Two Red Barns*

Although I don't love Amazon and the way they control the entire retail market, I decided that given their free shipping, it might be the best way to order some books for Claire for her birthday next week. It isn't. Scrolling through a through a list of books, frequently interrupted by ads or 'you also looked at...' or 'people who ordered this also ordered...'isn't rewarding, helpful or even interesting. I want to look at books, not a furniture cover or a bottle of shower gel.

It seemed it would be reasonable to assume that I could order several books and have them shipped together as a gift to an address different from the billing address. Wrong again. Some books qualify for free shipping, others don't....Books are ordered from different places and are shipped separately and arrive separately. One wouldn't even be shipped until January 27th. I was afraid to change the address for fear that Claire would receive the bill for the gift I had mailed to her. The birthday greetings are printed on the gift receipt...not too festive or even likely to be seen by the recipient.

I decided to cancel the whole order and go to the local bookstore. Even though I never pressed the 'submit order' button, I was told that my order was already being processed and might no be able to be canceled. I took my chances, reminding myself that I hadn't chosen anything for Claire that I wouldn't want to read myself....

The local bookstore is a whole different experience. I am a tactile person and love wandering amongst the (mostly) logically arranged shelves of books, admiring the covers, taking them down and browsing through the pages, and reading the little signs underneath...Staff Picks or New Releases. Amazon certainly doesn't have a clerk who can brainstorm with you when you can't remember either r the title or the author of a book...only what it is about. In this case the siege of Leningrad and the people who took shelter in the basement  of the Hermitage. 

Not only did we come up with the title, she ordered the book for me...It's called The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean. I highly recommend it. Your local bookstore will order it for you.

I am amazed at what I can get at the local library, but then you can't keep it, reread it, put it on the bookshelf or enjoy the sight of your son or granddaughter browsing through the selections for one to take home.

I do read some things on my Kindle (an Amazon device) but only because I read a lot at night and not only can read without turning the light on, but also because it doesn't fall over on my nose if I happen to fall asleep. It quietly turns itself off. I read things I know I want to read...browsing just doesn't work for me on a Kindle.

Currently I'm reading The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. He's written a lot, but this is his first novel. 

*There is a vague connection between this picture and the ramblings that follow. They say that trying new things as you get older challenges your brain and staves off memory loss. I think I prefer keeping some things the same. These two red barns have been on the hill above our house for ages as have the horses that graze in the pasture below it. The same could be said for bookstores. They're irreplaceable and they're filled with new and challenging things to read ...