Nothing like a good book

Somewhere in the midst of my written comps, I hit a bit of a wall. It was a hot weekday afternoon in August, I had been writing and gathering sources for days straight, and felt completely blank and drained. After being in the house for many days with little human contact other than talking to my husband for a few minutes late in the evening and a brief daily skype with our son and my parents, I had to get out for something other than a two block walk-to-the-coffee-shop, or my daily spin around the block with the dog.

I went to the bookstore.

This seems a bit ironic, doesn't it? Drowning in a sea of books, reading, and writing, I decide to go to a bookstore. But, for a long time (years, actually) I wanted to stop into the adorable Rainy Day Books, a local, independent bookstore nestled among the idyllic shops in Fairway, KS. Somehow, in the middle of being tortured by books, the smell of a small bookshop, the discussion about recent reads with the friendly employees, and the hum of people doing normal things (read: not comps), was completely comforting.

After talking with one of the knowledgeable clerks, I selected Rules of Civility, which became my nightstand book for about two months. As much as I love to curl up in our over-sized armchair with a hot beverage and a good book on a cool day, I rarely have time for such indulgences, so instead it is an evening ritual in our house to retreat to bed with a cup of herbal tea and a few minutes of reading. This was a great book to end each day with- a Gatsby-esque story of youth and chance, wit and wealth, set against 1930s Manhattan. The book was filled with literary and artistic references, and provided the perfect escape to a stressful few weeks.