Finding My Wings

Visiting America beyond the rest stops

There’s so much to be seen between here and there,wherever there is. Having a more flexible schedule and internet connections EVERYWHERE made our recent road trip possible. Here’s what we found.

First stop – Greensboro, NC. Independent bookstores are often a reason we choose our stops. With Scuppernog Books as our destination, we arrived at the historic downtown in time for lunch. The bookstore is wonderful – not very large but with a strong and diverse collection so there’s something for everyone. I always keep an eye out for local authors and found a title I had heard about elsewhere. Experience has shown that booksellers know something about where good local food can be found. We spent the 30 minute wait for a table at Crafted wandering the neighborhood.

BTW, the fish tacos were definitely worth the wait!

On a lighter note, here’s a bit of trivia. Vicks VapoRub was created by a pharmacist in Greensboro and a historic marker is there to tell the tale.

So for the history, this downtown strip of Greensboro is full of historic structures, the facades calling back to an earlier era. Most important is the F.W. Woolworth Building, looking from the outside as it did decades ago. Unknown-4 This five-and-dime is very special. It is the site of the February 1960 lunch counter sit-in. The building is now the International Civil Rights Center & Museum. The lunch counter is in the Smithsonian American History Museum.

Before leaving Greensboro, we went across town to an extraordinary used bookstore, Pages Past, owned by Roger March. Roger buys housefuls of books – my favorite on the shelves was three volumes of Connecticut probate documents from the late 1700’s. Out of the many, he searches for the rare jewel and he does find them. Top to bottom, in every corner there are books. Almost 80% of his sales are from online inquiries. So what did I buy? There was a copy of A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle’s classic work. I had a presentation coming up and it was on the book list. When I went to the counter Roger told me I had selected a very special book. Amidst the thousands, I had picked his personal copy from college. Clearly a kindred spirit.

Our plan was to explore next a bit of Charlotte after visiting Park Road Books, a wonderful bookstore with an abundance of local author titles. Mother Nature had other plans and the heavens opened. Not before I made my book purchases!

The next morning, off to Hilton Head, SC, for a visit with my parents.

History, One Character at a Time: Fiction

One of the beauties of historical fiction is having a lens to see shattering events through the eyes of a small number of characters. For many, troop movements, names of battles and the immense number of casualties is beyond comprehension. The human toll of war is lost in the numbers. Successful authors of high quality historical fiction devote more time to research than writing. As a reader, the novels are a first step to re-examining a time in history. But it is critical to remember these books are fiction. Here are five titles to add to your reading list.

Hungary was occupied much later in WWII at a time when the Nazis were desperate for labor to continue their march. As such, the men taken by the Nazis, both Jews and non-Jews, were often subjected to back-breaking slave labor conditions, felling trees, digging roadways and other activities designed to increase the Nazi reach. In the historical novel, The Invisible Bridge, Julie Orringer’s follows two families from the cultural and educational heights of the late 1930’s in Paris and Budapest through the devastation and aftermath of the war. While the story itself is clearly fiction, the underlying setting is carefully researched and paints a detailed portrait of the vise-like shrinking of normalcy in daily life as the Nazi influence and power spread.

It is easy to forget how big the world is and how remote many areas were during World War II. Nathacha Appanah’s The Last Brother is set on Mauritius, a British colony in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The reader first encounters Raj as an older man, looking back at his life. Raj was born on the island, home to a sugar factory and subsistence economy, beset by the vagaries of nature. During a horrific storm, Raj’s brothers are swept away. The tender ministrations of his mother cannot offset his father’s temper and brutality.

One day a ship delivers to a fenced camp on the coast hundreds of white-skinned people, some with yellow hair and blue eyes, completely different in appearance from the local population. Through the fence, Raj makes a friend and finds a brother. The island’s population knows little about these imprisoned people, where they came from or why they are being held. This is a heart-wrenching story of family, friendship and loss, set in 1944 when a ship actually did bring European Jews trying to escape to Palestine to an interment camp. This small but powerful book tells a story that resonates far beyond its time or place. Continue reading History, One Character at a Time: Fiction

Road trip – I brake for bookstores!

Come summer it is time to get moving and time to chill out. Whether on vacation or just eking out one more experience with the extra hours of daylight, the pace definitely changes.

My reading changes as well. Summer is a catch up time when I have fewer book group titles to read and prepare. After going to Book Expo, it is also the opportunity to search for the yet-to-be-released jewel I can share with my book loving friends. Right now I am reading Alice Hoffman’s The Marriage of Opposites. Its historical fiction set in the Caribbean and France in the 19th century and tells of the family origins of Camille Pissarro, the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painter.

We’re off on a road trip and have already picked out (thanks to www.indiebound.org) the independent bookstores we’ll be stopping at en route through North Carolina. I’ll let you know where I go and what local gems I find.

Speaking of sharing, I’d like to ask for your feedback. I’m so pleased when someone tells me s/he has been reading this blog. It may come as a surprise but information on who and how many people are looking at the blog is very difficult to come by. Since you are reading this could you please let me know you are out there? And to make it more appealing to everyone, let me know what you are reading now and I’ll put a list in an upcoming post.

If you are seeing this via email, either reply or comment.

If you read this on Facebook, comment with a title or PM if you’d prefer to remain anonymous. If you like what you are seeing here I’d be thrilled if you’d share it so others can see it as well.

And if you happened upon the post some other way, welcome and I’d love to know how you found me.

Thanks for joining on my journey!

The Power of Water – Michelle Brafman’s Washing the Dead

Water is essential to life. Calming, cleansing, purifying, devastating – from a cup of tea, to a hot bath, to a torrential downpour – it all starts with water. Michelle Brafman naturally weaves water in all its forms throughout her debut novel, Washing the Dead.

The story revolves around Barbara Pupnick Blumfield, a member of the sandwich generation. Mother to Lili, a teenager facing stresses and challenges common today, and daughter of June, her mother, whose new health challenges threaten the emotional distance Barbara has fought hard to maintain. Washing the Dead is a story about keeping secrets from those you love and baring secrets to be able to share love. Continue reading The Power of Water – Michelle Brafman’s Washing the Dead

2017 UPDATED: A Book + Dad + You = A Great Gift

When I was growing up, books and reading were always very important. Like many other fathers, my dad spent long hours at work and volunteered in the community. He read the local newspaper daily but much of his other reading was reports and minutes and quotes and diagrams.

While he still spends lots of time volunteering and reading reports, Dad dedicates time each day to reading for pleasure. An engineer by training and methodical to a fault, his reading tastes are now rather eclectic. Dad reads memoirs and mysteries, histories and titles with a touch of fantasy. His willingness to read outside the box is delightful and gives us many opportunities to talk about topics that otherwise wouldn’t come up.

With my father in mind, here are some titles that your father or another important person in your life might like to receive this Father’s Day. No need to worry about size or color, and there’s no ugly tie involved. Love you Dad!

If you don’t have a local independent bookstore, consider choosing to support one in another community when you shop online. Many will also give advice and take orders over the phone. Find one at www.indiebound.org. Continue reading 2017 UPDATED: A Book + Dad + You = A Great Gift

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