table for future reading. Hearing Prof. Tesla and Billy's suggestion about a book exchange rang a bell for Henry. "You know what? An exchange might not be the worst thing to happen this way. Lord only knows the town might enjoy us bringing a little normalcy to even out how things shook out when we first got here."