Sunday, June 12, 2011

Sunday Salon - a new find, Greenlight Bookstore!

My Sunday Salon post is running a little bit late today. I have a good reason for this, though! It's been a wonderful Sunday morning (and early afternoon!). After reading late into the night...or actually early morning hours...I slept in, something I don't often do. While enjoying my coffee with Cutting for Stone, Mr. Magoo started rubbing his cheek along the corner of the book, something he loves to do when I'm reading and usually means "Pay attention to me!" lol. So, while I gave him a good 'mushing up' and rubbed his cheeks and head, a great idea for a story popped into my head. I try and write at least a little bit everyday like so many writers recommend but I haven't had a really good idea, one I liked that I felt I could actually do something with, in quite a while. As a result, my creative writing has really slacked off. So I was very excited about this idea and spend several hours, enhancing it, thinking about it, writing is, sketching out characters ideas & descriptions and more. It was fantastic, fun, frustrating, headache=producing and so much more. I hope I can write something I like with this idea!

One other nice thing about today is the weather! The heat and humidity that moved in the last half of the week is gone with the end of the rain storms Friday and Saturday. It was wonderful waking to cool, breezy air. The cats are no longer lolling about, fully stretched out on the floors. They're back to sleeping in their beds or on various blankets and pillows. But first, most of them ran around like little nutters! The cool air gave Lola, Magoo, Addie, JoJo, Huxley, Sadie and even Bob so much energy! Most of those cats play, run and jump around often but Bob doesn't usually move much and prefers rest & sleep to major activity. Bob saw one of his favorite toys, a simple red piece of plastic that looks like a piece of rotini pasts and he batted around the room and then, suddenly he was running from one end of the room to the next, toy forgotten, and then from one room to the next at break-neck speed, leaping onto tables, bins, chairs and anything that was in the path of his run. It was hilarious! Bob only lasted at this about 10 minutes but it was great to watch...the other cats were mesmerized & a little scared & smart enough to stay out of Bob's way!

I think I forgot to mention last week that I discovered a beautiful bookstore not far from my home. It's the Greenlight Bookstore. It's a little more than a year old. I've been meaning to visit it for a while now and am happy I finally did because it's a terrific store. It's larger than I expected and is simple with white walls, wood floors and large windows so it's airy and light-filled. Books and book-related items are everywhere you look, of course, but it's fantastic to see! It has a terrific collection of books and many wonderful display tables. One of my favorites was a big display of Europa editions books, I love the look of these books! I didn't know where to look first! I spent a couple of hours browsing but I didn't buy anything. I'm surprised and shocked, too! I have my eye on a few books and will be going back soon. The store has authors come in for readings regularly and hosts other events, I think. I'm very excited about my new bookstore find am trying not to be too aggravated with myself for not getting to the Greenlight Bookstore sooner!

I'm still a little behind on reviews. I have some ready for this week including Dreams of Joy by Lisa See and The London Train by Tessa Hadley. I'm still reading Miss Timmins’ School for Girls by Nayyana Currimbhoy and Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and really enjoying both of them. I'm also reading Strange Relations by Rachel Hadas. I tried to read this book about a month ago but I was distracted and couldn't focus on it. Rachel Hadas is a poet and writing in this beautiful. It's also a story that deserves my undivided attention, which it's now receiving! I've just started Family Album by Penelope Lively. I haven't started The Astral by Kate Christensen yet as I thought I would but it's next on my list!.

What are you reading and enjoying this Sunday?
I hope you're having a good weekend!

8 comments:

  1. It sounds like Mr. Magoo needs to beg for attention more often. Congrats on getting some good writing done.

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  2. I love a good bookstore! There's a small used book store close to my home that has a great selection for $5 or less. I found a pretty recent edition of The Count of Monte Cristo there a couple of weeks ago and have been thoroughly immersed in it ever since.

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  3. Sounds like you've read some good books lately. Congrats on the restraint you showed when visiting the new bookstore.

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  4. I don't think I knew that you did some writing on the side. I have ideas all the time but rarely sit myself down to write them out. I am not disciplined that way. It's horrible.

    I hope you had a nice Sunday. I am about to put The Girl to bed in a bit. That's when I will be able to sit down (hopefully).

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  5. wow, sounds like you had a very productive Sunday :)
    I love the story about Mr. Magoo. Our dog does something similar; he'll start batting a ball around and then the next minute he's chasing some invisible thing around the house until he collapses; he doesn't last as long as Magoo, tho, he only runs about 2 mins before he gives up, lol.

    I've read about Greenlight; how it's one of the new independent stores that has actually managed to flourish in this bad for bookstores economy. I love the Europa editions too; apart from the great content, I just love the way the books look (is that shallow?)....the covers are always so interesting, and I like the format, the way the book seems to have a book jacket even though it's a trade paperback.

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  6. It sounds like you had a wonderful day! I would love to one day get a chance to read some of what you are working on. I can imagine that it's probably pretty darn good! I hope that you have a great reading week this time around, and enjoy the time with your kitties!

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  7. Sounds like a fabulous day. A great writing idea and a wonderful book store ... what could be better?

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  8. Good to encourage your writing muse!! When I used to grade papers, Jezebelle would get my attention by grabbing at my pen or picking up the papers and running with them!!

    Are you enjoying CUTTING FOR STONE? I thought it phenomenal.

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