[He doesn't push the first topic.]

... There were quite a few customers at the bookstore today... it was enjoyable to give advice on the latest popular choices. [He smiles a little. Books are one of the best places to go for relief from the tedium of daily life.] I wonder whether you might not like some of them yourself, Elizabeth... [The unspoken part is, of course, the cost of the books. Frivolous expenses.]