Latte was really great! I haven’t read his other Hard Case Crime novels yet, but am looking forward to those as well.

I too have had marginal experience with Thriftbooks. I find that I can really only purchase books from them when listed as "Like New" and that is even a risk. It doesn't help that the books are always thrown in a thin plastic bag with no protection whatsoever. I bought a "Very Good" hardcover last year that arrived with the cover RIPPED. Yes the hardcover board itself was RIPPED about 2". There was no damage to the shitty little bag it was in either.

I have had some OK purchases with them but I find the condition is always much worse than listed. I just assumed this is how they are. It's interesting to see others have had seemingly opposite experiences.

I read pretty fast, but when I started reading for pleasure many years ago I read very slowly, and I enjoyed it just as much. I think the only real way to speed up your reading (if you even want to) is to make it a habit and read on!

I tend to pretty much read half a line on a page with one glance, and move on to the next vs examining every word. This is much easier in some texts than others and relies on a well formatted book. I will read the left of the page, then the right of the page with only one eye movement and I find the narrator in my head will not be able to keep up, so he gets lost.