Or...Top Names for Books. Yes, Rowland Johns really did write a whole book on that. I know this after a browse round the fantastic bookshop/bookbinders in town yesterday.
I had a good hour in there ferreting about and find it incredible that there actually are so many different titles for books, though I'm sure some have been duplicated over the years.
I also love the way an innocent (presumably) title of yesteryear has a totally different take these days. What about 'Invisible Dick', 'Queer Doings at Quantham', 'Very Private Secretary' or the magnificent 'How to make Pastry Attractive' from 1958.
On the second floor of the shop there's a little area with brewing up facilities, on an honesty basis. You can sit and read or chat. There was a couple there and I couldn't help listening in as I browsed the Enid Blyton. They were from Cambridge, he was contemplating a move to Reading but since coming here for a holiday has decided that he must live here. You see, it's not two dimensional. When you get up in the morning you feel you could write poetry or walk. He will, of course, work in a book shop (while he explores the space time continuum on his daily stroll) presumably the one he's sitting in or WH Smith's. Which really doesn't have the same atmosphere.
I imagine Academia in Cambridge will be groaning at the knowledge that they lack dimension and walking is a no-go. I used to live in Reading. It was harmless enough.
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