May 5, 2017 IT ALL DEPENDS

Depends. Has it really come to that??? I guess that just depends. I've found--ESPECIALLY--after having 3 kids that the muscle control isn't what it used to be. Kegel exercises are supposed to help.!?! SURE. I love how MALE doctors tell you that one. Anyways, after several mishaps usually when running--I thought I would share some of the modifications I've had to make over the years.  If you feel a sneeze coming on--BY GOLLY--squat, sit but NEVER REMAIN STANDING--or you're a goner. Next.  DO NOT--I repeat--DO NOT EVER have a laughing jag while standing up either or you're likely to lose it-- in more ways than one--I have VAST experience with this one. And last but certainly not least--If you're going to run after a long day--wear a light jacket because it can actually double as a towel.  Wrap it around your waist and the dreaded evidence is gone--just like that! Seriously though--Depends--I thought they were for old people right??? Not sure how you feel about the book I'm going to review today--that all depends on how you feel about bookshops.

First of all, I can think of NO greater place than a bookstore. I don't mean a chain bookstore--I'm talking about independent bookstores.  A wave of excitement washes over me just thinking about them--like I've just died and gone to heaven. I could literally spend an entire day drowning in books--as giddy a a school girl! If you feel this way too then this book is for you. Lewis Buzbee wrote this memoir/history book a few years back called The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop. Buzbee has been in the book business his entire life. First as a book clerk in several stores, later as a bookseller then publisher's sale rep.  and finally as an author. He has literally spent his career in bookshops. His novel is a celebration of bookshops--the new book smell, the feel of the cover, the forest of books to navigate, the aroma of coffee--that is unique to bookshops. It's about feeling passionate enough to spend an entire afternoon poking around for just the right book even though you already have a giant stack at home waiting to be read.  Interwoven in this memoir is also the history of bookstores and the book selling business. Buzbee takes the reader from the Alexandria library which contains over a million papyrus scrolls--to Classical Rome--China--all the way to the modern bookstore-- highlighting some of his favorites including Sylvia Beach's famous Paris bookstore and Shakespeare & Co along the way. If you appreciate books the way I do, then do yourself a favor and read this book. It's about 190 pages--or a 4 mile run--that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Enjoy!