Butterflies

It is not often I get butterflies in my stomach when I go into Blackwells. Today I had two very different reasons to have them. First, I was buying Michael Dibdin's new novel in the Aurelio Zen series, Back to Bologna (Faber, 2005). I shall post soon with a review. V exciting. And I only saw it by pure chance on the Amazon website a couple of days ago. I had intended on treating myself at the end of the week if I was very good [with the work and all], but I couldn't wait and ran out this afternoon.

The second reason for butterflies is that I think I have picked up a rather rare volume in the second-hand section for the princely sum of £3. And I mean rare. It is a first edition (in super condition) of a collection of poems in dialect by Andrea Zanzotto called Mistieròi, with etchings by Augusto Murer. (Feltre: Edizioni d'arte castaldi, 1979). But here's the catch. It's signed. BY THEM BOTH! Wow. It is a real collector's item, as in a Sotheby's collector's item. Bliss & Joy.