Readers of this blog will know that I'm currently mid way through the Odyssey that is City On Fire. Coming in at an ambitious 960 pages long this is no quick read and proving to be a challenge to squeeze into the week. That said, its a nice problem to have. So far I'm immersed, interested and sticking with it although there are times when I've imagined what I would do with an editor's red pen. This is a novel about New York in the 70s, predominantly, a period of crime, grime and hugely changing social attitudes. This is part social history and part family saga.
A five hour train journey to Edinburgh was certainly the best place to get through a fair chunk of the book. I'm thankful for quiet zones but why don't we have reading zones? The smell of second hand books, the gentle turning of pages and the witty literary chat that would doubtless ensue would be a brilliant tonic to the general travel experience I'll be copying the lovely folk at Virgin Trains into this despatch.
Anyway, back to Edinburgh; city of haggis, whisky, the Royal Mile and of course Literature. You literally fall over literary landmarks in this city from JK Rowling and Alexander McCall Smith to Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Conan Doyle. Have a look at the brilliant Book Lovers Tour on offer near the Writers' Museum.
For me though, the highlight has to be Armchair Books which '...ekes out its intense and blustery existence on Edinburgh's hallowed West Port". This labyrinthine altar to second hand books is a delight. The cosy atmosphere and bookish musk is as unique as the niche which this shop has established in Edinburgh. This sense of place and evocative atmosphere is exactly what is so often missing from the high street bookseller.
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