Highland Highlights, Pt. 2: Books

On the way to Scotland I only packed one printed book (David Bishop's Thrill Power Overload, a history of 2000 A.D. Comics) and my Kindle, loaded with all kinds of bootleg noir/hardboiled stuff. Of course, I made up for it on the way back, lugging home the titles you see above.

Some were gifts; the rest purchases. They fell into a few loose categories:

Books by Friends: This includes Slammer by Allan Guthrie (signed, of course); The Good Son by Russel McLean (forgot to ask Russel to sign it, which sucks), Gutted, by Tony Black (also forgot to bring it to get signed when we met up with Tony... shit!); Flesh House by Stuart MacBride; and In the Dark and Death Message by Mark Billingham.

Books I Already Own: This would be the volumes of Clive Barker's Books of Blood, which I own in hardcover, Pocket paperback, Berkley paperback, and a few scattered Sphere editions. But I saw these and just had to pick them up, because a.) they're in a newish Sphere edition, b.) I've been wanting to re-read these stories, and c.) I tend to re-read books only if I can re-read them in another edition. I know, it's weird. I also already own Stephen King's Just After Sunset, but I wanted an excuse to buy a UK "airport edition," which is basically an oversized paperback version of a current hardcover bestseller. I kicked myself for not picking up an airport edition of Duma Key last year; this was me making up for that. Yes, my book nerdery knows no bounds.

Books That Were Gifts From Allan Guthrie: Namely, Robert Westerby's Wide Boys Never Work (part of Guthrie's plan to school me in Brit noir) and Ryu Murakami's Audition, which looks short, brutal and fantastic. (I'm a big fan of Murakami's In the Miso Soup).

Books Written by David Peace: I recently read the Black Lizard edition of Peace's 1974 (the first Red Riding Quartet book) and liked it a lot; I couldn't resist the Serpent's Tail tie-ins of the rest of the series. Probably going to regret not picking up the first, just so I have a complete set. Crap.

Books That Were Impulse Buys: Iain M. Banks's Matter, purchased because I had a sudden fit of wanting to read some science fiction. Particularly, Scottish science fiction. (Or is that SyFy?) I also picked up Conrad Williams' One at the Edinburgh Airport because a.) the synopsis on the back grabbed me, and b.) I've been meaning to read Williams for a while now. The first 50 pages, read on the plane home, were kick-ass, and made me order two earlier Williams novels (The Unblemished and Head Injuries) the moment my home computer was fired up.

I mean, isn't this the reason we travel? To acquire more books?