Between the Pages

“When I was growing up, I had three wishes – I wanted to be a Lindbergh-type hero, learn Chinese and become a member of the Algonquin Round Table .” -- President John F. Kennedy Staying at the Algonquin was a time-traveling experience. When the Uber pulled up, it wasn't an Uber SUV anymore. It was a yellow-taxi cab from the 1920s and 30s. As I stepped out from under the iconic green awning and into the main dining room and bar, it wasn't 9:00 am. It was lunchtime. And, I was not Hallie from the 21st century. I was Hallie the actress, poet, short-story writer, or columnist. I was whatever I wanted to be because I was at the Algonquin.  THE VICIOUS CIRCLE The Algonquin Roundtable wasn't always The Algonquin Roundtable. Like a lot of things that originated around the 1920s, it began as a practical joke carried out by press agent John Peter Toohey. It's 1919, and Toohey is annoyed at New York Times columnist, Alexander Woollcott for refusing to write about one of his client...

 I'm back (finally)!! Welcome to the day 13 recap. My apologies for the late post. When I got home from driving for 11 hours in one day, I took a couple of days off, as we were all exhausted. This post recaps the events of July 2.  Day 13 CITIES We hopped from town to town, exit to exit everywhere from Hanover, NH to Altoona, PA. It certainly was a big driving day, as we arrived at our hotel at almost 2:00 am after foraging the Poconos in complete darkness. That was fun.  BOOKSTORES Northshire Bookstore This bookstore was sincerely one of my favorites of the entire trip. Nestled in a gorgeous and unfathomably green small town, I felt as if I had stepped straight into Stars Hollow, waiting for Rory Gilmore to burst into the store and complain about her bus being late from Chilton. The organization was impeccable, another facet Rory would appreciate; I appreciated it too.  Most impressive to me, however, were the hundreds of staff/customer recommendation cards clipped ...

 I'm back! Welcome to the day 12 recap.  Day 12 CITIES Today we left Cambridge, MA bright and early and slowly made our way throughout the day to Hanover, NH. We had a very chill day, as driving days are some of our most relaxed without the hustle and bustle of big cities. The fact that we are very near to the end of the trip has set in. I am relieved and sad to be almost done with this trip. On the one hand, I have been given this amazing opportunity to take the trip of my dreams that I do not want to end. And on the other, we are all very tired and quite homesick. We reached our northernmost point of the entire trip today! That's a big milestone. Overall, I'm feeling a lot of gratitude for this experience today.  BOOKSTORES Gibson's Bookstore and Cafe Today we visited a lovely bookstore in New Hampshire's capital city, Concord. Funny story, we did not actually realize we were in the capital until we noticed the statehouse to our left. Gibson's is a half urban ...

 I'm back! Welcome to the Day 11 recap.  Day 11 CITIES Today was our Cambridge + Boston day, and I must say, Boston is certainly one of the better cities we've been to on this trip. I'm not a city girl, but Boston went fairly well today. Ubers and crosswalks and intersections: I feel like a city success tonight.  BOOKSTORES Brattle Book Shop This bookstore was not originally on my Boston list; however, our docent at the Rosenbach suggested we go to this store, so we decided to give it a go. To be honest, it wasn't my favorite. The store is not in the best part of town, but that can mean you've really found an awesome store. Unfortunately, we did not find an awesome store. While it is advertised as a rare and used bookstore, which I would normally love, the selection was not amazing. The coolest thing, however, about this store is the outdoor stalls, and they are, in fact, very cool. I just hyped up this bookstore a little too much in my head (I suffer from "boo...

 I'm back! Welcome to the Day 10 recap.  Day 10 CITIES We woke up in sunny Providence , RI this morning. After finishing up in Providence, we headed to Plainville , MA (which was lovely). After Plainville and a much-needed stop at Target (the Target we pillaged and plundered deserves to be named a city unto itself, as it was massive), we moved on to Concord , MA then Cambridge , MA. BOOKSTORES An Unlikely Story To preface, I have read about this little store in a lot of literary magazine articles, online pieces, and bookstore coffee table books. (yes, these exist. yes, I have acquired quite the collection of them. no, I do not have a coffee table of my own.) An Unlikely Story certainly did not disappoint. As soon as I walked in, I knew this store was a special place; the community's place; a place especially pertinent in the lives of Plainville kids. With a whimsical Harry Potter theme, quidditch brooms and letters hung from the ceiling, An Unlikely Story certainly had me feel...

 I'm back! Welcome to the day 9 recap.  Day 9 CITIES This morning, we left New York City, and to be honest, I'm relieved. Rat race = real. (The city during the summer also smells like rats, so that analogy is applicable on multiple levels.) We drove to New Haven, then to Newport, then to Providence. Today was one of the best days of the trip. LIBRARIES Libraries at Yale University We saw two libraries at Yale today: Sterling Memorial Library and Beinecke Rare Book Library .  Sterling is the main library of the university and was opened in 1931. Architect, James Gamble Rogers designed the space as a centerpiece of Yale's Gothic architecture. Actually, Rogers approached the university with a design for a cathedral; however, the administration told him that what Yale actually needed was a library. Rogers simply changed the title of his plans from "church" to "library." The library holds over 4 million volumes. The university's manuscripts and archives a...

 I'm back! Welcome to the day 8 recap.  Day 8 CITIES Today was our last day in NYC. We took it slow today, as the past two days have been hard on our feet. MUSEUMS The Metropolitan Museum of Art While I have been to the MET before, I am always blown away by the juxtaposition between the scale and magnitude of the museum and how significant just one canvas or one ceramic bowl can be to me. The MET has been the setting of many a children's/young adult book. One particularly great one is From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler .  Aside from being an important setting in books and movies, literature inspires art, and art inspires literature. I saw hundreds of paintings and sculptures today of biblical figures. Religion in general as well as the Holy Bible has inspired many of the greatest works of art. Other notable pieces of literature that have inspired the creation of major works of art are Invisible Man, Ophelia, The Lady of Shalott, Dubling, and Don Quixote...

I'm back! We have officially been on this journey for a whole week. Thanks for sticking around. Welcome to the day 7 recap. Day 7 CITIES Today was another NYC day. I had a plan today. Now, I've had a plan every day, but this morning I got to business early. I got out my G-2 ballpoint pen that I love so much, and I wrote down each stop that we were going to at *specific* times. I also wrote down the walking times between each stop. I had three different plans based on the location of our breakfast location.  We ubered (is this a verb?) to our breakfast spot in south Manhattan and found ourselves at the gathering area for the New York City pride parade. A lot of streets were closed and blocked off. Most of the stores and publishers I planned for us to go to were along the parade route. We walked back to our hotel and decided to change our plans.  LITERARY SIGNIFICANCE STOPS The Central Park Carousel The Central Park Carousel appears in J.D. Salinger's first and most well-know...

 I'm back! Welcome to the day 6 recap.  Day 6 CITIES Today was our first NYC day, and I believe it was the best day in "the city that never sleeps" that I have ever had. I can say with absolute surety that New York City is better than both Philadelphia and Baltimore. I might have stepped on a couple toes there, but if you are honest with yourself, you'll agree with me.  LIBRARIES The New York Public Library While I have visited the NYPL once before, I looked at the building, inside and out, with fresh eyes today - not just the eyes of a tourist, but with the eyes of a reader and an intellectual citizen. So, without any more prologue, here are a number of things I learned in and about the NYPL today.  The New York Public Library serves over 3.5 million people in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Established as an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization in 1895, the library has accumulated quite a collection over the years. Amazingly, I got to see...

 I'm back! Welcome to the day 5 recap.  Day 5 CITIES We started off our day in Philadelphia where we promptly left. We drove to West Chester which was the cutest small town. From there, we went to Princeton . Finally, we arrived in New York City tonight.  BOOKSTORES Baldwin's Book Barn We visited one bookstore today, and it was certainly my favorite so far: Baldwin's Book Barn. The store is a five-story barn built in 1822 that exudes bookish charm. Wood-burning fireplaces, stone walls, large wooden doors, and hundreds of shelves bursting with books, maps, and prints are what make the book barn so special.  William and Lila Baldwin established their book and collectible store in 1934 in Wilmington, Delaware. They moved to "the Barn" in 1946. The old milking house was converted into a permanent residence for the family while the barn was filled with books. Over 300,000 used and rare books reside in the barn today. The store has been featured on CSPAN (oh yeah!) an...