I guess the title says it best–I’m late! I haven’t been feeling so hot, so I slept in. I am going to read as much as I can today, but my reading might be punctuated by naps and/or an early bedtime. Sorry! But, I’m reading while I’m awake!
What I’m Reading Right Now: The Watchmen
Upcoming Reads Today: Out of True by Amy Durant; Twentieth Century Ghosts by Joe Hill; Perfume by …I can’t remember…
As I did last year, I’m signing up for a few seasonal reading events…which I highly recommend you join in!
First, let me announce that I am, once again, taking part in Stainless Steel Droppings’ Readers Imbibing Peril (R.I.P.) event.
For those of you who don’t know (and I’m guessing you all do, so this disclaimer is redundant), I’m a mood reader. And a seasonal reader. I seem to enjoy classics in the Winter, so if you were reading my blog in the months of January to April, you’d think I only read classics. But, if you read me in the Fall, you’ll find Adventures in Borkdom to be a straight-up horror blog. That’s because of the R.I.P. event.
The R.I.P. event is all about reading and viewing horror in the months of September and October. Last year, I took part and loved it. Just like last year, I’m going to commit to the highest of participation levels: Peril the First (read four or more books of the horror genre), Peril of the Short Story (read short stories of the horror genre), and Peril on the Screen (watch horror movies and television). I do all of these things in October anyways, so my participation shouldn’t be difficult at all. Here are my reading and viewing plans:
To Read in September and October:
• World War Z by Max Brooks (Zombie Apocalypse Lit.)
• Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind (Serial Killer Lit.)
• The Passage by Justin Cronin (Vampire Apocalypse Lit.)
• Hell House by Richard Matheson (Haunted House Lit.)
• Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite (Vampire Lit.)
• 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (Paranormal Lit./Short Stories)
•
The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum (True Crime Horror Lit.)
• Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates (Serial Killer Lit.)
• The Living Dead (Zombie Apocalypse Lit./Short Stories)
For Peril on the Screen, here is a list of movies and television I’ll probably view in October:
• American Horror Story on FX
• Supernatural on CW
• The Walking Dead on AMC
• Any and all new horror television premiering this Fall
• Cult classic horror movies on TCM
• Another viewing of The Blair Witch Project (I know it’s not scary for some, but it gets me every time!)
• Maybe another viewing of Kubric’s The Shining or my all-time favorite The Omen
• Maybe a new horror movie in the theater, if any upcoming ones are supposed to be good (cross my fingers!)
Hopefully, I’ll be able to read and watch all of that horror! To help me meet my goals, I need to announce another sign-up that shouldn’t be surprising to anyone! It’s an easy guess. Just think of the one event I was all hyped up about twice last year, and pushed my friends to take part.
You should have guessed the Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon! Of course I’ve signed up again! It’s simply what I do.
So, I’m thinking that I’ll be reading a huge chunk of these books on Saturday, October 13. It doesn’t matter if I already had plans for that Saturday (I don’t think I did, but who knows!). Consider them cancelled. Because readathons are what I do! Don’t worry SJ and other friends, I’m not going to peer pressure you into this one. If you tried it, liked it, and would like to do it again, I know you’ll sign up. If not, at least you tried it. But, for those of you who haven’t participated in Dewey’s Readathon, I HIGHLY recommend it! So, it’s October 13. Mark it on your calendar!
I’m excited for all the horror (the horror! the horror!) coming up! Won’t you join me in the chills?
So, even though I said I wouldn’t post about any of my Stephen King reading this week, I can’t help it.
As the Tower-ite’s beloved Jake Chambers puts it: I’ve completely lost my shit and am going nineteen over Stephen King, The Dark Tower, and the whole friggin’ SK Universe. Derry, Castle Rock, Juniper Hill, Shawshank, Midworld, Endworld, ALL OF IT!
And that’s all I’m going to say about that! For now…
What is the answer to life, the universe, and everything? More importantly, what is the actual question regarding life, the universe, and everything?
This issue may or may not have been resolved at the end of my reading of yesterday’s The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Today, I pick up where I left off with book 3 of The Hitchhiker’s Guide series, with the aptly-named Life, the Universe, and Everything.
The thing I love about these books is that Douglas Adams takes the deepest philosophical, existential questions of time out of mind, the “What’s the point of it all?”, the “What’s the meaning of life?”, the “What happens when we die?” questions…and laughs at them. The answers to these questions in Adams’ series are nearly all ridiculous and absurd, and probably correct. Adams was an amazing writer, and his books are truly essential classics.
So, for today’s reading, I’m going to share a clip from the BBC TV series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy from 1981. I really need to see if this series is available on Netflix, as it looks perfect! This scene depicts the receiving of the answer to life, the universe, and everything. Enjoy!
Today, in honor of my reading of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, I have posted my review of the first book in the series, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I read the book in April, so I can’t believe that I never got around to posting a review. I absolutely loved it!
So, check out my review as I read the next book in the series!
(By the way, my full-time reading is going excellently! I finished Dragonfly in Amber yesterday and got a quarter of the way through the amazing Song of Susannah!)
This week is my last full week of freedom before school starts up again next week. Well, I have to return to the school next week for set-up (the students don’t return until after Labor Day).
What’s that? I forgot to tell you I got my job back? Woo-hoo! Yep, I got my job back as the school district did something completely unexpected and rescinded all of the lay-offs this summer. I officially got my job back at the very end of June, and this year I will be teaching an entirely new section of English–English Interventions. This means that I will be working with a smaller group of students who are struggling with their English studies, and will push them up to proficiency. I have a feeling that I will love this new focus, which isn’t really a new focus as that is one of the facets of teaching at an underperforming school that I love and do very well at. I love a challenge, and I love playing coach, so this should be the perfect job for me!
Anyways, since I only have a week left before I go into work mode, I have decided to put all of my focus into reading this week. In fact, I’ve decided that this week I will be self-employed as a Reader, and will put in 8 hours daily to my full-time job as Reader. This doesn’t leave me much time for anything else, so I won’t be publishing any reviews or Inspired Adventures posts this week. However, I will post daily something related to the day’s reading. Therefore, you’ll probably see me here more often than usual!
This week’s reading includes:
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander series)
Wolves of the Calla (Dark Tower series)
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker’s Guide series)
Life, the Universe, and Everything (Hitchhiker’s Guide series)
Anne of Avonlea (Anne of Green Gables series)
Anne of the Island (Anne of Green Gables series)
Song of Susannah (Dark Tower series)
The Complete Stephen King Universe
Whoo, that’s a lot of reading. I’m guessing you see why I consider this to be a full-time job!
So, I’ll be publishing a post relating to that day’s reading (all non-Stephen King reading) each day this week, with the possible exception of Saturday. Why not Saturday?
Because that’s my Blogiversary!
Yes, one year ago this Saturday, I tentatively published a post here at Adventures in Borkdom. In honor of the Blogiversary, I will be announcing a few giveaways on Saturday. So, be sure to tune in on Saturday to check out what sorts of prizes I’ll be giving (hint: they’re not all books).
Alright, so now you know what’s happening here at the blog, all of my week’s reading, and about the upcoming Blogiversary! Now, it’s time to clock in and start today’s eight-hour shift of reading!
As you all probably don’t know, I am participating in SJ’s summer read-along of all books Tolkien. Well, all of the ring-related books (unless there’s more that I don’t know about). The read-along kicked off on the 23rd with the reading of the first five chapters of The Hobbit. The read-along will continue on through the end of August with the reading of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, following our reading of The Hobbit. For more info on SJ’s readalong, check out her announcement over at Snobbery.
A little background on my prior knowledge of The Hobbit: my dad kept copies of Tolkien around the house growing up, but I don’t remember him ever really encouraging me to read them; my 7th grade teacher showed us the cartoon version of The Hobbit in class (he was a big fan of movies adapted from books–we never actually read any of the books); once the LOTR films were released, my dad got back into Tolkien, and I joined in and read the LOTR series; after I graduated college and moved back home, I finally read The Hobbit for the first time.
So, that’s my background with Tolkien, but I don’t think I was as good a reader in those days as I am now (surprising, actually, since I read them while and after majoring in English at SDSU). Thus, I’m expecting to get quite a bit more out of these books than I did the first time around. Plus, now I have buddies to discuss the books with, which always adds to one’s comprehension and analysis. I’m pretty excited to really soak up Middle-Earth!
SJ has posted her first discussion post over at Snobbery, so I’m going to reflect here in a sort of a reply to her post, with additional highlights for me and questions I have for SJ and any other readers who may be well-versed in Tolkien. I’m gonna split up my reflection by chapters. Here we go!
Here we meet Bilbo, Gandalf, and the many dwarves. In reading the first chapter, I was struck by
And, they’re off on their journey! The big highlight of this chapter, for me, were the three trolls. I loved the scene with the three trolls, and so far they are my favorite characters. Lucky for Bilbo, they’re not too hungry when they catch him trying to burgle the troll William’s pocket. Bilbo gets all flustered (again) when they question him, and, surprisingly, William apparently has a sensitive heart and wants to let Bilbo go. I love the trolls’ exchange over Bilbo:
‘Poor little blighter,’ said William. He had already had as much supper as he could hold; also he had lots of beer. ‘Poor little blighter! Let him go!’
‘Not till he says what he means by lots and none at all,’ said Bert. ‘I don’t want to have me throat cut in my sleep! Hold his toes in the fire, till he talks!’
‘I won’t have it,’ said William. ‘I caught him anyway.’
‘You’re a fat fool, William,’ said Bert, ‘as I’ve said afore this evening.’
‘And you’re a lout!’
‘And I won’t take that from you, Bill Huggins,’ says Bert, and puts his fist in William’s eye.
Then there was a gorgeous row.
I would totally buy this! Love these guys!
Gandalf, of course, rescues Bilbo and the dwarves, and when splitting up the trolls’ booty, Bilbo, Gandalf, and Thorin get some super-cool elven blades. They glow when goblins are near–how cool is that?!
In this chapter, our adventurers take a break with Elrond and the elven gang at Rivendell. I had forgotten that Elrond was in this book, albeit for a short time. I wonder for how long Peter Jackson will extend his role in the upcoming film adaptation? Jackson loves those elves!
My favorite part about this chapter was the revelation of the moon-letters on the adventurers’ map, and the discussion of runes overall. I am a nerd who has a handy guide to runes in my library, so, at this chapter, I pulled it out and set about translating the runes on the map. I dig that stuff!
Here the gang has a run-in with some goblins. It was fun to get more backstory on the goblins vs. dwarves conflict, but, for some reason, this chapter paled in comparison to the other four. But, that’s just me. : )
You are absolutely right, SJ. This is a very creepy chapter–it definitely came off as more creepy than the first time I read it. I wonder why. Mood always affects my reading, and I was reading this chapter when I was alone in the house, in the dark. Maybe that’s why? Or maybe it’s my extreme aversion to cannibalism (duh, Mandy, no one likes cannibalism. But, that’s in my top 3 scary elements! Some people hate clowns, I hate cannibals!). Gollum wants to eat Bilbo. That’s creepy. Plus, his little lake is super creepy, with him going around in his little boat. And his descriptions of hunting down goblins for dinner was creepy too. I dug this chapter–I love to be creeped out!
Now for SJ’s discussion topics:
1. Tolkien’s songs I read all of the songs, not skipping any. I don’t hear them or sing along with them, but I definitely read them. These serve as backstory and act in a way similar to the chorus in Greek tragedies. Therefore, it’s essential that the reader doesn’t skip them, as they are serving the plot.
2. Has my opinion changed about these chapters since my first reading of The Hobbit? Not necessarily my opinion–I knew what a masterpiece The Hobbit was when I read it the first time–but, I am a much more conscious and curious reader on this go-round. I have more questions than before, and I am noticing a lot more details than I did at 22.
3. Did Bilbo cheat in the riddling challenge? Nahhh. If this were a proper riddling contest, like, say, with a train named Blaine, it would definitely be cheating. But, Blaine wouldn’t put up with crap like that, so it would never be considered cheating. It would never get to that level because he would simply say “that is not a riddle, Roland, son of blah blah blah (oh crap, I’ve already forgotten his father’s name! It’s just like Derry…you step away from it, and details start to disappear!)” and that would be the end of it. Move on! But, that was a proper, structured riddling contest. Bilbo and Gollum really don’t have any official rules going on, and Gollum, unlike Blaine, actually fell for the “What’s in my pocket?” question. It wasn’t even intentional by Bilbo. I say that the moment Gollum went for it, it became an official entry. Besides, Gollum’s a big cheater too–he was going to eat Bilbo either way. So, no, it wasn’t cheating!
Alright, so this week is chapters 6-12 of The Hobbit, which I will get started on (and probably finish) tonight!
Anyone else reading The Hobbit?
Hi all! I was absent here and on the Twitterverse for the last couple of days as I had a whirlwind in-laws weekend! My husband’s uncle from Illinois was in town, my mother-in-law had a birthday, and it was, of course, Easter, so I’ve been celebrating all over the place in San Diego! I didn’t get much reading done this weekend, but it’s been a few days since I checked in here with my current reads, what with all of my Hemingway posts, so today will be a great time to discuss what I’m up to, reading-wise.
I am currently reading multiple books: one wayyyy harder than I thought, one that isn’t as gripping as I like, and the rest are graphic novels, so whatever.
First, the Chaucer…
So, my Classics goal for April is to read The Canterbury Tales. Now, I thought that I had read The Canterbury Tales in college. I was wrong. I read “The General Prologue”, “The Miller’s Tale”, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, and “The Friar’s Tale”. And, I think that I read them translated.
Well, that’s not the major endeavor I am setting on right now at all! In fact, I must admit that I am intimidated!!! This book is hard! It’s a little easier than reading Catullus in Latin, but a lot harder than reading Shakespeare. It gets easier with every paragraph I read, as I’m starting to translate some of the words on my own (i.e. I recognize now that “eek” means “also” and “aventure” means “chance”), and if I read it aloud I can figure out what Chaucer is getting at. However, I am reading the footnotes and appendices ravenously to where it takes me about five minutes to read one page of poetry. Here are the opening lines of “The General Prologue”:
When that Aprill with his shoures soot
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veine in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour,
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Ispired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halve cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open eye-
So priketh hem nature in hir corages-
That longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, kouth in sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blissful martyr for to seke
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.
Here’s my translation:
When April with his sweet showers has pierced the drought of March to the root,
and has bathed every plant in such liquid,
by whose power engendered is the flower,
Also, when the West Wind has breathed his sweet breath on every wood and field,
the tender shoots of plants, and the young sun has completed his half course in Aries,
and small birds make melody,
Nature so pricks them in their hearts,
that they sleep all night with an open eye,
and folks long to go on pilgrimages,
and these pilgrims go to seek strange countries for far-off shrines,
renowned in various lands;
and especially from every shire’s end
from England to Canterbury they go,
They go to seek the holy blissful martyr (St. Thomas a Becket),
who had helped them when they were sick.
Using the footnotes closely, that’s my translation, although there are definitely parts I’m still not sure on (are the birds sleeping with one eye open or is it the pilgrims? I’m guessing it’s the pilgrims, since they’re so excited.). It’s actually easier to translate Latin verse, as you always know what each modifier is being applied to, thanks to the endings of words.
So, this book is tough. Why am I reading this toughie? Well, I’ll discuss that on another day. I’ve set up a reading schedule so that I can finish it by the end of April (How cool is it that I’m reading it in April [the same time as the pilgrims are leaving for Canterbury]? Complete accident!):
As you can see, I can only handle about 30-40 pages per day with this book, which usually equates to one pilgrim’s tale per day. So, this should take me right to the last day of April! Wish me luck! While it’s hard, I have read one excellent story (“The Miller’s Tale”). It seems that gross-out humor has been popular for a very long time–this one is rife with gross-out humor!
So, there’s my Old World reading—now, lets discuss my Mid World reading.
I’m now in book 4 of the Dark Tower series–Wizard and Glass. The cliff-hanger ending of The Waste Lands has now been resolved, and now I’m reading the flashback chapters that tell of Roland’s youth and first love. While I don’t hate these flashback chapters as much as my blogging buddy SJ, they are quite a let-down after all of the excitement of Blaine the Mono, and the curiousities the ka-tet finds in Topeka. But, I am interested in Roland’s past, and I do want to know how Roland’s world has moved on. While his flashback doesn’t really reveal this, it does show what civilized people were like in his world. Which is interesting.
I also want to get some revelation on how Roland started on his quest and how all of the other gunslingers died, so I am also reading the graphic novel series in concordance with the novel. For this reason, Wizard and Glass will probably take a lot longer to finish than the other books, as I think that I will read all of the graphic novels before picking up with Roland’s present day story. Thus, when his flashback chapters end, I’ll continue to read on with the graphic novels. Maybe I’ll get some questions answered that way. In addition, I’m going to read “The Little Sisters of Eluria“, a short story contained in King’s Everything’s Eventual, so that I can get a peek at Roland on his quest before the start of The Gunslinger. I’m doing a lot of backtracking!
But, that’s okay, as The Wind through the Keyhole doesn’t come out until the last week of April, so I have time! I think I pre-ordered it already, so it should be on my doorstep on its release date!
Ah, a reader’s work is never done!
At this time of year, I am always reminded of my childhood in Oklahoma. I grew up as an Air Force brat, and my family lived in Moore, Oklahoma (just outside Oklahoma City) from the time I was six until I was eleven. Those were good times to live out there–I played archaeologist in the red clay, discovering cow skulls in the fields behind our house; took part in staged “land runs” in commemmoration of the Sooners; and just really enjoyed being a kid in the country. Some of the greatest impressions of Oklahoma left with me are the tornado watches and warnings. We always knew when one was coming our way…the skies would turn a greenish hue, the air was still and strange, and the clouds would gather in the distance. April and May are tornado season in the central states, and, like always, I will be thinking about my experiences hiding out in the closet with my family around me as the sirens went off.
So, what does this have to do with books and reading? Nothing really…it’s just where my brain is today, the first day of April.
Being the first day of April, I’d like to share a recap of what happened in March. So little, and yet so much!
- The History of English Literature (audiobook) by Perry Keenlyside
- The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
- The Waste Lands by Stephen King (review coming tomorrow!)
- Almost Finished: A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway (will be completed today!)
- Celebrated my six month anniversary!
- Won two awards from Snobbery (2nd one will be discussed this week)!
- Vented about this year’s lay-off notice
- Signed up for The Classics Club, The Sarah Addison Allan Challenge, Bloggiesta, and Once Upon a Time VI
And, what’s coming up this month…
This week: I will be posting a couple of posts relating to my reading of Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, as well as two book reviews (The Waste Lands and A Moveable Feast).
- The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (Back to the Classics Challenge, A Classics Challenge, and The End of the World Challenge)
- Wizard and Glass by Stephen King (The Dark Tower Challenge, The Stephen King Project)
- The Dark Tower graphic novels (The Dark Tower Challenge)
- The Wind through the Keyhole by Stephen King (The Dark Tower Challenge, The Stephen King Project, and The End of the World Challenge)
- Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allan (The Sarah Addison Allan Challenge)
- The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allan (The Sarah Addison Allan Challenge)
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (The Award-Winning Challenge and The End of the World Challenge)
In April, I’ve also decided to add to my reading list by choosing one favorite novel from five of my blogging buddies who are on Goodreads. All of these books received 5-star ratings from the recommending blogger(except LHITBW, but Kyle loves the Little House books, so I’m sure she’d want me to start at the beginning) and I have never read them (or, in the case of THGG, I never really read it, just played the video game). These five books are as follows:
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (SJ of Snobbery)
- Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Amy of Lucy’s Football and Insatiable Booksluts)
- Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (Suzy of Insatiable Booksluts)
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Jillian of A Room of One’s Own)
- The Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Kyle of A Reader’s Pensieve)
Have you read any of these books? What are your reading plans for April?
At this time of year, working at a year-round school is so freaking awesome (not so much in June and July, when other schools start vacation and I’m still working in the heat). I get my vacation separated into months throughout the year, with two weeks added on to Christmas vacation, and a whole month for Spring Break, and then one month in August. Now, a reminder for those who don’t know…teachers are technically not paid for vacation…we get ten months of pay every year, and that pay is split up amongst the twelve months for some teachers. This is why many teachers take a second job during vacation–summer school, independent contract work, etc. But, not me!
Every time I get a month off, I set personal goals to accomplish. Most are simply things I wish I had more time for, and I always set one for something that I’ve always been too chicken to do–a big goal. Last year, in April, I set the goal of reading as many books as possible, and ended up reading 28 and gained 10 pounds in the process! In August of last year, my big goal was starting a blog, and here I am! January of this year was the beginning of boxing and Muay Thai classes, which I am still taking four times a week! So, what are my goals for this Spring Break?
Drop five pounds–cut calories, run, bike, etc. Ugh. Despite my major sweat sessions doing boxing and Muay Thai for four hours per week, I have actually gained about six or seven pounds since January! I’m told that this is muscle, but this is ridiculous. I have never weighed so much in my life! So, it’s time to get all Dr. Phil and get real…time to cut calories and take more walks or ride my bike. Maybe I’ll also “Just Dance” it off. I just want to see if I can!
Sansa's Lemon Cakes! (Man, she drives me nuts)
Cook at least one Game of Thrones- A Clash of Kings-themed meal! Ah yes! This is a fun one! Last year, when Game of Thrones premiered on HBO, I got together with friends to watch, and I cooked Honeyed Chicken with potatoes and onions (like they serve in King’s Landing) and Sansa’s favorite–Lemon Cakes. Then, for a later episode, I made a true Dornish meal with pita, hummus, olives, rice, and chicken (I think?). I get all of my recipes from The Inn at the Crossroads, and this year, I want to make another GOT-themed meal. Maybe something they’d serve in the kitchens of Harrenhal…
Read The Canterbury Tales! This one is long and difficult! I will be reading TCT in it’s original format (using the footnotes a lot!), so I’m anticipating a very slow rate of reading. Since it’s broken up into each traveler’s tale, I’ll probably set my goal for two tales per day. That way, I should be able to complete the text by the end of April. It’s a moral imperative that I do so! I have been wanting to read this for the last 12 years!
Start writing in my office. Last summer, I turned our spare bedroom into my own personal writing office. All of my writing books are in there, I have a huge desk covered in quotes from my favorite writing texts, pictures of my heroes staring down at me from the wall (two pictures of Stephen King, hard at work on his own writing, as well as my signed picture of Felicia Day, who is one of the hardest-working creators I know of –she’s my lady-hero!) It’s all set up and ready for me, but because I don’t have a working laptop, I haven’t been working in there. But, for Christmas, I got a keyboard to go with my IPad, so I could turn that into a laptop. I need to start making that office work for me! This will have to happen!
So those are my ten goals for Spring Break! If you had a month off from your responsibilities, how would you spend it?
All written content ©Mandy, Adventures in Borkdom 2011-2012, unless otherwise marked or indicated.
Adventures in Borkdom is an affiliate with Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore and IndieBound. While I doubt that I'll ever receive any compensation as an affiliate, it is necessary to concede that some links will direct you to an independent bookstore site, AND IF you were to purchase a book via a click from my site, I would receive a small comission. If this were ever to happen, please know that I would simply use it to buy a book from Mysterious Galaxy and blog about it.
Honestly, I'm just trying to show my love for Mysterious Galaxy and other independent bookstores!
