I was frustrated with a client. I let it be known. There was a meeting. Then another meeting. Then some heated Skyping.
By noon, I needed out. Out of the office. Out of downtown. Out of it all. I wanted a refuge to be calm and think and relax. What came to mind first? A bookstore, of course. I had errands to run in Pasadena, so I drove straight to Vroman's and could feel tension levels subside immediately upon entering the store.
I'll say it: Bookstores are my Prozac.
In my glee to be away from the scene of my crummy morning, I got a little carried away (deliciously so):
- The Elephant Vanishes: Stories by Haruki Murakami
- The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa
- The Seamstress and The Wind by César Aira
- Your Face Tomorrow: Fever and Spear by Javier Marías
- The Devil All The Time by Donald Ray Pollock
Feel that relief? Ahhhhhhhh....
All better now.
