A Modern-Day Juliet

I recently finished reading Anne Fortier's Juliet, a caper through Italy's Siena, the supposed setting for the original version of Romeo and Juliet, made famous by William Shakespeare but a story that predates him. This historical fiction novel is one I picked up off the Notable Paperbacks table on a trip to Raleigh's Quail Ridge Books. Whatever I pick up from this table never disappoints. One of the reviews cited on the back cover says the book "reads like a Da Vinci Code for the smart modern woman." So of course I had to have it.

Much like another fictional book I've recently about a previous work, The Sherlockian, Juliet alternates back and forth between the heroine, the modern-day Juliet, an American woman in her mid-20s who returns to her native Italy to sort out a family secret and possible inheritance from her mother, and the original Juliet, the daughter in a powerful, feuding family in the 1340s. The two Juliets are connected by family lineage and the modern-day one has a mystery to solve with the help of her twin sister Janice. The two of them have to decide who to trust of the new Italian relatives and acquaintances, a task that proves difficult.

I loved the spunky modern Juliet and how she approaches her mystery. I liked the characters she came in contact and the descriptions of how society in this small Italian town gets things done. Of course I liked it because of the Shakespeare references and this timeless romantic story. But the biggest reason why I picked up this book and enjoyed it so much is because I've been to Siena.

About 10 years ago my grandmother and I visited the northern half of Italy with a tour group and Siena was one of the places where we spent a day. We learned about Il Palio, an ancient horserace that has happened twice each year since the Middle Ages and then saw the Piazza del Campo where the finish line of the race is in the center of town. There is one horse and jockey in the race for each neighborhood in the city, and the winner gets major bragging rights until the next race: first priority seating in restaurants around Siena and all kinds of other preferrential treatment.

Here are a few of my (scanned in) photos of my visit to Siena. Whether or not you've been to this beautiful, ancient Italian town, I highly recommend reading Fortier's Juliet.

Raleigh's Quail Ridge Books

My favorite bookstore in the whole world announced this week that it's for sale. Its owner, Nancy Olsen, who has run Quail Ridge Books for the past 28 years, has decided to retire. Practically as soon as the announcement was made I got emails and a post on my Facebook wall that generated comments about the fact that I should move back to Raleigh and buy it, or go in with a group to do so. My friends know me well! I love this store. In it I've bought scores of books, many of them signed by authors who have traveled there for an appearance. I attended readings there by Amy Tan, Kaye Gibbons, Fred Chappell and many, many others. Nearly every time I go home for a visit I have to stop by and browse the table of notable paperbacks just inside the front door. I can't seem to get out of there without purchasing at least one or two of them, sometimes more. The new owner of the store won't be me, but I hope it will be someone who can let the store remain very much as it has with its knowledgeable staff, cute gift wrap and wonderful author appearances. The community will just miss Quail Ridge too much if it's gone.

Here are two related news stories:

http://www.wral.com/owner-to-close-book-on-quail-ridge-turn-page-to-retirement/11774442/

http://www.wral.com/business/video/11775879/#/vid11775879

My Take on E-Readers

I get asked on a fairly regular basis if I have an e-reader and how I feel about them. I don't have one, and as of right now I don't have any plans to get one. I remember thinking last year on the plane to London how nice an e-reader would be for a trip like that when space is limited but a lot of reading can get done. I also would like to be able to easily borrow books from libraries with an e-reader whether I end up with a Kindle, a Sony, an iPad, a Nook or anything else. I'm sure a software person could tell me why if I really wanted to know, but I still just think these things should all just be universal. I hope one day that will be possible.

I've heard some proponents of e-readers talk of the products' environmental friendliness. Recently, in a weekly email newsletter from Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, the store's owner said, "But--if I heard one more time, 'Well, e-books are more environmentally sound than paper books because they save trees,' I'll....I'll....well, I won't scream, because you can't hear me. So I'll quote an article about this instead." And she linked to this article.

Besides, how cute are my library shelves at home going to look if they no longer have books on them? I like the feel and smell a book provides much more than I'd like to have the convenience of multiple books on one electronic device. If I get one, I'll let you know, but in the meantime and probably even after I'm the owner of an e-reader, I'll still prefer to do my reading from physical books.

Better World Books

I frequent my libraries and I'm pretty frugal when it comes to buying books. I try to buy used and never purchase a brand new hardcover. Since moving to Atlanta, I've yet to find a bookstore that I love as much as Raleigh's Quail Ridge Books (my favorite!), so I've taken to ordering books online rather than purchasing them at a big retailer. Amazon is great, but my very, very favorite is a lesser-known but similar company called Better World Books. They have eco-friendly shipping, fund literacy programs worldwide and are just all-around do-gooders. I love them.

Can you imagine how excited I was to get an email from one of their employees asking me if I'd be willing to participate in market research and usability testing for their website? Until then I didn't even realize they had an office in the Atlanta area. Last week I sat with one of their product usability specialists and we went through their website, talking about the pros and cons, and the ease of finding and ordering books from their site.

I love when someone asks for my opinion on something, because I almost always have one! Then, to sweeten it just that much more, the books I searched for as part of the usability test are in the process of being shipped to my home. And even better, they stayed true to their dedication to literacy by donating to the cause of my choosing, which was my spring 2010 pet project, KIPP Scribes (which has just started for 2011 - more on that in a later post).

A great company is Better World Books. You should order from them. I'll make it easy for you. If you comment on any of my 2011 blog posts before the end of February, I'll send you a discount code to use on your first order.

Happy book shopping!

Reading = Good Memories

I've just finished reading a very satisfying book by Lewis Buzbee called The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop. In light of my recent review of The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future, it was especially nice to read a book that celebrates all the good feelings that come with facing down an entire bookstore and choosing something out of all the inventory available to be YOUR book, and later, opening the pages of that book to savor the contents.

When Buzbee began talking about what really made him become the voracious reader he is, it struck a chord with me. He said that rereading a book can take a reader back to where he or she first experienced that book in such a way: "I was ____ years old when I happened on a novel called _____, and within six months I had read every other book by the writer known as ____." As he also mentioned, he can most times remember his surroundings when he read a particular book.

For me, I was 20 years old when I read As I Lay Dying. I was in my sophomore dorm room on the yellow futon and I read all afternoon each day that week while my roommate was in class. That is how I knew I was completely hooked by 20th century American literature. I was 21 and in a course on Shakespeare's comedies and histories when I put on a crown with streamers and read the part of Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream in Meredith College's pre-renovated Joyner Hall. I was 16 and in my junior English class, listening to my teacher read out every word of the first chapter of The Catcher in the Rye. Each of these times, and many more, I knew I was really cut out to be a reader.

And, if I pick up The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop and read through it again years from now, I hope I will remember where I was when I read it: in a rocking chair on the front porch of a beach house while the sun went down for two nights in a row. My favorite place.

The Debate over E-Books

A few weekends ago I was in North Carolina and had a chance to stop by my very favorite book store, Quail Ridge Books. I'm always able to pick up a paperback there that I haven't yet heard of to enjoy later. This time, Robert Darnton's The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future caught my eye. I just finished reading it the other night.

I expected the book would talk more about how e-readers are changing and will change the face of libraries and the needs of their patrons, and the publishing and bookselling industry. I made this assumption because there is a picture of an e-reader on the book's cover. However, Darnton talked a lot more about how Google's e-book bogarting has brought about lawsuits, and particularly how university libraries and the academic world will be affected (good and bad) by making more books accessible online. So, interesting, yes, but not exactly what I expected.

So far I've resisted purchasing an e-reader for several reasons: 1) They cost a lot and a library card is free, 2) I like to hold books in my hand, 3) I like the way books smell, 4) I like the way books look on the shelf of my library, and 5) I almost never buy books.

Earlier this summer, my husband did ask me if I wanted an e-reader. I answered that until I was able to borrow library books via an e-reader, it was of little use to me. Well, recently my home county's library system in North Carolina started this, and each week they are growing their downloadable e-books. The library system is looking at this as a way to stay current with changing technology and save money. The library system also lowers the risk of losing loaned physical books, a great thing since the cost of replacing books adds up fast.

Attention, Fulton County, Georgia: Where is your e-book program? If you get one, I might consider purchasing an e-reader, especially since they've recently come down significantly in price. Here's hoping you'll have a program soon.