Tough Choices

At work, I have access to a small, semi-organized cart of coloring books. There are several hand-assembled books of photocopied word searches and coloring pages, as well as some hand-purchased ones. For a while, when I had free time or simply wanted to color along, I took pages from a mandala coloring book. Mandalas, in Buddhism and Hinduism, are elaborate concentric diagrams with spiritual significance (Wikipedia explains it better than I can). They're also really fun to color.

I felt bad using the hospital's coloring books so much though, so I moved on to playing Solitaire when the clinic was quiet. My older brother, in his unbelievable practicality, suggested that I do my homework instead. I decided that I would rather color and play Solitaire.

So, I decided that tomorrow I would go on an epic journey to Borders and Barnes & Noble in search of a good coloring book. Or perhaps two; they're not that expensive. However, I'm not sure which type to select. A fancy "grownup" coloring book with geometric designs or historical costume? One of those finely detailed anatomy/physiology coloring books for science students?

I'm tempted to get a 4-year-old girl coloring book, which I never had as a 4-year-old (I'm not sure if it was a lack of interest on my part and/or my mother's lack of interest in nurturing gender roles/stereotypes). There's a Disney one I saw on Amazon about Cinderella; one half is about her life pre-Prince Charming and the other half is about her wedding planning. It is almost too sickeningly cute. 

Update: I found a good compromise between "boring" and "sickeningly cute" — a coloring book with finely detailed cat pictures, and another with snowflakes.