Waterstones Membership

A couple of weeks ago, we went to a nearby (or nearby-ish) city and there we visited for the first time in months a Waterstones. I behaved and barely bought anything, in fact I bought nothing for myself. But as we had some time at the till, I checked if my old Waterstones membership card was still valid. It wasn't and hadn't been for at least a decade. So I had one made on the spot. I activated it a few days later. I don't go to Waterstones very often, there are none very close and our little town has a local bookshop, which became my favourite place for books hoarding. That said, I'm glad I now have a valid Waterstones card. It makes me feel connected to the reading world, if that makes sense. Getting this new card was long overdue.

Can't. Talk. Now. Reading.

A couple of months ago, we went to High Wycombe. Not something I enjoy, but I digress. At least, they have a Waterstone's, so we stopped there. And boy do I love stopping in a Waterstone's. Anyway, at my wife's insistence, I behaved, mostly: I did not buy new books, however I did purchase a few bookmarks. One of them being this one. I have not used it yet. I don't only hoard books, I also collect bookmarks (as you probably know if you have been following this blog for a while). I have my favourite ones, as well as a number of makeshift ones I use just for kicks. I have not used this one yet, but it's both funny and true. I think it might come in particularly handy, especially in a busy household.

Seeing Carmilla

During our time in Brighton, we went to the local Waterstones. I behaved: I only bought one book. But I was very tempted to buy another edition of Carmilla. But since I own the story in at least two different books, including In a Glass Darkly, I resisted temptation. It's more or less the same edition as the one I saw last year in the local bookshop. The colours on the cover are different, darker and more sinister. If, like me, you love classical horror and you start Halloween countdown months before October, Carmilla is a great scary story to get you in the mood early. In fact, I first read it during the summer holidays on 1990. Maybe it's time for me to revisit it. In any case, I suggest you give it a go.

The Dracula Puzzle

I an not a fan of jigsaw puzzles per se, that said I can enjoy doing one if the image on it talks to me. So I saw this one during my last visit in a Waterstones. I did not buy it: we already have many, many, many jigsaw puzzles and we seldom play with them, even though Wolfie likes them a lot. But I regret it and I just might buy it one day, just to have a Halloween-themed game to play during the countdown and because Dracula is, as you probably all know by now, my favourite horror novel. The puzzle shows quite a few key events of the book, albeit it has been tainted by the popular image of Dracula (the black and red cape for instance). All the same, I think it looks gloriously eerie and it deserves a place here among our games.

The fingers of the bookworm

I don't follow the Facebook page of Waterstones, but somehow the memes they share turned up on my feeds. And I must say, they are very good. This one made me laugh, anyway. It is pretty much how to try to justify my purchasing habits. It is, in essence, the story of my life. An autobiography indeed.

A Werewolf Game

 For today's countdown to Halloween post, a finding and maybe a call for help from my readers. I was at the Windsor's Waterstones a few weeks ago when I saw this game on sales: One Night Ultimate Werewolf. I did not buy it, although I was very tempted. But it looked a tad too much like a rip off from another werewolf game. But hey, maybe the more the merrier. I always thought werewolves were the most neglected critters of horror fiction. My opinion on the matter in this 2022 post and this one from 2018. I think there is a lot to do with a werewolf as a horror character, both protagonist and antagonist. What do you think? And if any of you played that game, what did you think of it? Is it any good?

Last visit to Waterstones

You may remember back in March, I blogged about the fact that I hadn't set foot in a Waterstones bookshop. A few months later, I found an out of date loyalty card I had totally forgotten. Well, last weekend we went to Windsor and I found time to spend a few minutes in the Waterstones branch there. A few years ago, I used to spend ages there, always finding a book or two to bring home. This time, ironically enough, I bought some stuff, but not a single book: a present formy wife's birthday and another for a friend. I think I did buy any literature partially because I did not spend much time there and partially because I want to encourage local businesses and thus keep my money for our independent bookshop. But hey, that was my last visit to a Waterstones.

The Waterstones Loyalty Card

You may remember from last week that I found a bunch of loyalty cards in my wallet. Well, among them I found a Waterstones card. That is a very interesting finding, on many levels. I haven' been to Waterstones to purchase something for at few years now, even though I we live not too far from one. I visted this one a few times, but bought nothing. No particular reason for it, except maybe now that I have an independent bookshop to go to, I prefer to support it. That said, I used to love Waterstones a lot. The loyalty card is very old: we had to collect stamps, you get one stamp per £10 you spend, you collect ten stamps you get a Waterstones giftcard or £10 in bonus points on your Waterstones Card (I am not sure I have that one). The card was valid until... the 30th of April 2014.

Waterstones and me

 Something struck me recently, I don't know why: it has been ages since I set foot in a Waterstones bookshop. There is one relatively close, in a nearby town, but I try to avoid said town because, well, it's ugly and dodgy. The Waterstones there is maybe the only place I love, with the library. Last time I went to this particular franchise. was probably two years ago or so, before going to the cinema, I only went briefly and did not buy anything. I used to love going to Waterstones, used to do it fairly often. I think our local bookshop really reduced my need to go there. Unless it is a big shop of the franchise, the choice isn't that different and I always prefer to encourage local businesses. All the same, I'd like to revisit a Waterstones at some point.

Time for Greek mythology soon

My readers know that I love Greek mythology, and they may remember that this time of year, in the weeks of Spring leading to (and including) Summer, it is for me the proper time to reconnect with my old passion. My wife knows this too, and she bought me for my birthday The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. You may remember that last year I thoroughly enjoyed her Circe. Her first novel is a rewriting of The Iliad and the relationship between Achilles and his friend (and lover?) Patroclus. I know the story by heart, but I cannot wait to discover Miller's perspective on it, which, judging by her other novel, should be original, knowledgeable and show genuine love for the source material.

Greek mythology reads

I receive mailers from Waterstone's from time to time. Recently, there was one advertising Circe by Madeline Miller. The name got my attention and I suggested it to my wife as a birthday present. She saw it at the local bookshop and bought it for me. Since I am a child I have always been a big fan of Greek mythology and especially anything regarding Ulysses, my favourite Greek hero. If the weeks coming to Christmas is time for me to renew with Norse mythology, the weeks after Easter and leading to summer are for the Greek one. So this novel is on my reading list for the upcoming weeks. I know nothing about the novel and its author, except that she has received lots of praises for it and that it is meant to be really good. I am really looking forward to it.

Waterstones: "School Starts Here"

This was the title of a mailer I received today from Waterstones, advertising their education books. Well, this is a cruel and borderline sadistic statement if there is one. And isn't it a bit early? British children have their holidays starting very late, around the last week of July and now they already have advertisement and marketing telling them they will be back to school soon. I often mentioned on this blog that even now as an adult, I have the same feeling of dread in August. I look at the shop windows in a sort of morbid excitement, wondering which one will start it. Well, this time it was an email. The medium changed, but the feeling is the same.

Classic Cluedo!

Sometimes you have small yet very pleasant surprises, that make your day jnot because you gain anything from it personally, but because it gives you hope in human civilization. Like when I saw this. It was a most welcome sight during my last visit to a nearby Waterstones. Usually I would not be too happy to see a board game in a bookshop (because I expect to find books and book related material in a bookshop) but seeing this Clue/Cluedo game really made me happy. it is called a retro series, but it truly is and should be called Classic Cluedo (or Clue, if like me you discovered it under its North American name). As opposed to the revamped, modernised and rather pathetic attempt version of recent years. This is back to its source, the game as we know it and as we love it. And it is the 1986 edition, the very edition I discovered as a child. It became my favourite boardgame and it always have a special place in my heart. Cluedo contributed to develope my love for crime fiction (for a long time in whodunit form) and fueled my imagination as a child. I am so very glad it is back in its classic form and look.

The books for April

At the beginning of the month, Waterstones sent me a mailer with their April books of the month. I never go for their recommendation, as I have my own ideas about what books should be read when and very rarely buy and read books on the bestsellers' list, which basically is what the books of the month of Waterstones or any other bookstore chain are. But as I am tidying the bookshelves for an upcoming yet undetermined move, it struck me that in spite of the many books I have, I am not certain what to read this April. I read seasonally (more about it on this post) and April is a schizophrenic month, changing temperature within a few hours and thus my mood. I will most likely go for some crime fiction because I love the genre, but I do not want to limit myself to it. I try as much as possible during the year to read some "high" literature, old classics or what have you. Something that is not genre literature. Maybe April will be a good month for it. What is certain is that I have plenty of books to go through so do not need to buy more... Although I am tempted. And you, what are your books of the month?

What're your books for November?

I recently received a promotional email from Waterstone's, advertising their "books of the month". Not surprisingly, there are a few Christmas titles among them. November is, for shops, just a pre-Christmas holiday period. It might be the case for me too actually. All the same, I prefer not to get too early in the Christmas spirit. I read crime fiction all year round, so it make no surprise that I read them in November too. But this particular month, reading crime fiction is special, because I am returning to the genre after about two months and a half of reading horror stories (because of Halloween and all). So I kick start the month with a crime novel. This year was no exception: it was The Power-House by John Buchan (although you could also say it's a spy thriller, but it's close enough). I also have a few true crimes books that I usually read in November. But there is also other things I read at the moment, which I should blog about another time. So what are your books for November?

An evening on Anthony Burgess and Shakespeare

There are rare moments in my life when I wished I lived closer (even closer) to London. Today is one of those days: Waterstones Piccadilly is hosting a discussion on Anthony Burgess and William Shakespeare, or more precisely about Burgess's biography of the Bard. Which is great, but I guess they will also speak of Nothing Like the Sun, Burgess's novelization of Shakespeare's life, which is even greater. Andrew Biswell will be there. I have met him a few times and he's always interesting. Very knowledgeable too. Sadly, because of work (I finish at 5:30PM, the discussion starts at 6:30PM), I don't think I can get there on time. And with many other things going on, a trip to London is highly unlikely. Shame, shame, shame. But for those who can be there, because they live in or near London, or because they have free time, it's on the 18th of September. Go. It's going to be good.

A Literary Christmas

As my readership knows, I read seasonal. And that means during the Advent and Christmastime, I read books about Christmas, or set during Christmastime, or linked to the season in an apparently tenuous way. But I do also read books that talk of Christmas at length. Last year in Waterstone's, I bought A Literary Christmas, which I am reading at the moment (among many other things. It is an anthology, which means it has a flaw: I can find the same stories somewhere else. And this one has, apart from the usual poems, quite a lot of abstract of novels or short stories rather than full stories. And the cover is rather lame. But let's not judge a book by its cover. Even if this one is lame, the book is a rather fun read so far, full of Yuletide atmosphere. And with many classic authors, the book certainly has soul. Or should I say souls? In any case, it is proper literature, although sometimes truncated.

The Twelve days of Christmas (a correspondence)

Today, I am plugging again this book, which is a satire of The Twelve Days of Christmas. I mentioned it on Vraie Fiction twice, here and here. It was written by John Julius Norwich and drawn by Quentin Blake. I had first seen it (and read it) in a Waterstone's back in 1999. I don't know why I didn't buy it then and there. I could find it online, but the illustrations of Blake enhances the reading experience and make it all the funnier. But nothing was lost in the end: even though I had not seen it again in a bookstore for years, it has recently been re-edited, with a foreword by Joanna Lumley. And I adore Joanna Lumley.

Anyway, what is the book about? It is about a presumably young man, Edward, sending his beloved fiancée Emily, who lives with her mother, each and every one of the items of the song, mainly, but not only, birds. Noisy birds. each and every day of the Christmas, for the whole twelve days of Christmas. Emily tells the story through letters sent to Edward, first completely smitten by his romantic idea and grateful for his original gift, then less than thrilled, finally outraged. There is a brilliant crescendo in her anger until the final bang, where the drummers drumming (the entire percussion section of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra) show up on the twelfth day. I don't know why Liverpool's orchestra, but since I lived there for a year, it also adds to the pleasure of the text to me. In the end, it is simply a deliciously funny book. Whether you love or hate the original song that inspired it. Oh, and the pictures! They show such a display of emotions. And you can almost smell the menagerie.

Time to book hunt?

If it looks like I blogged about it before, it is because I did. Recently at work, my colleagues and I discussed about the struggle bookshops were into, because of online shopping. Then there was this post by fellow Montrealer Kevin Burton Smith on his blog, which reminded me that I had not been in a bookshop for ages. We have here a W.H. Smith, but it is more like a glorified stationary shop. The rest are charity shops and, while you can find sometimes treasures, it is mostly poor quality paperbacks. I am longing to go to a decent size Waterstone's, where I can use my card, or Olivieri in Montreal, or Chapters in Ottawa, or... Well, anywhere I can find a decent choice. I want to book hunt. Sure, I have plenty of books, more than I have time to read. My books are scattered in two countries and no less than two cities and one town. Still, book hunting is a ritual I need to do from time to time. It is an overwhelming feeling like real hunting is for the hunter.

Musing on loyalty cards

I was just checking the cards in my wallet tonight. Among all the useful and essential stuff I had there, I (re)discovered my Waterstone's loyalty card and my Chapters loyalty card, which I bought in Ottawa. I receive plenty of promotional emails from them, I barely notice them anymore. My name is mispelled on the Waterstone's card. That was to be expected, I guess. I once bought something from them and the woman at the till had said that Guillaume was the name of his son. She had married a French man. Every time I take my card out to pay something, I think about this anecdote: I actually have met a British woman whose son shared my name, she married a French man and she works, or worked, at Waterstone's.

That said, I go less and less to a bookstore. So I don't use my loyalty cards. I got the Chapters one not because I go there often,  heck I hardly ever went there when I was living in Montreal (except once or twice, including once to hand in my c.v. when I was struggling to find a job), but because it reminds me of home. Even though I got it in Ottawa, of all places. Which is as far from home as it can be, whatever place you call home. All the same, I looked at these cards and I thought it was very sad: I haven't been in a bookshop in a long while. Sure, there is the Oxfam charity, second hand bookshop and the WH Smith's glorified stationary shop. But I meant a real, proper bookshop. I have loyalty cards, but I haven't felt like a loyal customer in a long while.