Reading Around Seattle

I've happily fallen back into the habit of always having a book with me. Lately, I've found myself immersed in a story at an ice rink, outside a museum and in a library.

I really love the Central Branch of the Seattle Public Library. Although my little neighborhood branch is great, I jump at the chance to spend an afternoon at the Central Branch downtown. I had a meeting about a mile away earlier this week and chose to walk to the library after. I ended up spending three hours browsing for books, reading a novella and checking out something new.

"What harbor can receive you more securely than a great library?" 

—If On A Winter's Night A Traveler 

Has anyone read The Lemoine Affair? It's the only thing I've read by Proust (that I remember) but now I'd love to read more. In it, he mimics the writing styles of a handful of other writers all covering the same topic. I discovered it and finished it while spending the afternoon in the (air-conditioned!!) library. 

Similarly, I just finished reading If On A Winter's Night A Traveler, recommended via Tumblr for my trip to Alaska. I started reading it while on my trip but it was such an interesting read, with a lot to digest, so I just finished it yesterday. If you haven't read it, I think the best way to summarize it is that it is a book about books, or a book about readers. 

P.S. How great is this passage: 

"... That invisible movement that reading is, the flow of gaze and breath, but, even more, the journey of the words through a person, their course or their arrest, their spurts, delays, pauses, the attention concentrating or straying, the returns, that journey that seems uniform and on the contrary is always shifting and uneven."

Lastly, I've just started reading Ted Genoways' new book, The Chain: Farm, Factory, and the Fate of Our Food (out in October). So far, I've learned I never want to try Spam and feeling pretty good about my pescatarian diet. Although I feel relatively educated on the food world, I always love learning more and seeing more points of view. It's incredibly interesting and I'm so happy to have received a copy to review. 

So that's what I've been reading. What about you? 

(all photos from my Instagram)

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more wonderful reads from Melville House's The Art of the Novella series

I can't believe I've lived in Seattle for over a year

a reminder from C.S. Lewis