I wish that post title related to my voracious writing… but it doesn’t. Rather, it signals another update regarding the state of my ever-expanding library, and it’s increasingly precarious position on top of our fridge… (if that sounds confusing, I sort-of explained the situation regarding my books in a previous post) As with the last time I showed any books, the photo is again of a ridiculously crappy quality due to me using the laptop camera, so please forgive me:
Left to right, these are as follows:
- William Blake- Songs of Innocence and of Experience 50p
- William Gibson- Idoru 50p
- John Buchan- The Thirty-Nine Steps 20p (yes, really)
- Harry Harrison- Make Room! Make Room! £1.49
- D.H. Lawrence- Lady Chatterley’s Lover £1.49
- John Kennedy Toole- A Confederacy of Dunces £1
I do already own a copy of the Blake book, which does (as this edition does) contain facsimiles of each of the original pages. Indeed, it is a very, very beautiful copy produced by the Folio Society, but it doesn’t include a critical introduction and commentary as this one does, so I thought for 50p it was worth getting this one too. It’s also published by Oxford University Press, which is always a bonus.
Apparently the Gibson book is the second out of a trilogy, but it sounds as though it may stand alone as a book in itself and be readable as such. so I thought that I’d try it, as it may give me some ideas when it comes to creating novel scenarios. Also, the writer created the term ‘cyberspace’, so it’s worth reading just for the kudos of the author.
Another point- the image you can just about make out on the Buchan book is taken from a painting in my local museum, which I thought was quite interesting. I may take this copy along and see if I can take a picture of it next to the original.
Now, lastly- I didn’t buy ‘Lady Chatterley…’ due to its salacious reputation or anything of that nature; it does actually sound a very good book on its own merit and even if the sex wasn’t in it. I will read it with interest, but not with the intention of shocking or arousing myself. I do believe I am adult enough to not trivialise and cheapen something such as this. Even if the woman behind the counter in Oxfam when I bought it thought that I may have wanted to hide it in a bag so as no-one else saw that I’d bought a copy. Heaven help her if I’d have bought the ‘Fifty Shades…’ trilogy…
Electric Puppet 