Booksellers: The Mysterious Bookshop, The Strand

Several weeks have passed since I returned from visiting my sister in New York. She calls it "The City." By "The City" I think she means that New York is bigger and better than everywhere else. I think she also calls it "The City" to demean all other cities. San Francisco, for example, is a "cute little town." "Washington D.C. is nice; but its no New York." I like visiting her because she knows where to find the best of everything. For dumplings, there is this little place off Mulberry Street. For hamburgers there is a secret place hidden behind a curtain in a hotel lobby. And for cupcakes you go to the Magnolia Bakery.

Its when she shows me these hidden gems that I think she is right. New York is "The City." But at times she is wrong. A New York icon will tout itself as the biggest and best. I visit, and am sorely disappointed.

Take bookshops for example. During my last visit to New York I made a point to visit The Strand, New York's most famous bookseller. I also stumbled across a delightful bookseller called The Mysterious Bookshop.

The strand holds itself out as the biggest and best; "18 Miles of Books" reads its sign. It is big. But size isn't everything. As I perused their shelves, I noticed that they simply carried more copies of the same books found in every Barnes and Noble or Borders. Moreover, my mother was with me. She was looking for a book set in London while travelling to England later that week. The staff couldn't make one recommendation. DICKENS, maybe!! I left very disappointed.

Within hours of leaving the strand, we stumbled across The Mysterious Bookshop. And within minutes the attendant had recommended several books for my mother. He asked where she would be staying, then asked several questions about authors she liked and disliked. Then he recommended two or three books based on her answers. She left with one in hand. She loved it. I left with a copy of Paul Auster's New York Trilogy.

That's The City, home to the biggest (The Strand and) and the best (The Mysterious Bookshop)!! But beware, for they are not one and the same. Here's a link to the biggest: http://www.strandbooks.com/home/. But if you are looking for the best, try something mysterious: http://www.mysteriousbookshop.com/index.php.

Bookseller: John Sandoe (Books) Ltd.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I love listening to The Book Show on my iPod. Romana Koval is an excellent interviewer who gives each author time to tell his/her story. But what I like most is exposure to authors who have not published in the U.S. Ironically, this is also what I like least. These books are expensive and difficult to locate.

First I discovered Andrey Kurkov, author of Death and the Penguin, which has been published in the U.S. and is available at Amazon.com.

Death and the Penguin is a gripping novel about a man named Victor and his adopted pet penguin Misha. Aspiring author Victor is hired by a post-soviet, mob-owned newspaper to write obituaries for the undead. Eventually, as each obituary nears publication, the subject of each obituary dies. Kurkov takes us on a wild chase of reality amidst absurdity. . . Or is it absurdity amidst reality?. . . Or are they one and the same? As I see it, this is the point of the novel--that with time people will embrace absurdity as normality.

I finished Death and the Penguin in record time, only to learn that Kurkov wrote a sequel, Penguin Lost, and that it is only available in the UK. I searched and searched. Eventually I found a copy through Froogle, bought it, read it, and loved it.

That's when I decided to read all Kurkov's books. I found Case of the General's Thumb without too much trouble. A Matter of Death and Life, however, proved difficult. Several U.S. booksellers carried it, but most charged upwards of $25.

Which brings us to the point of this long-winded message: my wonderful mother and sister, and John Sandoe (Books) Ltd. Immediately upon learning that my mother and sister planned to visit London, England, I scoured the internet for a bookseller within walking distance of their hotel. I found John Sandoe (Books) Ltd. http://www.johnsandoe.com/.


I was after two books: Andrey Kurkov's Novella "A Matter of Death and Life," and Samuel Shimon's "An Iraqi in Paris: An Autobiographical Novel."
Neither is published in the United States. Thanks to my mother, sister, and John Sandoe (Books) Ltd. both now happily reside on my bookshelf.

Book Event: Arlington Library Book Sale

Its that time again. . . the semi-annual Arlington Library Book Sale.

When: Friday, April 29, 2006, at 9:00 a.m. (arrive early)
Where: Arlington Central Library
Why? Cheap books, lots of cheap books.

http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/Libraries/Documents/46210406%20sale%20flyer.pdf

I learned of the Book Sale from a co-worker. He told me about it last fall, and kindly instructed me to arrive early and to bring bags for my books. He wasn't kidding. The book sale is organized and staffed by the friends of the arlington library. They close off an entire level of the parking garage and fill it with books, all kinds of books. Last year I bought cookbooks, contemporary fiction, non fiction, classic literature. Most books are $1 to $3. Some were $4 or $5.

At $1/book I can afford to dabble. Last year I bought expensive cookbooks for 1/10 their original cost. I bought books by unknown (to me) authors. I bought several classics, some in wonderful hardcover editions (Twain, London, Poe). I bought books for my dad, books for my mom. I drove home and picked up Katie, then we bought some more. We bought and bought and bought $100 in $1 to $3 books.

This year will not be as fun. I have received strict instructions from my wife: I can only buy books in equal amount to the number of books I eliminate from our shelves. Yikes!! This is a tough mandate for me. Who do I cut? What do I get rid of? I will let you know.