Skip to main content

London

Two weeks ago, J and I went on a book shopping expedition to London, a he'd kindly reminded me that he still owed me for a birthday (or possibly Christmas) present. As well as having a good rummage in the bookshops, we also had a look at the newly opened 'Fanatics' store near Piccadilly, as well as having lunch at the (also recently opened) Black Tap close by. Connoisseurs that we are, we determined that it wasn't a patch on the Vegas outlet as, frankly, the burgers would be classified as sliders there. Mind you, we still couldn't finish our shared Oreo milkshake dessert! Also, disappointing not to have the 80s soundtrack that was playing previously.

Back to the books. We had a most enjoyable trip to Peter Harrington's. A very helpful assistant was keen to show us some of the special Bond collection in the locked room within the locked room. Jake was disappointed that I turned down the offer to view the third set of nested rooms. It was all getting a bit much. We all agreed that the original typescript of one of the Bond books, with many hand-written edits and comments, some very possibly by Fleming, was delightful, but a little pricey at £325,000. However, the assistant has very kindly added my details to their database and she will let me know if a good copy of 'From Russia' turns up.

Moving back to reality, we returned to the Charing Cross Road where Jake bought me three books in 'Any Amount of Books'. I'd already picked up a signed, boxed copy of McEwan's 'Saturday' there earlier in the day for the bargain price of £10 as they felt it needed marking down for a little bit of damage to the box. Jake bought me a Benson Bond first plus a lovely pair of Clive James poetry books.

Back in Cecil Court I couldn't resist a signed William Boyd plus an Iain Banks first edition, bringing me to 13 out of his 15 first editions in my library, and the two remaining ones to go are late ones as well (11 and 15).

A splendid day out.



Popular posts from this blog

Finds

A slow start to 2025 for posting, but certainly not a slow start for reading. More of that later, but this post is a report of Saturday afternoon's excursion along Rochester High Street and some pleasing finds. A separate post will be required for the previous weekend's trip to Hythe and Dymchurch. Along the High Street in the charity shops, in Baggins, and in Shop 104, I was lucky enough to find: The latest Kate Atkinson Jackson Brodie in brand new paperback, in a special independent bookshop edition with sprayed black edges. Yes, I know I was lucky enough to go and get a 'signed' edition (well, stamped due to wrist problems) of the hardback first edition from the author herself, but that's hardly the point. Certain books need to be owned many-times over. Three more Elly Griffiths paperbacks for the collection - two Brighton Mysteries and one Ruth Galloway and, as it turns out, the first Ruth Galloway, which was a bonus. A first printing of Trigger Mortis in paperb...
Read more

Away

Back from three and a half weeks in Indonesia - some work, some holiday. Lots of travel, and plenty of opportunity to get on with some reading. As always with the work section, reading was iPad and library based, but I was able to enjoy a couple of physical books during the holiday section. Books read were: Francis Bourgeois' Trainspotter's Notebook - brimmed full of joy in conveying his passion for what he does, whilst acknowledging the challenge of how his approach has ruffled some feathers within the community. Henry Marsh - And Finally - the doctor becomes the patient. Some honest and moving reflections about the latter stages of life. Maybe I've left it too late to ever clear out the loft? What other burdens might I be leaving to the next generation? Ian McEwan - The Child in Time - the worst nightmare and the havoc it causes. Sara Pascoe - Weirdo - weird book, but strangely compelling. Richard Osman - The Last Devil to Die - and so we will have to manage without them ...
Read more

Cheese

Lazy Sunday including lunch at the Cheese Room for N and me and a general wander along Rochester High Street. Oxfam bookshop came up trumps with ten at £2.49 each, seven of which were old Asimov paperbacks to add to the collection. I have a few box sets in the same format (Foundation trilogy, Early Asimovs) purchased in the early 90s from a second-hand bookshop not far along the road from the station in Oxford. I think I might have paid £10-15 per box set for them, certainly an astronomical amount of money at the time, but I am very glad that I did.
Read more