Finding the perfect book to bring along is as crucial as packing the right clothes.
And I'm not bothered about the weight at all. There's safety in having at least three books along with me; what I read, I discard or sell. My hotel has a neat little bookcase in the hallway behind the lobby and I've often gone through to find books with my name inside. Sometimes I read them again if only to encounter my own handwritten notes. Other books, like my guidebooks, I've carried along to Shakespeare and Co. to get money for a last dinner or even another book.
There are always foreign editions of my favourite authors and the latest collection of Sempe at Galignani's on Rivoli. W.H. Smith, just a bit further along within view of Place de la Concorde, has Ann Gutman's mischievous Gaspard and Lisa books in their wonderful children's section on the second floor . I've given some away to my niece but kept the best for myself. (Gaspard & Lisa aux Grands Magasins are the exploits of the two little dogs being accidently locked in the Galeries Lafayette after hours, an adventure I can only dream of.)
I was selling The Age of Innocence when the movie came out and brought along my copy to read in exactly the same place I imagined Newland Archer to be sitting outside of Madame Olenska's apartment.
I picked up a neat little hardcover edition of Edith Wharton's A Motor-Flight Through France for 156 francs (the price still pencilled inside) and Henry James's corresponding A Little Tour in France in paperback for decidedly less. But I don't really care what books cost when I'm in Paris. The way they're displayed, the way they're packed and presented are done with such flourish, I'm always ridiculously pleased as I lug my finds through the Jardins des Tuileries on my way back to my hotel.Which brings me to the list of what to buy and what to bring.
This time I'm looking for some out-of-print picture books by Martin and Alice Provensen as well as the Graham Oakley Church Mice books and Alan Ahlberg's The Worm Book. Of course I'll buy my Sempe agenda and some more Gaspard & Lisa.
I was planning to pack the new Asa Larsson but as soon as I got my hands on it, I had to read it. Ditto with Henning Mankell's An Event in Autumn and Sharon Bolton's A Dark And Twisted Tide.
So it looks like The Bone Clocks is coming along. It's already deep in my suitcase, out of sight.
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| Lucky enough to meet A.S. Byatt at the Village Voice |
