What does it do when we're asleep?

[sovay]

Realizing last night that I have for decades thought of myself as a full year older than I chronologically can have been for my first real job—I was fifteen—led into a crumble-to-dust reminiscence about the number of bookstores once to be found in Lexington Center, which gave me some serious future shock when we walked into Maxima while waiting to collect our order from Il Casale and it occupied the exact same storefront as my second job, also as a bookseller; it was perhaps the one form of retail to which I was natively suited. My third job was assistant-teaching Latin, but my fourth I accidentally talked my way into by recommending some titles to a fellow browser. spatch's anniversary gift to me was a paperback of Satoshi Yagisawa's Days at the Morisaki Bookshop (trans. Eric Ozawa, 2010/2023). It was teeth-shockingly cold and we all but ran with our spoils back to the car.



Still across the table.



Whichever table it may be.

We had set out in search of resplendent food and found it in polpette that reminded us of the North End, a richly smoky rigatoni with ragù of deep-braised lamb, and a basil-decorated, fanciest eggplant parmesan I have encountered in my life, capped with panna cotta in a tumble of wintrily apt pomegranate seeds. Hestia investigated delicately but dangerously. After we had recovered, Rob showed me Powwow Highway (1989) right before it expired from the unreliable buffer of TCM because he thought and was right that I would love its anger and gentleness and hereness, plus its '64 Buick which has already gone on beyond Bluesmobile by the time it is discovered in a field of clunkers and a vision of ponies. It has no budget and so much of the world. As long as we're in it, we might as well be real.

Comments

[cmcmck]

J have to admit to being a total sucker for melanzane parmiggiana

For some reason it ended up with the French name aubergine here.

[spatch]

I am amazed that Il Casale was so good and even more amazed that it's just... been there. All along. Always a surprise. Happy anniversary, love.

[lauradi7dw]

There may have been a time that there were four bookstores at once in Lexington center - Sundial, Waldenbooks, the used place upstairs over Decelle, and a kid's book store more or less where one of the banks is now, but I may be conflating.
Within the last year, I referred to Maxima as being where the Gap was to someone who understood.

[asakiyume]

A field of clunkers and a vision of ponies! That must be a beautiful scene.

It has no budget and so much of the world. --I feel this sentence so intensely.

You guys look great. Carry on!

[umadoshi]

Happy anniversary! <3

[thisbluespirit]

<3<3<3

Those are good photos and I'm glad you managed to find something suitably resplendent to eat!


Btw, found on tumblr (via The Times, according to the comments): https://www.tumblr.com/thisbluespirit/802214231267278848?source=share

[gwynnega]

I didn't know you ever worked in bookstores! My only retail job was at Bread and Roses Bookstore in Sherman Oaks. I loved it, though I was practically paying them with all the books I bought there.

You are an excellent food writer! (That meal sounds marvelous.)

[aurumcalendula]

Those are lovely photos and the food sounds wonderful!

[theseatheseatheopensea]

Happy anniversary! What's Days at the Morisaki Bookshop like? I looked it up because the title reminded me of Welcome To the Hyunam-dong Bookstore, which I read a little while ago, and both books seem to have a similar vibe. I'm curious to know if that's accurate!