Bookstore Travel List Take 2

I realized last night there were a couple of stores I left off my original list that there is no way I would want to omit. Sure, there are several stores at outlet malls and random little storefronts that I'm not even sure they still exist or not. I won't bore you with those.

But these two should be on any bookstore lover's list.

I discovered The Elliot Bay Book Company in Seattle nearly seven years ago. Located in the heart of the historic Pioneer Square District, I hear the store is about to close and relocate to a new location at 1521 10th Ave. sometime between March 31 and April 14. I'm not sure the exact reason Elliot Bay is moving, but I hope it can continue its status as an independent bookstore gem.

I won't pretend to have many fresh ideas on Elliot Bay considering my only visit came in July 2003. And who knows what will change at the new location. But when I did visit, I recall loving the wealth of books on the Pacific Northwest I found. As a history buff, I love finding local history subjects in these stores. I recall finding a good book on the exploration of Oregon there. I also bought my copy of the Lewis and Clark journals at Elliot Bay.

One of our new favorites was discovered last summer in New York's West Village. Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Books is not only the winner for coolest and strangest name, but it also just might be the winner for smallest store that produced the most purchases we've found on our travels. My backpack was jam-packed with books from this place.

This store is on Carmine Street near Bleecker. In addition to some really cool children's and art books, we also left with Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" and some random selections on the music industry. And books are cheap here.

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Some independent bookstore faves for the literary traveler

I was reading a story in the April issue of Travel & Leisure last night that looks at bookstores in London. I'm pretty sure that on past visits to London I have not visited the stores that were featured, or at least I don't recall them.

That story had me thinking this morning while driving into the office about some of my favorite bookstores from my travels. I always try to find at least one bookstore while traveling, partially because I'm a reader and partially because when shopping with my wife I need somewhere to spend some time.

I don't just go into any bookstore. Sure, I might occasionally find myself in one of the mega-chains, but for the most part I seek out local gems, particularly ones that have a good selection of used or marked-down books.

One of my favorites is The Book Loft of German Village in the -- you guessed it -- German Village of Columbus, Ohio. This place is huge; it claims to be a city-block long store and I believe it. I like this store because it's jam-packed with books. It's almost like an old house with tiny hallways that lead into random rooms filled to the brim with books. Plus, the prices are fair, with many bargain-priced selections.

New York City's Strand, which claims to have 18 miles of books, is another fave. This place can be a bit overwhelming with its choices. The store is at the corner of 12th Street and Broadway, just down from Union Square. I recommend picking up a book, followed by a visit to the Union Square Greenmarket for some grub to enjoy in the park while reading a few pages.

Staying in New York, our next bookstore is Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, a smaller used bookstore at 126 Crosby St. on the Lower East Side. This is one of those smaller stores I love for its randomness; you're not going to visit with a specific title in mind because chances are they won't have it. But they might have a Frank Lloyd Wright biography, fantastic book on football hooliganism you didn't know existed and a random Winnie the Pooh book, all of which I bought on my first visit there a couple of years ago.

This store is also a nonprofit organization; Housing Works is devoted to ending AIDS and homelessness. The organization since 1990 has been devoted to providing services for homeless men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS in New York City. Housing Works also has some great thrift shops throughout the city. My wife and I can attest to the great selection at two of the shops we found last summer.

Finally we have Square Books, the Oxford, Miss., institution that is the epicenter of books in this Southern literary center. Square Books and its sister stores Off Square Books and Square Books, Jr. are all found on the Courthouse Square. If you ever find yourself in Oxford I highly recommend stopping in one of these stores.

Square Books is a typical independent bookstore with a lot of general titles. But it also stays true to its location with a heavy dose of William Faulkner, Southern studies and regional artists. Off Square Books is probably my favorite, though, because of its bounty of random titles found at a cheap price. We've bought our share of Dr. Seuss books at Square Books, Jr. too.

This is such a small list, I know, but these are some of my favorites.

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Photo Friday: A curious New York pigeon high in the sky

Seeing pigeons in New York City is a common occurrence, but it's still a little odd when you find one staring you in the eyes up close 86 stories above the street. But that's what I found when on the observation deck at the Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan. There were pigeons everywhere, but this guy allowed me to get extra close. Central Park and the Upper East Side are in the background.

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Walking the Brooklyn Bridge: A true New York experience

Obvious statement of the day: New York is a walking city. Even when taking the subway, a bus or hailing a cab, you will find yourself walking. And we're not talking a block or two. Many times, it's blocks upon blocks.

So when visiting, why would you go out of your way to experience an attraction that requires walking an easy mile? And this is a mile that once you start, there's no turning back.

But for me, one of my favorite experiences in New York City is walking the Brooklyn Bridge, particularly if you can do it on a beautiful, sunny day.

You can drive across the bridge and see the architectural gem that it is. But if you want to really experience the beauty of the bridge, it's got to be on a walk.

And don't worry about safety. The bridge has a wide walking/biking path elevated above the roadway. Just make sure you stay in the walking lane and don't get in the way of bikers.

I would like to suggest David McCullough's fabulous book "The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge" written about the construction of the bridge. I read the book after walking the bridge, so it's certainly no prerequisite to walk the bridge.

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Restaurant Weeks Show Off a City's Options

Restaurant Week is a beautiful thing. If you’re fortunate enough to live in or visit a city during Restaurant Week, you are in luck. New York’s Winter Restaurant Week is in full swing. It will run through Feb. 7 (some restaurants will extend the offer through Feb. 28.) Participating restaurants – and there’s a lot of them (go to www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek for a listing) – offer prix-fixe, three-course menus for $24.07 and $35.

I love the concept of Restaurant Week, even though it’s something I have only participated in twice (New York’s summer event last year and the debut event in Memphis in the fall). I’m not sure how many cities have restaurant weeks, but the idea of finer restaurants presenting a sampling of their respective menus at more affordable prices is a great idea. It’s a win-win: Diners experience restaurants their budget might not typically allow and restaurants gain new customers.

Washington, Philadelphia and San Diego all wrapped up Restaurant Week last month. Baltimore’s runs Jan. 22 through Feb. 7, offering three-course menus for $35.10 at nearly 100 restaurants (http://www.baltimorerestaurantweek.com/). Los Angeles is offering its Restaurant Week through Feb. 5  (http://discoverlosangeles.com/play/dining/restaurantweek/aapart2010.jsp). There are three price plans for lunch and dinner ranging from $16 to $44. Restaurant Week Boston runs March 14-19 and 21-26 (http://www.bostonusa.com/visit/restaurantweek).

And the restaurants of Downtown Memphis participated in the city’s first restaurant week in early November. Not sure how much more business the restaurants generated, but I discovered new restaurants because of the promotion. That’s the whole point really; that and an opportunity to get an exceptional meal at a decent price.

In Memphis, the price was $20.09 for three courses. No, the entrees weren’t always the same size of the normal portions served. But I did not leave hungry and the many reviews I read on other blogs and on Twitter all agreed on that fact.

NYC Restaurant Week was the country’s first such celebration, debuting in 1992 to coincide with the Democratic National Convention held there. The cost for three courses was $19.92 then. It’s gone up slightly to $24.07 and been extended to two weeks.

Great food at good prices. Sounds like a good concept to me. 

One Morning in the Village

It’s 9 a.m. on a sunny but unseasonably cool August morning in the West Village. Not really early, but not exactly late in this New York neighborhood that seems to never really sleep. It’s definitely the right time for a cup of coffee and a bagel. But honestly, it seems there’s never a bad time for that combination in this city.

I like to schedule my days on a trip – that’s what OCD Type A personalities like myself do. If there’s not a scrap of paper, Post-It note or some other piece of paper with a to-do list or schedule scribbled on it, then let’s just say I’m not a happy person.

But on this, the third day of a seven-day trip last August in New York, it’s a casual day that “only” has stops scheduled for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, followed by lunch reservations at Union Square Café, an afternoon of shopping and an after-hours event at MoMA. Like I said, a casual day.

But at this moment it’s New York sensory overload. I’ve just stepped out the front door of the old walk-up apartment building we’re lucky enough to call home for a week in the city. The first seconds after the large door slams loudly behind me I smell the cigarette smoke wafting only feet to my right from the mouth of a worker at the tiny dry cleaners nearby. To my left, at the busy intersection with Sixth Avenue, I feel the water hose mist from the guy spraying down the flowers at his corner shop. I’m standing in a daze of New Yorker delight in front of the neatly piled trash already waiting for that night’s pickup when the blare of horn beeping of what has to be 20 or 30 yellow cabs flying through the intersection brings me back to life.

But then I’m quickly reminded of the reason I’ve stepped out for a few minutes: a cup of coffee and a bagel, but not any bagel. We’re talking Bagels on the Square near Father Demo Square at Bleecker and Sixth. Look, I’m no expert on New York bagels. I mean, I don’t live there. I’ve only been to the city a few times. But when I bite into something that’s good, I know it. And the bagels at Bagels on the Square fit the bill, specifically the whole wheat bagel with strawberry cream cheese.

And today won’t be like my previous trip to Bagels on the Square when I learned the New York counter rule: Know what you’re ordering, or step the hell back; at least that’s the drill for this timid Southerner who doesn’t want to look like a tourist. On this morning, I’m a local in the Village.

But despite the fact I’m confident with the knowledge learned the day before, I’m thankful on this morning when I walk in and see there are a few customers at the counter ahead of me. We have a young professional-type wearing a sleek suit and stylish tie, hair jelled perfectly, shoulder bag flung perfectly over his chest and wearing a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor shoes. I mean, it sounds so stockbroker until you get to the shoes.

Then there’s a construction worker (there’s always a construction worker with hard hat in hand, right?), followed by some guy reading his New York Times and wearing the skinniest of skinny jeans and a tight knit shirt.

Then there’s me, the guy from Memphis who was fortunate enough to get a fifth-floor walkup in the Village for a week instead of one of those closet-sized expensive hotel rooms near Times Square wearing his, well, I’ll just say I did not have on the typical American tourist white tennis shoes.

After getting my bagel and coffee, I head to the nearby Father Demo Square where I find a random park bench, take a seat and watch this city of cities pass me by.

It’s a 10-minute snapshot of a random morning in New York. But that’s what traveling, specifically local traveling, is all about. Experiencing those everyday moments just like a local does.

Honest NYC panhandler

OK, I call this guy a panhandler, but he might just be someone who thought it would be funny to create this sign and have a seat. But I like his honesty, his humor and what appears to be an attempt for some beer.

And maybe he really was into the whole "Peace and Love and Lots of Hugs" plea. He was sitting at the John Lennon "Imagine" memorial in Central Park.

Not sure if he ever got that beer. But he sure looks happy.