Christmas shopping

Everyone else has finished Christmas shopping and gone off to buy new kitchens, bathrooms and sofas, if the TV is to be believed. That should leave some space in the shops for us, although the place seems to be heaving when we get there.

Straight to the discount bookshop, where, Tigger tells me, many bargains are to be found and many books that I would enjoy are to be had. including, she says, an interesting book of suicide notes that I might enjoy. I'm not sure if she's being serious or not, but it does sound interesting. An hour's of searching produces "Finding Sanctuary", by the Abbot of Worth (good; the book of the reality TV series), but no suicide notes. How to proceed? Do I go to the counter, wish them happy new year and ask where they keep the books on suicide? I leave without it and report back. Exasperated, Tigger comes back with me. In no time I have a pile of stuff that I hadn't spotted; her car-boot sale scanning techniques turn up all kinds of treasures. To be fair, some of the most interesting had been hidden among the sex manuals, so I wouldn't have found them there. No suicide notes, so T marches to the counter and asks ("It's not for me, it's for my husband!") and the book is found. Looks interesting (Udo Grasoff "Let me Finish"). My stack also includes "A Short History of Myth" by Karen Armstrong, "Watching the English", social anthropology by Kate Fox; "The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow" by Jerome K Jerome, and "In Praise of Slow". Also a couple of philosophy readers, and a book on Sleeping (or how to deal with not sleeping, which is more to the point). And some other stuff. More later, i assume, as i get into reading them.