I trawl around Amazon a lot, or rather I used to. I’m trying to cut down on temptation, she whispers. Hahaha. I honestly have at least 100 books that I’ve personally bought and haven’t read yet. I also inherited books from my father last year. I do check out some recommendations whether it’s on Amazon or a publisher. You know: “If you liked this, you may also like this.” I get to hang out with a lot of authors so I check out their recommendations as well. Some authors will also mention what they are currently reading on their websites or blogs.

The Mirror of Love…Well, I know the work of Alan Moore. I don’t read many graphic novels but I am a Neil Gaiman fan and so I have the Sandman books, and I’ve also got Alan Moore’s graphic novel of The Extraordinary Gentlemen. I buy the occasional collectable (I like dragons) and I was browsing the Forbidden Planet site, which is a huge collectable supplier over here. I saw the book but it didn’t have much of a write-up so I looked it up online. The idea behind the book intrigued me. It honestly is just a poem and it does seem a bit pricey for a poem. It comes with an introduction, some historical references to explain certain parts of the poem, and poems by other authors that are mentioned in the book. It’s well-presented with good photographs. It kind of makes me think of a coffee-table book — you know one of those you leave around to catch visitors’ eyes — but it’s a lot smaller and more convenient than that.

I’m also a hopeless case when I go into a small local book shop that tends to sell left-over stock from other shops. They have great bargains and I probably take more of a chance that way. I really do need to be restrained, though.