So far so Black Books. Consider me Fran. Currently employed by a rival chain but the other day I nipped in for a cuppa and the next thing you knew I sold fifty quid's worth of books to some bloke who wanted some fairy stories for his little girl - Matthew looked a bit scared so I stepped in. (Matthew is married to a nice gardener. Also he has never bought flowers in his life. Go figure.) It's a lovely shop and these two cantankerous-sounding "gentlemen" have hearts of gold. As with gold you have to sift through a lot of shit to get there but it's worth it. As for the shop, aside from the excellent selection of books, there a nice bit of carpet on the floor - have you vaccuumed yet, lads? - a nice spot of wallpaper behind the till, mood lighting, comfy chair, it's all good.
My books of the year, seeing as you asked - We Need to Talk About Kevin; A Long Long Way; Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - the new Safran Foer, bizarrely poorly-received by the crits, especially in the US, it's hilarious and heartbreaking by turns, and as original and innovative as fans of Everything is Iluminated might hope for; and some oldies I hadn't read before - A Month In the Country, by J L Carr - post WW1 book, you could try reading it after A Long Long Way; and Lolita, a suitably festive book (hmmm) that I finished last night.
