Pete and I toured the streets of Charlottetown, PEI today. Without order, we explored the marinas and discussed the architecture, when a small sign caught my attention. Located at the corner of two streets, the sign claimed, “local books ahead.” I hastily took hold of Pete and swung us ‘round the corner, my appetite whetted by imagined stories of local folklore and ghosts.
Upon entering, I cried out, “Where are your local books!” The jovial bookseller pointed me in the right direction and added his recommendations on the latest. As I shopped, he put on a fresh pot of coffee and the little book nook took on a heady scent.
My host, a cheeky old salt, with rousing beard and salaciously witty manners, had a Gordon’s Fisherman appearance. It is with professional curiosity I asked him which genre he preferred to read. He likes a good mystery or thriller, quick to point out the new Evanovich, but in truth, he leans less towards the genres and more towards the books of substance.
My question, “Would that be the substance of learning in non-fiction or the substance of literary fiction?”
My short Hemingwayish peddler said he enjoyed the writings of modern literary greats like Nobel Prize winner, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. As he named his favorites among Senor Marquez’s works, I thought it about time to tackle “Love in the Time of Cholera.” I mean RA is more effective when one actually reads the recommended books.
To this Papa I owe a gift. What recommendation can I possibly make as equal?
PEI's best bookstore is called The Reading Well.
Friday, July 21, 2006
July 7, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I've never actually been to PEI - glad to hear you had such a great experience there. Did you see Anne's house?
I'll be interested to see what you think of 'Love in the Time of Cholera' - I've had that on my 'to read' shelf for awhile, but GGM intimidates me.
The green gables are as shiny as ever. When you go, go early, busses hit around 11:00am.
I LOVED, "Love in the Time of Cholera"! It was dense, little conversation and filled with character thoughts. A chapter, around 50 pages, took hours to read.
I HIGHLY recommend it! I looked over my husbands shoulder this morning and he is on page 179.
I'll tell you, when I finished I couldn't sleep, kept repeating the last line. My next book, "The Mermaid's Chair," felt comical, like an easy book.
The last chapter had me thinking, "African Queen" with Bogart and Hepburn. ;-) Maggie
Post a Comment