Web and I went to the Vineyard (that's Martha's for the benefit of those of you not from New England) this weekend to visit Jamie who is living there this summer. While cleaning out the boarding house that she is managing, she found piles and piles of old books. I love the variety & juxtaposition. Also the colors of the pages - check out these pics.
I also checked out two bookstores in Vineyard Haven, one of the small downtown areas on the island. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the first store we wandered into - it was a stationary store with books in about the first third of the area. The most notable thing was that the books all had current event and political themes, even most of the fiction. Webster and I chuckled at how much the bookshelves looked like the ones at our house! From Michael Lewis to Ascent of Money, Descartes' Bones, Krugman's latest book, and for fiction, Edgar Sawtelle, both of Khaled Hosseini's books, Wally Lamb, and plenty of other favorites of ours. It was kind of uncanny!
I also checked out two bookstores in Vineyard Haven, one of the small downtown areas on the island. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the first store we wandered into - it was a stationary store with books in about the first third of the area. The most notable thing was that the books all had current event and political themes, even most of the fiction. Webster and I chuckled at how much the bookshelves looked like the ones at our house! From Michael Lewis to Ascent of Money, Descartes' Bones, Krugman's latest book, and for fiction, Edgar Sawtelle, both of Khaled Hosseini's books, Wally Lamb, and plenty of other favorites of ours. It was kind of uncanny!
Next we went to Vineyard Haven's more well-known bookstore, Bunch of Grapes. This
bookstore burned down last year and just re-opened last week, so I was fortunate to get a chance to visit.
bookstore burned down last year and just re-opened last week, so I was fortunate to get a chance to visit. I'm not sure I would have known that there was a fire had I not been told, but knowing it I am pretty sure I could smell both paint and smoke. The selection was great - and a wonderful selection of new trade fiction that grew my reading list by about a mile. The upstairs had expansive ceilings with exposed wooden beams, ceiling fans, and a huge stained glass window. I exercised extreme willpower and did not purchase anything, but that would not be scalable were I to spend a summer on the island.
In the spirit of books this weekend, I also finished two more I had been in the middle of that I'll review shortly - The Gathering and Omnivore's Dilemma. Jamie also lent me Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society which I'll get to later this summer. Starting tomorrow night I crack into Infinite Jest. And I'm not afraid to admit that I am scared.
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