The story of how I did 'What would you buy if I gave you 10,000 yen to follow you to a bookstore?' all by myself
Since breaking up with my common-law partner, I've started keeping my feet on the ground and reading books, and I've also started watching reading-related videos on YouTube. Among them, I've come to watch the 'Shuppanku' channel's videos often, including past ones, and it's become a weekly pleasure.
Every Friday, they release a video called 'Hon-Tsui! - What would you buy if I gave you 10,000 yen to follow you to a bookstore? -', a project where they give a celebrity a 10,000 yen bill and you can see how they choose books at large bookstores like Book First Shinjuku (though I don't really consider them 'large' anymore since they started selling furniture...). I look forward to it because not only do I learn about books, but I also get a glimpse into each person's way of choosing books and the underlying thoughts behind them. This is how I got hooked on Ms. Misato Ugaki and so on.
In December, thankfully, I received my bonus. Since my bank balance was looking a bit healthier, I bought 10,000 yen worth of Tosho Card NEXT at a ticket shop and charged into the Kinokuniya Bookstore Yokohama store.
※The photo at the beginning is provided by someone on note, so it is a photo of a different store.
The books I purchased
1. Nippon-sei (Made in Japan) - Yukio Mishima
There are so many Yukio Mishima works I want to read, and I decided to start with those from Shueisha Bunko or Kadokawa Bunko, which have highly entertaining works! So I chose 'Nippon-sei,' which I had never touched before. It's a strategy to warm up for reading works that seem like high hurdles, such as 'Forbidden Colors.' I read the synopsis on Wikipedia, thought it sounded interesting, and bought it!
2. I Can Understand Bird Language - Toshitaka Suzuki
Because I'm not very good with trends, I had sensed that 'it's kind of popular.' I remembered my niece saying 'it's supposed to be interesting,' so I immediately added it to my cart. It came with a Great Tit postcard as a purchase bonus. It's cute. Recently, I've had a high level of interest in 'language.' I'm even thinking about trying to learn a language that few people around me are studying; a desire to touch upon a language that isn't exactly major in Japan is bubbling up.
3. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
I became interested in this after Misato Ugaki mentioned it on the Shuppanku video or her personal channel, so I bought it. I don't really read much foreign literature. My long-standing problem is that I can't remember characters with katakana names. I remember being desperate in high school when my cram school teacher forced me to choose World History. I'm thinking of looking at Wikipedia, writing down the characters' names in a memo, and using that as a bookmark while I read. I read 'And Then There Were None' the other day, and if there are more characters than that, there's a high possibility I'll give up.
I was surprised to hear this was a work from the 1960s. As far as I can tell from the overview on the wiki (relying on the wiki again), it wouldn't be strange if it had come out in the 1990s or 2000s. There seems to be a movie based on this work, but I'm debating whether to watch it since I heard there are many differences from the original.
4. Gyosei (Dawn Star) - Kanae Minato
I bought this without any prior information, looking only at the binding and the obi strip. I thought to myself that I had taken quite a gamble.
I think it's been over 10 years since I last read a work by Kanae Minato. Many works have been released in that time, and I think almost all of them have been adapted into films or dramas. I think the last one I read was 'N no Tame ni' (For N). Since that was before the drama adaptation, quite a lot of time has passed.
By the way, I've already finished reading it, and I'm so glad I bought it~~~^^
5. Umi ni Nemuru Diamond (Diamond Sleeping in the Sea) - Akiko Nogi
This is the scenario book for the drama broadcast on TBS's Sunday Theater. It's my favorite work by Akiko Nogi and is in my top 10 favorite dramas. Since it includes not just the script but also interviews and such, it feels like a bargain even at just under 3,000 yen.
I'd like to study screenwriting, and I have the thought that maybe it's good to start by looking at the scenario books of my favorite dramas.
I want to savor it while watching the drama. I also want to buy 'MIU404,' which is my second favorite work by Akiko Nogi!
6. Masahiko Shimura Complete Poetry Collection
Before buying it, I remembered that Mr. Shimura passed away in December. (Reference)
Suddenly, I wondered if there was a poetry collection by Fujifabric, and when I looked for it, I found it. Since Kinokuniya Bookstore had it in stock, I checked with the Yokohama main store in advance to match the purchase day.
Before I knew it, I had passed Mr. Shimura's age. I am just filled with wonder that he was thinking about so much when he was younger than I am now. I like 'Sakura no Kisetsu' (Cherry Blossom Season) and 'Ginga' (Galaxy).
Purchase amount
The total for these six items is just a little over 10,000 yen. I paid for the excess in cash.
My thoughts on this experience
There are different stories behind each book, whether it was something I had planned to buy in advance or something I happened to find by chance. There were some unexpected discoveries, too. It is economically better to shop while keeping the total amount in mind (I reflect on how I usually go to the bookstore feeling giddy, assuming the sky's the limit).
Next time, I want to try it without any holds, and without any prior information or planned purchases in mind. Maybe around spring.