From Daleks to the Rosetta Stone

Because we knew that jet lag would be catching up to us, we decided to let ourselves have a bit of a lie-in. Before leaving the US, we had planned our activities on our first day: finding our way out to east London to visit the Dr Who bookshop & museum, then back to the city center to see the British Museum. We figured it would be a great way to dive in and get a taste of public transportation and take us across the breadth of the city.

But first we had to break our fast.  For convenience we selected one of the many places near the Notting Hill Gate tube stop, Le Pain Quotidien. Like most of the food we had over the next week and a half, it was delicious.  Michael ordered the cheese & mustard scone while I had the coconut “crunola.” Because we had read in some guidebook or another ahead of our trip that many places don’t offer table service the same way we have in the US, we got in the habit, upon entering any establishment, to inquire whether we should wait to be seated or just pick a table and then order at the bar/counter.  We were surprised when most places seated us and offered full table service, and Le Pain Quotidien was among them.

After fortifying ourselves, we grabbed the tube to Upton Park, or so we thought.  We didn’t realize that some lines stop short of the terminus depicted on the map, so ended up in Plaistow and then had to catch another train to Upton Park.  From there it was about a 7 minute walk to the bookstore. Michael had looked up directions the night before, but as we would discover elsewhere, there is excellent signage at the street level outside of every tube station with maps posted.

Michael’s eyes lit up as soon as we walked inside the store.  There was an entire wall of the Dr Who books, which he collects (and has a few hundred of), plus all kinds of memorabilia and collectibles, including a full sized TARDIS and dalek from the show. Beyond that, there is a small museum at the back of the store that can only be entered via a TARDIS, which was pretty cool.  It was small but it had lots of costumes and props from the original series and the reboot, and for any true fan it was absolutely worth the £3. 

We left Upton Park and took the tube to Tottenham Court Road to get to the British Museum. Once again, I give the highest praise to the signage. There were prominent signs upon exiting the trains which exit to take to get to the museum and then directions from the exit.  It was perhaps a 25 minute ride to the museum and we were still feeling full from breakfast, so we skipped lunch in favor of some extra time with the exhibits. 

Well, damn.  That is one seriously amazing museum, and with free admission (suggested donation of £5), it’s undoubtedly one of the best cultural deals the world. We decided to work our way from the top floor down, starting with the Egyptian exhibits.  Unfortunately the galleries were crazy-crowded, with large groups of school children everywhere, making it a challenge to get a real appreciation for the fascinating items there, much less a good photo.

The famed Rosetta stone 

We stayed until it was time for the museum to close at 5:30 and then took the tube back home.  Unlike our previous rides, this one was during rush hour and it gave us a whole new appreciation of the sardine experience. By the time we got back to Notting Hill we were really quite hungry, so we stopped for an unfashionably early dinner at a pub called The Sun in Splendor. The service was friendly and the beer was cold, but while Michael’s bangers & mash was good, my butternut squash risotto left a little to be desired.

Toward the end of our meal as the pub filled up around us, we decided to share a dessert and have our first gin & tonic of the trip.  The gin & tonic with local Portobello gin was just what we needed, but the rhubarb & apple crisp was mostly a hot, gelatinous goo lacking in flavor.  Totally disappointing.
Still, it had been a full day, and we left feeling both satisfied and successful on our walk back to the Pink House, where we managed to stay awake long enough to watch an episode of Dr. Who before falling deeply asleep.

Next up: the glories of St. Paul, Elizabethan tea, and Harry Potter!

London, or There and Back Again

Our first glimpse of England

I thought that my last blog post was behind me, but my boyfriend and I recently took a big trip and I realized that blogging my travels is the best way for me to remember all of the details. Back in 2015, I took an amazing trip to Ireland with my best friends but because it was during a tumultuous personal time in my life I didn’t blog about it, and now I hardly remember any of the small, quiet moments from that journey.

So, London.  More like LONDON! We chose London because so many of our nerddoms coalesce there and because we found ridiculously low-priced nonstop flights, perfect for people in our tax bracket. We booked on a slightly drunken whim on New Year’s Day and chose May because it was good timing for our jobs, we thought the weather might be nice, and because it’s Michael’s natal month. 

Neither of us had ever been to England before, so it was really fun to spend the long, cold winter evenings researching places to stay and things to do. We pored over websites like AirBnB and TripAdvisor for hours at a time and became nuisances to all of our friends and coworkers who’d ever been to London before as we peppered them with questions. 

On the Gatwick Express to Victoria

We had an overnight flight to Gatwick, where we muddled our way onto a train to Victoria station. We popped above ground to get a look at things, and then we muddled our way on the underground to Notting Hill Gate tube stop.  With Michael’s unerring (and almost eerie) sense of direction, we found our way to the Pink House, our home away from home for the next ten days. 

Travel weary

We came to love this juxtaposition of
older and newer architecture

We became very familiar with the ins and outs of this station

One of the prettier stations, as we discovered in time

The Pink House was still being cleaned when we found it, but the housekeeper let us dump our luggage and change our clothes before heading out to find a spot for lunch. We had passed a few pubs  on our walk from the tube so we circled back to look them over, but none of them had opened yet. So we cooled our heels, explored our neighborhood, and took some pictures until noon when Walmer Castle opened. 

We were the first to arrive, so we picked a corner table and eagerly perused the menu.  Michael decided to jump in with fish & chips while I opted for the chicken, portobello, leek, and pancetta pie. I’m not sure if it was simply our exhaustion, our delight in finding ourselves in a new country, the very fine beer, or a combination of all three, but we both enjoyed our meals immensely  

As much as we enjoyed our meals, they were also quite heavy so after our very short walk back to the Pink House, we did the bare minimum to unpack and familiarize ourselves with our home before tumbling into bed for a two hour nap. Or maybe it was three hours.  It was all quite nebulous. Upon waking, we connected to wifi to find a nearby Indian restaurant with good ratings, which is how we found ourselves at Malabar. 

Not my photo - found on their website

It was a farther walk than I was hoping, but it was completely worth the effort. We were both so tired that we could hardly see straight (as demonstrated by my total lack of photographic evidence), but also peckish despite our heavy lunch. Michael ordered the Malabar prawns masala and I went for the pasanda, which is a lamb dish with cardamom, almonds, and sultanas.  We shared some naan and then decided to try the mango fool for dessert.  Everything was delicious and the mango fool was the perfect ending to a wonderful meal and long day. 

Our darling home

2018: Last Year in Review

 

Oh, 2018.  What a wild ride it has been.  2018 was a year of fresh starts and difficult losses and everything else in between. I said goodbye to a beloved job to take a chance on a new one. I moved for the third time in three years (not recommended) to the other end of the state. My father died. My new job was challenging and fulfilling, but also exhausting. I sorely missed my old home and friends in western MA and found it more difficult than expected warming to my new home and making new friends. However, I visited new places and old friends. I joined the board of my regional trade association and felt recognized for my contributions to New England bookselling for the first time. I bonded with my stepmother and realized that I still have family in MS even after my father’s passing. I have friends deep in my heart who helped me through many rough patches, even if I’ve never met some of them in person.

This may also be my last blog post. My new job is more demanding than my last one, and while I’m extremely pleased that my annual reading is back on track, or at least on its way to being back on track, I’m not sure that I will have the time and inclination to continue. We’ll have to see...

Here, then, is a summary of my reading for 2018, and a glimpse or two at some of my travels that I didn’t cover on my blog. I met my goal of reading 80 books and then exceeded it by two for a total of 82. A secondary goal for the year was to read with intention, diversifying my selection of books and the authors who wrote them. Here are some stats:

Books by female writers: 45
Books by male writers: 35
One anthology, one book written by one man & one woman
Books written by non-binary genders: unknown

Fiction: 63
Non-fiction: 19
Short stories: 9
E-books: 7
Graphic Novels: 5
Middle Grade/YA: 15
Diversity challenge: 30

I read so many excellent books this year, giving 4* or 5* to a much higher proportion of my reading than usual.  One thing I delighted in was the freedom to read anything I desired, whether it was previously published or not, once I started my new job, and I think my ratings reflect that.  In no particular order, here are the best books I read this year (not including any re-reads):

Sorry for the formatting issues.  Blogger isn’t cooperating with letting me put more than one image per line.  It’s unusual that three short story collections would make my top ten, but they were all incredible. Four of these books are by debut authors, which also seems like a high percentage. I sometimes have to fudge the numbers to include a children’s book or any nonfiction in my top ten reads for the year, but the Walter Isaacson and the Sy Montgomery, while being radically different, were both superlative. Ditto for Holly Black’s second series installment and Jarrett Krosoczka’s heartbreaking graphic memoir. 

My new work crew, accepting a local award

Despite starting a new job, commuting back & forth for a few weeks and then moving, and then being away to care for my father and my stepmom, I was able to do a little traveling. I started the year in Memphis with a trip for work that I combined with a visit to see my best friends. I made fun day trips to Brattleboro, VT, and Newport, RI, one with my beloved and one with his family. We bought season tickets to Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, NY, and have traveled there to see Les Miserables and other shows (with Hamilton to look forward to later this year!). We also spent a week near Acadia, Maine, reconnecting with a friend from high school, getting to know his family and friends, and seeing some of the most incredible sunsets I’ve ever witnessed.

I suppose that 2018’s high and lows weren’t necessarily more numerous than other years, but the lows in particular were certainly more intense. I’ve had much to reflect on, with much more yet to come. Along the way, I was grateful to share the journey with the people in my life who mean the most to me. I’m looking forward to 2019 and the new adventures it will bring, including trips to Albuquerque for work, to Memphis to see friends, and to London for the very first time. I’ve completed my first book of the year on the first day of the year, so I hope that bodes well for a good reading year to come. I thank everybody who is reading this, whether you found me for my book reviews or my traveling writing, and I hope that 2019 becomes a year of possibility and hope for us all. 

The Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

Work has been keeping my very busy these last couple of weeks.  I’m grappling with questions about my future and my job, all while trying to stay on top of myriad deadlines.  In the midst of all of that, my book reviewing and blogging have fallen behind a little, so to make myself feel a bit better, here’s a mini review of a new collection of short stories.

Heads of the Colored People is a debut that simply blew me away, particularly the titular story, which is a true powerhouse (with a nod to Eudora Welty). Subtitled “Four Fancy Sketches, Two Chalk Outlines, and No Apology,” it plays with the fourth wall, turns readerly expectations upside down, makes you laugh, and then utterly guts you. I mean, seriously sucker punches you.

I picked up this collection of stories because of the provocative title and stayed for the sheer writerly talent contained within.  Thompson-Spires’ narrative voice is so distinct, so self-assured, that it defies belief that this is her first book.  Edgy but always accessible, she’s a new literary talent to be reckoned with. Put this book on the shelf with Junot Diaz and Roxane Gay, where it will be in good company. Seriously. Just buy this book.

Heads of the Colored People went on sale in the US yesterday, published by Atria, a division of Simon & Schuster.  I read an advance reading copy provided at my request by the publisher. My coworker and I liked this book so much that we made it a selection for my store’s signed First Editions Club, and I am very much looking forward to meeting Nafissa Thompson-Spires in person at the end of this month.

Last Month in Review: March 2018

Image found here.

March was full of so many good books, two of which I actually got around to reviewing already. Out of the nine books, two were nonfiction, one was a re-read, one was an audio, two were graphic novels, and three were by authors of color. I really liked or loved each of them, too, so all the winning for me!

1. Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illustrated by Giovanni Rigano. This book was a useful reminder that I should read more graphic novels.  This one follows a young boy named Ebo in his desperate quest to leave Ghana, cross the Sahara, and make his way to Europe to keep his family together and make a better life. It’s an incredible read. Review here.

2. The Ensemble by Aja Gabel. This debut novel follows a quartet of classical musicians from their years in graduate school through adulthood, children, relationships, etc.  It’s a very good book, and one of the few books I can think of that explores the importance of work relationships and non-romantic intimacies when people’s livelihoods are intertwined. The music writing is pretty incredible, to boot.

3. Things That Make White People Uncomfortable by Michael Bennett. This is one of the two nonfiction books I read this month and the other review I happened to have written.  I had no idea who Michael Bennett was when I picked this book up to read, but it turns out that he’s a professional football player who is also an activist, and he has some pretty terrific things to say.

4. Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple.  I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I read a book that was already published, but I was in a bit of a book slump and not interested in anything I’d brought home from work to read, so I grabbed this one from the shelf.  I liked it.  It has the same wry, bordering on dark, humor that marked Where’d You Go, Bernadette, and the same kind of brilliant and neurotic protagonist, too.

5. America for Beginners by Leah Franqui.  Another debut novel, and this was the right book at the right time for me.  Featuring the widow Mrs. Sengupta from Kolkata takes a trip to the US, where she is accompanied by Ronnie Munshi, her tour guide guide, and Rebecca, her companion (for modesty’s sake). These three unlikely pilgrims make their way across the US, but Mrs. Sengupta has a hidden agenda: to find and meet the partner of her gay son, whom her husband disowned. I love road trip stories, and this one had so many rewarding moments.

6. The Wrong Heaven by Amy Bonnaffons.  This is another debut, this time a story collection that feels like it’s the love child between Kevin Wilson and Kelly Link.  Each story is dark, leading either to a dark & twisted or dark & titillating conclusion. Lee Boudreaux edited this one, and she’s my favorite editor in the industry.  I will blindly read anything she had a hand in, and a ridiculously high percentage of the time I will come away better for having encountered her books.

7. Sisters by Raina Telgemeier. I can’t remember the last time I read two graphic novels in one month, but the one arrived damaged at my bookstore -- too damaged to sell -- so I was able to take it home to read for free.  So much fun, so much truth about sibling and family dynamics! I had read and loved Telgemeier’s Drama and I’m not sure why I never got around to this one until now.  Good stuff here.

8. This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. I am a bonafide fiction girl from way back, but this collection of essays just may be my favorite book by Ann Patchette.  This is maybe my third (fourth) time reading this book and this time I was listening to the audio.  Patchett reads the book herself, so hearing her voice in the car on my daily commute made me feel like I was in the company of a friend.  This book is incredibly useful and insightful if one wants to be a better writer, but I actually think it is just as useful and insightful if one wants to be a better human being. 

9. The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar.  I had the great pleasure of having dinner with Thrity and a couple dozen booksellers last week, courtesy of Harper Collins.  This is the sequel, of sorts, to The Space Between Us, which I had read years ago and enjoyed, but this book, after getting off to a somewhat slow start, became a book that I really loved. The politics of gender, class, and sexuality converge in this heartfelt tale of women and the hardships and indignities they’ve had to survive in 20th and 21st century India.

And just because I happened to have found old photos, here are pictures of Parnassus, the beautiful bookstore in Nashville that Ann Patchett co-owns with the marvelous Karen Hayes.  Wouldn’t it be great to revisit your childhood and find a place for kids that is as magical as the children’s space at this bookstore, complete with a child-sized entrance that requires passing through the pillars of the Parthenon?