Delicious days. . .

I often go walking on the every other Friday I have off after I drop my son off at school-- I take my camera with the intent of adventuring and finding the world in a different light so that I can write about it. 
Today I will not compete with his quiet majesty.

What I'm reading...

I work in Libaria-- a foreign land that used to have the reputation as a Source of Knowledge and a Place to Store Books for the common use. Unfortunately Libaria has fewer and fewer books and the books that are kept here are of poorer and poorer quality (and I am not talking about having tattered covers- I speak of the content). Keeping older books because they have value as research material is out of vogue and if a book has not been used recently, it will find it's way to the boxes marked with red labels "To: CEN: Disposal"  On maps Libaria might look quite large yet the fact of the matter is that Libaria is shrinking like an argyle sweater in the dryer. However as an employee of Libaria I or my coworkers do still occasionally run into the rare bird: Real Literature or Books of Idea or History and as a result we can wind up with too many books on our nightstands to read.

And I thought I would share my reading list with you because right now I have an exceptional piece of fiction to share...

The Place in Flowers Where Pollen Rests

"Radiating from the Hopi mesas of Arizona, this is a novel of voices, of men and women and gods -- a pagan chorale dominated by two extraordinary misfits. George The Place Where Pollen Rests is a mighty artist, a legendary carver of Kachina dolls who, now blind and ailing, is strangely animated by his approaching death. He continues to carve and to tell his stories, at peace within the realm of myth, a whirligig existence crammed with Hopi gods and ghosts. There to tend to his illness is Oscar Beautiful Badger Going Over The Hill, but it is Oswald who is most in need of healing. Tormented by an obscene tragedy that has driven him from a career in Hollywood's low-budget porn films, Oswald now longs to unlock the wisdom of George. But his spiritual odyssey must reach beyond his uncle's death-- to the hell of Vietnam and back again-- and to search among the stars before he finds a vision of his soul."~cover description.

I actually own this one because I also go to bookstores and check out the shelves. (I believe this one was a gift from Mo) But I can't read this when I am tired or too mind weary so I needed something a little less mentally challenging and since I was headed to Key West for vacation and had already done some reading on Hemingway in Key West, I thought I would do a larger work on Hemingway. So I am also reading this:

But then a favorite author came out with a new book and I always enjoy a book at lunchtime so I checked it out--- (picture below in Oct 17th blog entry) Hitch-22 Christopher Hitchen's memoir. He was diagnosed with cancer in his esophagus as the book was released and we have since learned that he is dying with great courage. His is a poignant story that is worth reading though while writing not thought to be over.
  

And then I heard that Robert Reich was going to have a new book coming out and I quickly ordered that from libaria so that I could receive it upon release. It arrived last week and now I have this in my book bag. Libaria is perfect for a book like this as it is probably a little too Current Eventy to really purchase but it looks quite interesting if you have any interest (which I do) in the current economic crisis and how we can make the world a more equitable place. 

And then today I got another new book in that I have been looking forward to reading...

 But that doesn't even count the books that I purchased at the bookstores we frequent as frequently as possible. Most recently I found a hilarious book by Mark Leyner that I will be reading soon, I hope, and another by Don Delillo... (no descriptions as I haven't the time, I'm too busy with my other books right now! Suffice it to say that both books look terrific)

So many books, so little time!!! 

Bookworms in Key West

Not being your typical touristy types, we do find some of the restaurants that are considered tres-tourist  appealing. And Hemingway's house and the Lighthouse are our embarrassing "Raise-your-hand-if-your-a-tourist" must sees. But, we are not terribly likely to spend our money on the Sunset tours that abound just offshore each evening, preferring instead to watch the sunset at Zachary Taylor Beach. And we are not likely to find ourselves on the glass bottomed boat  peering down into the water with crowds of other looky-looers at the sea life as it was more fun to snorkel at the beaches and gaze at the sponges and sea urchins (watch where you step!) at our leisure up and even a bit too close and personal for comfort in some cases. The Nurse shark!!! we swam some yards from was fairly spectacular! And another day at Zachery Taylor I swam just above a large school of fish and watched two bright blue fish stalking them, clearly waiting and watching for a chance to snag a snack.(My camera isn't so high tech that it does underwater shots and I don't think a disposable water camera would have done any good so, alas, no pictures) But we also spent a lot of time zipping from one end  of the island to the other on these...

Scooters! 

Scooter cam 

Most years we rent bicycles and find that an adequate means to get from place to place if we aren't going too far afield. But our last trip to the Southernmost we did a bit more toing and froing and rented a scooter to share for several days and found it was great fun We were able to tool around from one end of the isle and found some sanctuaries unavailable to mere pedalers. 

We were not alone in our scootering as you can see! Key West is a bicycle/scooter friendly island and is, in indeed, hostile to the auto. It's hard, if not downright impossible, to park your nonresidential motor vehicle and the island is so small that it seems superfluous to waste so so much of your island time looking for a place in the roasting and humid sun to park your then too-hot-to-sit-in automobile once you do find a parking spot.

So why exactly would you drive on the Southernmost island when you can scooter in around in your flip flops with your arms around your boyfriend singing a song or kissing his neck?

So as we do-do-do-do-do around the island letting the gulf breeze blow through our hair, we might pass an antique store or this...

And we, being the book nerds we are, will always risk tumbling head over heels to find a parking spot and hit the shelves here (hint: scooters are not bikes and will be ticketed if you attach them to a bike rack)   

All the lovely, lovely books. Row after row, shelf after shelf. We scan and scour, root and rummage, poke and probe in hope of finding some treasure that we might not have at home...

 perhaps a treasure such as this

In the inkblot test of vacation and hot tourism spots, it is probably no surprise to anyone that a majority of people see keys, palms, think of west and sees limes throughout the test (okay it's not a scientific study). Although the little isle doesn't have the svelte white sandy beaches that other cities of the Sunshine state cities advertise nor does it offer the body to body crowds that also greet the beach comber. But when it comes to the books, the Southernmost city has the Southernmost party with books going on! LOL 

I am such a nerd!!! 

My son and I

My son and I often stand together 

looking down at the world, 

he in awed amazement 

at the new little universe 

he's discovered 

under his feet 

and I in delight at his wonder 

and astonishment 

each new bonanza brings.