Archives for October 2016

October 31, 2016

The Delicious Smell of Old Books: Can It Be Recreated?

Yum – one of my favorite smells! (The book, not the hippies 🙂 )

Fall officially started more than a month ago, but only recently has the weather near me turned truly autumnal. Now that the evenings are sufficiently chilly, I’ve been curling up with a fuzzy blanket and drinking warm beverages while I read. And to take the coziness up a notch, I like lighting seasonally scented candles. During the fall months, I usually go for pumpkin spice, cinnamon vanilla and the like, but I started thinking of other comforting scents that I’d like to try and “old-book-smell” came to mind.

I am serial book sniffer and particularly like thrusting my nose into pages that have yellowed with age. Newly printed books smell great too, but there’s just something special about the scent of an old book.

But what exactly are we smelling when our noses are buried in the spine of a decades-old novel?

The results of a study conducted a few years ago concluded that it’s the breakdown of chemical compounds found in paper, as well as other elements of a book like ink, glue, etc. Most notable of these compounds is lignin, a plant polymer that causes paper to turn yellow as it ages and releases an aroma very much like vanilla. To get super nerdy about it, books emit scents as they degrade from the following volatile oragnic compounds (VOCs): toulene and ethyl benzene (overall sweet smell); benzaldehyde and furfaral (almonds); and vanillin (vanilla).

I then asked the question: is it possible to recreate that olfactory experience in candle form? To find out, I conducted a very unscientific experiment. I purchased candles from Etsy (all of which promised to smell like old books), then spent a day sniffing a real old book and comparing it to the scent of the three candles.

The old book I chose as my “control” was a 1967 printing of The Hippies, edited by Joe David Brown (see photo above). I can’t say it really smelled like vanilla or almonds, but it definitely had some sweetness and dusty, mustiness.

How did the candles measure up? Here are my notes and observations:

Belle’s Library Candle – Anthology Candles
Description on Etsy: Aged Library Books, Wild Roses, Hint of Leather
My description: Dominant rose aroma with slight mustiness, very sweet, like a grandma’s perfume
Smells like old books?: Not a bit, and it actually made me feel kind of queasy

Old Books – Frostbeard Studio
Description on Etsy: Paper, Dust, Vanilla and a hint of Fresh Grass
My Description: Unripe banana, cloyingly sweet, a whiff of freshly mown grass
Smells like old books?: Overall scent of the candle was pleasant enough, but definitely not old-booky

Antique Books – Werther and Gray
Description on Etsy: Paper, Vanilla & Leather
My Description: Dark and opaque, musky men’s cologne with a sweet finish
Smells like old books?: I guess the muskiness reminded me of books with leather elements, but it didn’t smell at all like a book with fiber-based bindings

Conclusions:

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with my experiment. None of the candles delivered on a true fragrance of aged books. They all had sweetness, but they didn’t have the vanilla or almond aromas that science tells us old books are supposed to give off. I’m sure these Etsy candlemakers sell other lovely wares, but this batch of candles just didn’t meet my criteria.

In any case, now I know to stick with the traditional candle scents. It’s more pumpkin spice for me this season! And after thinking it over, I’m glad the old-book-smell can’t really be recreated. The physical act of burying my nose in a book and breathing it in is special, and I don’t want anything to take its place.

Resources:
Griffiths, S. (2014). Why old books smell so good: Infographic reveals complex chemistry behind the comforting scent of yellowed pages. Retrieved October 31, 2016, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2647333/Why-old-books-smell-good-Infographic-reveals-complex-chemistry-comforting-scent-yellowed-pages.html

Koch, B. J. (n.d.). Is It More Than “Old Book Smell”? – Articles about rare books, antiquarian books, manuscripts, autographs, first editions, illustrated books,… – ILAB-LILA. Retrieved October 31, 2016, from https://www.ilab.org/eng/documentation/677-is_it_more_than_old_book_smell.html

October 29, 2016

Literary Linking: October 24 – 28

My favorite bookish links from the week of October 24 – 28:

The Truth about Boys and Books: They Read Less – and Skip Pages
“Boys might claim it’s a simple matter of preferring to read magazines or the latest musings of their friends on social media rather than the classics. But two of the largest studies ever conducted into the reading habits of children in the UK have put those excuses to bed.Boys, of every age, no matter the nature of the literature before them, typically read less thoroughly than girls.”

11 of the Greatest Fictional Parties Ever
“Writers send their characters to parties for the very same reason we all go: parties allow the unusual and encourage the unexpected. Parties are short stories within in our broader narrative; each has its own compelling arc that starts from the moment you walk through the door and ends the next morning with the groggy brunch post-script. In that vein, here are eleven novels that deliver all the fun without the hangover.”

Giant Flip Books Are Hiding in the Woods of New Hampshire
“Tucked away in the forests of New Hampshire, somewhere just outside of Strafford, is a family of giant metal boxes. Each one is filled with 50 drawings and rigged with a system of gears that lets you crank through the images with the turn of a handle.”

The Gone Girl With The Dragon Tattoo On The Train: Why are there so many books with “girl” in the title?
“Paula Hawkins’s debut, “The Girl on the Train,” was published last year and is still everywhere… Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl” was equally ubiquitous a couple of years back. This summer belonged to “The Girls,” Emma Cline’s acclaimed debut novel, still prominently displayed in every bookstore I enter. Carl Hiaasen’s “Razor Girl” recently hit The New York Times bestseller list. Who are these girls? Why are there so many of them?”

October 24, 2016

I’m Sick of the Election!: 10 Books Set in D.C. NOT About Politics

Election day is quickly approaching and I, for one, am more than ready to leave this campaign season behind. As someone who works in Washington, D.C., I am accustomed to a constant hum of political talk, but the presidential race has crescendoed the hum into a rather unbearable din.

Yes, I realize this is to be expected, seeing as Washington is our nation’s capital, but I want the world to realize there’s more to the D.C. area than just politics.

So, I took it upon myself to find books that take place in the D.C. metro area that do not focus on politics. Admittedly, they were hard to come by, but I was able to find some that fit the bill.

Check them out and get a different taste of the District:

A Criminal Magic, by Lee Kelly
A Criminal Magic takes us back to Prohibition-era Washington, but in Kelly’s version of history, it isn’t alcohol that has been banned. It’s magic! And the black market for it is booming. Gangs hire sorcerers to make an addictive, euphoria-inducing elixir called Sorcerer’s Shine and to perform magic in secret venues throughout the city, including one called The Red Den in Georgetown. Sorcerer Joan and undercover Prohibition Unit officer Alex meet at The Red Den and fall head over heels for each other. Will their ill-fated love make it through the unforgiving circumstances?

I love how this book combined the magical and fantastical with an historic DC setting. I kept looking up the different streets mentioned in the story on Google maps and imagining how they would have looked in the 1920s. Lots of nerdy fun!

Ghosts of Georgetown, by Tim Krepp
Halloween’s almost here, so Ghosts of Georgetown seemed fitting. In this collection of ghost tales, Krepp provides a solid history lesson on the events surrounding each story, but doesn’t take away from the fun of reading a scary story for its spine-tingling effects. After reading this book, there are a few spots in Georgetown that I think I’ll just avoid from now on…

The Seventh Most Important Thing, by Shelley Pearsall
This middle-grade book tells a beautiful story of a child’s grief and the results of a terrible decision he makes. Set in Washington, D.C. in the 1960s, The Seventh Most Important Thing follows Arthur T. Owens as he works for the man he injured in a moment of rage. But it isn’t regular community service. He has to collect The Seven Most Important Things (glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors), but what is it all for? I’m not going to tell you! What I will say is the “thing” that’s created actually exists and is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Click here if you really want to know what it is.

Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett
This one is a bit of a stretch, but I enjoyed Commonwealth enough that I wanted to include it. The story takes place in multiple cities, but part of it is set just outside the District in Arlington (my hometown). At the beginning of Commonwealth, one kiss sets in motion the breaking up of two marriages and follows messy aftermath for the couples and six children involved.

I’ll admit, I didn’t particularly like the scenes in Arlington because they didn’t ring true for me (Arlingtonians, let me know your thoughts if you read it), but there was something about Commonwealth and its depiction of family dysfunction that made it impossible to put down.

The Girl’s Guide to Love and Supper Clubs, by Dana Bate
This yummy story follows Hannah Sugarman, a twenty-something in the midst of a quarter-life crisis, as she tries to find happiness and meaning in her favorite past-time: cooking. She starts an underground supper club (a not-completely-legal venture) out of her landlord’s Dupont Circle home while he’s out of town. Hilarity, heartbreak, and scrumptious meals ensue. Bate is very detailed in her descriptions of the city and name-drops sites throughout the book. I particularly appreciated her mention of the Dupont Circle Krispy Kreme!

Along Came a Spider, James Patterson
Along Came a Spider is the first installment of James Patterson’s Alex Cross series. Through Cross, a police detective and forensic psychologist, we get a look at two very different sides of DC. We first glimpse the District’s poorer neighborhoods as Cross investigates the murders of two prostitutes and an infant in the Southeast quadrant of the city. Then, when Cross is assigned a seemingly unconnected case involving two children kidnapped from an elite private school, we see the more affluent part of town. The book was written in 1993, when D.C. was still considered the murder capital of the U.S. Many of the “bad” areas Cross describes have been cleaned up since then.

The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus, by Richard Preston
I remember reading this as a middle-schooler in the mid-90s and being completely fascinated and majorly freaked out. Monkeys in a primate quarantine facility in the D.C. suburb of Reston — only 30 minutes from where I lived — had been infected by the Ebola virus. Eek! Preston’s graphic descriptions of the virus’ effects aren’t for the faint-hearted, but I couldn’t put this one down and have had an interest in lethal viruses and global pandemics ever since!

Here are a few I haven’t read, but caught my eye:

Here I Am, by Jonathan Safran Foer
From the Follett Titlewave: “In Washington, D.C., after an earthquake in the Middle East which sets in motion a quickly escalating conflict, Jacob and Julia Bloch and their three sons are forced to look at the distances between the lives they think they want and the lives they are living.”

I’ve heard mixed things about Here I Am, but I really enjoyed Everything Is Illuminated, so I’ll give it a try.

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, by Dinaw Mengestu
From the Follett Titlewave: “Ethiopian refugee Sepha Stephanos, running a grocery store in an African-American neighborhood in Washington, D.C., finds hope for the future and a renewed sense of family when he is befriended by a white woman and her biracial daughter who move in next door, not realizing there are some who will not approve of his new relationship and do not welcome what marks the beginning of a wave of gentrification.”

Side-note: if you’re ever in D.C. and itching for some amazing Ethopian food, try Etete on U Street. It is sooo delicious!

The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown
From Follett Titlewave: “Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, at the U.S. Capitol Building to deliver a lecture, is drawn into a desperate search through the hidden tunnels and temples of Washington, D.C., when his mentor Peter Solomon, a prominent Mason and philanthropist, is kidnapped and the only clue to Solomon’s whereabouts lies in an ancient invitation to a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.”

I OD’ed on Dan Brown in college, but maybe enough time has passed for me to give him another go. I am a sucker for his end-of-chapter cliffhangers!

What Washington, D.C. books without politics have I missed? Add them in the comments!

October 22, 2016

Literary Linking: October 17 – 21

My favorite bookish links from the week of October 17 – 21:

100 Book for a Lifetime of Eating and Drinking
“If you had to create one bookshelf of all things culinary, what would it look like? For us, first and foremost there’s got to be variety–it is the spice of life, after all…”

8 Brutal Truths of Raising a Book-Loving Kid
“There’s that saying, “Be careful what you wish for.” Well, I always wished for my kids to be book lovers. My oldest, now six years old, definitely qualifies…While I’d never say I’ve lived to regret my wish — at all — there are a few things about raising a book lover that can take some getting used to.”

Airbnb Is Offering Two Guests a Stay in Dracula’s Castle on Halloween Night
“If flickering candles, squeaky staircases, and coffin beds fit your description of a cozy vacation home, Airbnb has the perfect listing for you. As The Telegraph reports, the lodging service is inviting two guests to stay at Bran Castle, or “Dracula’s Castle,” on the night of October 31.”

19 Beautiful Bookstores You Need To Visit in America
“Yelp identified the best bookstores in the country by looking at both the number of reviews and the star-rating, then hand-selected the most dazzling stores from that list. So here are 19 incredible bookstores you need to see for yourself, as told by the Yelp users who love books and ambiance just as much as the rest of us.”

The Helpful Humans at the New York Public Library Who Answer Researchable Questions by Phone
“At the New York Public Library, you can call a librarian who will answer any researchable question you might have. The help-line has been around for over 40 years, and to this day it receives more than 30,000 calls a year. Need to know the color of an arctic fox’s eyes? Ever wonder if there are full moons every night in Acapulco? Well, if Google isn’t your thing, these librarians have got your answer.”

October 17, 2016

Why Reading Makes You Sleepy and What You Can Do About It

Even when a book is amazing, I sometimes can’t help but succumb to sweet sleep!

I have a conflicted relationship with sleep. Sometimes it feels absolutely delicious to burrow my cheek in a pillow and go under for some zzz’s, but when I have an amazing book to read and my eyelids feel like those kettlebells in my basement that I should but don’t use, sleep becomes a relentless adversary.

I’ve always envied friends who aren’t plagued with reading-induced sleepies. I remember giving a friend Gone with the Wind in high school during band practice and the next morning, bleary-eyed and yawning, she handed the small brick of a book back to me. She’d stayed up all night and finished it because she couldn’t put it down.

I was glad she enjoyed the book, but it didn’t seem fair that she could get all that reading done simply because she didn’t fall asleep. Except for a brief period of time in college when I had a bout of insomnia (even the whale blubber chapter of Moby Dick didn’t help me zonk out), my reading time often becomes naptime.

I still get through a good number of books, but with my ever-growing TBR list, I want more reading and less shut-eye. To make this happen, I did what any millennial would. I Googled “Why does reading make me sleepy?” and “How to stay awake while reading.”

According to the interwebs, there could be many reasons for my drowsiness:

Not enough sleep at night
Eye fatigue, often from insufficient lighting
Mental fatigue from the exertion necessary to process text
Boring reading material
Warm environment
Reclined reading position

Of all of these, the last interested me the most. Apparently, tilting your head down while reading results in a slowing of breath and overall physical relaxation. I reflected on my findings and had to admit that, aside from boring reading material, all the possible reasons for reading-induced sleepiness applied to me.

Armed with this knowledge, I moved on to address the second part of my research. The Internet offered numerous suggestions for staying awake while reading, so I decided to give them a try. My plan was to take as many sleep-prevention measures as possible and fill in with reactive tactics if needed.

I set my goal for 45-minutes of uninterrupted reading and went into the session armed with 8.5 hours of sleep the night before, the book NEED by Joelle Charbonneau (a YA thriller and definitely not boring), ample natural and artificial light, an ambient temperature of 68 degrees Farehnheit, and black coffee. I made sure to sit with my back straight in an armchair with my chin lifted and feet on the floor.

When time was up… I hadn’t fallen asleep! There hadn’t been the slightest droop of an eyelid and I hadn’t needed any back-up anti-sleep strategies — things like jumping jacks, chewing gum, taking notes, reading aloud, or taking a cold shower (I was really glad I didn’t have to go through with that one!). Was my wakefulness a direct result of my pre-reading prep? I can’t be sure.

Knowing that it was all an experiment may have skewed the results, but no matter the reason for my alertness, the bottom line was it hadn’t been an enjoyable way to read. The experience felt like work instead of my favorite pastime.

I associate books and reading with comfort. For me, it’s all about curling up on the sofa with a fuzzy blanket and saying adios to reality. I don’t know if I’m willing to give that up for the sake of getting through more pages. In times when it’s necessary to read for a deadline, the stay-awake tips will come in handy, but for everyday recreational reading, I’m okay with succumbing to the sandman. Who knows, maybe I’ll get through my entire TBR list in one of my dreams!

October 15, 2016

Literary Linking: October 10 – 14

My favorite bookish links from the week of October 10 – 14:

Study Shows Books Can Bring Republicans and Democrats Together
“Political rhetoric has never been so polarized — but getting together to discuss a good book may be the answer, or so research into literary behavior suggests.”

How the Berenstain Bears Found Salvation
“…consistency had always been crucial to the Berenstain Bears’ appeal. So I could practically hear a needle scratch when I opened up some newer editions my son had received as a gift, and I discovered that the Berenstains’ concerns had turned from the mundane to the theological. The new volumes, “The Berenstain Bears: Do Not Fear, God Is Near” and “The Berenstain Bears Go to Sunday School,” had a markedly different cast than my son’s old favorites.”

The Funniest Living Writers Choose the Funniest Books in the World
“With the publication this month of Today Will Be Different, Maria Semple’s follow-up to Where’d You Go, Bernadette, we got to wondering: What’s the funniest book by a living writer? Well, who better to ask than Maria Semple? The Seattle-based novelist told us her three favorite funny books, so then we asked those three authors. Then we kept asking. Our daisy chain of hilarity includes recommendations from more than 30 writers, including David Sedaris, Junot Díaz, Elif Batuman, Paul Beatty, Miranda July, Chris Kraus, and Don Novello.”

Mapping the Imaginary
“Maps of fictional places in life and literature help fuel our imaginations. Among the road maps, topographic maps and country maps in the Library’s Geography and Map Division are maps of intangible places that will set the hearts of fiction and fantasy lovers aflutter.”

Stars of the Spoken Word
“Even in these cynical, ruthlessly pragmatic days, where art has become “content” and many have lost faith in the ability of literature to illuminate our lives, there remains one dogged subculture that believes deeply in the power of the aesthetic. To them, the arts still have something holy about them. These idealists are audiobook narrators.”

Library of Congress Allows Visitors To View Beautiful Ceremonial Room
“Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden has opened the stately Ceremonial Room of the Jefferson Building to the public, a symbolic gesture that nonetheless reveals her focusing on connecting the library to everyday Americans.”

Dear Non-Readers: Stop Saying These Things To Us
“Dear non-reader: Readers aren’t unicorns. We don’t require special treatment, nor do we count the minutes until we can ditch you and go back to our books (usually). We would, however, appreciate it if people stopped engaging in, let’s call it annoying non-reader behavior. If you’re a non-reader, this is for you. This is what you shouldn’t do if you want to talk a reader into dating you, being your friend or simply engaging in some harmless small talk.”

October 10, 2016

Unique Literary Baby Names for Your Future Bookworm

These days when I scroll through Facebook, here’s what I see: baby, link to article on Trump or Clinton, baby, cool travel shots, babies in a group, advertisement that proves Facebook is stalkery, ultrasound, baby, more babies. Basically, it’s babies, babies, babies! And baby names are getting more and more creative. According to Harper’s Bazaar, some of the top fashionable names are Binx, Rumi, North, Langley, Massimiliano, Sparrow, Coco… It’s getting pretty inventive out there in baby-naming world.

If you’re expecting a new baby and are struggling to find the perfect unique and meaningful name for your progeny, one great place to look is the pages of books. For me, the names of book characters become infused with their personalities and characteristics, and I’d like to think that babies named after super cool protagonists would inherit those super cool traits.

So, for you future parents (or pet owners – these names work great for animals too!), I’ve pulled together a list of book characters with personalities I love who also happen to have interesting and uncommon names. For the sake of full disclosure, I’ve included information on both their positive and negative traits, but don’t fret over the flaws. These characters’ peccadilloes are often what make them so gosh darn lovable.

Also, I wholeheartedly recommend all the books that these characters come from. Click on the titles for more information.

Girls Names

Name: Nimona
Book: Nimona, by Noelle Stevenson
Characteristics: tenacious, humorous, driven, hot-tempered, shape-shifter (she usually turns herself into a shark or a dragon), powerful, impulsive
Notes: The other main characters in this graphic novel also have super fun names: Lord Ballister Blackheart and Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin. Meeting a baby with the name Ambrosius would make my day…

Name: Hermione
Book: Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling
Characteristics: uber intelligent, loyal, perfectionist, has a strong sense of social justice, bossy, brave
Notes: Even though you’d have to have lived under a rock for the last 15 years to not know this name, I had to include Hermione on the list! She’s smart, loves the library, is always prepared, and isn’t afraid to punch a bully in the nose… what’s not to like???

Name: Lyra
Book: His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
Characteristics: Courageous, a caring friend, curious, stubborn, resourceful, a persuasive (somewhat deceptive) storyteller
Notes: Her daemon (an external manifestation of the soul in the form of an animal) also has a fabulous name: Pantalaimon.

Name: Willowdean
Book: Dumplin’, by Julie Murphy
Characteristics: resolute, willing to take risks, fearless, comfortable in her own skin
Notes: The title, Dumplin’, comes from the nickname Willowdean’s former beauty-queen mom gave her, and I think it would make a perfect name for an overfed kitty.

Boy Names

Name: Cormoran
Book: The Cormoran Strike novels, by J.K. Rowling (The Cuckoo’s Calling, The Silkworm, and Career of Evil)
Characteristics: analytical, straight-talker, a tad gruff at times, dedicated, private
Notes: When you first meet Cormoran in Cuckoo’s Calling, he’s pretty much hit rock bottom and doesn’t seem to be a likable human being, but give him some time. You’ll end up loving his rough edges.

Name: Kaito (Kai for short)
Book: The Lunar Chronicles series, by Marissa Meyer
Characteristics: diplomatic, optimistic, a bit naive, has a strong sense of duty, sees beyond the surface
Notes: Not only is Kaito a nice dude, his physical description is very impressive. Even the robots in the book think he’s hot!

Name: Gilbert
Book: The Anne of Green Gables novels, by L.M. Montgomery
Characteristics: super smart, hard-working, patient, confident (to the point of arrogance at times), forgiving, generous
Notes: I personally love that he gives his teaching position in Avonlea to Anne, so she can stay at Green Gables with Marilla. What a noble fella!

What unique literary names do you think parents-to-be should consider? Write them in the comments below!

October 8, 2016

Literary Linking: October 3 – 7

My favorite bookish links from the week of October 3 – 7:

Stephen King Says People Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Clowns. Right.
“Despite the clown scare sweeping the nation, Stephen King wants you to chill about clowns. Sure, his novel “It” probably contributed to your lifelong fear of clowns. But now the author would very much like you to take a deep breath and calm down.”

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Acquires Its First Hip-Hop Archive
“The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts houses the archives of dance titans like Merce Cunningham, Jerome Robbins and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Now it will also be a home to the history of hip-hop dance.”

The 50 Best Libraries in the United States
Elle has pulled together a list of each state’s best library. Make sure to check out Maryland’s — it’s gorgeous!

What Makes a Children’s Book Good?
“The conundrum of the “good” children’s book is best embodied by the apparently immortal—or maybe just undead—series “Goosebumps,” by R. L. Stine. “Goosebumps” is a series of horror novellas, the kid’s-lit equivalent of B-horror movies. It’s also one of the most successful franchises in the business, selling over three hundred and fifty million copies worldwide—which is a ludicrous, almost obscene, number…The only way to sell that many copies is if millions of kids actually and truly want to read the books. The conclusion is obvious: “Goosebumps” books are good, right?”

Seven Delightful Dickensian Words
“Charles Dickens captured Victorian society from the finest drawing rooms to the filthiest gutters, and his primary tool was language. As Bryan Kozlowski, author and member of the Dickens Fellowship puts it in his new book What the Dickens?!: Distinctly Dickensian Words and How to Use Them, “Dickens wallowed in words like no other.” Kozlowski has collected 200 words used by Dickens, some of them drawn from the life around him, some of his own invention, and puts them in the context of 19th century England and Dickens’s body of work.“

October 3, 2016

What Did DC Commuters Read in September?

In my 33 years on this earth, I have learned that humans are very curious and judgmental creatures. And I will humbly admit that I am quite “human,” especially when it comes to books and the people who read them. A great place to exercise this curiosity and judgement (ok, let’s be honest — it’s plain ol’ nosiness) is on public transit.

Hop on a bus or metro car in Washington, DC during rush hour and almost all commuters have their heads buried in their phones. Every so often, however, there is a reader among the masses, and when there is, I am compelled to look over her shoulder. I then proceed to make sweeping and unsubstantiated conclusions about the person based on her physical appearance and choice of book (all in good fun, of course). Not only is it entertaining, but it’s given me some great titles to add to my TBR list.

Each month, I will keep track of all these unsuspecting commuters and the books they read to share with you, my lovely readers. It’s easy to think of most Washingtonians as nothing but politics-crazed, type-A, workaholics, and while many people in the city do that fit that description, my hope is that you have some fun imagining a unique life for each of these commuters based on the information from my snooping. Hopefully you’ll also discover a title or two that you’d like to read!

Here’s what DC read this September (titles in red are on my TBR list):

Book: Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi

From the publisher: “[Homegoing] begins with the story of two half-sisters, separated by forces beyond their control: one sold into slavery, the other married to a British slaver… [and] traces the generations of family who follow, as their destinies lead them through two continents and three hundred years of history.”

Reader: Woman, early 30s, blonde, tall, glasses, wearing a flowy flowery skirt

Book: Tong Wars, by Scott D. Seligman

From the publisher – “A mesmerizing true story of money, murder, gambling, prostitution, and opium: the Chinese gang wars that engulfed New York’s Chinatown from the 1890s through the 1930s.”

Reader: Middle-aged man, light brown hair parted on the side, large glasses with gold rims (80s style), collared shirt, no tie

Book: Private Citizen, by Tony Tulathmutte

From the publisher – “In boisterous prose that ricochets between humor and pain, the four estranged friends stagger through the Bay Area’s maze of tech startups, protestors, gentrifiers, karaoke bars, house parties, and cultish self-help seminars, washing up in each other’s lives once again.”

Reader: Heavy-set woman in her 40s, brunette with hair teased to great heights

Book: The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien

From the publisher – “The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim O’Brien, who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three.”

Reader: Young woman (mid- to late-20s), rail thin, wire-rimmed glasses, mousy brown hair left down, striped button-up shirt

Book: Good as Gone, by Amy Gentry

From the publisher – “Thirteen-year-old Julie Whitaker was kidnapped from her bedroom in the middle of the night, witnessed only by her younger sister. Her family was shattered, but managed to stick together, hoping against hope that Julie is still alive. And then one night: the doorbell rings. A young woman who appears to be Julie is finally, miraculously, home safe. The family is ecstatic—but Anna, Julie’s mother, has whispers of doubts.”

Reader: Woman in her 30s, dark hair in a ponytail, white t-shirt and jeans

Book: The Black Widow, Daniel Silva

From the publisher – “Legendary spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon is poised to become the chief of Israel’s secret intelligence service. But on the eve of his promotion, events conspire to lure him into the field for one final operation. ISIS has detonated a massive bomb in the Marais district of Paris, and a desperate French government wants Gabriel to eliminate the man responsible before he can strike again.”

Reader: Rather chunky woman in late 50s, frizzy gray hair, floral shirt with black slacks and orthopedic sandals

Book: Breakdown: An Alex Delaware Novel, Jonathan Kellerman

From the publisher – “Psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware meets beautiful and emotionally fragile TV actress Zelda Chase when called upon to evaluate her five-year-old son, Ovid. Years later, Alex is unexpectedly reunited with Zelda when she is involuntarily committed after a bizarre psychotic episode. Shortly after Zelda’s release, an already sad situation turns tragic when she is discovered dead on the grounds of a palatial Bel Air estate.”

Reader: Man in mid-50s, salt-and-pepper hair cut very short, glasses, wearing business attire with black attache case

Book: The Kept Woman (Will Trent #8), by Karen Slaughter

From the publisher – “With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is brought in on a case that becomes much more dangerous when the dead man is identified as an ex-cop. Studying the body, Sara Linton—the GBI’s newest medical examiner and Will’s lover—realizes that the extensive blood loss didn’t belong to the corpse. Sure enough, bloody footprints leading away from the scene indicate there is another victim—a woman—who has vanished . . . and who will die soon if she isn’t found.”

Reader: Woman in her 60s, curly short hair going gray, glasses (reading on a phone with very large font size), beige-colored orthopedic sneakers.

What did you read in September? Share in the comments below!

October 1, 2016

Literary Linking: September 26 – 30

My favorite bookish links from the week of September 26 – 30:

Tana French’s Intimate Crime Fiction
“In her Dublin Murder Squad series, the search for the killer becomes entangled in a search for self…All crime novels are social novels. They can’t help it; without a society to define, condemn, and punish it, crime itself wouldn’t exist.”

Seven Wonderfully Weird Harry Potter Quizzes To Take
“We’ve been sorted, and re-sorted, into our Hogwarts houses with J.K. Rowling’s blessings…and last week, we received the gift of the patronuses … [but] now we can’t retake it, here are 7 other wonderfully weird Harry Potter quizzes to take instead.”

Can You Read a Book the Wrong Way?
“Any published writer will have the experience of thinking you were saying one thing — one very clear and seemingly unmistakable thing — and then encountering a reader who thought you were saying something totally different. In this situation, the writer might seem to have the last word; who would know better what the text means than its creator?”

150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words, Explained
“Aegis, bouillon, chiton. Flautist, gyro, haute couture. Lackadaisical, mascarpone, peremptory. The English language is filled with words that stump the tongue with their tricky vowel pairings, consonants that seem neither hard nor soft, and rogue e’s that end up being anything but silent. Let’s face it, proper pronunciation is a trip.”

A Fourth Time, I Ask: Are Picture Books Leading Our Children Astray?
“On three previous occasions, I have confronted the thorny — yet seemingly obvious — question of whether or not picture books are leading our precious, innocent, impressionable, doe-eyed youth down a skull-strewn path to ruin. I had (naively) thought that three installments would be enough to successfully confront the problem — yet, alas, there are simply too many books on our children’s shelves that, through deceptively cheery artwork and sly subversion, are destroying our tots from within. Here are four of the worst offenders I’ve recently had the displeasure of reading.”

Best Uniforms in Books
“School has just started again, and everyone has survived the stress of picking out an outfit for the first day of school. But here’s the kicker: that stress repeats itself every day, especially if you find that your closet is lacking. School uniforms solve that issue, although some are better than others. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite uniforms in books. Don that plaid skirt and tie—we’re headed for a roundup.”