Re. RARA-AVIS: British writers

ejm duggan (ejmd@mcmail.com)
Thu, 20 Aug 1998 11:14:00 -0700 Apart from keeping an eye open for those you already know, you might
also keep a lookout for a series of what I suppose are
'youth-sploitation' titles, mostly published as paperbacks by NEL (New
English Library) in the 1970s.

There is the 'Skinhead' series (Skinhead, Suedehead, Boot Boys, and
others) and there are the 'Biker' books: (Chopper, The Run, Mama [or is
it Bloody Mama?], Angel Challenge, Speed Freaks etc).

The Skinhead books, and others, were written by Richard Allen, a mild
mannered man profiled in a BBC Arena [I think] documentary when he died
last year. Main biker book author to look out for is Peter Cave, but
there are lots of others too.

Apart from these, look out for the old Hank Janson books from the 1950s,
they have pretty cool titles and great GGA covers--eg 'Cupid Turns
Killer'; 'Slaves for Seduction' and 'Flight from Fear' (ok, that one's
lame, but at least it's alliterative).

Charity shops--I forget the American term for them--are good places to
look for books, and you may turn up a gem. They are generally
cheap--10p to 50p a time, although Oxfam tend to sort their books and
are inclined to charge more than the other charity shops (I'm waiting
for the day they announce the Oxfam Store Card--it can't be far off).
Also, all public libraries have a section of books, CDs and videos to be
sold off (although you won't want to take a bunch of PAL videos back to
your NTSC machine!)

West End/Central London bookshops will (obviously) be more expensive
than those out of town. However, a couple of places to check out are
Charring Cross Road, which has lots of bookshops, and the streets
between the British Museum and Oxford Street, where there are also quite
a few.

I used to have a guide to second hand bookshops in London, but I've
misplaced it (or it's been hidden by significant other); acquiring such
a guide might be a good move to make fairly early on, or to organise in
advance of your visit. You may want to do stuff other than root around
in bookshops, but I wouldn't recommend wasting valuable time in this
way, not while the bookshops are open, anyway ;-)

ED

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