I have been saying this all the time: “We have everything in this town except two things: one is a real cinema, another one is a decent book shop.”

Don’t think I am kidding. For my best knowledge, there are only two bookshops in this town. One is up to the corner of the bridge, another one is near the RSL building, right beside my workplace, but none of them is selling brand new books. They are all small-sized, with nicely displayed front shop windows. Books in there have very good condition, look as new, and even quite recently released, but there is nothing you can compare to get a brand new book which has a nice smell of paper and ink.

It’s been a big pity for this town until today…you know what? I found that the House shop closed down a couple of months ago has been replaced with a new book shop. Now my favourite Angus & Robertson is sitting there, with its bright lights on and waiting for my visits. I love A&R, undoubtedly, not that I used to spend a big time in there at Canberra Centre and bought several books (including cocktail, Dad’s Flower books and Yaya’s painting books) from their temporary discount book stalls, it’s the air in that place attracting me so much, and it’s paper with beautiful printing things in there makes me so excited.

Want to know what book has drawn all my attention today? “1000 Masterpieces of European Painting: from 1300 to 1850” by C&T Stukenbrock. It’s a pocket sized book, just like “The Art Book” I bought in China 6 years ago. It’s a very very THICK book, I guess there must be more than 600 pages. But guess what, only $29.95. AMAZING!!!!!! I have to get it quickly before it runs out of stock. It is highly possible. I only saw one on the shelf.

You might find this funny, if I tell you that I am not a reading person. I used to read books a lot during my teenager hood, but I hardly read since early 20s, except the necessary books that I had to read to prepare the exams My reading habits are very strange:

First of all, I would rather reading one of my favourite books for hundreds of times in different translation and language versions than reading as many books as I can, just as what I do with my favourite song (I listen to many versions of the same song sung by different people, but not listen to different songs sung by different people). For example, I have read Victor Frankl’s Chinese edition “Man’s Search for Meaning” for at least 30 times, and I also read two English versions translated by different translators. I would say that if I have to be someone’s fan, that someone would definitely be Frankl. I have never been a fan of anybody else in this world.

Second of all, I don’t read books; I select the words from books to read. Very few books can make me read from the first word to the last word. It’s just too quirky for me. I read books for fun or for a certain purpose, like finding the materials for my own writings, grabbing the powerful arguments on some matters or just see what could be the fact as for some certain issue. So I don’t read fictions, no novels, no gossips, no biography, no crazy narcissisms’ self-exposing stuff. I love instruction books, painting books, tool books, cook books, DIY books and any books with a glossary list at the back. I read lots of self-help and psychology books, out of my major, but I read them to grasp the techniques, not for fun.

Third of all, I am extremely fascinated with European Art books which have beautiful reproduced paintings published together with. Normally they are quite expensive as it’s highly demanding for the paper and printing’s quality. I did spend a fortune on them in my mid 20s, but I have never regretted for any of those books I bought. On the contrary, after so many years passing by, I further realized that how right the decisions I have made at those old times.

The fouth, I am not jedgemental when I am reading books. For me, there is no good or bad books, only very interesting books and less interesting books, well-printed books and badly printed books. I wouldn’t refuse to read a so-called rubbish book because I think every book, even a children’s picture book or a extremely badly senario-developed porn book has its own interesting points. I read them as I believe there is always something in each book that I don’t really know and I could learn.

Last of all, I don’t buy books with ugly covers, cheap papers and bad printings. Oh yes, you are right! I am one of those people who treat books as displayable furniture in their house. The only difference that can exclude myself as a vulgar, superficial person is that I do read them personally. What’s the big deal in this? For me, book publishing is art. Without all those nice paper, texture, pictures, spin designs and beautiful covers, what else fun could we look forward from a hard copy of massive information collection? That’s why I never put my most favourite book in the hand bag and carry it all around. I love to keep it as perfectly as it could be forever. I hate people who abuse books.