I'm off work Monday, on the road to the Brainerd Public Library for a book event. But this hot, sticky, muggy, sleep-inducing, move-inhibiting weather, has got me wondering: Is hot weather good for books? Bookstore and libraries, by and large, are air-conditioned. (Unlike the Hertzel Abode.)
Coffee shops, too, not only have comfy chairs and, of course, coffee drinks, but a cool space to read by. And by "cool" I do not mean "hip," though of course they can be that, as well. Porches have ceiling fans and rocking chairs. And, if all else fails, there's always the basement, unless yours is full of water, like mine, after the seven inches of rain we got Friday night.
The temperature for the next five days is supposed to be near 100, with the dewpoint not far behind. I'm going to spend today reading, just like I did yesterday. I polished off THE ORIENTAL WIFE by Evelyn Toynton yesterday, and am on to THIS BEAUTIFUL LIFE by Helen Schulman, with SMUGGLED by Christina Shea queued up. (It's apparently a weekend for fiction.)
Might this be what you will do? Stop by a neighborhood bookstore, pick up something appealing, head to a little coffee shop for a bit, and then home on the porch? What are you reading, this sultry sticky weekend?
