Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Kind of a Summer Thing

You really need to get out of the house in this heat and spend at least part of the day in air conditioning. Mad Housewife does this. First, she loads her almost-messenger bag with easy reading for coffeehouses. Then she takes off on her city bike. It squeaks. The tires rub. She can’t fix it. But she continues bravely.

In the fabulous coffeehouse she orders a cold drink (mocha fabucchino or something) and chooses what to read, taking books out of her bookbag.

Possibilities:


1. The Autobiography of Margaret Sanger. She's been meaning to read this forever.


2. Georgette Heyer’s Venetia. The witty repartee flies back and forth in these humorous romances between libertines and witty George Meredith heroines. Who hasn’t laughed over these?


3. King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard. Mad Housewife is a fan of She, one of the best adventure/romances of all time. Haggard, who lived in Africa for many years, said, “The thing must have heart; mere adventures are not enough. I can turn these out by the peck.” It’s a Dover. You can read it in public. Mine is a triple-pack, She, Allan Quatermain, and King Solomon’s Mines.

4. Any mystery. It doesn't matter. Agatha Christie, John D. MacDonald, Arthur Conan Doyle...

Meanwhile, you notice that everybody at the coffeehouse is on laptops doing mysterious things. Perhaps they’re writers; perhaps they’re students; perhaps they’re mad housewives reading King Solomon’s Mines online. It’s kind of a summer thing.
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2 comments:

  1. Ellen5:47 AM

    I've read the _Autobiography of Margaret Sanger_: as I recall, she hardly gives anything away. Like the autobiography of the woman who vote so hard for the vote: Susan B. Anthony.

    Sometimes I think I should go to a local coffeehouse we have -- we have 2, but I'm so much more comfortable in my house. And I've not got a laptop. Another thing I tell Izzy to do which I don't do :)
    She says she doesn't like coffee!

    That's the function of teaching; it gets me out of the house on these fiercely hot days.

    Ellen

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  2. Frisbee8:05 AM

    I would like to read _Autobiography of Margaret Sanger_, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

    Some coffeehouses are OK for reading. The independents are less crowded than Starbucks and of course more individualistic and arty, but even Starbucks seems to have a "controlled" atmosphere with quiet music, comfortable chairs, and tables not too close together.

    You can drink tea at coffeehouses, too.

    Kathy

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