Comments on: Curveballs and Bookstore Cats http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2007/12/31/curveballs-and-bookstore-cats/ Fearless. Thoughtful. Witty. Canadian. And Opinionated. Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:06:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Katherine http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2007/12/31/curveballs-and-bookstore-cats/#comment-2585 Katherine Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:51:07 +0000 http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2007/12/31/curveballs-and-bookstore-cats/#comment-2585 Indeed! This class of bookshop is to me, the essence of a perfect Sunday. I have found two such stores in my lifetime. One was hidden amongst the cheeze and grit of Yellowstone, Montana, where the owner, William, had actually taken the time to write little Post-it notes describing the merits of every book in the house. I loved this store most, because of the care taken to arrange the books, by theme, style, and author. My time in the area was brief. I shopped only for what I could consume in one summer. But my connection with this store and its lovely owner left a lasting impression. To my good fortune, I discovered a second shop of this sort in my (new) hometown of Ottawa. The Capital Book Store on Somerset West is just as you described (only they don’t have a kitty). I was lured off the street by the impressive window display and the smell of fair trade coffee. I became a ‘friend’ after spending an hour listening to the owner greet every patron who entered with a new suggestion based on their discrete tastes—everything from Middle Eastern history to murder mystery. I remember the look on her face when I went to the counter with three books—to shy to commit to any one thread of interest (I believe I had a Joan Didion, Robert Twigger, and something more geeky to feed my love of political theory!) Indeed! This class of bookshop is to me, the essence of a perfect Sunday. I have found two such stores in my lifetime. One was hidden amongst the cheeze and grit of Yellowstone, Montana, where the owner, William, had actually taken the time to write little Post-it notes describing the merits of every book in the house. I loved this store most, because of the care taken to arrange the books, by theme, style, and author.
My time in the area was brief. I shopped only for what I could consume in one summer. But my connection with this store and its lovely owner left a lasting impression.

To my good fortune, I discovered a second shop of this sort in my (new) hometown of Ottawa. The Capital Book Store on Somerset West is just as you described (only they don’t have a kitty). I was lured off the street by the impressive window display and the smell of fair trade coffee. I became a ‘friend’ after spending an hour listening to the owner greet every patron who entered with a new suggestion based on their discrete tastes—everything from Middle Eastern history to murder mystery. I remember the look on her face when I went to the counter with three books—to shy to commit to any one thread of interest (I believe I had a Joan Didion, Robert Twigger, and something more geeky to feed my love of political theory!)

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