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Museum Monday – London’s Heavy Weights

November 15, 2010 in art, art gallery, bookstore, travel by Kim | 1 comment

Last year when we visited Italy, it was a very art heavy  vacation.  Wanting to make sure the kids would still want to go away with us, this year I kept the art light.  Having said that, there wasn’t a chance I was visiting London without going to the National Gallery.  And what better way to travel around the world in 2 hours than by visiting the British Museum?   For the National Gallery visit, we sent the kids back to the hotel in a cab and Keith and I met a guide from Context Travel who led us on a whirlwind 3 hour tour.  [This is my third experience with Context Travel and each one has been well worth the hefty price tag.]  For the British Museum, I sent the family on a scavenger hunt.  Everyone needed to find one item from each continent (Antarctica could be skipped if needed) and no one had to take a tour.  In the end, everyone was amazed by the Rosetta Stone, the Egyptian section and Elgin Marbles, without a word from me explaining their importance.  Perfect.  Here are my brief thoughts on the bookstores at each museum:

The National Gallery – The Bookshop

I found my favorite museum bookstore case:  it’s about 4 feet high and wide, has three shelves and is full of art fiction.  I’ve never seen a museum bookstore give this genre it’s own section.  The shelves contained Byatt’s Matisse Stories, Zola’s The Masterpiece, Pamuk’s The Color Red, and Rembrandt’s Whore by Matton and Black.  There were several books I hadn’t read and I’d forgotten all about Byatt’s book.

In general, this store is very similar to good museum stores in the US, not quite the Met Store, but then again, what is?  There is a wide selection of art theory, art history, technique, museum studies books.  The requisite large bookshelf dedicated to National Gallery publications.  A great kid’s section which made me long for the days when my kids loved museum stores until it occurred to me how much money I save by not buying the puzzle that is twice the normal cost because it is a famous painting.  We never did finish the Botticelli puzzle we bought last year, all that creamy skin got confusing.

The British Museum Bookstore

Tucked away in small room is the British Museum Bookstore.  It’s a space completely dedicated to and packed with books.  I’m not an anthropologist, but I’m guessing this store is an anthropologist’s dream.  The store is divided primarily by geography (Asia, India, Europe, Greece, Americas, Britain, Egypt) including all seven continents.  Not surprisingly Read the rest of this entry »

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One Stroll Down Madoc Street, Three Bookstores

November 12, 2010 in bookstore, essay, travel, used books by Kim | 1 comment

Where is Madoc Street?  In Llandudno, of course.  Don’t ask me how to pronounce that name, I really think the Welsh just throw in consonants willy-nilly to confuse English speakers. We used Victorian seaside town of Llandudno for our Northern Wales home base for three days.  It’s a beautiful area of the world, gorgeous coastline, beautiful mountains, and a castle around every corner.  One day the boys went golfing on a genuine ‘links’ course, and the girls, Kelsey and me, shopped and ate our way through the town.   After stuffing ourselves at the Albert Pub and vowing to never eat at another restaurant in Llandudno, we started back to the hotel and tripped over three bookstores.

Siop Lyfrau Lewis Bookshop - Only marginally organized by genre, this store is a delight for those who love to sort through stacks of books to find a gem.  Books are in a variety of conditions, some are pristine, others not so much.  It’s really a treasure hunt type of store, it may be frustrating to dash in for a specific book, but perfect for good search.  The books were cheaper than the going rates at Hay-on-Wye.  I found Essays at Large by Solomon Eagle, the title reminded me of one of my favorite books, At Large and at Small by Anne Fadiman.  For all I know her title is related to Eagle.  If so, then the circle is complete because I bought his book in tribute to her.  Plus, the title of the first essay is “Reading in Bed,” a favorite activity.  Lord of the Flies was Kelsey’s required reading for the summer and we couldn’t find it in any of the Hay-on-Wye bookstores, but here, buried under a three foot stack of books, was a gold embossed edition.  After successfully retrieving it without collapsing the tower of books on top of it, Kelsey wondered about it’s ‘cool factor.’  Is it better to have the paperback everyone will be reading or something different?  I told her what I wish I understood at 13, it’s all about attitude.  Mark it up to look well-read and thought over, then carry it with confidence.

There is a relatively large selection of Welsh books and cards.  We bought a card that says “Happy Birthday” in Welsh, at least we think that’s what it says.  Oh well, the recipient won’t know any better either.  [Address:  21 Madoc St, Llandudno, Conway, UK  Tel:  01492 877 7000]

Madoc Books – This is a stunningly beautiful store, practically an art gallery of books.  It’s an antiquarian shop containing rows of shelves each filled with neatly placed and tagged leather bound books.  I walked through enjoying running my hands over the books.  While there was a smattering of literature, the focus was on history, natural history, travel, topography, religion, most with an emphasis on Wales.  There are choices in English and Welsh.  The books are pricey.  This store is for the collector or people like me, the voyeur.

There is “best” list for everything in Great Britain, one day we were fortunate to visit the “best loo in Great Britain” and while it was quite nice, as bathrooms go, we found it humorous that such an award existed. Kelsey patiently waited for me to meander around the store Read the rest of this entry »

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Recommended Reading for England

November 7, 2010 in book review, recommended reading, travel, young adult by Kim | No comments

Reading novels about where I’m traveling adds another dimension to the trip.  The people who pass me on the street, the current news, the historical sights all take on a deeper meaning when I experience them in person and in a book concurrently.  Before our big family trip each year, I ask various booksellers for literary recommendations.  This year we spent two weeks in England and Wales, here’s what we read along the way:

Once and Future King by T.H. White – This is one of Claire’s favorite books and when I decided we would travel through the region of Arthurian legends, I knew it was time to read it.  I’m not a huge fantasy reader (love C.S. Lewis and Tolkien, but who doesn’t), yet I enjoy the Arthurian legend with all those handsome knights dashing around.  White’s take is deservedly one of the best for combining adventure with moral challenges and decisions, it is definitely my kind of fantasy.  Plus, I liked the mental torture of envisioning how Merlin lived backwards.

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart – When I read this series 20 years ago, I raced home from work, grabbed dinner, and spent the entire evening reading.  This time, I revisited the Arthur tales with Once and Future King and passed Stewart’s tale to my husband and daughter.  Keith loved The Crystal Cave and went on to read the entire series.  Kelsey kept asking “when is Arthur going to show up?”   At which point I remembered that this telling was from the Merlin angle, that Once and Future King is largely about Lancelot, and The Mists of Avalon about Morgan Le Fey.  Who writes from Arthur’s point of view?  After reading about the legends, we all got a kick out of standing in silence (required) around the well in which Arthur dropped the chalice.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Sussana Clarke – Staying in the fantasy genre with some historical fiction thrown in (think British magic meets the Napoleonic wars), I enticed Kyle with Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.  While he liked the book and was able to add historical tidbits when walking around London, he thought it was unnecessarily long.  My husband picked it up about halfway through the trip and realized at about page 200 that he liked it, but not enough to read another 400 pages.  If you love delving into a long book, my impression is that this one is great company for an overseas flight.  (Recommended by Idlewild Books)

Un Lun Dun by China Mielville- a fantasy book for Kelsey recommended by Idlewild Books, she read it multiple times.  Set in present day London, a different world is discovered by the heroine.

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson – We have a family of Bryson fans, all lead by Kyle, and when I found a book about Bryson’s travel around Great Britain at Idlewild Books, I knew it would be a hit.  Little did I realize how much laughter it would add to our trip.  Both Kyle and Kelsey read the book in the backseat of our little rented car and we would hear bursts of gut splitting laughter.  As we traveled through some of the areas Bryson visited, the kids found the appropriate page and read what he wrote.  There is a mining city in Wales that I laughed all the way through.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith – a crossover YA book, I bought it for Kelsey and me.  Kelsey tried reading it several times, but it didn’t interest her.  Initially written in 1948 and recently republished, it isn’t the typical plot driven YA book.  It has an aura of romance and a clash of American and British youth, but the plot builds relatively quietly.  I enjoyed it but understood how today’s younger YA reader expects a book to move faster.  (Recommended by Between the Covers)

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen – We spent a couple of days in Bath and I couldn’t imagine visiting there and not knowing its Austen heritage.  I gave my husband  Northanger Abbey and possibly I should have remembered that it is Claire’s least favorite Austen.  He finished it, grumbling.  I’m not sure if he’ll ever read an Austen book again.  I did ask if he understood 18th century Bath better because of the book, were the Pump Room lunch or the walking the promenade enliven by the book?  I think his response was something along the line that Northanger Abbey kills more than it enlivens.  That being said, I love the book and felt I was walking around the city in Jane’s footsteps.

I read a slew of realistic novels that contained social commentary and/or an inside view of British life.  If I were to do it over again, I’d read them in the following order, that is Read the rest of this entry »

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Idlewild Books – New York, NY

October 8, 2010 in bookstore, recommended reading, translation, travel by Kim | 1 comment

In honor of this weekend’s Book Tourism event, I’m posting a a couple of reviews this week of stores participants can visit during their eight hours of exploring Greenwich Village.

The entire five days I spent in New York City, I exited the subway station to the street and turned in the correct direction only once.  Even when I thought ‘my instincts say it’s to the right, so I’ll go to the left,’ I went the wrong way.  I was so sure I heading the correct direction down 19th Street to Idlewild Books that I walked blocks and blocks away from the store.  It’s a lovely neighborhood, I know because I’ve seen it at a pedestrian’s pace.  Actually, a little quicker.  On the way back it started to sprinkle, then it started to rain, then hard, and I started to sprint.  When I entered Idlewild Books I was dripping.  I literally shook myself off on the landing like my golden retriever.

Some of the stained glass and chairs are from the original Idlewild Airport

David, the owner of the store, asked “Did you forget your umbrella?”

I said, “I’m from Los Angeles, I don’t even own an umbrella.”

I’m sure the store is beautiful in any weather, but it is perfect for a stormy day.  It exudes warmth.  Check out the picture with the wooden floors, huge front window and bookshelves everywhere.  There is an alcove or two for curling up in.  In fact, the entire time I was there a man was diligently working on his laptop in a corner.  In Los Angeles, he would be a screenwriter, but since I was in New York I assumed he was writing the next Great American Novel (no, it wasn’t Franzen).

I hesitate to say that Idlewild Books is a travel bookstore because I fear that the title invokes the travel section at Borders with sloppy shelves of guidebooks.  Idlewild Books has guidebooks (they looked neatly organized), but its charm is as an advocate for traveling with or through literature.  In the last 18 months, I think I’ve purchased about a dozen books there (a set for each family vacation) and only one was a guidebook that David practically had to beg me to buy when he found out I loved Italian art.  My experience has been to tell David where I’m going and what I’m interested in and he tells me the books that will add an entirely new dimension to the trip.  I should add, it’s not just me, he recommends the books my teenagers will carry with them.  [What we read on our latest family vacation, including David's suggestions, will be in a future post.]

The store is divided geographically with all the guidebooks, novels, YA, classics and non-fiction about the appropriate area in one location.  By providing novels relevant to the literature, culture and history of various countries, the store is also a treasure trove of translated literature.  When I was looking for books to read while Read the rest of this entry »

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A Video in Kim’s Honor

August 19, 2010 in humor, location, travel by Claire | 3 comments

So Kim’s been off exploring the United Kingdom (but she’s such a good person that she left a bunch of posts for me to put on the blog while she’s gone, so you probably haven’t even missed her).  Anyway, among the many cool and literary places she’s visiting is Bath, famous to most of us as the setting of many a Jane Austen scene.  I’m sure she’ll have a lot to write about Bath and Austen when she gets back, but until then you can get your Austen fix with the following video which is incredibly wonderful and funny and brilliant and nuts.  My brother-in-law sent this to me originally and I loved it on first sight.

My favorite line?  ”Is that your blood?”  ”Oh . . . yes, some of it.”

I feel fairly certain Jane would have loved this.

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