Post your stories of buying the book?

Robert Neville

maladjusted
Hi guys,

Thought it would be cool to post your stories about your day today and how you felt/what you felt when you bought the autobio. Here's mine..

There is not much cause for excitement in the modern world. It is a constant sludge of early(ish) mornings, tiring jobs, hateful bosses and all for what? Nothing. Today though there was an event that managed to stir inside of me a lingering excitement that as of yet has not died down. It is an excitement that lingers from head to toe and through brain to vein. Indeed today saw an event that excited me so much that I rose from my slumber at 6am which is two full hours earlier than usual. I know I’m a lazy sod but these are the cards I’m dealt.

Today getting up for work did not seem so much of a chore. My usual walk to work passed by in a flash. My work day pressured the sand of time to drop ever faster. It’s like the entire world knew that today, this event, comes once a lifetime. Today Morrissey, the mystery man of British music, released his eagerly awaiting autobiography. There was a time a few weeks ago that it seemed this day would not arrive, content disputes was the reason for the delay. And then the announcement. It would be released and soon.

At 11:55 my cousin, waiting outside my place of work, messages me to hurry up. Never mind that lunch times are supposed to start at 12, obviously a far less strict boss than mine. I run, no small feat for a man in my condition – let’s just say You’re The One For Me Fatty was written for me, down three flights of stairs and burst through, like an overweight action here, through the double doors. Down the corridor I pace. If people tried to hand me work I gave them a piercing stare. I meet my cousin outside and we both give each other a knowing look. Today is the day.

We talk as we walk to Waterstones although I can’t tell you a word I said or a word I heard. Anticipation had got the better of us both. I mutter the immortal word – “imagine if its sold out”. My cousin laughs, but it’s a nervous laugh. Imagine if they actually did sell out… We make it to Waterstones and our eyes are attracted immediately to the front stand. Pride of place in the shop, the first thing people see when they walk in is the autobiography of Morrissey. The outsiders outsider was finally on the inside. Words cannot describe my feelings as I held this book in my hand. It is unlike an album release. For ten long years now I had held this man in the highest regard. He who held my hand through my teenage years was finally going to expose his teenage years.

We pay and head to a car park where my Aunt had parked. My cousin has the keys. We get in. Our heads giddy with excitement. We both open at the same time. Deathly silence. And then a nervous laugh. We couldn’t concentrate. The moment had got to us. We read the blurb and ponder why My Chemical Romance were chosen instead of The Killers as notable covers. In fact, we wonder why what’s his name wasn’t chosen. Gone. In a blink of an eye our memory deserts us. We forgot the name of Jeff Buckley. For minutes I shouted ‘He recorded Grace!!’. But no our brains had gone. And that was it. Back to work. No reading until we get home. Well we are home now.And right now we begin my journey into Morrissey’s life and thoughts. My childhood is streets upon streets upon streets.
 
I preordered it on Amazon a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday I got a shipping notice email, and it arrived at my office in New York City at noon today.
Exactly the same here in NJ. The expedited shipping was more than the darn book!
 
I went into WHSmiths up the road and they didn't have the book. I got very angry and then got the bus into town to go to Waterstones. A very pretty girl in the line was also buying the book. I was going to talk to her but instead I peed my pants a little bit. Fin.
 
Well I trolled on down to the independent Regency Bookshop in lower Surbiton. Looked in the 'New Releases' - not there. Looked in the biographies section - not there either. Getting worried. Bing! They have a Penguin Classics section! Not there either. I bang my head against a wall displaying Jermey Clarkson's poster. The shop owner kindly asked if she could help so I told her in hushed tones what I was looking for. She said that she thought it was released on Friday (oh, she knows nothing, why can't people in publishing get the simplest thing right??), and referred to her computer. I hit my head repeatedly against a display of Harry Rednap biographies. His tome was released earlier in the week and is sure to be a number one best seller? I worry that autobiography has been cruelly sabotaged by Rancid Penguin. She told me that there were all sorts of embargoes on the book and that she was only allowed to order a pack of 24 books which she happily told me that there was NO WAY she'd ever sell that many. I bang my head against a badly plastered wall dislodging alabaster which.... crashes down. How could this happen?

Off I pedal to Waterstones where they have a good, prominent display. I feel like I'm buying porn. Not making eye contact. The young assistant says it should be interesting. I said "We'll soon see" and immediately wished I hadn't.
 
As much as I'd like a printed copy, life in Tokyo demands a very careful use of space, so I downloaded a Kindle edition while on the subway (in Japan's cities you spend a lot of time on subways and trains). As I swiped through pages yesterday on the tube I laughed out loud a couple of times, drawing the attention of nearby passengers...
 
I am collecting my copy later at our local booksotre in Singapore. I cant wait to read his autobiography. It will be nice if it in hard back. Cheers!
 
I went for the lunch break visit to the local WH Smiths yesterday - no book in stock and staff as uninterested as ever. What a hateful and pointless shop.

Picked up a copy today in Waterstones and was pleased to see a large number of the book around the store. This was half way through a 50 mile bike ride, so rode home with the book nestled safely in my jersey pocket.

50 pages in and have enjoyed it so far.
 
It's a long a meandering tale... I woke up at 7 am. rolled over in bed picked up the old e-reader opened it and hey presto alakazam! 'Autobiography' appers as if by magic and then I laughed, cried, died for our auteur a few times, was raised again and now I'm about 2/3rds of the way through. True story. Edit: (I'm going to have to buy the actual artifact eventually, I need to possess it in paper form)
 
Most likely STILL sitting in a airfreight shipping container on the apron at Heathrow awaiting to be packed into a 747 to make its long journey down under. Although Book Depository is cheap, they can be a little slow in getting their stock the southern hemisphere. I don't think I'll see it until at least Wednesday.
 
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