WOOOOOHOOOOOO!
👏🏻👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻
Douglas Stuart just won the Booker prize for his debut novel Shuggie Bain. Did I mention he is from Glasgow, Scotland? And that he is only the second Scottish author to attain this prestigious award? I am beaming with pride with all of my Glaswegian compatriots.
I was on zoom with my brilliant bookclub babes when this was announced, because of course I was, and only found out right upon hanging up. Which then started a maelstrom of texts about my proud brethren. These ladies that I love with all my heart, who had just helped me bake some scones that turned out the best yet in this cranky oven (I know they are different sizes, it was planned, sort of) were there to help me celebrate and planned to choose this as our next book, obv!
It has been a week of celebration all around. Since it is also the week that I finally got to the Mitchell Library. The big beautiful building that most go to to research their heritage. It hasn't been open, but recently came back, yet is only to shut down again. But I managed to get there in between all of the covid chaos!
They won't let you in the front door, but here is the back door, full of scaffolding and severed legs!
I imagine walking in the front door is amazing with a beautiful reception hall, but I have yet to see that. The inside was blocked off a bit, but this was the area I hung out in.
This is how I feel lately!
When I got to Waterstones on Byre's road, the place was packed with people milling all about. With little time on my hands and my most American bottom line style, I walked up to a worker and specifically asked for the book. At this time, I noticed a gentleman, standing near to me, craning to listen in on my conversation. "Excuse me, do you happen to have Shuggie Bain?" I proferred. "Not yet, but they are supposed to be coming in anytime." she answered. "Should I go and ask at the desk?" I countered. "Sure." she replied nonplussed and moving back to her shelving of non-Shuggie Bain books. Much to my horror, and complete shock, eavesdropping man, who was closer to the desk than I, moved to get in line before me. I'm thinking this is rude, but maybe he will see the error of his ways and I gave him the out when I asked, "Are you in the queue" (for I am trying to use the correct wording since there is no way I will get the dialect right). "Yes," he replied and added somewhat sheepishly, "I'm after the same book as you." Now I'm full out fuming. Feeling like I'm back in corporate America as this white male over 40 has not only used my question to get an answer, then with full out audacity, gets in front of me in line to get the book EVERYONE in this bookstore, never mind city, wants.
SERIOUSLY!
What a tool.
Once his turn comes up, which is right before me, as a reminder, he asks at the desk when the Shuggie book is coming in. She says to come back in an hour, so he leaves, but I shit you not, stays to linger and listen to when I go up to the front desk. So I delay a bit, exhausted with this impertinence, and I start to talk to the bookseller, as shyster man starts to leave the store.
I ask her, "I heard you say (now I'm the eavesdropper - turnabout is fairplay) that the Shuggie Bain book is coming within the hour, yet unfortunately I cannot be here then, do you have a waiting list where I can pick it up later tonight before closing. Now this is an important point, we are going back into lockdown tonight at 6pm in Glasgow (it is 1pm now) and bookstores will not be open again until Dec 11 at the earliest. She says, sure, and rustles around in her pockets to come up with an errant scrap of paper to write on. It is looking highly unlikely that this will lead me to a book later, but it is all I've got. Luckily, rude man has left the building by now. As I tell her my name and start to spell instead of speak the full name C.A.I.R.N as in Nancy and S as in Sam, she stops and says. "That's my surname!" to both of our utter delights. She says it is rare here, but she knows some Cairns' in the south side of Glasgow. I mention that we are surely related and we both have a great laugh, through our respective masks. And then as if direct from God, like manna dropping down from the heavens, a fellow co-worker comes to the desk and drops off 10 copies of signed Shuggie Bain hardbound books!!!! 10 signed copies.....what in the literal F*&$? What joy and euphoria I feel! What amazing luck! My goodness, here is the book, what have I done to deserve such a beautiful gift? My next question without hesitation is 'can I buy more than one?' I mean we are almost Cairns sisters at this point! To which she says, "No," but not unkindly at least. I hardly care (so sorry to you all who were thinking that you were getting it for Christmas), I am just thrilled that I got a copy. I take a quick photo for the West End Gals and tell them to hightail it to the bookstore. I then double wrap it in plastic, to be safe in my cloth backpack (because if it isn't raining now, it surely will be soon), and go on my merry way with a spring in my step. Only to realize a block down the road, good thing that man was being so selfish, as if I had been first in line before him, I surely wouldn't have gotten the book!
so the real winner is.........
Ms. book reading Cairns
Happy reading everybody
ps. That is my copy at the top of this blog, sitting on the kitchen table, ready to be wrapped and put under the tree for Christmas day. Earmarked for none other than MOI!
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