Midge Raymond's Blog, page 6

Bookstore Geek: Readings in Melbourne, Australia

I was delighted to have the opportunity to visit the iconic Readings bookstore in the Carlton neighborhood of Melbourne on the night of a book launch. I found Australia to be a magnificent country for book lovers; each city I visited has so many bookstores and each neighborhood at least one, if not several. Readings  … Read more

Bookstore Geek: Elliott Bay Book Company

The Elliott Bay Book Company was one of the first places I read when my first book, Forgetting English, was published in 2009, at its charming former location in Pioneer Square. Elliott Bay moved to its Capitol Hill location (cedar bookshelves, stained glass, and all) in 2010, and this setting is just as beautiful and  … Read more

Bookstore Geek: Powell’s City of Books

When you walk into Powell’s (the Burnside entrance), you’ll see this on the wall in front of you to the left… …and this perfectly describes this mammoth bookstore that is all things literary. Most readers and writers are very familiar with this famous store, which has four additional locations, but of course there’s nothing like  … Read more

Bookstore Geek: West Grove Collective

I was delighted to have West Grove Collective as the official bookseller for my book event at the Women’s Museum of California this past summer. I remember the West Grove Collective from its days as The Grove, when I went to many open mic nights. Today the store has evolved into so much more: Anne  … Read more

Tourism in Antarctica: How many visitors are too many?

With the Antarctic travel season upon us — the austral summer, from November to February, is the only time the sea ice allows tourist vessel access — the increasing numbers of travelers to this region raise many questions. How many tourists are too many before the region is compromised? Antarctic tourism began in 1966 with  … Read more

Tourism in Antarctica: How many visitors are too many?

With the Antarctic travel season upon us — the austral summer, from November to February, is the only time the sea ice allows tourist vessel access — the increasing numbers of travelers to this region raise many questions. How many tourists are too many before the region is compromised? Antarctic tourism began in 1966 with  … Read more

Bookstore Geek: New International Bookshop in Melbourne

While wandering around Melbourne’s Carlton neighborhood, we were thrilled to stumble upon The New International Bookshop, which calls itself “Melbourne’s famous radical bookshop.” A cooperative founded in 1994, the bookshop continued the tradition of the communist International Bookshop; learn more about the history here. The bookshop, located in the Trades Hall union building, a wonderful  … Read more

Cat Editors: Susan DeFreitas and Akira Kittysawa

Meet author Susan DeFreitas, who writes with her feline muse Akira Kittysawa. I’ve had many cat editors over the years, all of whom were kind enough to spare me the worst of their critiques. But perhaps I knew that, in order to get my first novel published, I was going to need a firmer editorial  … Read more

See you at Wordstock in Portland!

I’m so looking forward to this Saturday’s festivities at the Wordstock festival in Portland. You can see the incredible lineup of authors and presenters here — and in addition to panels, workshops, and readings, there will be so many fun events, like Friday night’s LitCrawl and pop-up readings at the Portland Art Museum. I’ll be  … Read more

Bookstore Geek: Sunriver Books & Music

When I was fortunate enough to be invited to Sunriver Books & Music for a My Last Continent reading, I discovered an absolute gem. This was my first visit to Sunriver, Oregon, and I couldn’t have had a better introduction to this lovely community. This gorgeous bookstore is located in the charming Sunriver Village, a  … Read more