Go on. Go on. Go on. Get out and buy a book. I have had these photographs for some time. I have had the inkling of a blog post rattling around for over a year. CornflakeGirl’s post this morning prompted some action. For me, there is a joy and elation in seeing a book that you have never seen before, are unlikely to see again, and so must buy there and then. The book can be new or secondhand. But it is that moment when I realise what I hold and must bring home. |
That sensation does not happen often in the large multiples but almost always in the independent local book-shop. Whether it is in Clonakilty, Kenmare or Carrick-on-Shannon, or any place in between, I have fallen for the local book that I would not have found elsewhere but there are four bookshops to which I own up to having an addiction. The depth of the ailment is proportional to the frequency of my visits. An Café Liteartha We holiday on the other side of the peninsula but my battery-recharge must include a visit, preferably alone and preferably without time constraints to this gem. It so caters for my eclectic interests. I do not think that I have ever visited without purchasing. Scéal Eile We are not in Ennis as often as previously but that does not stop me being known as the man from Cork. Saturdays, the bookshop is regularly tended by the owner’s father who has me pegged as an addict. As with the other shops, the mix of new and second-hand/out-of print with a scattering of local publications has me returning time after time. The armchair next to the fire has some magnetic qualities – the fire would probably work on its own but to have an armchair as well is too tempting. Charlie Byrne’s It is only in the last year that we have really visited Galway for a long time. On the probably six occasions, each has involved a trip to Charlie Byrne’s – such a treasure trove. I defy anyone to enter and not find something they want to have and read. Vibes & Scribes Being local to me, its tills suffer. I know I can come back the next day or week to purchase. Regularly, I do but sometimes it loses out to my visits elsewhere. The Bridge St location had a much nicer feel about it but as I have probably purchased more per visit in the current location, the business case for the move has support. I have only been there twice this week, so far – Quarryman and For Whom the Bell Tolled purchased. If you have managed to get this far and have not been tempted to visit your local bookshop, I failed….. but I suspect that I will be there, whichever there it may be, tomorrow. |