Care Package from Japan

Earlier this week, I heard the doorbell ring and when I cracked the door open there was a very disgruntled delivery man with a package for me.  Why was he so upset?  Well, our apartment complex has two doors, two door codes, no list of residents posted anywhere and no apartment numbers.  The poor man had a terrible time finding us.  Not necessarily a bad thing :-)

The package was from Japan and contained books, books, books from Good Day Books in Tokyo.  I've written about them before in Flophouse Favorite People and Places.  This one of the world's great English-language bookstores and I spent a lot of time there when we lived in that part of the world.

The books, so kindly sent by the owner, are selections from the weekly politics reading and discussion group.  A quick look at the Good Day Books website for the bookclub gives you the list of what they have read and discussed recently.  In *my* package are such gems as:

World on Fire by Amy Chua
The Roman Predicament by Harold James
The Revenge of the Past by Ronald Grigor Suny
Egypt on the Brink by Tarek Osman

So far Good Day Books has survived Amazon, the global financial crisis and an earthquake.  Such persistence is not only admirable, it merits special attention and support.  This is a tough business and it's just getting tougher.  My Kindle is fabulous and I like having the world's books at my fingertips - very convenient - but it's not nearly as much fun as chatting up a bookstore owner who knows you and your tastes and having a group of people around with whom you can talk about what you've read and get different viewpoints and perspectives.

If you happen to find yourself in Tokyo, go see Steve and check out all that Good Day Books has to offer.

3F Asahi Building
1-11-2 Ebisu
Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 150-0013
Tel: 03-5421-0957
goodday@gol.com