My BFF learned I’d never been to Strand and decided this grievous error MUST be corrected. So we met up to see this magical place which boasts 18 miles of books.

It also involved beer but more on that in a second. XD

Here I am right out in front. This is after we went through the place and I decided if I wasn’t careful, I would never leave. XD Here’s some photos of the cool things I found.

These were just too cool not to take pictures of. XD I really wondered if those stories were in fact “droll” but alas, this book did not call to me to bring it home.

Here’s the Graphic Novels section where I (obviously) spent a great deal of my time. I am impressed with their selection and saddened by my nerd-knowledge of which titles were out of print and which weren’t. But I rationalized it with the fact it IS in my job description to know such things. XD

I talked myself out of buying these but I am glad they exist. 🙂

I was tempted to buy this book just for the title that made me want to throw rocks at Conrad. I decided rock throwing was not a valid reason to buy a book. :p

I’d say something clever but you’d probably never heard of it. XD

Someone should be either kicked in the shin for this pun or given a raise. I root for shin-kicking.

I had entirely too much fun here and I have to give it up to the staff here who totally didn’t mind me walking around with a camera taking pictures like an ass. In the end I came away with:

“The Book-Bills of Narcissus” by Richard Le Gallienne. I dunno why but this book called out to me to be bought. I’ve only just started it and I love it. XD

I have the giant hardcover of this book which I plan to unload on some unhappy soul. I much prefer this manageable paperback.

Because it’s true. XD

This now lives on my fridge but I may move it to my desk at work. 😉

We also went to Barnes and Noble where I picked up:

My monthly Pagan magazines which I will have to get a subscription to. It’s just easier.

For after reading all the “serious” books and my brain needs some pure junk/candy to read. 😉

It amused me. What can I say?

I’m working my way through the first three so having the next three on tap just makes good sense.

And I went to Sephora. I needed to be schooled on how to use the makeup. Nail polish I can do but other “girly” things baffle me. I stand by my assertion that eyelash curlers are based off of some demented medieval gynecological device. *shudder*

We also amused ourselves by going to a Halloween store. Upon seeing me taking pictures, I got whined at by the staff because they “don’t allow photographs of their merchandise.” They will be very annoyed then. >}

I enjoy this hat. ^_^

It’s a shame they got all whiny about me taking pictures because I would LOVE to put a link to their site to credit them for this funny set up.

This costume should be added to this list. I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.

After all that play it was time to get down to some serious business. And as a writer, that means drinking.

Here’s where we went. This place is awesome. From our table we could see the brewing tanks. There are no pictures of those because of this:

The sampler!! 😀 This was the most impressive assortment of beer I have ever tasted. One of these is chocolate coffee beer. Three great tastes they made taste great together! I should order a barrel to appease me then I have PMS. There was also a blueberry ale with actual blueberries floating in it. I’m in love with this place!! Of course, we didn’t just drink. That would be silly.

Toll House Cookie Pie. In case you didn’t understand, COOKIE PIE. Thank you, humanity, for restoring my faith in you.

I had an absolutely fabulous time. Only one thing about my trip disturbed me. We went to Forbidden Planet, which is (duh) a comic book shop where I expected to drop tons of moneys which could have fed my family. I only saw ONE book I wanted; a Lady Death art book which I was NOT paying 50$ for. Just no. I liked it but not THAT much. I left without buying a single thing; which scared me more than the slutty Green Hornet. It wasn’t that I didn’t find anything good, I either already owned it or could get it from my library.

At the end of the day my feet and calves were sore but it was worth every freaking step. I would do this again in a heartbeat. I can see Strand as a place where a great deal of my money would be spent on old and strange books like “Book-Bills of Narcissus.” I love random finds like that.

Now, I’m back to work writing. I’m working on Greenhouse and trying to come up with a decent idea for this fan-fiction contest from Otakus & Geeks. It would be cool to win it. ^_^ My problem is picking which of the many series/movies I like to write about. I have literally thousands of choices. 0.0 Halp?

I am also slowly getting back into the habit of reading and commenting on other blogs. I was so backed up, I just deleted everything to start fresh. I need to be more active. :/ I keep thinking if I spend too much time doing anything but writing, I’m not writing. And then what’s the point? But I enjoy people (in small doses XD) so I should be more sociable. 😉 I know I keep saying that but I’m tying here. :p