Category Archives: books

Winchester Book Gallery

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Bookstores are a weakness for me. It’s especially fun to seek out independent booksellers which often specialize in a different caliber of books than the chain stores or a big box store.

I always look for bookstores in my journeys.

Winchester Book Gallery in Old Town Winchester, Virginia is a favorite of mine. It’s tiny but they have packed a ton of good stuff inside and even kindly offer a public restroom – something that’s increasingly hard to find in Covid times.

The employee working the cash register was delightful too. She asked where I was from and seemed truly excited that I had stopped by. We agreed that the best vacation souvenirs are books.

A hallway from the grown-up books to the children’s section features some great advice including the above message on the wall. It’s terrific advice, if you ask me.

I regret not photographing the children’s space because it was a really sweet area for little ones. In fact, the interior of this entire store is small but quaint and cozy. It’s the kind of place you might wish to linger on a rainy day.

Find Winchester Book Gallery online for more information and be sure to visit if you’re in the area.

Down A Rabbit Hole

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It takes precious little to send me down a rabbit hole when I have time to go pursuing random and unneeded information.

For example, my 100th book of 2020 was “Love, Lucy,” the autobiography of Lucille Ball.

This book is superbly done and it felt as though Lucy was sitting there chatting away about her life through the mid-sixties. Throughout, she mentions a number of movies, plays, actors, places and other subject matter that kept me reach for Google.

Her mention of beloved actor Gale Gordon reminded me of early mornings a few years ago when I would get up early for reruns of “Our Miss Brooks.” This sent me looking for information on actress Eve Arden who starred in this show that was produced by Desilu Studios.

She always reminded me of Lucille Ball but I didn’t realize that they had worked together and that she had also played the school principal in the Grease movies.

And then I went looking for other shows from the Desilu production family. All were long before my time and many unfamiliar to me. However, a number of hit shows were filmed at their studios including Andy Griffith, That Girl, Gomer Pyle, My Three Sons and the Dick Van Dyke Show.

I used to love the Dick Van Dyke Show and so I went looking for clips which led me back to this awesome music video by the Dust Bowl Revival that stars Mr Van Dyke.

Really, it never gets old so watch it.

It was about this time that I remembered my visit to Stonewall Jackson’s Headquarters in Winchester, Va. where I learned a story with a Mary Tyler Moore connection. Click the link above for that story!

And then I went looking for pictures from my Winchester trips.

This microphone was used by Patsy Cline and can be seen at her childhood her home.

And this is a brief glimpse into my mind when I have too much time to think and peruse the internet.

Exhausting, isn’t it?

Tattered Cover Book Store

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Some people buy T-shirts and shot glasses on their travels.

I buy Christmas ornaments and books.

Honestly, nothing makes me happier than roaming around an independent bookstore on vacation, especially when it’s in a great building.

Tattered Cover Book Store is a Denver landmark and one of the best bookstores I’ve ever seen.

They’ve been in business since 1971, starting with one location and growing to several in the Denver area.

The selection is extensive and impressive. It’s also well organized and easy to navigate.

A handful of strategically placed chairs invite shoppers to linger and a greeter at the door is available to explain safety rules.

One thing that really sets them apart is that staff picks can be found throughout the store. These selections are identified by a card that explains why they recommend the book.

I wish every book store did this!

If you’re ever in the Denver area and enjoy a great bookstore, look up Tattered Cover Book Store. Click here to learn more!

You Can’t Buy Happiness

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You can’t buy happiness but you can buy books and that’s kind of the same thing.

That’s especially true when there is a favorite author’s new book and a free afternoon at hand.

Fannie Flagg has been threatening to retire for some time, saying that each of her novels will be the last. In fact, I still haven’t read the book she released a few years ago because once I read it I will no longer have a Fannie Flagg book to anticipate reading.

How nuts is that?

In case you aren’t familiar, she is the author of the novel “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” which was turned into a hit movie starring Jessica Tandy and Kathy Bates in 1991.

She has written many other wonderful books and she tells the rest of the Fried Green Tomatoes story in a new novel called “The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop.”

When I bought the book, I swore that I would read slowly, cherishing each word and really savor the experience.

These were lies. All lies.

I tore through this book in a marathon reading session Saturday.

It was wonderful. The book leaps through time ranging from the 1930s when Whistle Stop was still a bustling railroad community through present day. You meet new characters and catch up with some old ones, learning some of the story behind the story.

It was delightful.

The book isn’t without faults but it was nothing that can’t be overlooked.

Plus, it was exactly what I needed to take my mind off the madness of the world around me.

How are you relaxing these days? Have any authors to recommend? I am always on the prowl for a new read so don’t hold back!

The Day The World Came To Town

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Looking for a good read? Maybe something heartwarming that reassures you there’s still good in the world despite how mean your social media friends have become? This is an excellent choice!

“The Day The World Came To Town” is a first book by Jim Defede. Well researched and beautifully written, this book is officially one of my favorites.

It’s about the Canadian town of Gander (population approximately 10,000) which absorbed about 6,500 passengers and crew from 38 planes diverted to their town when American air space was closed on 9/11.

The people of this and neighboring towns rallied, opening emergency shelters in every church, community center, school and fraternal organization they could find. Residents stripped bedding and towels from their homes to care for these unexpected guests. They took care of quarantined pets at the airport, offered phones and computers for communicating with loved ones, bought toys for the hundreds of stranded kids and operated free taxi services to help people get to the store for new clothes because they weren’t able to access their checked luggage.

They gathered medicine, food, and diapers. Stores donated toothbrushes and toiletries. Locals opened their homes to strangers, inviting them to shower, watch tv or even stay the night. They called them the “plane people” and it seemed that everyone was eager to help make them comfortable and feel welcome.

And they did this for days.

It’s a depressed area and these people didn’t necessarily have a lot to give. However, they gave freely of what they had to help these weary, frightened and stranded travelers who arrived as strangers but left as friends.

A native of my community was on one of those planes and I once heard her recount her 9/11 experience. She told of how the passengers on her plane agreed to pool their resources to start a scholarship fund for the children of the town as a way of expressing their gratitude for the kindness they found here. By the way, she even talked the plane’s crew into letting her use the plane’s PA system to address all the passengers at once.

Donations were made by individuals and foundations to fund new computers for the school, food for the needy, a new roof for a church… the list goes on. But the community didn’t help because they might get something in return. They did it because there were people in need and it was the right thing to do.

Read the book. It will make you feel better and perhaps remind you of what can be done when we all work together.

The June List

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This month’s reading list had a theme even though I didn’t intend for that to happen. It’s just a natural result of my curiosity about current events.

Almost everything this month was notable save for the Mary Higgins Clark. I solved the mystery when the character was first introduced. Sigh.

The Night The Lights Went Out by Karen White is also a mystery that I figured out kind of quick. I never did decide if that was an intentional decision by the author to influence the reader’s opinion of the main character or if it was just poor planning on her part. It doesn’t matter because I enjoyed the story and many of the characters. It was a good palette cleanser between some other books that were less easy to stomach.

White Fragility by Robin Diangelo is a New York Times bestseller that I sincerely believe every American, regardless of race, should read. The title is likely off-putting to some but this is a frank discussion of race that is written by a white woman with years of experience in the field. One thing I really appreciate about this book is how she talks about several ways that white people tend to be racist, even when we think we’re not. More than that, she discusses why it’s important. She doesn’t villainize so much as she challenges the reader to take a hard look at their own beliefs, reactions and interactions with others. If you read nothing else from this list, choose this one.

Tuskegee’s Heroes is a beautiful little volume of art and photos that tells stories of some of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. This history and aviation buff was enthralled by the meaningful impact that this group of men had on the war and in race relations on the homefront.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee sticks with the theme of racism in America. If you haven’t read this classic, put it on your list because every American should read this one too. Much has been written about this book and I can’t do it justice in a paragraph but just know that it tackles issues of prejudice through a child’s eyes. The town of Maycomb where it is set reminds me a lot of my own hometown and the issues tackled here sound awfully familiar sixty years later.

And just so you know, I named my cat after the main character Scout, not after the car as some people have suggested.

Spencer’s Mountain by Earl Hamner Jr. was the basis for the classic television show The Waltons. For a short time, I hoped to visit Earl Hamner Jr’s home place on my July vacation and reread the book to help me prepare. I hate to say it but I like the characters and stories of the tv show better but this book is still a classic good read and a throwback to a simpler time. It was a much needed break from protests, Covid and politics.

The John Muir book at the top of the pile is a selection of writings by Muir. Short, sweet and the type of book you might pick up and read a chapter from whenever you need a little connection to nature.

In all, it was a good reading month that consisted of some things to make me think as well as a few escapism pieces. I will say it once more for everyone in the cheap seats. If you have any interest in what all the protesting is about, pick up White Fragility. Your local library should have it but a paperback copy costs about ten bucks. I’m guessing you will learn something about yourself and your world that you had never even thought about.

What are you reading these days?