Was down in Bristol on Friday 15th. I lived there for three and a half years back in the second half of the ’90s, before coming to the best city in the world. Here’s a table of all the books I definitely didn’t buy in charity shops (mostly up Stokes Croft Road), how much I didn’t pay for each, and comments on why I didn’t buy them. Fascinating!
| Book | Price | Comments |
| The Penguin Book of Modern European Short Stories | 0.49 | I’m definitely going to read each of these, one per night, and then blog about them. Oh yes. It won’t be like all the other collections of short stories waiting to be read. |
| The Invasion of the Moon 1957-70 | 2.00 | Used to have a big space thing. Probably can still recite Tom Lehrer’s Werner von Braun. Mean to one day read that book Moondoggle |
| Capital & Class Vol 42, 3 | 1.50 | Articles, book reviews |
| Five go on a Strategy Away Day | 1.00 | Retro-kitsch-irony-homage-pomo-intertexuatity-whatevs. The one I read about Brexit was fun, this probably will be too. |
| How it works: The Student | 1.00 | Retro-kitsch-irony-homage-pomo-intertexuatity-whatevs. The ones I read about cats, wives etc were fun. This was okay, but not a keeper. There was one about meetings, but at 2.00 it was twice my price point… |
| This is not a Drill (but it is a very silly book which will date achingly quickly) [“An Extinction Rebellion handbook”] | 1.00 | Retro-kitsch-irony-homage-pomo-ecodoomerporn-AnthropologyOfIdiocy-whatevs. This one was for the lulz, only. Will blog about it, with relish and bile |
| Against Everything by Mark Greif | 2.00 | Essays about “culture” and stuff. Verso usually publish adequate stuff. What have I got to lose. Also, the Fred Jameson puff helped |
| Effective Coaching by Myles Downey | 0.99 | I’m doing/will do some coaching. Have skimmed it. There’s a couple of non-trivial points worth trying out. |
| The Swell Season by Josef Skvorecky | 2.00 | Svorecky is on my “should read this because MittelEuropa ppl have been through the shit and have the scars to prove it” list. Fun fact – I DIDN’T buy a 700 page edition of The Good Soldier Swjeck because, well, I am becoming dimly aware that there are in fact books I should read that I will never get around to… |
| No Home but the Struggle by Edward Upward | 2.00 | 70s reminisces about the 1950s an 60s English smugosphere. Nom nom nom, |
| Nothing lasts forever by Roderick Thorp | 1.00 | DIE HARD!! |
| Don Camillo and the Devil by Giovanni Guareschi | 1.50 | Short stories about Catholicism and/vs communism. Goodness, is it really 30-something years since I read Monsignor Quixote by Graham Greene and really didn’t get it? Yes, yes it is… |
| Parade’s End by Ford Madox Ford | 1.50 | This found its way on to my “remedial accumulation of cultural capital” list earlier this year. I tried to buy a cheap copy online – no dice. And once I’ve read this, I guess the logical next thing is Powell’s Dance to the Music of Time… |
| The Rattle Bag eds Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes | 2.50 | I’m definitely going to read all of these poemts, one per night, and then blog about them. Oh yes. It won’t be like all the other poetry anthologies waiting to be read. |
| Film: The Ipcress File | 0.50 | Michael Caine, the secret state etc. A classic, I am told |
| Film: Dog Day Afternoon | 0.50 | A stone cold classic, I’m told… |
| Total | 21.50 |
And the plan is to review em all. No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.
marchudson.net 
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