Bookish Boston

 

Boston's Bookish Scene

Within walking distance from where I stayed, I could go to 4-5 bookshops. Plus two libraries. You can imagine (if you know me) how long I could spend in just these aforementioned places. Each day was a new adventure. 

I'd been to Brattle Bookshop before. Many years ago on my last visit to Boston. It boasts a large outdoor space next to the actual shop. Carts are rolled out each day, with $3 and $5 books, plus the walls are built-in shelves. One could spend a good hour or more just browsing those. I found a book on Boston + Cambridge (the first book I picked up). I love finding some local history book for the place I am in, to read while I am there. When I went inside I found two more books I couldn't leave behind - a Nathaniel Hawthorne short story collection (he was a Boston resident over on Beacon Hill), and a G.K. Chesterton essay collection I didn't have (you never know where Chesterton will pop up!).

I took my Brattle books and walked over to the Public Garden and sat there for a good hour or more, wrote several pages in my travel journal and people-watched. This was the busiest day (a Saturday) so people were everywhere, and the leaves were falling with each breeze.  Plenty to look at. Lovely day with sun. Everyone was out.

A little later I went over to visit with Edgar Allan Poe. His sculpture that is. Set along the sidewalk just across the street from the Public Garde and Boston Common is this spectacular sculpture of Poe striding back into Boston after his absence. Poe actually had a tumultuous relationship with Boston, he didn't like it mostly due to his foster father relationship, but Boston embraces him now. Poe was a critic for some of his career, and he was critical of many of the Boston authors, including the well-loved Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Nevertheless, Poe was a genius writer, poet, storyteller, and critic. He admired the English writers (Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, Byron) and critiqued with the perspective that American writers were not nearly up to par with the English ones - he wanted them to be better writers. I love how this blueish hued bronze sculpture sweeps you into his dramatic coat flowing in the chilly Boston breeze, as he is walking confidently and full of ideas toward his foster parents home with his briefcase overflowing with his imagination - out of which you catch the raven and the tell-tale heart, for two of his most well-known tales.

Another morning I stopped in at Trident Booksellers, along the main shopping street, Newbury St. After browsing and heading up the creative book-spine stairs, I sat at the "bar" for some breakfast in their cafe, and read the Boston book I had gotten at Brattle.

Later, I went to the Boston Public Library. I had been here before, too, but only as a brief visit. I wanted to sit and write for a while this time. It was jam packed with students and tourists. But what a gorgeous library - marble and artwork everywhere. This is a true testament to a time when reading and literature was valued highly for the public to access and enjoy. This is the golden age of American libraries - they don't make them like this anymore. While the grand reading room was packed, I managed to find a seat when I reached the center of the room, gleefully sitting down at the table full of students, got out my travel journal and wrote for quite a while. Enjoying the ambience of quiet, the names of the great authors etched in gold near the ceiling circling the whole room, and the famous green shaded lamps, tourists walking by every minute or two. I was just blending in (pretending) like I belonged there.

The next library I spent time in was a private library called the Boston Athenaeum. Holding more than 500,000 books over 5 floors and an amazing tightly packed "drum" of metal shelves that spanned between the floors, this historic and beautiful library is a members-only library. However, if you want to buy a day pass, you can be a member for the day, which is what I did. Naturally I wanted to be able to search all the books and spend a whole day there researching, specifically the Boston authors. I had made a list of books to look for whilst I was there, and I enjoyed the hunt. One employee even asked if I needed help finding some books, or if I was enjoying the hunt. He understood. Maybe he saw me ogling over a Dante book from the 1800s. I tend to get distracted in libraries like this, finding way more than I can possible read in the day. I had to keep myself to the mission at hand - researching Boston authors. I sat in several locations and hunted for books, finding 5 over the course of my day. I got to search in the drum (which felt a lot like the Gladstone Link in the Bodleian) finding 3 of my books amongst those shelves. It was just lovely spending a day there. It is a well-used library. It was very busy I was afraid I would not get a seat when I went up to the 5th floor. 

Then, off to visit the charming area of Beacon Hill, where many of these Boston authors lived. Beacon Hill Books and Cafe is a newer spot (maybe 2-3 years old) in a fully restored 3 floor building. It is gorgeous inside, no detail is missed in the interior design and displays. I browsed and got many ideas, but decided on a Barbara Pym book that looked very Autumnal, and walked a block or two to Blank Street Coffee and sat to start reading the book over an iced matcha. I finished reading that book on the plane back home.

This was all walking distance - what a joy! And the perfect time of year - Autumn tones and chilly air. Perfect for bookish adventures.