After my last house move I vowed to never buy a dead-tree book again. The pain of packing boxes, lugging them up stairs and trying to find space for them all in every shrinking rental apartments was just too painful. But I can never keep a promise to myself and soon the exceptions started to appear; books as gifts, books with illustrations and cook books filled shelves (and floor and tables) once more. Recently a new exception has bubbled to the surface to join all the others, second hand books.
When in London, and desperately seeking pre-loved books, there is one shop which is a must visit, Skoob Books. Located in the The Brunswick shopping development it is a quick stroll from Russell Square and the British Museum. Time Out described Skoob as a temple for second hand books and after visiting I can confirm that they were absolutely correct. The shop is packed full of books, so much so that books which couldn’t be placed on shelves were piled in neat columns on the floor (sound familiar?). They claim on the website to have 55,000 different titles stocked at any one time, and I would well believe them! If that wasn’t enough Skoob have a further 1 million books stored in a warehouse in Oxford. These books are catalogued and if you find a copy that you wish to purchase you can have it delivered, free of charge, to the London shop. With so many books available to purchase you will not be surprised to learn that they have a diverse range of genres and subjects available, from Penguin classics to psychology, french language, medieval history, philosophy, and so, so many more.
New books!
On my visit I was hunting for fiction, so while scanning the general fiction shelves I spotted a section full of books decorated with green spines. This was the Virago Modern Classics section and the first book to catch my eye was one I which have been on the look-out for, for some time. Angela Carter’s The Passion of New Eve is set in a dystopian United States where civil war has broken out. According to reviews it’s got gender metamorphosis, post-feminist identity politics and sadomasochism. I am really excited to read Carter’s take on the construction of gender through her main character’s transformation. This copy was £4.50 and apart from some yellowing of the paper the condition is excellent.
The next book I discovered was More Women of Wonder, a collection of science fiction novelettes by women, about women. Sound familiar? If you are a regular reader of this blog you might remember that I reviewed the first Women of Wonder collection. This edition was published in 1976 and features seven stories, as well as an introduction by Pamela Sargent and a recommended “further reading” section. Second time around we see some old favourites – Joanna Russ, Kate Wilhelm and Ursula K. Le Guin. But we also have some new authors to sample – C.L. Moore, Leigh Brackett, Josephine Saxton and Joan D. Vinge. These are some very big names in sci-fi, and with the new Star Wars movie coming out it is the perfect time to rediscover Leigh Brackett (she worked on The Empire Strikes Back screenplay). The book was £4 and like The Passion of New Eve it was in good condition.
So. You have been book shopping when you promised your partner that you will buy no more books. How can you appease them? Buy a book for them of course! Following my own advice I selected Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (Red Dwarf #1) by Grant Naylor. We love the TV series, my parents have them all at home on VHS, so I knew I could not go wrong with this book. It is still very much scifi comedy, see the blurb for example, “awakening from a drunken spree in a London pub to find himself on one of Saturn’s moons, Lister joins the Space Corps and boards the Red Dwarf, determined to return to Earth.” The comedy is strong in this one as Grant Naylor, the author, is actually two authors, Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who are according to the introduction, “the product of a horribly botched genetic experiment”. This is just the book my partner needs as he is over in Ireland campaigning for a Yes vote in the up-and-coming marriage equality legislation. It will be a stressful week, so hopefully some Red Dwarf will counteract that. This copy was £3.50 and while it was much more loved than the other two books purchased, it was in good condition.
At this point I had to leave Skoob books before I blew my week’s budget. However there was a final volume which tempted me, but I didn’t splash out. It was L. Ron Hubbard’s The Great Secret. Aside from being famous as the founder of scientology, L. Ron was a prolific science fiction writer. He is the current Guinness World Record holder for the author with the most published works in the world, as well as being the world’s most translated author. I am regretting not buying this book now as I want to know what the secret is and why is it so great. I am curious to see if there are any hints of scientology lurking in L. Ron’s science fiction works. Maybe next time once my book buying allowance replenishes I will pick it up.
What do you think is the secret?
So next time you are in central London make sure to visit Skoob. They are also a London living wage employer so really you are helping everyone by going in and buying lots of new, old books!
Have you found any great scifi books in your local secondhand, or new bookstore? If so leave a comment below, I am always hunting for new places to shop.
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