Books for free

Happiness is a house full of books 

and a garden full of flowers.

-Arab proverb

"Would you like to speak to Susie or Mary?" Igor asked me while we were heading off to the station. Why not? I like to talk with women. Actually, I don't like it, I love it. But... "Why?"

"They are giving away 150 books for free. I thought you could be interested in." Women are good, but women with books are the best in life. Of course I'd like to speak to them. 

Half an hour later or so I was wondering not far from Chancery Lane station, swearing to my new iPhone: its map shows all the most useless shops (from my point of view) but doesn't show the tube stations! I roamed between  the stations of Chancery Lane and Holborn for a long while before being able to pinpoint my position. The only bookshop, standing exactly at the corner of the turn I was looking for, wasn't shown on the iPhone's map... the only shop I would have noticed. Technology is supposed to make our life easier, bloody hell, not more miserable...

But I made it, in the end. I found the office, a school for American students coming to London for a semester, and Marie shown me the huge piles of books.

"Are you interested in politic books or novels?" she asked me. "I... I'm interested in books", I answered with a smile. I started to rummage everywhere, till another guy came to take the whole stock. "Let the fight for the books start!" said Marie, introducing us to each other. Well, no blood was shed. I left with some books, a web site address to help me in my search of a philological club or association, and no phone numbers. 

On my way back to the station I sent a message to a friend: "Books for free! It's a shame I don't have a van." "Where? Where?" she asked me in turn. Eh, a little bit too far from where you're right now, sweetheart.

I would make that Arab proverb one line longer: 

Happiness is a house full of books, 

a garden full of flowers 

and a sweet woman in your bed.