Riding on the Metro
Currently reading:
Time’s Mouth by Edan Lepucki
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver by Mary Oliver [ongoing]
Extracting the Stone of Madness: Poems 1962–1972 by Alejandra Pizarnik [ongoing]
Books finished this week: 1
★★★★☆
Where this book came from: Purchased from B&N
Why this book: For my horror workshop this summer
Thoughts: I typically don’t count school books toward the Library numbers, but I technically only had to read one short story out of this collection and then decided I liked it so much, I was going to commit to reading the full 507 pages. A lot of imaginative stuff here, and also a lot of gross and/or weird stuff! I docked a star because while I liked almost all the stories and even felt some were really stellar, some really didn’t resonate with me. This is a collection of Barker’s first three Books of Blood and I definitely felt the stories in the first volume were the strongest.
Library updates:
I was originally planning to give myself this weekend off, because I was traveling down to DC for the Library of Congress’ National Book Festival. But the weekend didn’t go quite according to plan——and also I finished reading a book——so I’ve decided to pop on.
Long story short, I ended up making the trip on my own, which was very much not the plan. When I found out Wednesday night, the night before I’d be heading out, that it would now be a solo trip, part of me genuinely considered canceling. I don’t mind traveling by myself most times, but this felt different. And sad.
Unfortunately, I would’ve lost huge swathes of money if I didn’t go, so I got my butt on Amtrak the next day. The train ride was nice, but once I got to Union Station, the sadness settled in again. Every other time I’ve gone down to DC, I’ve either been visiting someone who lived there (hi, Britt!) or meeting a friend for the festival. I’ve never done the city entirely on my own and I didn’t totally know how to navigate it without someone I love waiting for me at the end of the journey.
Thankfully, after I checked into my hotel, I pushed myself to venture out into the world and ended up having a really nice time. The Folger Shakespeare Library was a first-time stop for me and an immediate favorite, visiting my old pals at the Spy Museum is always a good time, and the National Book Festival . . . well, that was just fine, to be honest. I went to the festival on my own last year, too, because the friend I went with slept through it (no call-out here because she knows who she is and also definitely isn’t reading my blog lol), but I remember that experience being much more pleasant. It wasn’t bad this year, and maybe it was just me being tired and maybe a teensy bit hungover from my many fancy martinis at the hotel bar the night before. But it just felt more crowded and chaotic this year. I only made it to three panels, which were all wonderful, and when I didn’t couldn’t get into the room for the fourth on my agenda, I decided to skip it and my last planned activity for the day and head out.
I also rode the Metro for the first time in a long time, and I realized both how much I love it and how important it is to explore a city’s public transportation to make you feel like you belong there. What really dragged me out of my funk on Thursday evening was cosplaying as a DC resident as I changed to the red line at Metro Center to go to Kramers for some book shopping and dinner after a bit of Capitol Hill exploring.
This definitely wasn’t the weekend I planned on having, or really the one I wanted. But I feel lucky to have the opportunity to travel like this and I look forward to the next adventure.
DC highlights, featuring:
(top row, L to R) Dr. No galley marked up by Ian Fleming; Shakespearean theater at the Folger Shakespeare Library; library at the Folger; view of the Library of Congress; detail from the LOC ceiling
(middle row, L to R) White House; Smithsonian Castle; flower from the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden; orchid at the US Botanic Garden; another pretty flower from the Botanic Garden, no, I do not know what it it
(bottom row, L to R) lunar module at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum; Argo at the Spy Museum (<3); the “invisible” car from Die Another Day, part of the “Bond in Motion” exhibit at the Spy Museum; carrot cake from Unconventional Diner; art in Blagden Alley, my favorite part of DC
Closing thoughts:
Make the best of it.
Total books read from the Moratorium Library: 96
(Total books added to the Library: 196)
Listen, it’s not as bad as it’s been in past years, OKAY. I think I literally bought more books in New Orleans this year during Mardi Gras. Top two books are from Kramers, bottom four are from the National Book Festival.
Honestly, the book selection at the festival was not really my cup of tea this year. Also, the shopping space was an absolute madhouse. It’s always a little bonkers, but it felt especially overwhelming this year.
