If it's January, it must be time for another blog post. That seems to be my routine.
This year, I'm fortunate to be visiting with my sister and her family in India. These first few days of my trip I've been struck by the universality of reading and books. It seems no matter who I talk with or where I'm at, books come up -- from the scientist sitting next to me on the plane who shared his favorite book (Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind by V. S. Ramachandran, Sandra Blakeslee and Oliver Sacks) and who was intrigued by my mention of The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code by Sam Kean -- -- to a gentleman on yesterday's flight from Udaipur to New Delhi toting his hardback copy of Coolidge by Amity Shlaes.
It's been fun visiting the numerous bookstores featuring some very familiar titles (often with unfamiliar covers) as well as titles that I've never seen and that reflect the specific interests and geography of where we're at. I've given out business cards to co-workers of my sister and her family who are thrilled to know we're in Arlington and plan to stop by or tell their friends about us.
With the varied authors who've visited the store, the discussions with customers and staff and books I've been fortunate to read, I feel that there's something that can connect me to almost everyone I meet - whether in Arlington, VA or India. And that is one of the many superpowers of books.
This year, I'm fortunate to be visiting with my sister and her family in India. These first few days of my trip I've been struck by the universality of reading and books. It seems no matter who I talk with or where I'm at, books come up -- from the scientist sitting next to me on the plane who shared his favorite book (Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind by V. S. Ramachandran, Sandra Blakeslee and Oliver Sacks) and who was intrigued by my mention of The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code by Sam Kean -- -- to a gentleman on yesterday's flight from Udaipur to New Delhi toting his hardback copy of Coolidge by Amity Shlaes.
It's been fun visiting the numerous bookstores featuring some very familiar titles (often with unfamiliar covers) as well as titles that I've never seen and that reflect the specific interests and geography of where we're at. I've given out business cards to co-workers of my sister and her family who are thrilled to know we're in Arlington and plan to stop by or tell their friends about us.
With the varied authors who've visited the store, the discussions with customers and staff and books I've been fortunate to read, I feel that there's something that can connect me to almost everyone I meet - whether in Arlington, VA or India. And that is one of the many superpowers of books.
