Rediscovering Kino

My colleague Jacob mentioned that he was thinking of going by Kinokuniya after work. I decided to join him and help save him some money with my Kinokuniya membership card and its accompanying 10% discount.

It was my first visit to Kino in a while (by my standards), which means that I hadn't gone there in over a month. Instead, I had been spending a lot more time in Borders mainly because: (a) Borders closes at 11pm and the shuttle service from work stops directly outside Borders. (b) I usually only get off work past 8pm meaning I won't get to spend much time browsing at Kino even if I do make the extra effort to walk over there and (c) the Borders coupon system - which offers better discounts, not to mention the loophole where you can effectively print as many copies of the coupon as you want.

Just an hour or so spent browsing was enough to underline exactly how much better Kino is in terms of their stock and range of titles as well as the layout. This is especially the case in terms of their history, politics and international relations, and to a lesser degree their fiction sections.

In the end, I restrained myself and I only bought two books: The Perfect King: A life of Edward III by Ian Mortimer. I had randomly purchased and read his The Greatest Traitor which was about the life of Sir Roger Mortimer (no relation to the author), who usurped the throne briefly from Edward II (after eloping with Isabella, Edward II's wife). Mortimer is surprisingly little remembered today, which is a waste considering his fascinating story. I had heard of the infamous, and probably spurious story of an English King being murdered by having a red hot poker shoved up his arse (so as not to leave a visible mark on his body) but I had not known until completing the book that the King in question was Edward II and the man reputedly responsible for the heinous act Sir Roger Mortimer.

The Perfect King is in many ways a continuation of the The Greatest Traitor, which ended with the young Edward III leading a coup against Mortimer, who acted as his regent, leading to Mortimer's execution and the establishment of Edward on the throne. What followed was, by most accounts, was one of the longest and most successful reigns in English history, and probably one of the most significant. Edward III's claims in France effectively started the Hundred Years War while his rule was also notable for a significant strengthening of the English monarchy. The Middle Ages is a fascinating period of history which I happen to know very little about and Ian Mortimer is a wonderfully readable writer so I am definitely looking forward to reading it.

I also bought Claire Messud's critically acclaimed turn of century New York novel The Emperor's Children. It was shortlisted as one of the best books of the year by the New York Times. I began reading it on the train ride home, and I found it a bit slow to get into, though there was the sense that this was a novel that needed time to develop and where perseverance would pay off.