Bookstores

The Broadway Avenue area of Saskatoon used to have 6 or 7 bookstores (new and used).  I loved being able to walk down there and have my choice of bookstores.  Now there are only a couple left – increasing rents, retirement and perhaps competition from big chains resulted in the decrease.

One of my favourites on Broadway was It’s a Mystery bookstore, run by a retired teacher.  It was small, but very friendly and she was amazing in searching out books.  If I came across an obscure mystery  (Festering Lilies) that the library didn’t have and I couldn’t find in anywhere else, she’d take the information, search on line or during her travels to other cities and generally call me eventually to tell me she had the book or had tracked it down and did I want to buy it? I miss that bookstore, and others.

My very favourite bookstore is Munroe Books in Victoria, B.C.  It’s large, friendly, has a varied collection and also keeps back copies of an author’s books (e.g. Connie Willis).  So many bookstores don’t.  I hate it when I’ve discovered an author new to me, want to read more of his or her books, like them enough to buy them, and can’t find them.  Sure, I can order and have, but it’s so much nicer to find the book on the shelf.

Another favourite bookstore is Westgate books which used to be out in the Confederation Park area, but has been on 8^th Street near my grocery store for some time now.  I don’t visit it as often as I should.  For one thing it’s not within walking distance and when I’m in the area buying groceries I don’t usually think of going there.  They have a lot of books and I’ve found some good ones –hardback copies of To Kill a Mockingbird and Manhattan Transfer.

Of course, I like McNally Robinson and appreciate their support of local authors.  I’ve attended a number of readings there.  They are very good at ordering books, but I wish they’d cut down on their selection of non book gifts and stock more books.

I haven’t yet tried any of the electronic readers, though several people I know have spoken favourable of them.  I guess I’m still hooked on the tactile sensation of cracking a book.  Also, though I’m pretty careful of my books and generally treat them well, I also know that if I happen to drop one in the tub or dog ear it, no great harm done.  Books do dry out and are almost as good as new; they are even readable if the pages are a bit warped.  I’m not sure what would happen if you dropped an e-reader onto a sidewalk or worse, into the tub.

Libraries are still a big favourite of mine – my book budget isn’t unlimited and so they form the backbone of my reading (I’m about to start a biography of Robert Kennedy by Arthur Schlesinger Jr.).  Still, if I find a book or an author I really like, I generally want to buy the book so that I have it at my beck and call for whenever I want to pick it up again.

Bus

In the last couple of years I’ve started riding buses for long distance travel.  It’s more relaxing and less painful physically (sore, stiff limbs) than personally driving a car.  The buses I’ve ridden have rarely been crowded and I’ve mostly been able to have two seats to myself.  I can nap if I want, read or watch the scenery, and also snack.

My most recent bus trip was to Edmonton and back.  I find I like the Saskatoon Bus Depot better than the Edmonton Greyhound Depot.  Saskatoon feels friendlier to me.  In Edmonton they search your carry-on bag as a matter of routine, but it’s not only that.  The seats are harder (plastic not upholstered) than the ones in Saskatoon and grouped around the outer walls rather than in sections near the gates.  I guess Saskatoon’s Depot is smaller.  I didn’t check out the restaurant in Edmonton – the one in Saskatoon is Robin’s and no great shakes, but just across the street there’s Café Sola.

For me, at a Senior’s fare the cost would probably be comparable to driving in my compact car.

The bus from Edmonton was slightly more battered (cracked overhead panels) than the one from Saskatoon.  We left Edmonton about 15 or 20 minutes late, with apologies, but no explanations.  I didn’t really mind, just glad to get on and move into that timeless limbo that I do get into on buses.

A long time ago in my younger days I once rode the midnight bus from Edmonton to Saskatoon.  I actually slept most of the way as I remember.  There’s a 5:45 am bus from Saskatoon that I might take some time, getting into Edmonton around noon.

Since I will be doing this Saskatoon Edmonton trip a few more times in the next year I plan to figure out other things to do – take a crossword book for instance.  I could also take my computer or a paper manuscript and work.  Can’t knit though, they probably wouldn’t allow knitting needles.

 When there are small children on the bus it’s more difficult, a challenge for the parents.  Kids tire of staying in one place for periods of time; they cry or complain, getting frustrated.  This last ride, near the end an elderly woman came and asked if she could sit beside me.  When I said yes, she plunked herself down and said, “I’m bored.”  She then proceeded to bore me with her chatter.  Oh well.

If one can get into the right mood, focusing not on speed, but a cheap ride and a time to relax, and get seats alone, the bus is a fine way to travel.

Gibson

I recently finished re-reading William Gibson’s latest novel (now out in paperback), Zero History.  It occurred to me that it and the previous two books form a loose trilogy with several of the same characters.  So I re-read the others and gained new insights into Zero History as well.  Gibson seems to do this loose trilogy stuff – he did it with his first three; I haven’t had a chance to go back to the middle three yet to see if he does it there.

Zero History re-connects us with Hollis Henry, a former musician and now freelance searcher who has gone back to work for Hubertus Bigend and his global marketing company, Blue Ant.  Her job is to search for the designer of a secret brand of clothing called Gabriel Hounds.  The clothes are only sold periodically at locations around the world.  Only a few people find out about the sales through e-mail or from friends. Someone is following Hollis and she doesn’t know at first whether it’s Bigend being paranoid or someone more dangerous.  The book is full of Gibson’s usual cast of weird characters, generally loners who find others they can work with. 

Years ago, in reference to Gibson’s earlier novels, someone said to me that they found the books too dark.  True, particularly in the first three, the world is not a nice place – think similar to the world of “Blade Runner” – but for me the hope lies in the societal misfits who manage to save themselves and their friends.  There’s a touch of “Mission Impossible” about this book – the old television series, not the Tom Cruise movies.

I like how Gibson twists the realities of our present world to show us its bizarreness and make us look again.  In Pattern Recognition  (the first of this trilogy) he introduces a woman who is allergic to logos and brands and uses this talent to hunt for the newest and coolest trends.  For Blue Ant of course.  Hollis Henry appears for the first time in Spook Country (the second in the trilogy) writing for Node magazine, which turns out to be a front for Blue Ant.  She is researching a new type of virtual locational art that may be of interest to the military, or is it the technical support person they are interested in and if so why?  And who is the other covert group  that keeps turning up and what do they want?

Gibson’s books are always entertaining and thought provoking.  I look forward to seeing what he takes on next.

Change

Flowers are dying in the garden, the nights are colder, tomatoes are ripening, and birds are getting ready to leave, and soon the trees will have turned colour.  I saw a blue jay in my back yard this morning.  I like the changes that fall brings – thinning or moving perennials gives me an opportunity to revamp my yard and think ahead to spring.  I haven’t had to think about going back to school for many years, but it seems to me that those years stay with you and so there’s a sense of renewal even though summer is dying.

When I first started coming to Saskatoon as a child with my parents, there was a T. Eaton store downtown where the Public School Board offices are now.  I’m glad that building has survived, though it has gone through changes.  After Eaton’s it became the Army and Navy Store, with a much different ambience.  Kitty corner  stands the Senator Hotel which had a lobby and lounge area years ago where it now has a restaurant.  The city has continued to grow outwards over the years and older neighbourhoods have changed too.  I remember going to see a western movie at the Broadway Theatre when I was around 8 years old.  Years later the theatre became a place for porn movies, and then luckily a repertory theatre showing foreign and independent films.  Over the years the theatre has been renovated and spruced up so that it looks good and hosts not only interesting films but great intimate musical and other performances.  Broadway, the street, has changed too.  One of my favourite coffee and lunch places, The Living Room, is no longer there, but we have Il Secondo bakery and eating spot.

Change is inevitable.  Sometimes I like and embrace it, other times I don’t.

Currently my son and his family have moved from Halifax to Edmonton.  I know they like Halifax (and will miss it) and so do I.  My grandson seems glad to have settled after a few weeks of moving around and lots of car rides that he didn’t enjoy.  From all reports he likes their new living space and area.  I’m happy to have them living so much closer.  I can take a Greyhound bus up there for much less money than it takes to fly to Halifax, and in less time, so I’ll be able to see them more often.  I’ve noticed that there are also occasionally very good deals on flights.

Edmonton reminds me a little of Saskatoon with its riverbank and university.  It’s a sprawling city, too, so not as easy to get around on foot as Halifax, but I’ve heard the transit system is a good one.  I haven’t visited Edmonton for a number of years and I look forward to getting reacquainted with it.  I remember Fort Edmonton and the high level bridge, the Legislative Buildings, Jasper Avenue, and good restaurants.  I hope to find a good book store or two and new places to eat.  And the mountains are close.