bookstores and libraries

Let me start by saying I love my daughter, my non-napping, six-month-old daughter.



Elizabeth and I went to the Carlsbad library today. I thought crawling around amidst books would be, at least subconsciously, good for her. It lasted about ten minutes. She did crawl around books -- in fact, she crawled to the other children, took their books, and tried to eat them. (The books, not the children.) She told me (telepathically, of course!) that picture books taste better than board books, especially the fragile pages inside. They're easier to digest.

So... we left the library and left for a much safer place - the bookstore, logically. You know, where the books aren't free.

Actually, my goal was to get her to fall asleep so I could sit inside my newly found favorite bookstore (Book Works in Del Mar) and write, or at least admire the other YA books that I really can't afford right now. We were there about five minutes when she woke up. I offered her a few of the stuffed animals that were lying there for babies to play with, but no! She wanted to eat the book I was flipping through (_The Book Thief_). So, we lasted another ten minutes. I ended up buying _I am the Messenger_ by the same author as _The Book Thief_, mostly because it was in paperback and therefore half the price. (Isn't that lame? And I still haven't told my hubby I bought YET ANOTHER book.)

The best part of being there, though, was meeting the owner (at least, I assume she's the owner), Andy. She is exactly the kind of person you'd want to meet at a bookstore. She knows all the books, and judging by the titles in the YA section alone, doesn't select books just to make a buck. I did not see _The Clique Girls_ there. I looked. You can blast me all you want for disliking a series like that, and yes, I know, I'm judging them without having read them (yet). I TRULY believe we should be held accountable for the art we create for children. I'm not saying we have to avoid traditionally taboo subjects like sex, drugs, or whatever, but personally I would not like myself all too much if I had written a series of books making the "boozy, slutty girls" (as Laura Preble calls them) look ideal. But then, I'm not much in favor of the MTV lifestyle anyway. Maybe that's why my book takes place in 1835. I don't think it'll be a favorite among the "boozy, slutty girls."

Did I get any writing done today? Nothing but this post, so far. Mommydom has been challenging today. The hard part (or maybe it's the exciting part) is that I'm dying to get back to my book because I left Rohana in an interesting situation... It'll have to wait until my scheduled time-slot of 7-8pm, where daddy takes over. I have to relinquish my time at 8, though, for his GRE study time from 8-9. My husband Jim wants to go back to school, in Boulder, Colorado, to get his PhD in Astrophysics. *gasp* How will we afford that on my unpublished-writer salary? I have no idea, but we'll worry about that later. If manifestation is what they say it is, everything will work out. Day by Day, Bit by Bit, Bird by Bird....