Where have all the bookstores gone?

On my recent vacation to Monterey and Carmel, I was dismayed by the lack of good bookstores in the area. I had packed lightly and, as usual, planned to buy a few paperbacks for my vacation. Monterey is the home of a jazz festival and Carmel is an affluent, very artistic city. I'm sure lots of writers and readers live in the area.

Monterey used to have a large bookstore about a block from my hotel. It was gone. There was a small independent religious bookstore in Monterey--not what I wanted. On Cannery Row, there was a used bookstore with not much selection.

Carmel used to have a lovely independent bookstore near or on Ocean Avenue, the main street. (I remember it had a kangaroo in the window with paperback books in her pouch!) It was gone.

I used Google to find an independent bookstore, River House Books, down the highway from Carmel, in a shopping centre. I found two books that interested me, both non-fiction, and M found one. M would have preferred to buy a SFnovel but they didn't carry genre fiction, only literary novels.

Thanks for saving my sanity, River House Books!

Life is a Song Lyric (example #1)

INT.
Breakfast table.


Me: Whenever John [renovator] does the slightest thing
here, the whole condo ends up full of dust.

Husband: All we are is dust in the wind.

Something Is Rotten

Something Is Rotten

by Barbara Etlin


life is too short
for flossing three times a day

no, I still haven't given up
my addiction to Diet Pepsi

my lack of fresh cavities
is not an invitation
for you to renovate my mouth

although you say
dentistry is not an exact science
(but if I botch it the first time
I'll give a 10% discount
on the second try)

I still believe
temporary or permanent paralysis
is unacceptable

unwaivered
unwavering
I leave
with two unanswered questions

what exactly did you learn
in four years of dentistry school
if it wasn't science

and what makes you think
I'd ever come back
for a second try

Copyright 2012 Barbara Etlin, all rights reserved

Wordless Wednesday

                                   

California Dreaming

                                   

 

We're back from two weeks in California.

We flew to San Francisco and stayed there two days. Then we drove to Monterey, where we stayed ten days, then back to San Francisco to fly home.
Random observations made on the trip:


1. It is possible for someone on a plane to make a five-and-a half-hour sales pitch, practically without breathing. Possible, but not desirable.

2. San Francisco really is a series of picture postcards come to life. It is probably my second-favourite city in the world. Amsterdam would be first.

3. I would not like to drive there. (M was the driver.) If I could get over my fear of heights and steep hills--Hitchcock was smart to set Vertigo in SF-- walking around would be a great workout!

4. I don't see how the Lone Cypress can be owned as a trademark by a company. Regardless, I consider it *my* tree. Fie on you, trademark owners!
5. The Seventeen Mile Drive is wild and serene at the same time.

6. I checked out Asilomar while we were in the area. I had been very curious about it. (It's in Pacific Grove and has its own private beach. Wonderful location for a writing conference.)

7. With treatment, it takes seven days to get over a cold. Without treatment, it takes a week.
8. We received two emails from Echo while he was at camp. He missed us and sent a couple of photos! :-)

Rare sighting of a great grey owl...

...in a town in southern Ontario. The great grey normally is found much further north.

Here's a link to an article in The Toronto Star about it, complete with photos and a video:
http://www.thestar.com/article/1114780--great-grey-owl-ruffles-feathers-in-kingsville-ont

Submitted some non-fiction...

...to a contest.

It feels good.