But I didn’t give up. And in another bookstore yesterday, I seeked help. I went to a machine, and somehow (no English UI) figured out how to search for books.
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I typed in “Stanislaw” instead of the easily matched “Lem,” and I got some results! They all pointed to this section right next to me that looked like an entire case filled with hard sci-fi.pic.twitter.com/rZwStOBwM4
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Since I cannot easily read a spine, I have to go through them one by one. And I eventually find one of Lem’s books! It’s a paperback of The Futorological Congress with a horrible cover harking back to a failed movie adaptation.pic.twitter.com/P4VtFgFSh3
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I guess it’s good enough? I gather that all the other results in the database were just old and not updated, or maybe in different bookstores…
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But then, just before leaving, I looked up. And there, in the upper right corner, I found an entire section of Lem’s books!!! I never looked for a ladder faster in my life. They were there, with Polish titles alongside Japanese ones! Apparently Lem *is* “big in Japan,” too.pic.twitter.com/KmXJ5m5MSm
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I think this was the closest I ever been in real life to that recurring dream of mine. And so, I got three, including a paperback of Solaris, and a hard cover of Fiasco, which is my favourite book.pic.twitter.com/TI4OzU0fPE
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The books are read right to left, and have that small wraparound band called “obi” that is, I believe, specific to Japan. I remember it from CDs and it was there on the record I bought yesterday. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obi_(publishing) …pic.twitter.com/7V6SisilSS
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So excited to have found them, and I’m actually going to try to read Fiasco! There are so many things here that perplex me: bolded bits and footnotes (neither present in the original). Chapters have their original Polish titles. There also seems to be a glossary at the end.pic.twitter.com/k8ZFZ3UXsI
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Why are there two bar codes? (They actually scanned both.) Why is the text on the page split this way? It’s kind of incredible: this book that I have read so many times, appearing once again as a mysterious, unknown artifact.pic.twitter.com/vncGy32wHi
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Replying to @mwichary
Since it’s read from upper right down and then left each line, it would be really easy to lose your place without a break halfway down the page. Imagine reading a book in English that was wide instead of tall.
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Yes, but the other book didn’t have that split?
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