The Sequel by R.L. Stine
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Feh.
But on the other hand, hell yes.
Let me explain.
This book didn’t do a lot for me. But there’s a concept here.
I visited Mysterious Bookshop in Tribeca, and I found out that it’s the ONLY mystery specialty shop on the island of Manhattan. Which is pretty rad.
But was was the most rad-ist, they had a whole series of pocket-sized mysteries by big-name authors on display.
Here’s why I think this is such a good idea.
When I go on vacation, I always stop at a bookstore if there’s a good one in the area. It’s a great destination, you can spend some time relaxing a little bit, and bookstores are almost always one of the few outposts in the city that will let you take a piss. Seriously, what the fuck, cities? Why do so many spots in the subway stations smell like piss? Maybe because where the hell are you SUPPOSED to pee? Restaurants will tell you to go fuck yourself, other stores don’t even HAVE a bathroom. It’s the brave bookstores that keep us from floating in a river of piss.
PS, a little tip if you’re in the NYC area, I found the omnipresent Starbucks to be a spot where you could use the bathroom without buying anything. If there’s ever been an excuse for me to drink Starbucks, I’ve found it.
Anyway, one of the problems with stopping in a bookstore on vacation is that you gotta haul whatever you buy all the way back home. Yesterday afternoon, I RAN with all my shit to catch a ferry. Ran with a bag that had a week’s worth of clothes on my back. Plus a couple books. Plus a couple gifts. Plus some…you know what? It was heavy. You don’t need to record all my personal items, you nosy asshole.
When you have to carry everything, the appeal of book-buying goes down. Plus, it’s just so damn easy to look and think “Fuck it. I’ll buy it when I get home.”
Ah, enter Mysterious Press.
These little books, like The Sequel, or on display in the store. They’re inexpensive, tiny, and maybe not something you’d know about if you didn’t visit. They feel like something special, something you could get at that store and perhaps nowhere else.
Good on Mysterious Bookshop. Although I don’t remember if they had a bathroom.