This a picture from some old issue of GQ, and I think it (nearly) perfectly illustrates what I'd want in a room. A bit cluttered, full of pictures and knick-knacks and books and records...I also imagine the area Dennis Quaid is facing (where the light is coming from) as a few different ideal vantage points:
1. The Beach, obvious yet beautiful, maybe Hawaii or California (west coast for sure) but I'd always be nervous of a flood and possible damage to my awesome room.
2. Some kind of mountain range, preferably snow capped, maybe nestled in a Swiss province.
3. A glorious vista, the ideal location here is the Champagne region of France, vines as far as the eye can see and maybe a kindly groundskeeper named Jean or Luc or Jean-Luc.
4. High atop a cliff overlooking a bustling port city in either the Greek islands or Portugal.
I have specific desires and I've been kind of obsessed with that picture since the day I first saw it. This also made me think of something I mentioned in my post from yesterday, the Secret Bookstore.
Saturday afternoon I went walking through Princeton, as I tend to do every couple weeks, but this time I was searching for something. I wanted to find a store that spoke to me that could be a new destination for my frequent visits. I walked along Nassau for a while and came right up to the end of the business district when I saw a table full of books and a sign that read...
I've also always loved stores you had to take a staircase to get to, either upstairs or down, it adds to the secrecy of it all. This place is/was small as hell, two rooms, tons of books, and a couch? Excellent. Room 1 was pretty good, non-fiction, historical, biography, the cheap rack...but what awaited me in room 2? Mr. Stine. A whole shelf of my main man R.L., Goosebumps and Fear Street primarily. Needless to say I had all the Goosebumps they had (and I don't collect the 'Give yourself...' or '2000' series') but I was able to pick up nine Fear Streets. Maybe not a big deal to some, but for me it was like Christmas in March. Although this store is right on the main street of Princeton it does seem to be kind of a secret, there were only 2 other shoppers the entire 30 or 40 minutes I was there, and I don't remember them buying anything. In addition to the teen novellas I picked up a book on the stories behind all of Lou Reed lyrics (score) and a book on one of my favorite peoples called simply 'The French'. I just tried to find a picture, but it's a lost cause. That book was 40 cents. And if they ever bring the price down on that Tom Ford retrospective, I'll buy that one too. See you next time Glen Echo.
That, my friend, is a great nook. I hope your groundskeeper is in actuality Captain Jean-Luc Picard and that he tells you about his adventures among the stars as he cultivates and cares for your small vinyard. And then you have a glass of wine in your library.
ReplyDeleteThat really is a nook isn't it. I've always favored the small and crowded over the regimented and spacious. If anyone from Starfleet is helping me with my wine, it's Geordi LaForge.
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