Not-so Rural Juror

Often when I'm selling (or buying) a stack of delicious books I quip that I wish I could sell time to read the books as well. But last week I got a very real dose Official Time to Read: jury duty on my day off (GLAD TO DO MY PART AMERICA)!

The morning of said jury duty I was only about 30 pages in to what was swiftly becoming my favorite book of all time; Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon, Jorge Amado's novel that is all at once a Cinderella story, a gossiply fable about cocoa-rich city in Brazil and a sex-and-food-infused-pleasure-spike to my end-of-winter doldrums.

And when I got jury duty (on my day off might I remind you) in CHELSEA (I live in Allston and do not own a car) I had a government sanctioned block of at least two hours with nothing to do but read. And when I arrived at the courthouse, I got 5 more hours to read before being discharged of my civic duties and by the end of my weekend I had finished all 425 pages of the novel. It was great, it was amazing, everyone should read it every day of their lives. And if you like to read, I hope you get jury duty sometime soon as I wholeheartedly endorse the amount of time you will get to read undisturbed in a room.

P. S. We have a used copy of Gabriela in now RUN DON'T WALK.

Bookshelves of Character(s)

I gathered used books you would find on the shelves of beloved fictional characters.

We have quite a spread in the UBC, so it wasn't too tricky! See for yourself!

Gabriela's bookshelf would have tasty cookbooks (not that she needs help in that department), stories about carnivals which she loves, and a magical realist romp with voodoo to remind her of her friends.

Jane's bookshelf would be utilitarian but fanciful: travel stories, books to brush up on her French, drawing and teaching techniques.

For the time traveller in all of us: guilty pleasure mysteries from the 20s, a Pamuk novel to remember one's travels to Constantinople, the new Mantel to hearken back to the days of Cromwell (in which she was totally alive) and some Alexander Pope. Original first edition, probably signed.