I didn't because it sounds sarcastic

Maybe, I'm mean.

Maybe, I'm rude.

Maybe, I'm both.

I want her to stop talking. I want to find out what her schedule is so I can avoid her. I would rather not see her ever again.

"Do you like to cook?"

"Sometimes," I answer because I fell that is better than, "No, I just like to buy expensive cookbooks with 40% off coupons," even though it's truer.

She then tells me about her Fanny Farmer cookbook and how it's the best general cookbook she has found, and how it's better than the "Joy of Cooking;" it's a story she has told me before.

She watches me. I avoid looking at her, mostly, until I feel her eyes on me. She asks if I've read some title I've never heard of. I assume her question is precipitated by the other two books put I had placed on the counter, paperbacks from the "buy one get one at half price" table. When I answer, "No," she then tells me that I should.

I stand silent as she finishes ringing me up.

She hands back my credit card and says, "Have a nice day, Timothy."