Soldiers hurl armfuls of books into the fire as I stare in horror. All those words highlighting the human condition diminished to ash. Heartbreaking. A soldier pauses mid-haul, eyeing me. I adjust my glasses, then scramble to my borrowed postal… Continue Reading
Paul walks by balancing a stack of paperbacks on his hairy arms. Faded covers and yellowed pages that are ripe for Second Hand upstairs, which I’ll have to check out later. I pretend not to notice him as he throws… Continue Reading
I lost my job and my girlfriend on the same day. Trudging back from the office after being dismissed I found the flat empty and the jar we had crammed with savings half as full as it had been. In… Continue Reading
Edgar slid through the door of the bookshop minutes before Lady Randolph would flip the sign from “open” to “closed.” Wintergreen and cigarette scented air huffed out between her loose lips as he walked past the counter. He rubbed his… Continue Reading
Gendelman kept refusing every offer for the shop. A peculiarity of the lease rendered him untouchable, though the landlord’s heirs hoped Gendelman’s bereftness after Dina might end their misery. But he came of an older stock that goes on. Some… Continue Reading
Cordelia Jones barged into the bookstore, bumping people into bookshelves as she descended on the romance section. “Ow!” “Watch it.” “Who d’ya think you are?” Cordelia ignored them all. “Yes!” She snatched the latest Ruby Rare bestseller from the shelf… Continue Reading