Book Bloggers Unite...

...and have lunch!

The antidote for a crappy week: getting together with book blogging friends in real life at the charming Aroma Cafe (which houses the cute Portrait of a Bookstore) and having a lovely lunch and book gift exchange.

It's been one of those weeks. I had jury duty, and got on a trial. And it will be a long two weeks in court. If I'm lucky.

So I was cheered to meet up with Ti from Book Chatter, Florinda from 3 Rs Blog, Jill from Fizzy Thoughts, and Amy from My Friend Amy.

Sweet Jill drove the farthest, and brought us special CDs of Christmas music. And we each brought a wrapped book for a holiday book exchange. Lamebrain that I am, I forgot my gift, but fortunately we were right next to the lovely little bookstore, so I quickly picked a favorite and had it wrapped. We ate, drank, chatted about books and life, and browsed in the tiny but cute bookstore at the back of the cafe. All in all, a very nice day.

Here's Florinda with her book exchange book.

And here's Ti with her new book.

Amy (left) and Jill (right)
I'm looking forward to seeing them all again at this year's LA Times Festival of Books in April, if not before.

Booking Through Thursday, and L.A. Book News

Los Angeles has a wonderful selection of independent bookstores, but some of the really good ones have closed over the last few years. Here's a bit of good news about one of my favorites, Skylight Books, which is located in one of the great L.A. neighborhoods, Los Feliz.




And here is this week's Booking Through Thursday question:

What are your favourite final sentences from books? Is there a book that you liked specially because of its last sentence? Or a book, perhaps that you didn’t like but still remember simply because of the last line?

I'm cheating a little here, because this is something my husband knows by heart, as does my best friend. It's the last line of The Great Gatsby, which, it turns out, it comes in handy to know every once in awhile, as it is appropriate to many situations:

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

Ahh, the man could write.

Booking Through Thursday--Vacation Spots

Booking Through Thursday's question today:

Do you buy books while on vacation/holiday?

Do you have favorite bookstores that you only get to visit while away on a trip?

What/Where are they?

I'll buy books anywhere, so yes, I buy books while on vacation. Actually, I usually bring plenty of books with me for my vacation reading, but I find an excuse to buy new books while I'm away, anyway.

I actively seek out local bookstores when I'm on vacation--it's a wonderful way to soak up the local color. Also, I love to buy local books to help me learn about a new place.

We usually visit Cape Cod every year with my husband's family, and there's a lovely little bookstore right down the road from where we stay in Brewster. I blogged about it here.

And here's a picture:

Another one bites the dust...

I was saddened to hear that Dutton's, one of L.A.'s great independent bookstores, is closing its doors after 23 years.  Dutton's once had a North Hollywood location that my husband and I used to visit occasionally, but that closed a few years back.  Now the Brentwood store is closing, partly due to the fact that the property has changed ownership, and surprise, surprise, the new owner wants to redevelop the property (a familiar story in Los Angeles).  Here is a letter from the store's owner, Doug Dutton, about the closing, and here is a piece about it in the Los Angeles Times. 

I don't know what it takes to make it as an independent bookstore, but it always sounds like a business that constantly lives on the edge.  I have always had a dream of owning a small bookstore, but I don't know if I'm brave enough to follow that particular dream...