Warning: This post isn't as exciting as the title makes it look. Anyone who used to watch 'Mr Benn' as a kid should pay particular attention to this warning...
If
I found ten pounds on the floor (oh I wish I could find ten pounds on
the floor…) you would see me heading off to either a charity shop or
second hand book shop to see what I could find. I don't have anything
against Waterstones etc but as I've got older I find myself drawn to
slightly less obvious places to find my books. I could stay out of
Waterstones for weeks and still be able to tell you what's on the
shelves, almost book for book. Oxfam and the British Heart Foundation
shop (amongst others) though? Not a clue and that's what I love about
book shopping in these places; I have no idea about what I'll find until
I find it. How cool is that? Much better than going into a bookshop
with a 'get in, get the book and get out' plan in mind. Where's the fun
in that? I'm all about browsing these days, how about you?
Yesterday
say me take a little wander up Bromley High Street in search of a
couple of 'Horus Heresy' books, that I fancy reading again, but also
with an eye open for anything that stood out. Little did I realise that
by the time I got back to my desk my Fantasy Masterworks collection
would have grown by one and I'd have my own copy of a sci-fi classic
that I hadn't read since high school. Have a look at the picture,
'Voice
of Our Shadow' is a book where I'm actually really glad that I never
found a copy of the Masterwork edition. It's slightly defaced (thanks to
an overly sticky price tag…) but look at that bird and how well drawn
it is, much more detailed than the Masterworks edition (Google it). I've
been looking for a spooky book to read on Halloween and it's currently a
tie between this and Joe Hill's 'N0S4R2'.
The
last time I read 'Fahrenheit 451' was way back in high school, possibly
for GCSE but more likely because I absolutely tore through the sci-fi
shelves in our school library. It was either that or play football and
have you ever seen me play football? Reading sci-fi it was then… I've
got vague memories of a hard going old read, I'll be interested to see
if my mind changes now.
So,
charity shops all the way then in terms of amazing surprise book finds
:o) Please feel free to use the comments bit to tell me about anything
cool that you've found in a charity shop recently. Just so long as it
isn't 'Know No Fear', that was the book I was looking for and I'll get
all jealous if you've bought that already...