{used books, letters and friendship}

84 Charing Cross Road. It could´ve been Anne Bancroft´s enchanting smile or witty remarks or perhaps it comes down to the simple story and how Helene Hanff managed to takes us all on that compelling journey of over 20 years. Nostalgia, Dickensian bookshops, New York and London in the 50s, it has it all. I cant recall the amount of times Ive watched it, if i could only add up the scratches on the dvd I might get a clue! Needless to say plenty, I know the dialogue by heart and the works of every writer that is mentioned throughout the film.

This 100 minute jewel about a script reader from New York city buying used books from a little shop called Marks & Spencer in London, has contributed to shaping me into the person that I am today. I started craving a life of books and old fashioned correspondence. I became a writer and my first novel (which you will have the pleasure of reading if I ever finish it) is practically a distant cousin of this story. There are letters and stamps in the plot. And lots of British references.

This movie strengthened my eternal love affair with the city of London. The longest love story I have ever been a part of. Before I had the opportunity to step on Trafalgar Square or Tower Bridge, I had a dream, just like Helene.  I felt such a strong connection to London I felt as though I had lived there in a past life. And I too started a snail mail friendship with a person from London. As a matter of fact we spent 7 years writing to each other back and forth. And I would get so excited and emotional every time a package or envelope arrived. it was from the other side of the Atlantic! We got to know each other so well, exchanging news, photos, magazines and stories, so many stories…

However, unlike Helene Hanff and Frank Doel, we did get to meet and luckily that friendship has survived time, distance and new means of communication…

Im a little embarrassed to confess that I too wished at some point to live in a brown stone New York building, dress in wool clothing and walk to the post office. But as it turns out Im a slightly bit more sophisticated than that and Im much more comfortable in jeans and t-shirts, but its the essence that remains.

I too love watching people through my apartment window, hosting dinner parties with neighbors and friends, reading Elizabethan love poems in the park and drinking hot tea. Im fascinated by used books, those that belonged to someone else and have margin notes and underlined favorites. Ive made a hobby out of “literary tourism”, going to different parts of the world to find those special bookshops with volumes that go up to the ceiling and the smell of dust and employees with curious Hogarth noses.

If  one of these days you happen to be in London and pass by 84 Charing Cross Rd, you will currently find a Pizza Hut but know that once there was magic in that spot, not too long ago it was a  little bookshop called Marks & Co...