Thursday, July 19

reading is sexy





Today I worked only until four - usually I get off at 7:30 or eight - and on the way home popped in to the second-hand book shop in my building. Yes, I live above a second-hand book shop, and a good one too, I`ve heard it`s one of the best (if not the best) in Helsinki. And it`s easy to believe, the owner, a quiet and amicable old man (at least he seems that way) often has even brand new books for sale at a reasonable price, the books don`t cost much and he seems to give a little discount for every student-looking person entering the shop.

I spent about 7 minutes in the shop, and managed to find the following books:

*Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
*Putkinotko by Joel Lehtonen (a Finnish classic)
*Only in London by Hanan Al Shaykh (in Finnish)

The first two are paperbacks, in good condition, and the last is hardback and looks as good as new - and all this cost me six euros. Three books in seven minutes - do you see why I try not to go there often?* Books in Finland are quite expensive, by the way - I could maybe find a very thin paperback for six euros in a (not-second-hand) book store. I think normal price for a new, hardback novel would be about 25 euros. Well, I guess that`s what we`ll get for having a very good public library system.

*One might ask if it is possible to own too many books. The answer is, yes it is, at least if you don`t have the means to pay for a house with a fairly large library of your own. Having seen how two serious book lovers move together and try to squeeze their collection in to a 50 sq m apartment, I`ve vowed myself to restrict book shopping. I like to see the walls of a room from the book shelves. Another alternative is to have means to pay for a house with a fairly large library - but with me it`s leaving home the way that does not pass the book shop.


I know where some money not used for buying books could go to: this great shirt by Sarah Utter. I think I`d like mine in pink, but there are other styles and colours too. Hmm, my birthday is approaching...


Next: some exciting news!


(the photo is from Oulu)

1 comment:

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