I hadn’t traveled anywhere since summer vacations.
Some weeks ago, some old friends informed me that they would be in London for a weekend. I could not take days of work, but with some search I found tickets for less than 150 euros (including buses and trains from/to airports), I left Friday after work and returned Sunday night (nearly missed the last train… I would have to sleep in Amsterdam airport and leave at 6 to go to work).
And I loved this mini trip. Even if it is only for 2 days and in a place you have been many times (although London is never boring and of course I haven’t seen many many things). It is refreshing to make small trips, even if they are tiring.
Plus I saw my friends that I hadn’t seen for months!
Every time I go to London, I buy a book. Only one, because it is cheaper to order from amazon than to buy in a bookstore (sad but true).
One time I bought The Heart Goes Last, by Margaret Atwood (which was a disappointment) and another time The Girls, by Emma Cline, which I liked. I justified both buys to myself because both copies were signed by the authors and Atwood’s was a special edition with orange page-ends.
This time my plan was to buy Swing Time, by Zadie Smith. And I did:
I haven’t read any books by Zadie Smith yet and this one is about two dancers, so… can’t wait!
So that was it! I bought my one book from Foyles. Mission accomplished! But then… I went to the Forbidden Planet. It is an amazing store with all kinds of amazing things: from marvel dolls to anime plush toys, from Walking Dead and Game of Thrones merchandize to indie comic books.
While browsing the comic book section, I saw one of the books on my list, Bait, by Chuck Palahniuk. It is a book with short stories written by him and each story has an illustration that you can color. I was not going to buy it (cheaper to order, remember?), but then I saw that the copy was signed by the author.
I should have stopped there. The next book I bought was unnecessary. The Diary of a Teenage Girl, by Phoebe Gloeckner is a mix of text and comic strips and I had seen it in a list as the best comic book ever. So I was curious and I bought it.
As I was running to meet my friend, I passed from an amazing comic book store. It is called Gosh!, it is close to Piccadily Circus and it is amazing. I stopped because I saw The Nao of Brown, by Glyn Dillon on the display. I had seen this comic book in a post by Eleni (Over the Place) and it sounded very interesting (a 28-year old Japanese/English girl that suffers from OCD).
I jumped quickly inside the store to take a look, see if I liked it before I ordered it. And then I see that two of the copies there were signed by the author (an awesome drawing/signature). I thought it was worth it, so I bought that one too.
While I was paying, I noticed some tiny books next of the cashier. I asked the salesman what were they and he told me “Japanese flip books”. I flipped through a couple and I bought the best one. It is AWESOME!
That was it! I spent a fortune on these books (all of them hardcover), but anyway! I will enjoy them!
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