An Old New Book

I forgot to tell you that yesterday, while eating vanilla ice cream with chocolate flakes ex the tub, (I was trying anything to ease the itchiness in my throat,) a crown came off my back tooth.

So, feeling rather sorry for myself this morning, I made an appointment with my dentist for next Monday, then I went to the bookshop. I don't know about where you live, but from about August onwards, bookshops here are full of gazillion new cookbooks I covet. This year, the fashion in New Zealand is cookbooks with a historical twist, with drawings and etchings, photographs of old product packaging, aprons and dishes and doilies. I had my eye on one for months now, and so I went to spend a quiet time with it. Again.

I remembered also a 2004 Nick Bantock book I saw for the first time last week, so I sad down with it, trying to decide which one I should ask Ben for Christmas. Unlike his Griffin & Sabine series, "Urgent 2nd Class" is a brief book on how he creates his unique visuals.

I always liked stamps, postcards and maps so I was a big fan of his G&S books, but came "The Museum at Purgatory", the visuals got a bit too dark for my taste and I lost interest. But the more I read Urgent 2nd Class, I had to have it, and so I bought it for myself as an early Christmas present.

It's pretty amazing to think that the odd bits of stamps and postcards and candy wrappers I couldn't part with over the decades can potentially be a source of fun, not only in collecting and looking, but possibly in being put together as a collage or some such. And though I'm not allowed to publish any part of the book in any form whatsoever, a lot of what he writes makes good sense, even though I never saw much value in my collection of ... junk.

Great present from/for the one I love. Hee hee.