I took another little trip out to Cambridge this morning. I had intended to head into Cambridge itself after the book sale, but it started to rain outside and the only reason I was heading into the city was for a wander and a coffee. So it wasn’t really worth it. I did pick up a few books whilst I was there though, so it certainly wasn’t a wasted trip. As before, if anyone knows anything about the authors/books, please let me know as I know nothing whatsoever and simply went on what looked good! Thanks!
- Jonny Glynn – The Seven Days of Peter Crumb
- Uzodinma Iweala – Beasts of No Nation
- Steven Sherrill – The Minotaur Takes A Cigarette Break
- Colum McCain – Fishing the Sloe-Black River
- Chris Ayres – War Reporting for Cowards
- David Whish-Wilson – The Summons
- Lorraine Adams – Harbor
- Liz Jensen – Ark Baby
As I still have all-but-one book left to read from the last sale, I can’t imagine I’ll be getting through this little lot any time soon! But please let me know if there’s any on this list that I should read first (or indeed that I should leave altogether).
One of the many books I purchased last week at the book sale in Cambridge was When the Nines Roll Over by David Benioff. As I mentioned in previous post, I had no idea who any of these authors were. But I have now finished the first of these books, and I must say I rather enjoyed it. Oh, and I must point out that this is in no way a review; I haven’t read enough books to be able to review them!
When the Nines Roll Over is a collection of short stories around many different ideals, but with one over-arching theme. From the tale of lost chance for love that never was in The Barefoot Girl in Clover to that of a dancer stricken by AIDs in Merde for Luck, the sense of loss is immense. Whether that be the loss of a loved one, the loss of one’s past or the loss of one’s mind, Benioff’s melancholy and simple approach to each story really hit home with me, and once I really got into the book I found I couldn’t put it down. Which is very unusual for me.
I’d recommend it, but I don’t know what kind of things you like to read, so perhaps I shouldn’t! I thoroughly enjoyed it though.
I took a trip to Cambridge today to visit one of Galloway & Porter’s warehouse book sales. Most people out in web-world won’t have heard of them as they’re a small independent book shop in Cambridge. If you’re in the area on one of their sale days I recommend a visit. All books are £1. Yes, that’s right: £1. They have a few academic ones at £2-a-pop and a small room just off the warehouse holding some at higher prices. But the rest are £1. Or less. They also have a wide range of kids books, with some at less than a quid. So they’re not actually all a quid. But most are! 90% are! So get yourself over to their website and take a look at when the next one is on. They’re very frequent and you won’t regret it!
After that I took a trip into Cambridge’s lovely city centre, bought a couple of magazines and planted myself in a comfy chair in Border’s Starbucks for an hour. I do love Cambridge.
Something not-so-good occurred on the way back though. The car had been making some horrible clanging noises all day, and just as I approached Bedford something detached itself from the engine bay and flew off. The noises stopped, but a couple of red lights appeared on the dashboard. Bugger.
Well, not knowing anything at all about cars, I took it down the nearest Nationwide Autocentre and got them to take a look. Fortunately it was only the fan-belt, and even more fortunately it hadn’t taken anything with it on its way out! So an hour – and a chat with the mechanics – later and I was back on the road. £32. A bit pricey for a piece of rubber, but I was expecting more for the labour. So I’m happy with that.
Now I’m back home in the warm, with a mug of coffee, a Photoshop magazine and Adobe’s premier image-editing software in front of me. Should be a good day.
Or maybe I could make a start on one of the many books I bought from the sale? No, I’ve got plenty of others I’ve yet to read before I get on to those!
