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The Penguin and I returned from California in one piece and it was good to get home. I had two dogs that exploded when they saw me. Love an exploding dog. It’s as though they forget you and then remember and then explode.    I had lots of well wishes for my travels. I always laugh a bit when people wish me a safe trip.  As if I can control what happens with the pilot and our plane. But I know their intentions are good.

Today I went into the city and picked up some library books I had on hold. I suspended my holds while away so of course once I returned and took the suspension off them they all came in at once.  I got two photography books that I won’t display here but I am enjoying them.

The books I picked up today have a funny tale.  The one book I have been waiting for is The Totem Pole by Paul Pritchard. The Totem Pole is a very tall rock formation on the east coast of Tasmania. Here is the blurb.

“Climbing defined Paul Pritchard’s existence and signposted his horizons. From his Snowdonia base he gained a reputation for routes of extreme technical difficulty and meagre protection.”

“He’s climbed in the mountain ranges from the Hiumalayas to the Andes, Baffin Island to the Pamirs.  When climbing the totem pole in Tasmania a falling boulder inflicted such terrible head injuries that at the hospital they thought he might never walk or speak again.”  He spent the next year fighting his hemiplegia, his memory and speech disorders. This is his story. He does come back from all of this.

I was waiting in line for the bus today. A hippie type man was standing next to me also waiting to board the bus. He saw this book on the top of my pile and said, “He’s a good friend of mine. I was just at his place yesterday.  We actually like him more since he’s had his head injury. You’ll enjoy this book. It’s just been reprinted in a new format.” I was told I don’t have the ‘new’ one.

People in Tasmania get teased a lot because everyone is supposed to be related to everyone else and have two heads. Of course with the great rise in cultural events here now we don’t hear that as much now our state has been discovered by the world. However, you have heard the saying, “six degrees of separation.” Well Tassie has two degrees of separation and we do witness this all the time. So today I was only two degrees from meeting the author of this book.

Other books I picked up were:

 

Red Dirt by E.M. Reapy. I saw this one in City Lights Book Shop in San Francisco and made a note to check our local library for it. The blurb from the back:

“Hopper, out of his head on acid, is left for dead in the outback.  Fiona has fled an abusive relationship that shattered her self-respect.

Murphy’s family lost a fortune when the Celtic Tiger collapsed. In Australia’s vast promised land, these three young people try to escape their past.”  This is the author’s debut novel and I’m hoping I don’t run out of time to read it.

The next book is Girl With Dove: A Life Built by Books by Sally Bayley.  It is a story of how one girl’s life was shaped by books.  I always love a book about books and reading. I think I heard about this from a fellow blogger but for the life of me I can’t remember who.

The last book is much more serious. Home: Drawings by Syrian Children edited by Ben Quilty and a Foreword by Tasmania’s own Richard Flanagan.

It is a very large book full of drawings by children who have survived the war in Syria, still reside in refugee camps or have escaped to other countries.  It is important to keep these issues in the mainstream especially when the Australian government treats refugees, many of them sick children, so cruelly in off shore detention centres   that are below third world conditions.  Shame is the main word I use to describe our politicians in leadership at the moment. I can’t print what I really think of them. I will put up a couple of drawings from the book.  If I had lots of money I would send this book to every politician in the federal parliament.

 

I have read several books over the past month but I will mention them another time in a list.  I have a book club meeting tonight at Fuller’s Book Store and will add that one to the pile. This post is long enough for today.  Let me know if you have read any of these books. I’m not sure which one I will begin with.

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Whenever I visit my sister in the San Francisco area I always drag her to City Lights Bookstore in downtown San Francisco.  It is one of the most wonderful bookstores I have ever been in. It is very hard not to buy everything on every shelf.  I did very well. I took a photo of a couple of books on the shelves to see if our local library at home has them. I know,  I know.  I was very discreet. I remember being in a bookshop in Ireland and took three pictures in order to feature the shop on my blog and the store owner gave me a scathing lecture, dripping with sarcasm. When I bought a journal from him and something else, I forget what it was,  he threw my change at me.  Needless to say I did not feature him or his shop in my blog as I don’t like to be negative here.  I often wonder if after two years how he is doing.

Anyway- I digress.  We spent an hour in the bookstore and then wandered back to a yummy looking cafe that had lots of Udon noodle dishes. It wasn’t busy when we first saw it on the way to the bookstore but upon returning the queue went out the door. We couldn’t wait as we only had a two hour meter.

My sister, who is a military veteran suggested we go over to the veterans medical centre and eat in their cafeteria.  It is built on the shores of the Pacific Ocean and sets high above it with magnificent ocean views out the glassed wall.  We had a very good lunch of chicken, mashed potatoes, hot gravy and vegetables plus a bottle of water for $6.00 each and enjoyed the beautiful views for free. After lunch we walked along the trail from the back of the ocean and around a very large golf course back to the street where our car was parked.  A wonderful day in 80 degree temperatures with a slight breeze.

After our day out we only had energy to eat chocolate chip cookies on the drive home. A good way to deal with heavy traffic.

I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoy sharing them with you.

 

Before you enter the store  you must walk down the alleyway alongside the store to see the literary insets in the cement and the murals on the wall. I liked this mural. It represents the many authors who have been jailed in other countries for their written word.

There is a bar next door and this is the mural near their entrance.  A good place to go and have a cold drink.

Two of the literary tiles on the path down the alley.

Then we went into the store and stood in awe at the wonderful selection and the variety of authors. There is the main floor, plus a basement and an upstairs.

First stop was the shelves of periodicals and magazines.  I loved this periodical full of short stories, poetry and essays as well as some illustrations. It was big and I took note of it to see if our State Library has access to it.

I am sure our State Library has this so I will check it out if it does. I have heard of it but never read it. It’s a long ways from Tasmania.

These were the four magazines I did buy. They will slip into my carry on bag easily and should provide entertainment for the 24 hour journey home on Monday night.

I noticed this Australian book by its title right away. I will definitely see if our library has this. It sounds like a great Aussie read.

I was fascinated by this series of ‘Noir’ books.  I had never heard of them and don’t they look great, all together on the shelf. I would love to read these.  Have you read any of them?

When I went down the stairs I saw this door that leads to another place.  I am glad it is spelled out to those of us who arrive from far away places and still get a bit jet lagged.

I only include this book for a friend at home who I know adores squirrels, or “squiwwels” as Australians pronounce it. It is a long running private joke and you know who you are!!! The rest of you may  move on.

By the way, not having heard of John and Pamela, they were a couple of British playwrights who had an off and on love affair for 40 years and this is their tale.  It did look quite interesting but far too heavy and expensive to spend money on (at this time). Library??

This is the area around the Veteran’s Hospital where we walked after lunch. A very lovely area. Beautiful day out.

I hope you enjoyed our day.   If you are ever in San Francisco be sure to go to this wonderful bookstore.

We spent the day in Mill Valley in the middle of a large redwood forest. It is situated north of San Francisco and each year they hold a very large arts festival. Lots of people attend with their families and dogs. Saw a few quirky outfits and there are food stalls set up. I enjoyed the photography exhibits but I didn’t see any street photography on display or much travel photography outside of a German photographer’s wonderful photos of wildlife from around the world. They were truly stunning.

Of course I could not photograph the exhibits so you’ll just have to believe me.  If you’re interested, scroll down to see my captioned photos. If not, close this post and wait for another post on books. I have finished a few.