So I am  at seven books for seven days, as planned.

Today, we made the obligatory visit to The Strand Bookstore, which you really must see if you visit New York and you love books.  The advertize 18 miles of books, which is probably true. Four stories of books, mostly new titles at a slightly reduced price with some used titles at a slight additional price reduction.

It’s not a cheap store, but they do have just about everything.  If they don’t have the book you want, they do have the one you need, just keep looking.  It’s in there somewhere.

I found three:

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell in the Vintage paperback edition. I’ve been collecting these for their covers and for the titles which I really read someday.  I’m thinking of doing a Gaskell Read All A-long next year, if the current Jane Austen one works out.  But,  I don’t know, Wives and Daughters is pretty thick.

Jane Eyre  by Charlotte Bronte in the Writer’s Digest annotated edition. These are classic works annotated by writers with notes discussing how the author is doing the work of writing.  I read a few of the notes, which are kind of fun, and I’ve been meaning to give the Bronte’s another go. It’s been many years since I last read them.

Finally, a book in translation that I never heard of before but just had to have called Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yoko Tawada, translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky.  The back cover says it’s the story of three generations of performing polar bears. 

Who could resist?

I also picked up a bit of book bling which The Strand is known for.  One cool magnet for my classroom with a picture of a llama that says “Save the drama for you llama.” Middle schoolers like llamas. I don’t know why.  A cool sticker for my Chromebook that says “Leave Elena Alone” which all the cool coffe shop patrons will be jealous of.  A little button for my book bag with a picture of a Polariod camera on it.  Remeber those.  They were great. and, of course.  And a book mark.

All of which brings the total number of books purchased to seven for seven days in New York City.

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
2. A Book of Common Prayer by Joan Didion
3. Nazis in the Metro by Didier Daeninckx
4. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
5. The Expendable Man by Dorothy Hughes
6.  The Dead Mountaineer’s Inn by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky
7. Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yoko Tawada

I still have two bookstores left to go, maybe three.  Those are just the stores I’ll be visiting deliberately.  There may be others that I just happen to pass by.

You never know.

There are eight millions stories in the naked city.