One of the reasons we chose to go now to NYC was so that I could meet Sabrina Ward Harrison.  Being able to photograph her...SABRINA!  one of my favorite authors/artists, was such an inspiring experience, I am still pinching myself!

The second favorite spot we went to was one of those places where we have wanted to go for a long time. The Strand book store has been open since the 1920's and is crammed with books.  One long wall was lined with paperback non fiction all half off and in no order whatsoever.  One of the people working there said "Take your time and browse at your own interest."  All of the other shelved books were in order, but I found the possibilities lurking in the no-order shelf to have a greater pull. 

Almost every row had a step ladder like this.  Similar to what you would see in Lowes.  In some aisles people were sitting on top of them reading a book. I think they climbed up to get the book and then got totally consumed and stayed right there.

I forgot my list of the books I am looking for. Which ones I own, what titles I want to own and so on.  Who would you look for first? 

John Muir, Annie Dillard, May Sarton, Jane Austen, Alexandra Stoddard, Pablo Neruda, John Bunyan, Edith Wharton, Sark, Natalie Goldberg, C. S. Lewis, John Updike, Robyn Davidson, Emily Dickinson

These are the ones I ended up flipping through or buying while I was there.  The long walls of books felt so much like a victorian hedge maze.  There were so many side rooms and twists and turns.

Steve went off on a direct path in search of Augustine.  I ended up walking through every aisle, on all three floors, like taking a huge glass of water and finishing it in one long gulp.  I knew we did not have very long and I wanted to get the experience of it all!