Chicken Soup !

And now..for something completely different...

Went to the bookshop with Nabil (I think this is the first time he's left the green zone in ages). 'Readings' is a weird little place, very cheap second-hand books (subsidized by the hair-transplant business next door..I kid thee not!)Seven million people in this village and this is as good as it gets!

I'm not knocking it. Sometimes one can find all sorts of treasures (Nina Berberova's Book of Happiness, Catherine Chalier's 'What Ought I to Do?', and Edward Curtis's photographs of the Red Indians). But mostly it's crap: shelves and shelves of Dan Brown, murder mysteries, one whole wall for 'romance' . There's such an eclectic mix (I think they're shipped over by weight or are just books no-one else wants..via China or Malaysia). So, for instance, you might find T.S. Eliot next to Tantric Sex or something on 18th century knitting patterns in Denmark next to Chomsky, the Kama Sutra next to a biography of Rumsfeld.

What caught my eye, though, was a book called Dancing with Cats. I mean, these people are so effin' sad... and to think: there's actually a readership out there ! But yeah, like, whatever. (Come to think of it though, I'd love to see a cat break dance or spin on his head).

Next to the Gardening section there was Architecture, then Philosophy (all very orderly here), then a section called 'Chicken Soup'. Yep, a whole cabinet! I cracked up. But no, it's even worse. Get this: these are actually some sort of Christian books that read: Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit. What, did some evo suddenly realise that this was all a bit too corny and donate them to the unsuspecting Paks (winning "hearts and minds"?)

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Nothing else to report today. Antonio roped me into playing football and I got tackled by some 6-year old kid! A student asked me what I think of substances (no, not the medieval Substance). But I did get my Jordi Savall Cd's.

I've simply got to close this blog down soon... when you run out of things to say, you'll say anything....