Bookstore: "Bookstore" in Lenox, MA

Today we were in Lenox, MA with Dave & Avi for Fathers' Day weekend.  We spent a few minutes walking around Bookstore, a lovely little store that smells like old books and was just the right amount of disorganized.

While I had taken Sasha into Barnes and Noble in the past to get something for myself, it was the first time I was in a bookstore with her and thinking about how important it is for her to see books, be read books, and grow to love books.  They didn't have a lot of kids' books for her age group, although I did notice some Corduroy books. I couldn't find the original - I have to order that for her soon.

State of Fear by Michael Crichton

Web bought this book at our library's book sale before a trip he had a few weeks back.  He loved it, so I took it on my last business trip.  Sadly, I did not love it.  In fact, I barely liked it.

This book is about climate change.  It follows the unlikely adventures of a lawyer who is representing a philanthropist who is donating a large sum of money to an environmental charity.  However, soon they are thrust into a chase around the globe after eco-terrorists who are seeking to make an environmental point about global warming.

I didn't mind the far-fetched plot; the escapism of a Michael Crichton book is why I choose it.  However, Crichton used the book - excessively - to the detriment of the story - as a platform for poking holes in global warming.  In barely-disguised dialogue among characters, Crichton debated the science behind climate change.  It was distracting - suddenly I was reading Sophie's World rather than Jurassic Park.

Disappointing.

The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs by Nick Trout

I noticed this book at Barnes and Noble, then requested it from the library.  It's about a man named Cyrus who goes back to his small hometown in Vermont after his father's death to close down his veterinary clinic.  Except that would be a short book - instead, Cyrus ends up entangled with various people in town and finds that it is not easy to just "close down" the clinic.

There are some funny characters in this book, including certain animals.  The author is a doctor at Angell Memorial, so I'm sure he drew upon his experience to create some of the characters.  At times, Cyrus feels like a character from an Alexander McCall Smith book - very smart in a small-town way, figuring out clever connections and solving petty crime.

However, I didn't find this book quite as quaint as a McCall Smith book - in fact, I didn't think the book was as quaint as it thought it was.  While I enjoyed the stories about the animals and played along with some of the connections and mysteries, (AND respect the heck out of a vet who writes a novel) I didn't love the book and I didn't find Cyrus a compelling protagonist.

The Milk Memos by Cate Colburn-Smith and Andrea Serrette

This book was great - it's a semi-autobiographical account of several women who meet while pumping breastmilk at work at IBM.  It mixes information and tips about breastfeeding and pumping with excerpts from a journal they kept together while pumping.  I think some of the characters in the book were real, and others were composites of women the authors got to know.

A quick read, I enjoyed this book while I was feeding the baby.  While there weren't that many new tips in the book for me, I did like feeling like I was part of a larger community of pumping moms.  It was also a good inspiration for the business trip I recently took.

Probably not a book anyone would like unless they are in this situation, but I am so I did!