May was a really busy month at the bookstore and I feel like these past few days our blog has become a way for all the booksellers at Lemuria to keep up with each other. Some of us on vacation and some of us at the great book conference in NYC and thankfully, some left to run the store. Well, I just came back from the mountains in North Carolina. To sum it up bluntly, this vacation pretty much kicked my butt. A lot of that has to do with Graybeard Mountain (elev. 5650).  The expression on my face was the closest thing to a smile I could muster once we reached the top. I’ll actually be ready to go back to work on Tuesday.

Back to books, I took along two bags of books for me and my sweetie. Here’s what I dipped into:

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman: I liked it a lot. Very pleasant, good dialogue, laugh-out-loud sections, a really neat book. I did not gush, however. See Kelly’s blog on this. This is a great book for vacation.

The Glass Room by Simon Mawer: Gorgeous. Thanks for the suggestion, Nan. I am still not done with this one. But I can tell you that this novel has a little bit of everything: delicious prose, subtle eroticism, intrigue . . . also a great book to take on vacation.

The World Has Changed: Conversations with Alice Walker edited by Rudolph P. Byrd: This collection of interviews with Alice Walker helps the reader to get a good overall sense of Alice’s writing. I admit that I have shied away from some of her work. This books explains “the why” behind much of her writing and opens the door for the reader to pick up some lesser known novels.  The title of this interview collection comes from a poem Alice wrote in 2008. Before I opened the book, I took the title in the negative sense. It is not. The poem reminds us of the strength we have to change ourselves and the world around us.

The world has changed:
This does not mean that
You were never
Hurt.
The world
Has changed:
Rise!
Yes
&
Shine!
Resist the siren
Call
Of
Disbelief.
The world has changed:
Don’t let
Yourself
Remain
Asleep
To
It.

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