Two books
Saturday, 23 July 2022I’ve already mentioned that I spent the morning in Berwick today.
I went to two (the only two) second-hand bookshops and each yielded a barely-notable event that I am going to make internet-famous regardless.
In Slightly Foxed I found a copy of Research for Writers by Ann Hoffman. This was the bible on writing research back in the day and this was the edition that will never sell as it pre-dates the internet by several years. Inside the cover (a far classier cover than the current edition, which looks as cheap as writing research has probably become nowadays) is my name, written in pencil. I bought this very copy as a teenager in the 1990s and must have handed it in a charity shop in recent years - it’s ended up here.
On the way home I popped in at Berrydin Books (I’d link to it but the only link I can find is on Facebook - we don’t like Facebook on this site!). I had some time to browse and kneeled before the poetry shelves. Not in any kind of awe - they’re literally at floor level. Eventually, I found The Poem and The Journey - 60 Poems For the Journey of Life by Ruth Padel, and was excited to get reading. I got home to discover that I’d already bought it - in 2006 when it came out.
Re-reading this afternoon I’m glad I can’t remember any of it - it’s great.