Weekending, 06.15.13

Ah, weekends, so often the sweet spot of the week. Forty-eight hours spent racing the clock. Really, it's far too little time to reboot my brain, write all of the things, read all of the books and spend time with all of my people. That doesn't mean I don't give it my best shot though :-)

I managed to climb out of bed at a reasonable hour on Saturday morning to meet up with Ravena for a trip into Maryland to check out Hobby Lobby. Somehow I got it in my mind that they would have a sign with the word 'library' on it. They didn't. I can't help the fact that it was less than two miles away from the Dutch Country Farmer's Market (and things like candy apples, which I did not buy). When I got home, I spent some time trying to read a few Avengers comics in preparation for a post I'm trying to write comparing fanfic to comic books. It was nice to kick my feet up before getting ready to meet Scarlet at McMahon's in Warrenton, VA. If Stars Hollow were a business, it just might be McMahon's. I like it (and their vodka tonics) just that much.

I treated myself to This Is The End and Now You See Me on Sunday morning (thank you, $5 matinees) before grocery shopping and all of those other necessary weekend activities. Honestly, I expected to be disappointed by This Is The End. Sometimes I feel like I'm broken on the inside because I don't always find comedies funny like most people seem to. This, however, was freaking hilarious. Don't get me wrong. It was also stupid, but I found that I couldn't stop giggling.

The first two photos are actually from the Robinson Nature Center in Columbia, Maryland. I was there on Thursday afternoon, but the center was just too pretty not to include.

Art binge, living my art life on Pinterest

I haven't written about art* since Oliver Jeffers at the end of January. Yikes! My love for the topic has definitely not waned. In fact, I sort of ended up giving myself a rather large art-related research project and have been dabbling in that here and there, trying to figure out how to really get started. I've also found myself slowly and sporadically cataloging some of my current art interests over on Pinterest.

To keep up with some of what is currently holding my interest, head over and follow my Art Binge board.

*Let's set aside the fact that film and books are works of art.

Thrifty DC: Alamo Drafthouse

I'm going to get over myself and tell you why you should make your way to the Alamo Drafthouse out in the wilds of Ashburn, Virginia (really pushing the bounds of metro DC). I'm going to swallow that tiny, tiny shred of Texas pride I manage to hold onto (you realize I've pretty much shed any remaining dignity by admitting that, right?) and my zealous belief that special things should remain in special places* to tell you about it. Really, I am.

The thing that makes the Alamo Drafthouse truly special isn't their robust menu and in-seat food service. It's all about the special events and screenings they show. For years, I've been jealous of my brother's ability to attend the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Sing-Along and have tried to arrange my Christmas travel schedule so that I can finally attend an Elf Quote-Along. They excel at turning a movie into an interactive event and bonding experience.

How would I spend $20 and while away a Saturday?

Get your rear to the Alamo Drafthouse out in Ashburn (fill up your tank first...it's far) over the next few days and check it out. On Saturday, you can channel the Summer of '83 and watch Jaws 3D on the big screen or roll with your homies next Thursday for the Clueless Quote-Along. It's not really a thrifty outing, especially if you order food, but I can't imagine you having a bad time.


*Can we stop franchising everything please??

My story as told by water, part V

photo by Kate Gardiner

Have you ever been water skiing?

In high school, my best friend's family owned one of those motorboats meant to be driven at alarming speeds over great expanses of water, and I was lucky enough to get to join them for a couple of summer trips on one of the local lakes. The Texas sun was always relentless in its intensity, constantly reminding us how uninhabitable the west should have been. Taking to the water was your only real alternative to sealing yourself inside an air conditioned home. The wind and spray coming off the waves as the boat skipped across the water was the kind of refreshing that I think only a dog riding with its head out the window can understand.

The boat ramps are now closed at Twin Buttes Reservoir because of the drought, but back in the '90s there would be a line of folks waiting to put in. We were never there to fish but, instead, had a need for speed and a desire to be pulled recklessly behind a boat with nothing but a rope. It really is amazing what the oblivion and fearlessness of youth will lead you to do. But I digress.

I was never good at water skiing. In fact, I'm not sure what I did actually counted as skiing. Really, I never excelled at anything that involved a level of mastery over my own body, and water skiing was no different. A girl can only withstand so many false starts and attempts to get her feet under her. Even with wobbly legs finally underneath me, there was no grace in my form. In fact, if you were on Twin Buttes 20 years ago and remember the incredible girl who sailed around the lake bent at the waist, we may have very well been ships passing in the night.

That's What She Read, episode 3

I'm excited to announce that a new episode of That's What She Read is up! Our goal is to post a new episode every month to allow for life and all of the books in between. Once we get a few episodes in the hopper, we'll migrate to iTunes. In the meantime, do us a solid and listen! We think we're pretty entertaining ;-)

There are a few ways you can listen: stream it; download it; or listen to it on the Soundcloud app.

In this month's episode, I talk about The Secret History by Donna Tartt, What Changes Everything by Masha Hamilton, and the Positron series by Margaret Atwood. Ravena talks about barreling through Alliance of Blood by Ariel Tachna, Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman, and Whoever Fights the Monsters (fanfic) by circ_bamboo and feelslikefire. As more of these make their way up, I think you'll see the breadth of styles we cover and how different our reading proclivities are.

Episode 2 is also online, if you'd like to catch up!

Behind the Bookshelf: Interview with a bookseller, Malnurtured Snay

 Meet Malnurtured Snay! Let's call him MS for grins. He's a voracious reader living and working in the District, and another one of us who always wanted to work in a bookstore. As he plotted his escape from Timonium to DC, MS started applying at all your standard stores: Barnes & Noble, Kramer's (one of my favorite discoveries when I first moved to this area), and the Borders in Golden Triangle (ever notice how it's not an actual triangle?). He wound up at Borders and worked there until February/March 2011, when the store closed in the first phase of what was Border's death knell (his words, not mine).  He bought a lot of books during his time there.

MS can be found exploring this beautiful city by foot and by bus and is known to tweet incessantly about Star Trek: TNG (among other things) at @MalnurteredSnay. He can be found proffering book reviews and other opinions over at, you guessed it, Malnurtured Snay.

What are you currently reading? Thoughts on it?

I've been reading "Arthur the King" by Allan Massie which places the Arthur legend at the end of the Roman occupation of Britain and Merlin the son of a centurion. I'm enjoying it, but it's really making me want to watch John Borrman's Excalibur.

What books are you most looking forward to this year?

None - ever since I stopped working in a bookstore, I just haven't kept up with news about what books are being published. I've also become a huge fan of used bookstores and book sales. There are lots of both in the DC area, and there's a great weekly "Folio Sale" at the DC-Chevy Chase library on Connecticut Avenue. There's also an annual "pop up" bookstore at Farragut Square for a month each spring. Somehow this was off my radar until this year, but I definitely stopped through a few times and picked up a lot of stuff. 

Actually, I take that back because Nathaniel Philbrick has a new book coming out (it's not nautical themed, which is strange) on the battle of Bunker Hill. But due to my aversion to buying books new (they're expensive!) I'm going to hope I get it as a birthday or Christmas gift this year. 

Did you set any reading goals for 2013? If so, what are they?

I actually set myself a goal of not buying any more books. I live in a studio apartment. There are bookshelves stacked on bookshelves in my apartment, and each shelf is packed full of books. I even have a book handtruck from Borders in one corner, and it's piled high. I just buy books in vastly more quantities than I will ever be able to read them, but that goal only lasted a few months. I've been finding books that I have multiple copies of and taking them to work and trying to give them to coworkers. I don't work in a bookstore anymore, so this is a little harder than it used to be. I'll just be happy to have a few great days with good books on the roof deck of my building.

What three characters would you invite to the bar for a drink?

Jack Reacher, King Arthur, and Harry Potter. I guess it would have to be a British bar - drinking age is 18 there, right? Gotta make sure Harry can get a drink. 

If you could convince any two authors to write a book together, who would it be? Why?

I think if you could get Alastair Reynolds, who writes some amazingly scientific space opera, to collaborate with Ken Follett, who writes these tremendously thick and engaging historical novels (I want another sequel to Pillars of the Earth!) that would just blow my mind. 

What's the most annoying book you see flying off the shelves?

Well, it's been a few years since I worked in a bookstore, but can I do three way tie? Anything in the Twilight Series, anything by Dan Brown, and anything by Nicholas Sparks. Speaking of Sparks, I don't for the life of me understand why he isn't shelved in Romance.

If you could give people one piece of advice to prep them for entering a bookstore, what would it be?

Like ... as a customer, or as an employee? 

As a customer: feel free to browse, but when you're done with a book, please actually put it back onto the shelf where you found it. Don't just stack the thing. We had one night when some college professor (or professor-type, anyway) came in with some of his students and walked around the store, from section to section, pulling a bunch of titles out from each section, then just leaving them stacked on the floor when they moved along. Seriously, fuck that guy; don't be that guy. And if you ask a bookseller for help and all you know about the book is that it has a red cover and used to be on that corner of that table six months ago and they find it for you? They deserve a cash tip.

As an employee: there are customers who come in, browse, and leave. Most of these people are boring, and unless they come in a bunch, you won't remember them. The ones you will remember are those who are great, and those who are awful. Wherever you work, there will be code names for the awful ones. Every now and then I run into some of these awful people in DC, and the first instinct is to just turn and fucking run. Oh! The stories.

Garlic and Sapphires

When a friend pressed Garlic and Sapphires into my hand while browsing Reston Used Books, I was skeptical. I was sure it would be a fine, entertaining read and agreed, thinking it would be a break after the intensity of The Twelve. What I wasn't expecting was the maelstrom of thoughts and emotions this book spurred. More than a simple memoir filled with entertaining stories (and they were entertaining), Reichl unwittingly schooled me in criticism and dipped her toe into the world of social critique.

To be honest, I've never given much thought to what goes into being a restaurant critic. Yes, I assumed there was the eating of the food, and I can't forget the scene from Gilmore Girls when Sookie was trying to track down a critic who had recently reviewed the Inn. This book felt a little like a master class in criticism. As I read of Reichl's four and five visits to the restaurants she reviewed and of all the different dishes and courses she sampled, I felt like such a schmo. Of course she does this. She's a professional with uncompromising standards and would feel the need to account for natural variability and off days. Suddenly, I was ashamed by the meager opinions I've thought to offer after one visit to a restaurant.

Even more fascinating than the peek into the world of a professional critic was the social experiment of embodying different characters as she dined out. Cloaking herself in thrift store costumes ranging from the clunky to the fabulous, she explored different versions of herself and engaging in a bit of self therapy along the way. However, for me, the more telling part of each transformation was the subtle indictment of society and its reactions to the various versions of her. Reichl's discomfort became my own as stark class lines were drawn in the sand.

I would also be remiss if I didn't mention what readers of her Times reviews have known for years. The woman has an adventurous palate and can paint an evocative picture of food. My relationship with Asian food has always been one of fear and skepticism (I eat sushi at a restaurant who names their pieces Hot Hippy and G.I. Jane), but Reichl's loving treatment of Korean food and other fare has me wanting to open my mind and give it another go.

Definitely an older title worth picking up.

Weekending, Hagerstown

I found myself with a friend back in Hagerstown on Saturday. The air was thick, and the window units pumping in the antique malls were on their last leg. Still, there were plenty of odds and ends--treasures for someone--within Beaver Creek Antiques to make it worth the drive. The Turkish lamp above was dreamy.

And do you see that dog from Hempen Hill?  That baby was lunch and dinner (and worth every bite).

Missing India and other ramblings from my week

Photo by Carl Parkes

Do you ever have the beginnings of all of these random thoughts in your head but lack the energy to develop them further? That's totally me this week! Instead of trying to cram them onto Twitter or saving them to develop further, I just need to dump at least one of these here and reclaim some brain space.

This week I got invited to speak in India--all expenses paid and in three weeks. I passed on the opportunity, and it killed me. Folks, I'm pretty sure this is what adulthood looks like. India has been on my short list of countries to visit ASAP ever since I returned from Taiwan, but the thought of the big meetings I have coming up and projects to move forward and personal shit I need to keep together had me saying no. I'm still stewing on it. It has me wondering if I've lost the ability to be impulsive and fly by the seat of my pants. During the past twelve months, I've passed on Korea and London, too (granted, London was a little weird). I don't want to ever lose that part of me. With this latest no, I've promised myself that next time will definitely be a yes.

Pop Culture Travel: Searching for Mystic Falls and Henrietta, VA

I'll use pretty much any excuse to go exploring. Ever since we saw the map of Mystic Falls pop up on the screen of The Vampire Diaries, Scarlet and I have talked about looking for the part of Virginia that inspired the town. Once I read Maggie Stiefvater's description of the fictional Henrietta, VA in The Raven Boys, I knew we had to head to the Charlottesville area to film a quick video (improv style, very).

P.S. I recommend immersing yourself in the world of young Blue Sargent and her family of psychics. Stiefvater gives Blue a combination of confident individuality and the self doubt of someone trying to find their place in the world and navigate first relationships, believable and with enough of a backbone to be a role model.