Hi all,
I'm feeling pretty cheery today . How are you ?
Last time I wrote a blog entry I was about to go on a blind date . The date was good. I'm probably not going to see my datee again ( no spark) and usually I'd been sort of blue about it but I've decided to look on the rosy side of life from now on. And I got through the date without gibbering too much and I actually had a good time. So it could have been a lot worse.
Helping my cheery mood along tremendously was a surprise bunch of flowers from Sam who picked them up because he knows I like tulips and good thing number two, was the exceedingly honest customer at our Amazon book shop, who wrote very nice things about us.
Anyway a catch up on the shop ,low is still away, Malcolm is looking a little moth eaten and even greyer than normal. Two is reading the Richard Dawkins' book The Greatest Show on Earth and explaining bits to me. Mainly bits he knows I'll enjoy, about marsupials and the lack of native mammals in New Zealand. Sam is learning sleight of hand tricks and keeps pulling feather flowers out of people's ears . He isn't very good but is endearingly focused on following the instructions in his book to the letter and learning the unconvincing patter.
I am reading What I loved by Siri Hustvedt for book group.This is not the Sam Haines book group -that was disbanded following the Life of Pi riot.No this is a library based group where most of us are surprisingly mature when we disagree with each other. Hustvedt's novel is a curiously complex book. It has that hyper detailed but ultimately plotlessness of a dream remembered next morning. Still that's the point of a reading group, to make you aware of other authors and other types of writing that those you would normal encounter.
Monday, 8 February 2010
Friday, 22 January 2010
Soulless and dating
I’ve just finished reading Soulless by Gail Carriger which I bought new on the face of a review which called it Jane Austen written by Douglas Adams. Clearly I could not resist.
Soulless concerns the adventures of Alexia Tarabotti a Victorian spinster will the interesting problem of being soulless. I’ve not encounter this particular gimmick before if it is an invention of Miss Carriger’s she should be congratulated. Being soulless means that Alexia has the ability to nullify supernatural entities when she touches them, therefore when attacked by werewolf she is able to make him revert to a human form and vampires are defanged in her presence. This along with the background of Victorian Britain as a superpower supported by its openly vampiric or lupine allies is really interesting. (See the excellent Anno Dracula by Kim Newman for similar but less human –friendly political set up.) I also enjoyed the cameo by Queen Victoria sweeping in like benevolent Lady Catherine de Burgh to ensure that all ended in a suitable romantically fashion.
But ah me! Reviewers lie or clearly haven’t read enough Austen or Adams. This seems to be the author’s first novel and it suffers from a writer who lacks confidence in her own abilities to carry a narrative and maintain a convincing character. Alexia slips into cliché mid plot but thankful is redeemed somewhat before the end of the novel.
There is enough here to make me want to pick up the sequel should I come across it, although perhaps not enough to pre order it. What do you think? A nice new copy (not mine) is on sale at the e-shop so why not order it and let me know?
I’m off on a blind date tonight with a friend of a friend -wish me luck!
Soulless concerns the adventures of Alexia Tarabotti a Victorian spinster will the interesting problem of being soulless. I’ve not encounter this particular gimmick before if it is an invention of Miss Carriger’s she should be congratulated. Being soulless means that Alexia has the ability to nullify supernatural entities when she touches them, therefore when attacked by werewolf she is able to make him revert to a human form and vampires are defanged in her presence. This along with the background of Victorian Britain as a superpower supported by its openly vampiric or lupine allies is really interesting. (See the excellent Anno Dracula by Kim Newman for similar but less human –friendly political set up.) I also enjoyed the cameo by Queen Victoria sweeping in like benevolent Lady Catherine de Burgh to ensure that all ended in a suitable romantically fashion.
But ah me! Reviewers lie or clearly haven’t read enough Austen or Adams. This seems to be the author’s first novel and it suffers from a writer who lacks confidence in her own abilities to carry a narrative and maintain a convincing character. Alexia slips into cliché mid plot but thankful is redeemed somewhat before the end of the novel.
There is enough here to make me want to pick up the sequel should I come across it, although perhaps not enough to pre order it. What do you think? A nice new copy (not mine) is on sale at the e-shop so why not order it and let me know?
I’m off on a blind date tonight with a friend of a friend -wish me luck!
Saturday, 16 January 2010
And Another Thing
I've just finished reading And Another Thing by Eoin Colfer which is the sixth of the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. Like most people of my age I read the Hitch-hiker's series when I was a teenager and like a lot of people I loved the anarchy, humour and brains with which Douglas Adams wrote. I actually always preferred the Dirk Gently series. If only because of the eponymous hero -if you meet Arthur at a party you'd go off with an alien too but I reckon I'd be strangely drawn to Dirk.
So is Eoin Colfer's sequel a worthy part of the series ? Well I find myself in the peculiar position, I liked so much of this novel, it is a great idea , I'm glad to be reunited with the characters although why no Fenchurch, and there was plenty of humour. And yet the plot happens and we find ourselves back at almost the same place as we started and frankly Eoin Colfer's interpretation of the characters isn't mine.
But it's that previous relationship I miss, the one between a teenage me and Douglas Adams. Reading Adams is like being greeted by a very large but friendly dog ,it's exciting, it makes you feel all loved up but you got to keep your wits about you or you'll end up on the floor covered in mud ,it's that element of challenge that I don't find in this book. Douglas Adams assured me that the universe was a awesome and sometime awful place but should always be approached with wonder, Colfer's universe is altogether too contained, too domesticated for my liking.
As always let me know what you think. Or better still buy the copy of And Another Thing we are selling, read it and let me know what you think.
So is Eoin Colfer's sequel a worthy part of the series ? Well I find myself in the peculiar position, I liked so much of this novel, it is a great idea , I'm glad to be reunited with the characters although why no Fenchurch, and there was plenty of humour. And yet the plot happens and we find ourselves back at almost the same place as we started and frankly Eoin Colfer's interpretation of the characters isn't mine.
But it's that previous relationship I miss, the one between a teenage me and Douglas Adams. Reading Adams is like being greeted by a very large but friendly dog ,it's exciting, it makes you feel all loved up but you got to keep your wits about you or you'll end up on the floor covered in mud ,it's that element of challenge that I don't find in this book. Douglas Adams assured me that the universe was a awesome and sometime awful place but should always be approached with wonder, Colfer's universe is altogether too contained, too domesticated for my liking.
As always let me know what you think. Or better still buy the copy of And Another Thing we are selling, read it and let me know what you think.
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Fun with Fangs
Trade is slow today because of the snow. Low to the surprise of everyone, except Sam, has announced that he isn't coming in because he's going to spend a few months in his villa in Spain . This is akin to discovering that the nice old man you stopped to chat to about the weather as he bought the old Hayes manuals every Saturday was once a lead scientist in Nazi Germany's Rocket programme. I mean it doesn't change the fact that he seems like a nice bloke but you are left wondering what else is going on that you don't know about. (True story- ask Two, it happened him )
Anyway back to Low, apparent not only does he have a villa in Spain but a couple of vineyards, a small village or two, rather a lot of land and a hereditary title. It turns out that Low is actually a person of great importance slumming it here for a change of pace . When/if he comes back he has promised to bring me a few bottles of the rather nice red wine that his favourite vineyard produced a few years ago. See I said ages ago that Low was a dark horse.
Some new stock is going on the on-line shop tonight including an Anne Rice book called Master of the Bones. I guess Anne Rice is mother of the modern chick-bit-lit genre although to follow the metaphor Emily Bronte is a cousin at remove and Mary Shelley a grandmother from the Gothic novel side of the family. I read a lot from this genre and I must admit some of them are pretty dire. Anne Rice herself gets a little over-wrought and I believe I've had a mini rant about Laurell K Hamilton before. But occasionally you come across a little gem like Carrie Vaughn , writer of the Kitty Norville Series or the rather wonderful C. E. Murphy , The Walker Papers. The latter I particularly recommend and not just because the author was gracious enough to reply to a fan email I sent her.
So why are these kind of books so popular? I've always been a fan of the horror novel and I think in some ways this is just a feminization of that genre. This is not to say, Stephen King for example has not written some good female characters , I enjoyed the novel The Girl who loved Tom Jordan immensely. But this genre offers us something more, is it the romance elements , they are certainly enjoyable; or is it the episodic nature of many of the books which encourage a soap opera like addiction at worse and a real engagement with the characters at best? Well maybe. I know that I love the escapism of the what if .. elements in these books, what if the supernatural , the eerie, was real? What if werewolves really existed , how would they escape detection in our CCTV age ? If magic was real what jobs would witches and wizards do ? If vampires lived up the road from you what changes would society have to make ? And you know if you absolute had to kiss one, how the hell would you go about it ?
See we talked about books finally. Any comments you'd like to share, please do drop us a line. It would be great to hear from you.
Sunday, 10 January 2010
A Violent Outbreak of Poetry and Kissing.
We’ve had the usual stuff going on. Including Christmas – very busy in the run up to the day and then the day itself, I worked, 2 didn’t. Malcolm ate Sam’s turkey sandwiches and thrown them up again in the Movies section.
Sam's been doing a far bit of shouting at book sellers and very occasionally customers, usual when asked about Dan Brown. (No we do not have the new book; and no we are not getting it in. Sam is making a stand.)
We’ve had a reading. Local poets, thin dark boy, friend of low’s very immense stuff, jovial lady poet (very Seamus Heaney her words – in that she mentions animals a bit, Sam’s words), handsome but going to seed, regional accented, sexually explicit poet, gazed very intensely at Spider in the dress who went red during his reading. Last act and emergency stand-in was me –doing some favourite poems and, gulp one original piece of work. It was a weirdly popular event to be repeated in February and called Sam’s Scans, even though some of them didn't.
Special events have included Jane’s(S&M Sisters) wedding which involved, the Bride’s sister Emily catching the flowers and giving the vicar an entirely inappropriate kiss; Two having to check the best man Ray, 74 was still alive, yes he was just very, very drunk and the Bride and Groom having written their own vows, which proved educational.
I had a lovely day and the evening was going very well until the bride’s older brother announced that I was a corker and that we should waltz for the rest of the evening. I’m not a great dancer but even so I defy anyone to waltz to Agadoo. Terrence, my ardent elderly paramour was about 4 ft 8 so spend most of the dance buried in my cleavage. Every time we spun round I caught sight of Two laughing at me, however he did eventually rescue me and I was so glad I may have l given him an entirely inappropriate smacker of a kiss. Which proves that one, I really do need to give up champagne and two, its time to start dating again. (I meant other people not Two clearly. He’s my friend and we don’t consider each other that way)
And now here we are 2010 we have new stock in the shop and I promise to blog more regularly.
Thursday, 1 October 2009
FantasyCon 09
Minion One does most of the work around here, at least as far as the blog and the online shop is concerned. I've been lax, to say the least in doing my share of updating the blog for which I can only apologise.
As One mentioned, we all went off to Nottingham the other weekend for the annual British Fantasy Society convention called FantasyCon. Due to late registration, we didn't actually get round to having a dealer's table so spent the weekend milling about and trying to meet some writers in the hope of scrounging up some signed first editions we could surreptitiously sell! (Only joking - we don't do anything surreptitiously!)
I didn't see Sam for most of the weekend, though I did catch a glimpse of him one evening in a corner of the hotel bar chatting with Ramsay Campbell and a man who had obviously come dressed as HP Lovecraft and who had done a really good job: the likeness was remarkable.
One spent most of the weekend scouring the dealer's room for books, mostly to read, partly to sell, and came away with a huge hoard, most of which she's read already. I picked up a few books from the independent presses - we should all support our new writers and publishers, I think - and have been working through them.
The Catacombs of Fear by John Llewellyn Probert - a cracking collection of five stories linked by a framing sequence, written by one of the few remaining British eccentrics! These stories are great: good, solid horror stories, and John Probert - whom I met for five minutes - is an absolute diamond of a guy!
Conjure by Mark West - I didn't get to meet Mark unfortunately as he was only at the Con for one day but everyone who mentioned him said he was a good bloke. His book, too, is a good, fast read - it could actually have done with being a bit longer in my opinion, but it's another good 'un.
Bar None by Tim Lebbon - Lebbon's not really small press from what I understand as he's writing full time and has a large back catalgoue. This one's a good post-apocalyptic tale featuring a selection of fine ales as well; I may well pick up some of his earlier books on the strength of this. Oh, and he's a nice bloke as well who cheerfully signed my copy for me.
That seems to be the theme for my experiences of FantasyCon - it's just full of nice people despite the predominance of horror writers and I look forward to going next year.
As One mentioned, we all went off to Nottingham the other weekend for the annual British Fantasy Society convention called FantasyCon. Due to late registration, we didn't actually get round to having a dealer's table so spent the weekend milling about and trying to meet some writers in the hope of scrounging up some signed first editions we could surreptitiously sell! (Only joking - we don't do anything surreptitiously!)
I didn't see Sam for most of the weekend, though I did catch a glimpse of him one evening in a corner of the hotel bar chatting with Ramsay Campbell and a man who had obviously come dressed as HP Lovecraft and who had done a really good job: the likeness was remarkable.
One spent most of the weekend scouring the dealer's room for books, mostly to read, partly to sell, and came away with a huge hoard, most of which she's read already. I picked up a few books from the independent presses - we should all support our new writers and publishers, I think - and have been working through them.
The Catacombs of Fear by John Llewellyn Probert - a cracking collection of five stories linked by a framing sequence, written by one of the few remaining British eccentrics! These stories are great: good, solid horror stories, and John Probert - whom I met for five minutes - is an absolute diamond of a guy!
Conjure by Mark West - I didn't get to meet Mark unfortunately as he was only at the Con for one day but everyone who mentioned him said he was a good bloke. His book, too, is a good, fast read - it could actually have done with being a bit longer in my opinion, but it's another good 'un.
Bar None by Tim Lebbon - Lebbon's not really small press from what I understand as he's writing full time and has a large back catalgoue. This one's a good post-apocalyptic tale featuring a selection of fine ales as well; I may well pick up some of his earlier books on the strength of this. Oh, and he's a nice bloke as well who cheerfully signed my copy for me.
That seems to be the theme for my experiences of FantasyCon - it's just full of nice people despite the predominance of horror writers and I look forward to going next year.
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
British Fantasy Con 09 - Prelude
Works outing this weekend as Sam, two and I go off the Nottingham for the British Fantasy Convention. Sam will not actually be attending any events but will be sort of lurking, his only stated aims is that he wants to buy William Heaney a pint and win something in the bloody raffle.
We all feel the same about the raffle. It is so immensely long that everyone should win something just for sitting through it.
I will be enjoying Nottingham and meeting up with some familiar faces and Two will probably be reverting to some insane proto-two that lives only on cigarette smoke, beer and cheerfully drunken carousing.
So this weekend the shop is shut. Malcolm will be left to fend for him self on the cold hard streets and low will be doing whatever things low does to pass his time. Some of our customers have reacted badly. Passionate Spinster said that we were throwing her weekend plans quite awry and Not So Strange Brian had a momentary release into his Strange Brian state until he remembered that he didn’t spend his entire weekends with us any more.
To book matters I’m currently reading ‘The Collector of Worlds’ by Iliya Troyanov a novel based on the life of Sir Richard Burton- the subject is fascinating but the novel less so. These half-breed books, of fact and fiction (Faction?) when the author tries to embrace both historical scholarship and the immediacy of fiction, don’t really work for me. I’m with Tim O’Brien on this (writer of the excellent novel ‘The things they carried’ based on experiences of the Viet Nam war) a writer does not have to rely on the facts to create a truthful novel.
Or is this just because I have problems with the concept of honesty as an ultimate virtue it is so often presented as? Honesty too often says something unkind and excuses itself with a whiny “ .. but I’m only being honest!”
Bah moved on from books again with surprising speed didn’t I! I love books. I live books but I seem to have developed a phobia about talking about them. So does anyone out there wants to tell me about a book? I welcome all comments and will even give a prize of Learn French with Edgar Allen Poe for the most interesting/funny /prize worthy. Just add a comment to the blog and you have entered.
In the meantime have a fab weekend and I’ll let you know how Fantasy Con went when I’m back.
We all feel the same about the raffle. It is so immensely long that everyone should win something just for sitting through it.
I will be enjoying Nottingham and meeting up with some familiar faces and Two will probably be reverting to some insane proto-two that lives only on cigarette smoke, beer and cheerfully drunken carousing.
So this weekend the shop is shut. Malcolm will be left to fend for him self on the cold hard streets and low will be doing whatever things low does to pass his time. Some of our customers have reacted badly. Passionate Spinster said that we were throwing her weekend plans quite awry and Not So Strange Brian had a momentary release into his Strange Brian state until he remembered that he didn’t spend his entire weekends with us any more.
To book matters I’m currently reading ‘The Collector of Worlds’ by Iliya Troyanov a novel based on the life of Sir Richard Burton- the subject is fascinating but the novel less so. These half-breed books, of fact and fiction (Faction?) when the author tries to embrace both historical scholarship and the immediacy of fiction, don’t really work for me. I’m with Tim O’Brien on this (writer of the excellent novel ‘The things they carried’ based on experiences of the Viet Nam war) a writer does not have to rely on the facts to create a truthful novel.
Or is this just because I have problems with the concept of honesty as an ultimate virtue it is so often presented as? Honesty too often says something unkind and excuses itself with a whiny “ .. but I’m only being honest!”
Bah moved on from books again with surprising speed didn’t I! I love books. I live books but I seem to have developed a phobia about talking about them. So does anyone out there wants to tell me about a book? I welcome all comments and will even give a prize of Learn French with Edgar Allen Poe for the most interesting/funny /prize worthy. Just add a comment to the blog and you have entered.
In the meantime have a fab weekend and I’ll let you know how Fantasy Con went when I’m back.
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Two is off again today. He is entirely recovered from his birthday and has finally stopped celebrating. As a birthday present I took him to the London Aquarium and forcibly stopped him from trying to steal a Sting Ray –little tyke! He sure does like him some flat fish.
Sam and I have had a jolly day in his absence.This morning We broke Sam’s usual silence in the shop rule to play some CD of the radio show I’m Sorry I haven’t a Clue which reduced both of us to giggling hysterics and left low cold.
Later on the post man dropped off a parcel for me which piqued Sam’s curiosity to such an extent that he ‘ forgot’ it was addressed to me and open it. It is a start to play the Ukulele set, with a rather beautiful wooden blue ukulele on which even as we speak Sam with his hugely irritating talent for musical instruments is picking out Hey Jude. When /if I get it back it will take me months to get to that level.
But to bookish business, low is reading a T S Eliot collection but not the bits about cats. That terrible smell is now in the romance section and working its way through Barbara Cartland . Two is lost in the world of DC comics and I am reading The Postman Always Rings Twice and a Dylan Thomas collection- interesting to compare and contrast . Malcolm is not reading but does seem to be trying to eat the local paper.
Sam and I have had a jolly day in his absence.This morning We broke Sam’s usual silence in the shop rule to play some CD of the radio show I’m Sorry I haven’t a Clue which reduced both of us to giggling hysterics and left low cold.
Later on the post man dropped off a parcel for me which piqued Sam’s curiosity to such an extent that he ‘ forgot’ it was addressed to me and open it. It is a start to play the Ukulele set, with a rather beautiful wooden blue ukulele on which even as we speak Sam with his hugely irritating talent for musical instruments is picking out Hey Jude. When /if I get it back it will take me months to get to that level.
But to bookish business, low is reading a T S Eliot collection but not the bits about cats. That terrible smell is now in the romance section and working its way through Barbara Cartland . Two is lost in the world of DC comics and I am reading The Postman Always Rings Twice and a Dylan Thomas collection- interesting to compare and contrast . Malcolm is not reading but does seem to be trying to eat the local paper.
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Happy Birthday
It is Minion Two’s birthday today. Happy Birthday Two! We have been celebrating already. Last weekend two kindly invited me out with a group of his friends for curry and beer. I had a lovely time and meet a really nice bunch of people and ate the nicest spinach and chicken curry I’ve had in ages.
This morning we had birthday cake with candles with morning tea. I cooked the cake but it was damned edible for all that. We shared it with the customers that were in at the time which included Strange Brian and JR Hartley. Low popped in on his day off to join us and Malcolm refused to come downstairs to join us. (He is getting more and more antisocial the older he gets.) Sam made a speech and then gave two the rest of the day off.
I won’t reveal how old two actually is today, but just say you’d never guess it to look at him and remind him that he is older than me
This morning we had birthday cake with candles with morning tea. I cooked the cake but it was damned edible for all that. We shared it with the customers that were in at the time which included Strange Brian and JR Hartley. Low popped in on his day off to join us and Malcolm refused to come downstairs to join us. (He is getting more and more antisocial the older he gets.) Sam made a speech and then gave two the rest of the day off.
I won’t reveal how old two actually is today, but just say you’d never guess it to look at him and remind him that he is older than me
Sunday, 16 August 2009
Things in the Shop Part One
Online (at Amazon) we sell quite a few CD and DVD this is because Sam is pretty happy not to infer with my running it and has even allowed me to pick the stock and control a very small stock-buying budget . I thought DVDs and CDs would sell so I occasionally pick a few up. Such lassitude is not allowed in the shop where energetically enforced rules insure only printed matter is on sale .But you will find a fair number of rogue objects on our shelves . So keeping with the unofficial and until it was pointed out to me unconscious theme of hardly ever talking about books on this blog supposed to be about our book shop and its stock, I thought I would discuss things in the shop which are not even the slightest bit booky.
I mentioned the stuffed sheep some blogs ago in connection with the strange disappearance of the craft section. The sheep is not for sale but we do get asked to sell it quite a lot. Usually by students looking to spent their loans and grants in September. Occasionally it gets stolen. I’m not sure how, we have a camera and the thing is quite large but every now and then, it is just not there.
When I was newly employed , many moon ago, I discovered one such theft and was really worried about how Sam would react. Sam just grinned and told me not to worry it would be back. He was proved right at the time and has been ever since. When it disappears it is always back, waiting at the front door within the week. I’ve not idea why someone would steal it just to return it so quickly. But then I’ve no idea why Sam insists we keep it. Once a month, two or I have the task of talcing it i.e. covering it in talcum powder to keep the smell down. It has as previously mentioned alarmingly beady little eyes.
Other objects of interest on our tour today include;
A broken fiddle by the till. One of Sam’s many. I’m not sure what he does to them but he sure gets through them
Various scented geranium in pots – mine I’m afraid. I like them and everywhere needs living greenery.
Small collection of screwed up bits of paper, a ping pong ball and a damp child’s mitten belonging to Malcolm. We have no idea why he keeps them but he gets really offended if you try to move them.
A fish tank with no fish and no water. Used as the repository of lost and found things including the interest things we find used as book marks.
A pair of massive curved horns. Not sure from what but it must have been huge.
A pallid bust of Pallas as previously mentioned on this blog
A yoyo , packet of cards , and three juggling balls property of two
A huge collection of lighters. These belong to Sam, he collects them. Some of them come from pretty famous people according to Sam but he just keeps them all jumbled up in huge spice chest which takes up one of the walls of his office.
A photo of a smug looking ginger cat pinned prominently on the staff notice board.
The skull of a Giant Auk cast in bronze.
An long museum case with a snake skin in it . Really long and some sort of python . It is predictably referred to Monty and has on occasioned unnerved the unwary visitor to the Natural History section where he lives.
I mentioned the stuffed sheep some blogs ago in connection with the strange disappearance of the craft section. The sheep is not for sale but we do get asked to sell it quite a lot. Usually by students looking to spent their loans and grants in September. Occasionally it gets stolen. I’m not sure how, we have a camera and the thing is quite large but every now and then, it is just not there.
When I was newly employed , many moon ago, I discovered one such theft and was really worried about how Sam would react. Sam just grinned and told me not to worry it would be back. He was proved right at the time and has been ever since. When it disappears it is always back, waiting at the front door within the week. I’ve not idea why someone would steal it just to return it so quickly. But then I’ve no idea why Sam insists we keep it. Once a month, two or I have the task of talcing it i.e. covering it in talcum powder to keep the smell down. It has as previously mentioned alarmingly beady little eyes.
Other objects of interest on our tour today include;
A broken fiddle by the till. One of Sam’s many. I’m not sure what he does to them but he sure gets through them
Various scented geranium in pots – mine I’m afraid. I like them and everywhere needs living greenery.
Small collection of screwed up bits of paper, a ping pong ball and a damp child’s mitten belonging to Malcolm. We have no idea why he keeps them but he gets really offended if you try to move them.
A fish tank with no fish and no water. Used as the repository of lost and found things including the interest things we find used as book marks.
A pair of massive curved horns. Not sure from what but it must have been huge.
A pallid bust of Pallas as previously mentioned on this blog
A yoyo , packet of cards , and three juggling balls property of two
A huge collection of lighters. These belong to Sam, he collects them. Some of them come from pretty famous people according to Sam but he just keeps them all jumbled up in huge spice chest which takes up one of the walls of his office.
A photo of a smug looking ginger cat pinned prominently on the staff notice board.
The skull of a Giant Auk cast in bronze.
An long museum case with a snake skin in it . Really long and some sort of python . It is predictably referred to Monty and has on occasioned unnerved the unwary visitor to the Natural History section where he lives.
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Pour Salt on it.
Another day without Sam, however he did phone in instructions this morning for Two and I on the important matter of Presuming Ed. Although we have been authorized to buy stock for years, Sam usually insists that he and only he deals with P. Ed.
He once told me that we lacked the essentially fiendish nature necessary for successfully making deals with him.
His instructions today were clear, if it looks like a bargain: consider it, if it looks like a completely fantastic bargain, be very very wary and if it looks like a steal spill salt on it. I assumed that wasn’t a literal instruction but one of Sam’s odder proverbs.
Anyway I think we did OK between us, new stock will be appearing on-line soon. We did I’ll admit buy a few items for quirk value – learn French with Edgar Allen Poe anyone? – but mostly we were depressingly conservative in our selection. Still we will see tomorrow when Sam is here to inspect the stock.
Just thought I’d end today’s entry by blatant plugging of an author who book we do not have in stock. I mentioned Kate Griffin’s A Madness of Angels previously. Really it’s very good, have a hunt round for it. It is good solid meaty fiction, a meal of a book -starter main and dessert. Not just, as I find so often, a bag of sweets which though lovely at the time, do leave you feeling ever so slightly sick afterward.
It is the story of Matthew Swift a London based sorcerer, of why he died and what happen after. The book has a long and slightly confusing prologue which makes total sense when you have finished the book, so please stick with it. I enjoyed it enormously. Kate Griffin is an author I would happily buy a drink for. (The ultimate accolade from a poor second-hand book vendor such as myself.)
Obviously she not Graham Joyce who is a fabulous writer but who gets my undying and slightly stalkerish loyalty because he once bought me a curry – but really please go and check her work out.
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
When I got in this morning, I found a small pile of feathers and no pigeon. Malcolm was asleep on the window seat looking smug. I fear the worse.
Sam is not in today so two and I have been taking liberties. Sam believes the shop should be a quiet place where the only sounds heard are the sneezes of customers as they take down books and displace tones of dust and of course the merry ringing of the till. Two and I therefore like to indulge in something more musical when Sam is safely away. Unfortunately this causes disruptions in the normal excellent working relationship between two and myself as our music tastes find little common ground. It is true that I have come to appreciate some of Metallica’s back catalogue but Toyah is a screechy step too far and two has gained an appreciation of the Hoosiers and Kaiser Chiefs but if I go any jazzier than that he begins to mutter under his breath in a most alarming manner.
However we both agree low will never again be allowed to play his choice of music. I was expecting dark and miserablist but the tuba solo throw me to start with, then when the bagpipes came in I felt quite queasy and all our customers left.
One of our favourite dealer-men is in tomorrow, Presuming Ed. I’m looking forward to it. He always brings us goodies, lots of good quality general stock but usually something special which disappears in the Sam’s private collection. Last thing I got from him was a unchecked proof of Kate Griffins A Madness of Angels, which is an excellent book if you enjoy the urban magic sub-genre, which I do.
Sam is not in today so two and I have been taking liberties. Sam believes the shop should be a quiet place where the only sounds heard are the sneezes of customers as they take down books and displace tones of dust and of course the merry ringing of the till. Two and I therefore like to indulge in something more musical when Sam is safely away. Unfortunately this causes disruptions in the normal excellent working relationship between two and myself as our music tastes find little common ground. It is true that I have come to appreciate some of Metallica’s back catalogue but Toyah is a screechy step too far and two has gained an appreciation of the Hoosiers and Kaiser Chiefs but if I go any jazzier than that he begins to mutter under his breath in a most alarming manner.
However we both agree low will never again be allowed to play his choice of music. I was expecting dark and miserablist but the tuba solo throw me to start with, then when the bagpipes came in I felt quite queasy and all our customers left.
One of our favourite dealer-men is in tomorrow, Presuming Ed. I’m looking forward to it. He always brings us goodies, lots of good quality general stock but usually something special which disappears in the Sam’s private collection. Last thing I got from him was a unchecked proof of Kate Griffins A Madness of Angels, which is an excellent book if you enjoy the urban magic sub-genre, which I do.
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Catch up
I’m very much back in work now. So I thought I’d catch you up on the news from Sam’s. First we are having a wedding. Jane our older S and M sister is getting married. Apparently the new trills in her life (from the books) have given her a sparkle which bought her to the attention of a certain gentlemen from the sheltered accommodation where she lives. In her sister's words ‘she snaffled the only decent bachelor in the place ‘
Both blushing bride to be and bashful groom came in today to ask two and myself to be ushers. How nice. We of course said yes. Apparently the wedding will be an epic affair and the bride as it is her first wedding will be wearing white and a veil. The groom seems a fine young man, being only seventy.
Malcolm has whilst I was away disgraced himself quite badly and is the current target of Sam’s icy disdain. Malcolm bought a live pigeon into the shop which we have so far been unable to capture. It has eaten Sam’s secret stash of ginger nut biscuits and blemished both books and the coats of customers which has hit Sam where it truly hurts –his pocket. I’m quite enjoying the gentle cooing as I work.
Strange (aka dashing but hairy) Brian continues to enjoy his bobble liberation having become a bit of a star on our local radio station with his spirited and eloquent comments on pretty much anything that occurs to him
Sam’s nephew, Harry, came in again while I was away. Two reports that he and Sam spent several hours in Sam’s office and raised voices were to be heard.
Two and low are well. That terrible smell has moved into the thriller section and we seem to have acquired a white marble bust of (Sam says) “Pallas to go above our chamber door” Due to Health and Safety concerns, i.e. it is very heavy, we are currently using it to prop open the door of the engineering section.
Both blushing bride to be and bashful groom came in today to ask two and myself to be ushers. How nice. We of course said yes. Apparently the wedding will be an epic affair and the bride as it is her first wedding will be wearing white and a veil. The groom seems a fine young man, being only seventy.
Malcolm has whilst I was away disgraced himself quite badly and is the current target of Sam’s icy disdain. Malcolm bought a live pigeon into the shop which we have so far been unable to capture. It has eaten Sam’s secret stash of ginger nut biscuits and blemished both books and the coats of customers which has hit Sam where it truly hurts –his pocket. I’m quite enjoying the gentle cooing as I work.
Strange (aka dashing but hairy) Brian continues to enjoy his bobble liberation having become a bit of a star on our local radio station with his spirited and eloquent comments on pretty much anything that occurs to him
Sam’s nephew, Harry, came in again while I was away. Two reports that he and Sam spent several hours in Sam’s office and raised voices were to be heard.
Two and low are well. That terrible smell has moved into the thriller section and we seem to have acquired a white marble bust of (Sam says) “Pallas to go above our chamber door” Due to Health and Safety concerns, i.e. it is very heavy, we are currently using it to prop open the door of the engineering section.
Sunday, 2 August 2009
You can't catch it from a blog you know.
It is always nice to be part of something bigger than yourself. I’ve recently had the life affirming experience of joining a growing army round the world and going down with Swine Flu. My version was pretty mild by all accounts but really, really unpleasant never the less.
Still the bits when I wasn’t feeling like death was the only option, were pleasant even enjoyable. Too tired to do anything around the flat, I lay on the bed for two days and read so many books. I’m currently enjoying the popular psychology /economic genre – I recommend Richard Wiseman’s .59 seconds and I’ve just started Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein. The book that triggered me off this topic was Derren Brown’s absolutely fantastic Tricks of the Mind which is a highly readable ragbag of interestingness.
Then when I was better I watched a bunch of old movies; Blithe Spirit –with Margaret Rutherford as the medium Madame Allcantie; High Society; Harvey; and The Lady Killers.
I’ll blog again soon and more cheerily I promise
Still the bits when I wasn’t feeling like death was the only option, were pleasant even enjoyable. Too tired to do anything around the flat, I lay on the bed for two days and read so many books. I’m currently enjoying the popular psychology /economic genre – I recommend Richard Wiseman’s .59 seconds and I’ve just started Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein. The book that triggered me off this topic was Derren Brown’s absolutely fantastic Tricks of the Mind which is a highly readable ragbag of interestingness.
Then when I was better I watched a bunch of old movies; Blithe Spirit –with Margaret Rutherford as the medium Madame Allcantie; High Society; Harvey; and The Lady Killers.
I’ll blog again soon and more cheerily I promise
Sunday, 5 July 2009
What we are all reading
Very hot in the shop at the moment , so hot that Malcolm has refused to actually enter the premises and instead just lies in the back yard under my sweet peas. Sam had a bit of a shout at him, but Malcolm just looked at him , sighed and fell to sleep.
Currently I am reading Graham Joyce Do the Creepy Thing . I'm a big fan of Mr. Joyce but had avoided reading this novel for sometime as it is young adult, a classification I hate. Do we have a middle aged /old adult books ? No we don't . So why not let a book be judged by its own merits rather than as a class. Like all good young adult books Do the Creepy Thing is just a great book, full stop. Apparently To Kill a Mockingbird is now defined as YA . Sometimes this business does my head in .
Sam is reading Tasker Hepplewater's Mock Turtle. Which he says in rather too heavy on the mock not enough about the turtle.
low is reading signs of doom in the smoke which might be a book or just be one of low's statements of fact.
Two and Malcolm are n't reading. Malcolm is too exhausted by heat to remain awake long enough to focus.
Terrible Smell is now in Romantic Fiction. We are worried that it might have become hooked on Barbara Cartland.
Currently I am reading Graham Joyce Do the Creepy Thing . I'm a big fan of Mr. Joyce but had avoided reading this novel for sometime as it is young adult, a classification I hate. Do we have a middle aged /old adult books ? No we don't . So why not let a book be judged by its own merits rather than as a class. Like all good young adult books Do the Creepy Thing is just a great book, full stop. Apparently To Kill a Mockingbird is now defined as YA . Sometimes this business does my head in .
Sam is reading Tasker Hepplewater's Mock Turtle. Which he says in rather too heavy on the mock not enough about the turtle.
low is reading signs of doom in the smoke which might be a book or just be one of low's statements of fact.
Two and Malcolm are n't reading. Malcolm is too exhausted by heat to remain awake long enough to focus.
Terrible Smell is now in Romantic Fiction. We are worried that it might have become hooked on Barbara Cartland.
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Never Again
That's it - no more wine for me.
Sam's longest day party was a great laugh with customers coming from far and wide (Sam welcomed everyone to the evening, hinting that some of them had come from VERY far away . . . I've no idea where he means or why the crowd gave a knowing laugh) and really enjoying themselves.
I had a glass or two of wine and planned to simply sit back and enjoy the evening. Despite Minion One's earlier post, I did actually notice her looking very nice in a dress but - and this is why I'm steering clear of the liquidised grape from now on - my attention was drawn to another lass who seemed intent on "easing my troubled soul" (her words)
I'm ashamed to say I didn't catch her name before she latched on to my face and, so it seemed, attempted to drag my troubled soul out of her mouth using her tongue.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur as she plied me with wine and wantonness. I swear I kept seeing Sam grinning every time he glanced over at me.
By the time the party ended, I'd somehow drifted off to sleep and the somewhat fey lass had vanished along with most of her companions. I woke to find Malcolm staring at me with a mixture of disdain and disappointment with more than a dash of contempt. Before I could say anything, he turned and wandered off.
Minion One has been very gracious over the last few days, not really asking questions about my mysterious lady friend, but Sam has done next to nothing except grin and chuckle at me which is more than a little disconcerting.
"Perhaps now you can get back to work instead of mooning around like a love-sick teenager?" he asked me this morning. I had to agree that perhaps I could.
Whoever she was, she certainly took my mind off the customer from a couple of months ago . . . but I'm still not going to drink any more wine.
Sam's longest day party was a great laugh with customers coming from far and wide (Sam welcomed everyone to the evening, hinting that some of them had come from VERY far away . . . I've no idea where he means or why the crowd gave a knowing laugh) and really enjoying themselves.
I had a glass or two of wine and planned to simply sit back and enjoy the evening. Despite Minion One's earlier post, I did actually notice her looking very nice in a dress but - and this is why I'm steering clear of the liquidised grape from now on - my attention was drawn to another lass who seemed intent on "easing my troubled soul" (her words)
I'm ashamed to say I didn't catch her name before she latched on to my face and, so it seemed, attempted to drag my troubled soul out of her mouth using her tongue.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur as she plied me with wine and wantonness. I swear I kept seeing Sam grinning every time he glanced over at me.
By the time the party ended, I'd somehow drifted off to sleep and the somewhat fey lass had vanished along with most of her companions. I woke to find Malcolm staring at me with a mixture of disdain and disappointment with more than a dash of contempt. Before I could say anything, he turned and wandered off.
Minion One has been very gracious over the last few days, not really asking questions about my mysterious lady friend, but Sam has done next to nothing except grin and chuckle at me which is more than a little disconcerting.
"Perhaps now you can get back to work instead of mooning around like a love-sick teenager?" he asked me this morning. I had to agree that perhaps I could.
Whoever she was, she certainly took my mind off the customer from a couple of months ago . . . but I'm still not going to drink any more wine.
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Party - the Aftermath.
I still have a headache from the party.
I'm not a girly girl but last Thursday I had something akin to a brain storm and ended up buying an actual dress, red, very feminine , scoop neck with roses on it . My usual work wear is jeans , a pony tail, DMs and a t-shirt covered in dust. So it was a bit of a change. Unaccustomed as I am to going anywhere as a girl, it all took slightly more time to get ready than I thought it would and I was later than I meant to be to the party.
The bonfire was roaring away. Alcohol was flowing and the music was pretty loud. I felt really quite odd facing up to all my friends in a different guise. SH was very complementary and told me if he was only 100 years younger he'd dance me off my feet. Malcolm pretended not to recognize me .
Low said I reminded him of la belle dame sans merci, who ever that is.
Strange Brian , now gallant if rather hairy Brian insisted on presenting me with a rose rather to the annoyance of his lady friend.
Two , well two had his tongue down some blond woman's throat and didn't seem to notice which goes to prove you can't win universal approval .
Still the party was fab Sam had put some pallets down and so we had dancing . Sam proposed his traditional toast to us all and as usual flung his wine on the roots of the old apple tree when he thought we weren't looking . He does it every year , if he doesn't like the wine why pour it ?
I did like the wine which brings me back to the headache.
Two is being very solicitous and has supplied me with bacon sandwiches and tea frequently - he is feeling no ill affects and instead wanders the shop beaming like an errant sunbeam.
It's been a while since I've done any actual book based blog so I'll have a lie down now and get thinking on my next blog.
I'm not a girly girl but last Thursday I had something akin to a brain storm and ended up buying an actual dress, red, very feminine , scoop neck with roses on it . My usual work wear is jeans , a pony tail, DMs and a t-shirt covered in dust. So it was a bit of a change. Unaccustomed as I am to going anywhere as a girl, it all took slightly more time to get ready than I thought it would and I was later than I meant to be to the party.
The bonfire was roaring away. Alcohol was flowing and the music was pretty loud. I felt really quite odd facing up to all my friends in a different guise. SH was very complementary and told me if he was only 100 years younger he'd dance me off my feet. Malcolm pretended not to recognize me .
Low said I reminded him of la belle dame sans merci, who ever that is.
Strange Brian , now gallant if rather hairy Brian insisted on presenting me with a rose rather to the annoyance of his lady friend.
Two , well two had his tongue down some blond woman's throat and didn't seem to notice which goes to prove you can't win universal approval .
Still the party was fab Sam had put some pallets down and so we had dancing . Sam proposed his traditional toast to us all and as usual flung his wine on the roots of the old apple tree when he thought we weren't looking . He does it every year , if he doesn't like the wine why pour it ?
I did like the wine which brings me back to the headache.
Two is being very solicitous and has supplied me with bacon sandwiches and tea frequently - he is feeling no ill affects and instead wanders the shop beaming like an errant sunbeam.
It's been a while since I've done any actual book based blog so I'll have a lie down now and get thinking on my next blog.
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Must Try Harder
I have been remiss in adding to this blog, Minion One keeps telling me. She's not averse to poking me when she's telling me, either, which simply reinforces the fact that she has very sharp fingernails that can pierce even the thickest T-shirt. While Sam doesn't know a blog from a wiki, he fully supports One in her endeavours and has asked me twice this week whether I've "scripted anything for the electronic shop diary?" Low, the skeletal Goth who sometimes works in the nether regions of the shop, avoids me claiming my soul is "too dark a mirror" for him to look upon.
Even Malcolm's been staring at me with more disdain than usual.
It's been over a month since my lady friend broke up with me and I think I've just about worn out everyone's sympathy, even One's. She's been a great friend but even the best of friends get bored of the same old story over and over.
So here's a promise - I shall attend Sam's Midsummer party this Sunday and buck up my ideas, get back on track and, at the very least, be more cheerful than Low.
And who knows? Maybe I'll meet someone at the party?
Even Malcolm's been staring at me with more disdain than usual.
It's been over a month since my lady friend broke up with me and I think I've just about worn out everyone's sympathy, even One's. She's been a great friend but even the best of friends get bored of the same old story over and over.
So here's a promise - I shall attend Sam's Midsummer party this Sunday and buck up my ideas, get back on track and, at the very least, be more cheerful than Low.
And who knows? Maybe I'll meet someone at the party?
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Party over here!
Sam doesn’t do holidays, at least not the same ones as everyone else. We regularly open on Christmas day – strangely or sadly we have quite a few customers on the day and Sam serves up Mulled Paint stripper. But Sam does do Mid-summer big style.
Our shop stands on the corner of the square and then there is a gap where a house fell down years ago. Then there is a row of little shops including Bobbitt’s the haberdashery which was last decorated in the 1950s and is just coming back into fashion now. The third side is made up of the high street proper and as such is mainly soulless units of Pound land, Starbucks and shoe shops. Then it is round to us again via some big old Victorian town houses which have seen better years. (I know I live in one of them.)
But inside this square is a patch of land which Sam has annexed into the property of bookshop. It is here that Sam holds the summer party. Sam is as you may have gathered, not a man of great sentient or with a overflow of love towards his fellowman but for one night he is the most benign of hosts, flinging open the gates to the area, performing magic tricks for the children, making people laugh and even playing contagiously catchy tunes on his fiddle.
Lots of people from the local area come, and some really strange strangers show up too.
Although the party is pretty much come as you are there are large numbers of people in costumes. Years ago I spend most of the evening talking to a very charming man who was suited and booted as a well off city gent, except that he had a beard of the most brilliant sky blue. We were getting on really well and he had just invited me back to his pad when Sam wandered over muttered something in his ear and my blue bearded friend turned pale and left in a hurry. Sam then told me to work behind the bar for the rest of the night.
Still I’m looking forward to this year’s party on Sunday if you are in the area it usually kicks off at six and we’d be delighted to see you.
Our shop stands on the corner of the square and then there is a gap where a house fell down years ago. Then there is a row of little shops including Bobbitt’s the haberdashery which was last decorated in the 1950s and is just coming back into fashion now. The third side is made up of the high street proper and as such is mainly soulless units of Pound land, Starbucks and shoe shops. Then it is round to us again via some big old Victorian town houses which have seen better years. (I know I live in one of them.)
But inside this square is a patch of land which Sam has annexed into the property of bookshop. It is here that Sam holds the summer party. Sam is as you may have gathered, not a man of great sentient or with a overflow of love towards his fellowman but for one night he is the most benign of hosts, flinging open the gates to the area, performing magic tricks for the children, making people laugh and even playing contagiously catchy tunes on his fiddle.
Lots of people from the local area come, and some really strange strangers show up too.
Although the party is pretty much come as you are there are large numbers of people in costumes. Years ago I spend most of the evening talking to a very charming man who was suited and booted as a well off city gent, except that he had a beard of the most brilliant sky blue. We were getting on really well and he had just invited me back to his pad when Sam wandered over muttered something in his ear and my blue bearded friend turned pale and left in a hurry. Sam then told me to work behind the bar for the rest of the night.
Still I’m looking forward to this year’s party on Sunday if you are in the area it usually kicks off at six and we’d be delighted to see you.
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
The lurker in the shadows
Low doesn’t do hot weather whilst Two, Malcolm and I collapse into shady corners of the shop and demand ice-cream, Low ignores the sun and just keeps going. He doesn’t sweat or slow down he just keeps moving quietly and slowly round in the shadows.
Low is as previously mentioned the long standing, stand-in for the shop. He worked here before I arrived. Legend has it he worked here in the time of the sainted Ozzy, Sam's much missed partner in crime. (Ozzy is another story, Sam claims he was the wittiest and most intelligent being, excluding himself of course, who ever set foot in the shop. Ozzy is currently apparently traveling.)
But back to Low, Low is a Goth and alarmingly skeletal. Small children seem to find him utterly fascinating whilst he tends to unnerve adult customers who haven’t previously met him.
Sam maintains Lowe is in fact a confused corporeal spirit whose is unaware that he’s actually dead. Sam will say that type of thing, shake his head and add
A great shame! Someone should tell him, and help him cross to the other side! I would myself you know but he works for peanuts and I can’t afford to lose him.
Low is a good bloke. He is quiet but I think he’s just shy. He likes to hum while he works and he’s pretty tuneful. He has also been helping me get the courtyard back into shape so we have a nice shady little garden out there. The man definitely has a touch of genius with roses though.I don’t know what he did with them but the air round here is heavy with the scent of these velvety black red roses and they’re showing no signs of fading.
I find him pretty restful company . Two who is not yet quite his normal cheerful self says he is a poseur who knows nothing of the real pain of life. Much as I love two if he doesn't buck up soon I'm going to have kick his arse.
Low is as previously mentioned the long standing, stand-in for the shop. He worked here before I arrived. Legend has it he worked here in the time of the sainted Ozzy, Sam's much missed partner in crime. (Ozzy is another story, Sam claims he was the wittiest and most intelligent being, excluding himself of course, who ever set foot in the shop. Ozzy is currently apparently traveling.)
But back to Low, Low is a Goth and alarmingly skeletal. Small children seem to find him utterly fascinating whilst he tends to unnerve adult customers who haven’t previously met him.
Sam maintains Lowe is in fact a confused corporeal spirit whose is unaware that he’s actually dead. Sam will say that type of thing, shake his head and add
A great shame! Someone should tell him, and help him cross to the other side! I would myself you know but he works for peanuts and I can’t afford to lose him.
Low is a good bloke. He is quiet but I think he’s just shy. He likes to hum while he works and he’s pretty tuneful. He has also been helping me get the courtyard back into shape so we have a nice shady little garden out there. The man definitely has a touch of genius with roses though.I don’t know what he did with them but the air round here is heavy with the scent of these velvety black red roses and they’re showing no signs of fading.
I find him pretty restful company . Two who is not yet quite his normal cheerful self says he is a poseur who knows nothing of the real pain of life. Much as I love two if he doesn't buck up soon I'm going to have kick his arse.
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