Books Are Evil

So, the package of manuscripts from the States arrived today (my manuscripts, annotated with the clever thoughts of my fellow Clarionites), but of course I was still asleep when the postman called. This meant a trip into town. I got on my bike, focused on the mission in hand, but thinking I'd just stop off at the Oxfam store to see if there's anything new in. (One of the up-sides in living in a town with a vast geriatric population, aside from the easy muggings, is the quantity of second-hand bookshops).

Then I saw the "Everything Half-Price" ticket in the window. I'll buy a couple of books, I thought, and still have plenty of room for the scripts in my backpack.

Didn't happen.

Thirty minutes later I came out with twelve books for a tenner. This is what I bought:

Disgrace - J.M. Coetzee
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkein (previously read, but purchased for completeness)
Hyperion - Dan Simmons
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
Ghostwritten - David Mitchell
Gates of Eden - Ethan Coen
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicler - Haruki Murakami
Regeneration - Pat Barker
Black Holes - Ed. Jerry Pournelle
Enduring Love - Ian McEwan
Dreamsnake - Vonda M. McIntyre
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon

I went home happy but manuscript-less.