Lost in Place

The word independence has taken on greater meaning for me in recent months. The word has always represented (for me) the ideals of freedom, individuality, strength, courage and uniqueness. While I was off traveling around, independence was the spirit that moved me. I realize now, that it is also the spirit that shapes so many of my decisions.

Independence is all about choice. Working at an independent, locally-owned neighborhood bookstore is all about personal choice. And so is shopping at one.

I just wrote about the new IndieBound movement over at our bookstore blog. With the July 4th holiday before us, it seemed an appropriate time to mention the initiative here too. I’m excited about IndieBound, and about another project I’m working on in support of independent booksellers in New York City (more on that in the coming months.)

For now, just a friendly reminder to celebrate and support independent retailers in your neighborhood, or wherever your travels may take you.

Have a great holiday!

I just returned from a long weekend in Baltimore, The City That Reads, and although I did not have a chance to visit any indie bookstores this time, I finally got around to creating a map of Charm City literary spots, something I’ve wanted to do for awhile:

This map of independent bookstores in Baltimore is a work in progress, so please email/comment if you have additions or corrections. I’ve included some notes below the map about shops I frequented during the years I lived in Baltimore. Several new bookstores have opened since I left in 2005, and unfortunately, a few others have or will be closing. A good place to keep track of what’s happening on the Baltimore literary scene is the Sun’s new blog Read Street.

Keep reading →

…and yellow, and green, and blue too. I’m loving the colors of springtime, and the weather too. It has been great to be able to spend so much time outdoors lately. Last weekend was a visit to the Botanical Gardens, where I snapped the shot of this dahlia, and some other pics. Then today, I walked to Fort Tyron Park and spent most of the day soaking up sun, reading, napping and listening to a little late afternoon jazz, provided by some musicians who started playing near where I was lounging. I know it’s going to get hot and sticky and muggy eventually — so, until it gets unbearable, I’ll be outside as often as possible.

I love everything I’ve read about this magical artist-run bookstore in Amsterdam. Check out their website, it is loaded with info about unique books by artists. I’d love to collaborate with other artists and book lovers on a shop like this in New York. There are surely enough creative spirits out there to support a few more like it, I think. We need more places like this in our world.

Rolf posts a quote that sums up part of what Lost in Place is all about:

For the first time, it seemed clear to me that travel is not about finding something: It’s about getting lost — that is, it is about losing yourself in a place and a moment.

The full quote from Susan Orlean is here.

In the past few years I’ve developed a strong interest in reading translated works. I enjoy exposure to new (to me) voices by reading translated titles, and I continue to familiarize myself with resources that help me discover international writers. Here are some of my favorite go-to resources:

Pen World Voices:
I was finally able to participate in PEN’s global literary festival this year, although I only had time to attend two of their many sessions. I made it to The Art of Translation at NYU’s Lillian Vernon House, with poetry readings from Russian, Polish and Mexican writers. This was followed by a visit to the New School’s Tishman Auditorium for a fantastically diverse show hosted by The Believer, complete with comedy, live music, a discussion with Scandinavian writers and a Viewmaster art “happening”. Some of their events are reasonably ticketed, but these two were free.

Columbia University’s Center for Literary Translation:
A perk of working at the bookstore is the chance to support CLT by selling books at their campus events. Most recently I attended their Greek Works in English event which featured the writing of Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke, the late Nikos Stangos and Amanda Michalopoulou, who was on hand to read from her new short story collection I‘d Like. It’s wonderful when translator and author can team up to present material, as Amanda did with translator Karen Emmerich, reading the powerful story “Overcome” together.

(One of my favorite parts of attending literary events for translated works is that the authors and/or translators often read in the native language as well as in English. I love listening to foreign tongues, and am downright jealous of folks who are fluent in more than one language. I’ve especially enjoyed the diversity of sound and voice at the literature in translation events I’ve attended.)

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I’ve been inspired by some wonderfully imaginative books lately. Most recently, I just finished reading Anne of Green Gables for the very first time. I’m not sure how I escaped girlhood without entering the magical mind of Anne Shirley! But I’m thrilled to have finally made her acquaintance, and am going to try and read the rest of L.M. Montgomery’s series before my August visit to Prince Edward Island. (I’ll just happen to be up there this summer during the 100th anniversary celebration of the book’s publication.)

Another young adult book that passed me by in childhood was recently recommended by a co-worker. I absolutely loved the play-on-words journey of Milo in The Phantom Tollbooth, a fantasy travel tale like nothing I’ve ever read before. I’ve passed along my copy for others to enjoy, but look forward to reading it again before summer’s end.

And the other night I read a unique “visual novel” - Mr. Fooster Traveling on a Whim is a short work of creative genius! It won’t hit bookshelves till early June, but you can see and hear portions of it online now. This book also introduced me to the work of illustrator Craig Frazier and his imaginative animations. (Click on any of the circles to view his short moving stories.)

Months ago, during my travels in China, I took a day trip from Shanghai to the city of Suzhou. My main reason for going was to meet one of the partners of The Bookworm, Peter Goff, who was hard at work prepping for the opening of the bookstore’s third location in China. (The Suzhou Bookworm is now open.)

That afternoon, I also had time to explore some of the city’s famous gardens and visit the Suzhou Museum. Although an older portion of the museum has been around since the 1960’s, an entirely new structure–designed by I.M. Pei–opened in October 2006. The collection housed within this contemporary masterpiece focuses on the ancient arts and culture of the region. And the emphasis on authentic local craftsmanship carries over from the exhibit space to the first-rate museum shop, where I had the good fortune to meet its owner (and I.M. Pei’s nephew), Gee Pei. A short piece I wrote about the Suzhou Museum shop appears in this month’s National Geographic Traveler:

Not a great scanning job — so why not buy a copy of the current May/June issue? No better time for some travel daydreaming! There are wonderful features on Guatemala, Portugal and a special photo section on one of my favorite places, Slovenia. And when you go to Shanghai and find yourself with time for a day trip, I strongly recommend Suzhou — for the museum shop, and much, much more.

New month, and a colorful flower box decorates my bedroom view.
(Although it’s a bit hard to tell because of the dirty window!)

But still, a marked improvement from this view.
And the sun is shining.
Happy May.

I promised myself I would wrap up my Boston bookstore visits before another month began. So now, finally, here is the last installment — a brief mention of the MIT Press Bookstore that I had a chance to browse through on my way out of town. After a quick meeting with my rep, I headed around the block to a cheerful corner shop that is just steps from the Kendall Square T stop. The store obviously highlights MIT titles, but carries a collection of new and used books from other publishers as well, on topics that fit well with the MIT collection.

During my two days touring bookstores in the Boston area (and I merely scratched the surface, I know), I was also able to meet with my reps and publicity contacts at Harvard University Press and MIT Press. It was wonderful to be able to combine my visits with bookstore event folks with a few additional face-to-face meetings with these reps who I most often interact with through a tunnel of emails. It was refreshing and enjoyable to be able to meet all these colleagues in-person, something I hope to do in other cities in the coming months.

As a wrap up, the other Boston-area bookstores I visited:

Brookline Booksmith

Harvard Book Store

Globe Corner Book Store