Newtonville Books is book heaven

I had the honor of reading at Newtonville Books in the Boston area yesterday and I am slightly mad at the words I am writing because they sound so tired and trite. 

If I tell you I felt like I fell asleep reading and then woke up in book heaven, would that convey how delicious this bookstore is? Somehow the space is carved into the side of a glorious old stone church, making it feel like a book cave in the interior but also a book sunroom in the storefront part on the street that's full of windows. And they have every book you want, and also those books you didn't know you wanted, and the special composition notebooks and lovely bookmarks and a spacious children's section.

And Mary Cotton, the owner, is a Book Saint! (thanks to husband Jaime for the invite to the store).

And the folks that came -- my family, one of my oldest friends and her son, fellow Bennington alums, and one random guy who asked a very astute question about the evolution of theories on writing fiction about the Holocaust -- were delightful!

(And, side note: the porridge at Johnny's Luncheonette is surprisingly delicious!)

So a perfect day, thanks to Newtonville Books and the wonderful people I've come to know in my life!

-30-