I, sometimes, am with fickle. There are some days when I want to take photographs and moan about being in the office all day without a window to call my own, but these are the other days and as it is, I don’t feel much in the mood to take photographs. I look at something, draw an imaginary frame around it and let it be. Sometimes you can only look so much at things that do exist. When the world looks real and believable even in monochromes and high-contrast, it makes more sense to retreat into another. Well, I guess this is my pretentious way of saying that I am in my reading phase.

It is odd how regularly I forget how rewarding reading is. And every time I remember this, I promise that I won’t forget it again. But as you can see, my memory is short and likes to pretend that it knows what’s best for me. It probably does, but it is also with fickle. Thus, currently, it is of the opinion that reading is good. And that buying books is even better for it serves two distinct purposes: first, I get to read them; second, I get to shop. Damn, reading is a hobby that never stops giving, really.

And because I like a good challenge, I’m collecting Banana Yoshimoto books. And not just any of her books. Well, more specifically, I’m collecting books of a particular cover design series. So far, I have the following:

Kitchen, Goodbye Tsugumi, and N.P.

I guess they aren’t spectacularly wow! designs, but I do like them so. The remaining three, namely Amrita, Asleep and Lizard (I don’t think Hardboiled Hard Luck has one in this series and I already have a copy of that), are rather hard to get hold of. So far, I have gone to the two Kinokuniyas in Taka and Bugis, a couple of stores from the Harris, MPH and Times chains. I think it is time to hit the smaller stores. Annoyingly enough, the library has a complete set. Ahhh.

I suppose I can take the easy way out and order online, but I worry that they will send me the wrong books. Erm, the right books with the wrong covers! And also because, I really like bookstores and having a mission makes it so much more fun. Too bad then, that Raymond Carver books have notoriously ugly covers and I’ve already messed up Haruki Murakami (too many covers. And I don’t really fancy the current white Vintage covers in stores). Dangerous ground.