books
Serendipity Bookstore Experience
Ah, there’s nothing quite like stepping into a wonderful bookstore. The books surrounding me always make me feel comfortable and put a smile on my face. Now I enjoy any bookstore, but my favorites are independent and used bookstores.
I recently went on a trip to Friday Harbor in San Juan Islands. I examined the tourist map and discovered a bookstore named Serendipity Used Bookstore. The name perfectly suits the place. I walked inside to find book shelves, welcoming chairs, a small fireplace, and a book smell. The last perfect touch was the owner, a cute British woman. She didn’t bother me, but let me wander the heavenly books at Serendipity Used Bookstore. It was a pure delight to spend time in a bookstore while on vacation.
http://www.visitsanjuans.com/members/friday-harbor/serendipity-used-books
Help! I Need a Book that Hooks Me!
Recently, I’ve had difficulty finding a book that keeps my attention. I start a book then quickly lose interest. Perhaps I’m not giving enough time and effort to determine whether I want to read a book. Last weekend I went to a used bookstore in the hopes that a book would scream from the shelf ‘read me, read me!’ Sadly after spending an hour at the bookstore, no book hooked me. I then thought perhaps I’d visit an old friend and reread a book. Readers gain insight each time the book is read again. This almost worked, but I still wasn’t fully hooked into a book. Here are some recent titles that I started then stopped: Divergent, Catcher in the Rye, Jane Eyre, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Oleander Girl. I’m even embarrassed to say that I didn’t read my last book club book, however I still attended to eat and greet.
I need YOUR help. What books do you suggest to hook me?
Weekly Quotation: Dr. Seuss
Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks.

Weekly Quotation: Alice Hoffman
Books may well be the only true magic.
Weekly Quotation: Haruki Murakami
Once I began a book, I couldn’t put it down. It was like an addiction; I read while I ate, on the train, in bed until late at night, in school, where I’d keep the book hidden so I could read during class. But I had almost no desire to talk with anyone about the experience I gained through books and music. I felt happy just being me and no one else.

Book Review: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore
Three Word Book Review: Fun, Humorous, Mysterious
Clay Jannon recently lost his job as a web designer for NewBagel Company. He’s searched online for jobs with no luck until he stumbles upon a simple help wanted sign outside Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore. It actually is open 24 hours and Jannon works the night shift when hardly anyone enters the bookstore. However, Jannon begins to notice something strange because the individuals who do enter don’t exactly buy the books instead they trade books after giving him unique cards with codes. These individuals and books are so unique that Mr. Penumbra tells Jannon that he cannot read them and must keep a detail log of each individual down to their coat buttons. Jannon is now very curious and attempts to uncover the truth with his friends and technology. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is a fun book that makes you think about how today’s technology with ebooks mixes with paper books. Which book version will you read the book in?
Weekly Photo Challenge: Lost in the Details
The first time I walked into this used bookstore I was breathless as I glazed upon all the books. The books reached up to the ceiling with a maze of shelves. I had difficulties looking in any direction, since my eyes wanted to capture every detail and book. In this photo, the many ‘details’ are each book. I need all the books or ‘details’ to truly experience this location.
Check Out Others:
- Weekly Photo Challenge: Lost in the Details (dailypost.wordpress.com)
Weekly Quotation: Michael Upchurch
The ultimate luxury is to reread: to revisit a book to see how time has treated it, how memory has distorted it, or how my own passing years have cast a new light on it.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Happy
I’m very late for this week’s photo challenge. I was excited to learn how to insert a photo gallery into a post. These are a few things that make me happy. I enjoy beautiful flowers, sweet desserts, wonderful books, and my dog & family.
Weekly Quote: Virginia Woolf
Second hand books are wild books, homeless books; they have come together in vast flocks of variegated feather, and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack.
― Virginia Woolf

Weekly Quote: Stephen King
Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn’t carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.
― Stephen King

Weekly Quote: Mark Twain
In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.
― Mark Twain
You’re Reading That Book Again?
I just finished a book, A Dog’s Journey, which means I’m hunting for my next book to read. Honestly, I don’t feel like hunting for a book. Even though I’m always looking for my next favorite book. There are certain books I fell in love with, such as Little Women and the Harry Potter series. I think I’ve read each three times. Is there a rule that a new book must always be read? Why are people puzzled that someone can read a book they’ve already read? I often gain fresh experiences and fall in love with the book all over again when I reread a book. In the past, I’ve often rushed through books to see how many I can read. I’m a fan of the online, Goodreads, that allows you to keep track of books, read reviews, participate in online book clubs, and maintain a reading goal. Should reread books be put into my goal? So before you ask someone, ‘How can you read that book again?’ think to yourself that there must be a reason why this person is reading it again. Also, the individual is reading which truly is all that matters.