On the way to Scotland I only packed one printed book (David Bishop's Thrill Power Overload, a history of 2000 A.D. Comics) and my Kindle, loaded with all kinds of bootleg noir/hardboiled stuff. Of course, I made up for it on the way back, lugging home the titles you see above.Some were gifts; the rest purchases. They fell into a few loose categories:
Books by Friends: This includes Slammer by Allan Guthrie (signed, of course); The Good Son by Russel McLean (forgot to ask Russel to sign it, which sucks), Gutted, by Tony Black (also forgot to bring it to get signed when we met up with Tony... shit!); Flesh House by Stuart MacBride; and In the Dark and Death Message by Mark Billingham.
Books I Already Own: This would be the volumes of Clive Barker's Books of Blood, which I own in hardcover, Pocket paperback, Berkley paperback, and a few scattered Sphere editions. But I saw these and just had to pick them up, because a.) they're in a newish Sphere edition, b.) I've been wanting to re-read these stories, and c.) I tend to re-read books only if I can re-read them in another edition. I know, it's weird. I also already own Stephen King's Just After Sunset, but I wanted an excuse to buy a UK "airport edition," which is basically an oversized paperback version of a current hardcover bestseller. I kicked myself for not picking up an airport edition of Duma Key last year; this was me making up for that. Yes, my book nerdery knows no bounds.
Books That Were Gifts From Allan Guthrie: Namely, Robert Westerby's Wide Boys Never Work (part of Guthrie's plan to school me in Brit noir) and Ryu Murakami's Audition, which looks short, brutal and fantastic. (I'm a big fan of Murakami's In the Miso Soup).
Books Written by David Peace: I recently read the Black Lizard edition of Peace's 1974 (the first Red Riding Quartet book) and liked it a lot; I couldn't resist the Serpent's Tail tie-ins of the rest of the series. Probably going to regret not picking up the first, just so I have a complete set. Crap.
Books That Were Impulse Buys: Iain M. Banks's Matter, purchased because I had a sudden fit of wanting to read some science fiction. Particularly, Scottish science fiction. (Or is that SyFy?) I also picked up Conrad Williams' One at the Edinburgh Airport because a.) the synopsis on the back grabbed me, and b.) I've been meaning to read Williams for a while now. The first 50 pages, read on the plane home, were kick-ass, and made me order two earlier Williams novels (The Unblemished and Head Injuries) the moment my home computer was fired up.
I mean, isn't this the reason we travel? To acquire more books?
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9 comments:
How did you get hold of Gutted by Tony Black?
I've been waiting for this and just double-checked on Amazon UK and it's not due to be released until June :-(
I guess I'll have to wait...
I have my sources, Paul.
AUDITION and GUTTED are both excellent...Al introduced me to Murakami a couple years ago - dived on that one when it came into the shop.
You should've picked up the entire set. I've been reading through the quartet since September. I haven't been disappointed in any of them so far
How many copies of the Books of Blood can one man own? I love it, short story collections never get enough press. My favourite story would have to be In The Hills, The Cities. Anytime I tell people about that story I get a good reaction.
Do you think you'll ever come out with a short story compilation? Give it some sort of theme like music, or old hardboiled shit!
Where's the best place to start w/ Mark Billingham? I've been meaning to check him out for a while now but dude's got a big-ass back catalogue.
You know, when you put a line-up together like that … it highlights the fact that the Brits are kicking out some pretty special books these days.
Duane; have you read any Declan Hughes? Just started in on his first and enjoying the hell out of it.
Ryan: The Books of Blood were HUGE influence on me. No such thing as too many copies.
CrimeNerd: I started with SLEEPYHEAD, the first in the Tom Thorne series. Excellent serial killer thriller.
Gordon: I have some Declan Hughes on my shelf, but have yet to dive in. Thanks for the tip.
Crimenerd: Billingham's first three novels ('Sleepyhead', 'Scardy Cat' and 'Lazy Bones') are a kind of trilogy, before continuing the Thorne series.
(Which is currently being prepped for a TV show.)
He's also written a stand alone called 'In The Dark.'
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