Thursday, September 04, 2014

A pleasant side-trip to Black Mountain

I plan to tell you more about Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar, but this writer's (and bookseller's) calendar is bulging and I wanted to share this week's events. Tomorrow I'll be back in the midst of motivated writers, working at Writers' Police Academy.

Last weekend I went to Black Mountain for North Carolina Yearly Meeting (a church conference).

This year, instead of shifting into mountain gears on Labor Day Monday for a detour up to Little Switzerland, I drove up earlier on Friday to visit Black Mountain Books.

I introduced myself to Jean, the owner, and browsed all around the shop. It took a bit of willpower not to buy books I just plain liked. As a growing bookseller, I try to think: can I sell this for a profit?

All the way around, back to the front of the shop, I found a shelf of genealogy. Ah, this is what I'm looking for! I went through them one by one and picked out a few just before closing time.

My other destination, a yummy cafe on the same street, was closed. It's only open for lunch. So I wandered around, past the old depot and across the tracks, and found the Red Radish, a catering/take-out place. They feature one big supper per night, from grilled salmon to comfort casseroles, and publish their menu for the month. I love how they're only open Monday through Friday — maybe that's why the employees were so cheerful. Since I've been avoiding bread, they fixed me a "sandwich" of chicken and smoked brie on polenta. Oh, my! I carried my food and peach tea to a bench near the bookshop, where I could savour the view and every bite.

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