No. 28: Buy and read a book on publication day
In which I learn that I would be really, really good at being retired.
I love reading. I was a bookish dweeby kid, who wore glasses from the age of five, and could usually be found reading an Enid Blyton book.1 I went on to do a literature degree, during which I had to read a lot of very long books in a very short space of time, and this killed my love of reading, particularly fiction, for a while, but I clawed my way back.
I have a separate challenge going on to read 100 books this year, and am broadly on track. I’ve done it before, but this was pre-pandemic and before my concentration span went to shit, so after a few years of averaging 40 or so books, I wanted to try for the century. If I complete it, I’m going to be writing a blogpost for my pals over at Cosmic Shambles (No. 12 on the list) but I wanted something else that was reading adjacent but wouldn’t add too much to my already ambitious target.
I have pretty varied reading taste - it skews heavily towards non-fiction but I also like well-written (and sometimes not-so-well-written) romance novels when I need something to escape to. When I decided to do this, there were a few candidates - I’ve got the second volume of Adam Buxton’s memoir and Helen Lewis’ The Genius Myth on pre-order - but I ultimately decided to go for Emily Henry’s Great Big Beautiful Life, because I would’ve bought this on publication day anyway, I’ve liked all her other novels, and it felt like the right kind of vibe for this challenge.
So, the plan. I decided that I would take the day off work, buy the book in person rather than order it online, and then build a day around reading it. I’m very lucky to have three independent bookshops within walking distance, so was confident that I would be able to get hold of a copy, and also thought I’d take the opportunity to explore my local area and break my habit of never going into places that look nice, then complaining when they close down.
Preparation
Left the house around 10.30. The first bookshop I went to, the one nearest to where I live, was a bit too small and a bit too highbrow, so I skulked out and continued onward. This resulted in accidentally going for a nice walk, during which I passed two groups of nursery children in hi-vis, like tiny felons sentenced to community service, admired some flowers on the houses I passed along the way, and jauntily greeted a postman.
I ended up at to Village Books in Dulwich and secured the goods: a lovely signed edition with one of those deeply pleasing bits of woven ribbon to mark your place. It was a bit longer than I had anticipated but, after a brief panic that I should’ve got up earlier, I bought a copy, went next door for a coffee and a comically large cartoon donut and headed home, jauntily greeting a second postman on the way.
Pages 1-69
Got home, lit the ridiculously expensive candle my friend Louisa bought me last Christmas (literally money going up in smoke), and made myself comfortable on the sofa. Paused at page 69 for a packet of Frazzles.
Pages 70-133
Returned to sofa for second period of post-Frazzle reading. Got hungry again after 133 pages so stopped for lunch: walked to the local bakery and got another coffee and a massive chunk of frittata. Disappointed in lack of postmen (or women) to jauntily greet, but did go to the Post Office, making the day both enjoyable and productive.
Pages 134-170
Read a few more chapters on the sofa, noticed that the sun had come out.
Pages 171-293
Ventured up to the roof terrace of my building. I have lived here for nearly 15 years and have only set foot up there to grant access to an endless parade of tradesmen who will inevitably fail to diagnose where the leak in my bedroom is coming from. It’s really nice, with picnic benches and a lovely view of the park, and given that it was around 2.30 on a Thursday afternoon, I figured I’d be less likely to run into - shudder - other residents. Took a cup of tea and made good progress sitting in the sun and turning pages, until it got to a time where it felt acceptable to start drinking.
Pages 294 - 368
Decamped to a craft brewery less than five minutes from my flat that I walk past every day and have never visited. I actually quite like going to pubs on my own, and usually find that a book acts as a good creepy weirdo deterrent, not that I was expecting too many creepy weirdos in a hipster bar on a Thursday afternoon. I ordered an IPA, found a table and made myself as comfortable as it’s possible to be on a wobbly metal stool. I had a very pleasant time in the sunshine and thought I might have another pint and finish the book but I didn’t want to accidentally get hammered, and didn’t fancy risking the toilets, so I went home.
Pages 369-416
Returned to sofa - sat on a different cushion, just to mix things up - finished just after 6.00pm.
I realise that I haven’t actually said anything about the book, but that wasn’t really the point. For what it’s worth, I really enjoyed it, not least because the heroine is tall, rather than the usual waifish wisp who is dwarfed by the broad-yet-sensitive hero with huge hands.2 It’s less an out-and-out romance than Emily Henry’s previous books, and has a sprinkling of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo about it, but was definitely worth six hours or so of my time. I think, though, that I enjoyed the experience as much if not more than the book itself, and I will definitely make time to do it again.
Fun rating: Type 1
Date completed: 24th April 2024
Cost: £20
We all know that these haven’t aged well for many reasons, but you may not have remembered that they contain a surprising number of cigarette smoking gnomes.
They always have huge hands.