Much to my surprise, it turns out that London was more of a paradise for books than Hay-on-Wye was. I went a little crazy…and sent back two boxes of books to Los Angeles from my binges at Foyles, Murder One, and a bunch of other bookshops. I also went into a frenzy buying DVD boxed sets of British TV shows, like the complete series of THE SWEENEY, which is worth the purchase price for the extras alone. I had to restrain myself from buying the complete SAINT and RETURN OF THE SAINT boxed sets, too.
Yesterday morning, I finally stopped my shopping spree. Some production personnel from Germany flew in from Cologne to meet with me and go over production details on my movie/pilot, then we took a long walk in the cold and rain through the city. Last night I got some take-out Chinese, sat in my hotel room, and worked on my MONK book. I would have liked to take in a show while I was here, but there just wasn’t time…and it would have felt a little odd going alone.
In an hour, I am getting on a flight to Stockholm and next Saturday, finally, I will be returning home. Three weeks is too long to be away from my family.
Lee, give Sweden my best! It’s almost over and your almost home, enjoy the new toys from overseas, when you hit home in L.A.
One sentence stuck out and I just have to ask: Are you about to start producing a european tv series Lee?
Lee, Murder One is my favorite bookstore in London. It’s a shame it had to move into the smaller space, but I always spend too much money there when I could buy the same thing in the States for half the price! I go to London all the time by myself and I’m always going to plays alone. I’ve met some really nice people sitting next to me in the theater. Last November I was went to see Kevin Spacey at the Old Vic in “A Moon for the Misbegotten” and the elderly woman next to me told me the last time she’d been in this theater she was sitting next to a very polite American in a tweed suit. At intermission she looked over and it was Gregory Peck — she just about died. Next time, just find a play you’re interested in and go see it — alone or with someone else.
Exactly. Murder One is a wonderful store. The best true-crime selection in the city. Plus, it’s near a whole bunch of used and remainder book stores.