Sunday, July 25, 2010

Sunday Salon - This'n'That

It's one of those Sundays when I'm having a hard time coming up with a Sunday Salon topic!

It's been another busy week; I attended a launch party for Alix Strauss's new novel Based Upon Availability at the swanky Liberty Hotel in Boston and ran into the delightful Dawn of She is Too Fond of Books; this was the second Wednesday-night event in a row for us. The week before, we went to the Harvard Book Store's To Kill a Mockingbird movie night at Cambridge's Brattle Theater. The party was fun; Alix is charming and the place, as I said, was quite fancy. Hotel-themed swag bags, with hotel slippers, snacks and a copy of the book, were given out after the party. Nice!

Friday I visited my alma mater, Wellesley College, with a friend; we spent some time exploring the recently-renovated library- gorgeous! And yes, it still has books.

Yesterday I went to that unusual beast, the not-so-good bookstore. I won't name it; it smells like cat pee. Eww. There was a vintage Jane Eyre there that I kind of wanted, but I passed!

Today I have some errands and a family party tonight so there won't be a lot of time for reading. What I do have will be spent with Avi Steinberg's firecracker of a memoir, Running the Books, about his time as a prison librarian, and finishing up Steve Stern's The Frozen Rabbi. Both are terrific; Steinberg's book is absolutely compulsively readable and he's an amazing writer. I hope I get a few minutes to spend on it today!

What are you looking forward to this Sunday?

More Sunday Salon here.

13 comments:

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

Sounds like you had a very busy week. Isn't it amazing how the books on the shelves of college libraries are dwindling though, due to eBooks?

I LOL when you mentioned the used bookstore that smells like cat pee, because we have one in RI as well, and it the summer after lots of humidity, it can be overpowering in certain nooks.

Have a great week Marie.

Marie Cloutier said...

Bibliophile, I didn't notice that at Wellesley!

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

Ewww...pee in a bookstore? Sounds almost sacrilegious!

Love to have gone to that launch party, though.

Sounds like a great week.

Here's my salon:

http://laurel-rainsnowsaccidentallife.blogspot.com/2010/07/sunday-salon-july-25.html

bermudaonion said...

The launch party sounds like so much fun!!

wisteria said...

I have one that smells like that with moth balls and body odor. Yuck!! Sometimes it's worth the malodorous atmosphere.

I'm hanging out reading today. It is way too hot to leave my house. I might take the dogs out if it cools down later tonight. The greyhounds can't take the heat.
Happy Sunday Marie.

Kathleen said...

Movie night sounds fun! Hope you have a good week.

Kristen M. said...

One of our used bookstores has clearance carts that they put outside under an overhang. They put them out in the winter as well and sometimes don't push them all the way under so that the end books are rained on! Needless to say, I try not to go in the winter because it makes me crazy to see that!

I have to do some shopping today and then I will be reading in the shade.

Anonymous said...

To Kill A Mockingbird on the big screen? Whoa. I'm so jealous.

As someone who works in a library (although be it, not a prison library), that Steinberg book sounds fascinating. I will have to let our library director know about it, so she can order it.

Today I'm continuing to read Donald E. Westlake's Don't Ask, another Dortmunder novel. At least, that's the plan, if a nap doesn't interrupt. :)

Alexia561 said...

Sounds like a busy week! Usually I love the smell of small bookstores, but have visited a few that had...um...not so pleasant smells. :o

Have a great week!

Zibilee said...

I loved Based Upon Availability and am so psyched for you that you got to go to the launch party! Also, the cat pee bookstore is sort of disturbing. Is there cat pee on the books themselves, I wonder? I probably wouldn't shop there either!

Amy M. said...

It is never a good thing when a bookstore smells like cat pee. It is, however, a good sign when a bookstore has a resident cat.

-Amy
Life by Candlelight

caite said...

A library with books...how old school...lol

Anonymous said...

I must get Steinberg's book.