Today, Transiting the Town's Bar Section, I Found: The Last Bookshop

[WonderousWand]

Since first arriving in Chiang Mai, middle of last June, I have not been in, nor seen,even one Farang owned book store. Lucky, then, it was for me to spy this last one, or nearly the last one, before they might go extinct.

The one I found is very cosey and cramped, which I very much liked, and the people inside are just as nice as most of the people I have met every day outside in Chiang Mai.

I found a great book of Thai grammar which cannot be downloaded off the Pirate Bay Library, simply because it was probably last printed and published before the net. And, it was rather obscure, having been written by some Aussie researcher of some SE Asian linguistic subject. But she was not exclusively a linguistics researcher. Her name is Helen James, in fact. Unfortunately, her book is out of print.

So,.... This was a lucky find.

After I purchased the book, the Irish guy quoted me some Yeats, of course. And, then I left.

I will return, no doubt.

Good book stores are scarcer than hen's teeth around here.

Especially, in the middle of a bar and massage section of town.

I was only transiting, and I could not help noticing that there seems to be two types of people in that area... Fat ones who do not smile and walk slow, and then the fit skinny guys who walk fast and smile a lot, and seem much happier.

I do not much care about the moral aspects of this, however a word of advice...

My suggestion is that if you do go to that part of town, then please do not stop at the bars, etc, but rather walk past them, as did I, and spend your time at The Last Bookshop.

Maybe the owner knows only one line from Yeats, but that is OK.

The one he quoted to me was...

Something about... Treading lightly on one's dreams.

I asked him what that means, but I am not sure he had a clue.

Seriously, though, that is a fine little bookshop.

People should go and support it, before, like the last little indian, there might be none.

Steer clear of the seamier side, please.

Edited June 16, 2016 by WonderousWand

[dru2]

George is a highly intelligent and literate man.

His bookshops are not in the Loi Kroh bar area.

What is your problem?

[WonderousWand]

George is a highly intelligent and literate man.

His bookshops are not in the Loi Kroh bar area.

What is your problem?

Agreed.

Great bookstore.

The Yeats was icing on the cake.

I very much appreciated it.

Edited June 16, 2016 by WonderousWand

[WonderousWand]

The book I found and bought:

Thai Reference Grammar

Was in very good condition, even though it was published about 15 years ago.

Helen James is the author, as I have above noted.

Good price!

I would have purchased two copies if there had been one more.

If anyone is interested in learning Thai, this seems like it would be quite suitable for elementary learners.

So, I am grateful that there are still a few good bookstores here that keep an inventory of the out of print books floating around Thailand, because, otherwise, you could not order something like this from a new online bookseller.

There are many other books in the shop which cover a wide variety of topics, but I had not planned to do book shopping today, and only stopped in in passing, wondering if there might be something relating to Thai language study that I had not seen.

There was.

Thanks!

(Having just checked on line, I would have paid an extra 130Bt for a new copy there, which I did not need. And, it seems that Helen James graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, PhD, which is a top school in the USA, as we all know. She had quite a career, too. So, glad I bought this book, and at a good price. Good for elementary level Thai, with decent printing, which I find important.)

Edited June 16, 2016 by WonderousWand

[WonderousWand]

Just to be clear (and good book that she has written):

Biography

Helen James is a specialist in Mainland Southeast Asia, especially Thailand and Myanmar (Burma). She took her PhD (1972) and M.A. (1970) from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, and B. Oriental Studies (1966) from the Australian National University. She has held academic appointments in a number of universities including the University of Pittsburgh, Thammasat and Chulalongkorn Universities, Bangkok, as well as the University of Canberra, the Australian Catholic University and The Australian National University. She has also been a Visiting Scholar/Fellow at several international centres/universities including the Centre of International Studies, Cambridge University; the Swedish International Peace Research Institute, Stockholm; and the East-West Centre, Hawaii. In 2004 she was elected as a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University. She was Executive Director of the Asia Research and Development Institute, and Director of the Thai Studies Centre, University of Canberra (1995-2000); and Head of Department at Thammasat University (1977-1980). She is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and Pacific, ANU. She has also been a Director in several Australian government departments. In 1997 she was awarded the order of Benchamabhorn, Member of the Most Noble Order of the Kingdom of Thailand by H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej for services to Thai history, language, education and culture. Since 1995 she has taken a leading role in fostering the engagement policy with Burma/Myanmar of successive Australian governments.

[garryjohns]

From OP:
I do not much care about the moral aspects of this, however a word of advice...

My suggestion is that if you do go to that part of town, then please do not stop at the bars, etc, but rather walk past them, as did I, and spend your time at The Last Bookshop.
Steer clear of the seamier side, please.

Sorry oh wonderous one, but your word{s} of advice are totally worthless.

IMO you really do appear to have multiple major issues.

Edited June 16, 2016 by garryjohns

[WonderousWand]

From OP:

I do not much care about the moral aspects of this, however a word of advice...

My suggestion is that if you do go to that part of town, then please do not stop at the bars, etc, but rather walk past them, as did I, and spend your time at The Last Bookshop.

Steer clear of the seamier side, please.

Sorry oh wonderous one, but your word{s} of advice are totally worthless.

IMO you really do appear to have multiple major issues.

You are correct that I am certainly no expert.

[JHolmesJr]

I like both Yeats ….and hookers.

Is that ok?

Edited June 16, 2016 by JHolmesJr

[CMKiwi]

Tis a good bookshop to be sure!

[WonderousWand]

I like both Yeats .and hookers.

Is that ok?

Sure!

It's fine.

One of my favorite books was

Of Human Bondage, in fact.

[anto]

Top ,of the morning to you and yours .Yates would have loved Chiang Mai and the opportunity to talk Tinglish with the fair maidens of L.K.R.

[WonderousWand]

Yes, but Yates was an American.

[JHolmesJr]

All good writers like hookers….marquez, hemingway, you might even say oscar took his last name from the habit.

[garryjohns]

From OP:

I do not much care about the moral aspects of this, however a word of advice...

My suggestion is that if you do go to that part of town, then please do not stop at the bars, etc, but rather walk past them, as did I, and spend your time at The Last Bookshop.

Steer clear of the seamier side, please.

Sorry oh wonderous one, but your word{s} of advice are totally worthless.

IMO you really do appear to have multiple major issues.

You are correct that I am certainly no expert.

I'm sure that the bar owners appreciate your advice.

Pray tell, if i happen to be in the mood for a beer and a lady,and i follow your advice to walk past the bars on the seamier side,that these mood enhancers are to be found in ,and instead spend my time at the last bookshop,will i be leaving there as totally fullfilled and satisfied in my quest for cold beers and hot ladies?

Comeon ..do as you like, but don't come on here advising and suggesting such nonsense to others.

[anto]

Yes, but Yates was an American.

I spelt it wrong but W.B. Yeats ,was Irish .Born in Dublins Sandymount area in 1865.Educated in Ireland and England .Spent much of his life in Co .Sligo ,Ireland .

[WonderousWand]

Yes, but Yates was an American.

I spelt it wrong but W.B. Yeats ,was Irish .Born in Dublins Sandymount area in 1865.Educated in Ireland and England .Spent much of his life in Co .Sligo ,Ireland .

Oh yes, Yeats. I know who he is, but you stated Yates, who happens to have been an American author, and perhaps a lover, as you say, of "Tinglish".

The greatest poets all come from Ireland, and so does Yeats, as you now point out..

[WonderousWand]

From OP:

I do not much care about the moral aspects of this, however a word of advice...

My suggestion is that if you do go to that part of town, then please do not stop at the bars, etc, but rather walk past them, as did I, and spend your time at The Last Bookshop.

Steer clear of the seamier side, please.

Sorry oh wonderous one, but your word{s} of advice are totally worthless.

IMO you really do appear to have multiple major issues.

You are correct that I am certainly no expert.

I'm sure that the bar owners appreciate your advice.

Pray tell, if i happen to be in the mood for a beer and a lady,and i follow your advice to walk past the bars on the seamier side,that these mood enhancers are to be found in ,and instead spend my time at the last bookshop,will i be leaving there as totally fullfilled and satisfied in my quest for cold beers and hot ladies?

Comeon ..do as you like, but don't come on here advising and suggesting such nonsense to others.

I cannot guarantee it, however I am sure your mind will be improved by the detour.

[DogNo1]

Amazon sells lots of out-of-print books, BTW.

[Chiengmaijoe]

The answer to the question, "how do you get from the Night Bazaar to The Lost Bookshop, without going past a girlie bar?" is ..... go in every one.

[WonderousWand]

Amazon sells lots of out-of-print books, BTW.

I definitely have seen used books on Amazon, however my problem with buying books on Amazon is the shipment time from the Amazon warehouse to Chiang Mai, and of course the cost of shipping a book.

I once ordered a 200GB micro SD for my phone, and that was sent in 5 days from California in just a regular first class mail envelope, not even registered, for less than 1USD I think.

But books are heavy.

Buying a kindle book is possible, but these don't go out of print.

The used book store I visited today is also much more fun to browse.

The cost of shipment is a major barrier for people who would rather buy books than support FedEx or DHL.

Amazon should probably do high quality scans of the books out of print, and then we could download and print anywhere, or just read on a Nexus or something.

Amazon should also give away Kindle Readers for free. That would save on shipping costs.

Anyway, if you have a notebook computer it is sometimes easier to read larger books on those.

[kharmabum]

OP has been in chiang mai for 1 year but today was the first time he's seen a bookstore?

and after 1 year finally got around to buying a book on how to speak thai?

and he confuses wb yeats with richard yates,the author of revolutionary road and father of the girl who the character elaine from seinfeld is based on?

something ain't right.

[WonderousWand]

The answer to the question, "how do you get from the Night Bazaar to The Lost Bookshop, without going past a girlie bar?" is ..... go in every one.

I went into one of the bars today, just to have a look-see, and I took a video.

I could upload it here if you like, but I am not sure how.

It was a bar I was passing on the way from the tiny bridge walking toward the mountain.

All the furniture in the bar was painted black.

[WonderousWand]

OP has been in chiang mai for 1 year but today was the first time he's seen a bookstore?

and after 1 year finally got around to buying a book on how to speak thai?

and he confuses wb yeats with richard yates,the author of revolutionary road and father of the girl who the character elaine from seinfeld is based on?

something ain't right.

Wait a minute, please.

I said... First bookstore owned by a Farang.

Of course I have been into Suruwong, but did not find it fun.

Also, I was not the guy above who confused Yeats and Yates.

Some guy above misspelled Yeats.

I take no responsibility for this carelessness.

[moe666]

You are a troll and if you have been in CM for a year you would know there are two lost bookstores the other is behind the star bucks next door to the going out of business book store know as geckos. Please keep you opinions about visiting bars to yourself as it really isn.t appreciated. I guess you saw the only two Thais who live in that area the fat one and the skinney one.

[kharmabum]

he may be a troll, but in the larger scheme of things, there is something almost kafkaesque or wg sebaldesque in his writing. a fictional travelogue where a nameless drifter saunters around chiang mai's red light district, solliiquizing about the seediness of life, he stumbles across a used bookstrore where he browses long out of print books as the proprietor quotes yeats. i want to hear more.

Edited June 16, 2016 by kharmabum

[NeverSure]

George is a highly intelligent and literate man.

His bookshops are not in the Loi Kroh bar area.

What is your problem?

George hasn't been in Thailand for quite some time now. He's in the US.

Cheers.

[WonderousWand]

You are a troll and if you have been in CM for a year you would know there are two lost bookstores the other is behind the star bucks next door to the going out of business book store know as geckos. Please keep you opinions about visiting bars to yourself as it really isn.t appreciated. I guess you saw the only two Thais who live in that area the fat one and the skinney one.

In fact, the main purpose of this post is to express my gratitude to the owner of a valuable Chiang Mai resource, a fine bookstore, of which there are now sadly too few.

I am sorry you do not seem to care for my style of writing expression, but I cannot now change just for you.

Perhaps someone will see this post, one who might not have been aware of this bookstore, just as I had not known of it, and be as grateful as I to know of it.

Regarding the other Lost Bookshop, I do not know where it might be.

I actually know very little about Chiang Mai, and I have no personal transportation, nor do I regret not having any.

Most of what I know of Chiang Mai, I see from the moving Rot Deng.

I like to walk, but I should probably actually go somewhere while I am walking, instead of just walking in circles each day which is what I do. 20 K the day before yesterday, in circles. But, with trees and flowers, and blooming bushes, so beautiful.

The reason I do not often go to bookstores is because the bookstores do not have the books I need, mostly for language study.

I have already visited Suruwobg, but there is little there for me, and same with the second largest bookstore opposite one of the Klangs.

Besides, I think I already have all of the Thai language books that I have ever heard of, except that one published by the University of Hawaii professor there, which is in 2 volumes, I forget the name.

I am not that interested in Ken Follett.

[WonderousWand]

George is a highly intelligent and literate man.

His bookshops are not in the Loi Kroh bar area.

What is your problem?

George hasn't been in Thailand for quite some time now. He's in the US.

Cheers.

Well, someone was quoting Yeats, and I think he was from the UK, probably Ireland.

[WonderousWand]

I hate to say it, but when you are right, you're right.

There IS only ONE Lost Bookshop.

(No other Lost Bookshops have been either lost or misplaced, presumably)

Here is a blurb for clarification on the situation.

No bookstores have gone missing, apparently:

"The founders of Backstreet Books started selling books in Thailand about twenty three years ago. It's been a trip, one could write several books on: romance, mystery and espionage. The people you meet love and hate all make it for a life I would not change for any amount of money.

Backstreet Books as it stands has about 70,000 different titles at its disposal. However, we do not intend putting all these titles online. Just a few thousand titles of interesting stuff that is not easy to get hold of. If on the other hand you need some popular fiction or children's books or anything that is not online - contact us and we will try to find it. We have three shops at the moment: The Lost Bookshop. This shop has been selling used books for 21 years. The latest addition is Starbooks which is one year old and is in the heart of the backpacking area here in Chiang Mai.

We source our books in Thailand, Southeast Asia, Europe, America, Australia and India. Only about 15% are brought from travelers. We employ nine local people and without them it just would not happen. They are the heart of Backstreet Books. We also buy huge lots of books from shops whom are closing down, usually ending picking the best stuff off and selling the rest off at cost. We have also done some house clearance - books only."

Of course, I could be wrong.

I am no expert.

And, I have only been in Chiang Mai since the middle of last June.

Edited June 16, 2016 by WonderousWand

[WonderousWand]

he may be a troll, but in the larger scheme of things, there is something almost kafkaesque or wg sebaldesque in his writing. a fictional travelogue where a nameless drifter saunters around chiang mai's red light district, solliiquizing about the seediness of life, he stumbles across a used bookstrore where he browses long out of print books as the proprietor quotes yeats. i want to hear more.

And so you shall.

Something from The Castle.