The View from Malaprop's - A personal observation by Jim March on February 20th, 2018

"From Malaprop's I can see the Basilica: red brick in the late afternoon sun, two towers, two domes, almost pretty. Come spring it will be obscured, but February means bare branches that soften edges. I sit at the window, "everything bagel" with Philly (still haven't found gum-free cream cheese), steamed milk with honey, enough to soothe the sorest throat, steamed milk because coffee after 1 p.m. keeps me twitchy past bedtime."

"I drifted the aisles of books, something I used to do more often, B.A. (before Amazon). Sci-Fi (Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, 2015), children's, young adult (but no special section for Newbery Award winners), past a "Black Mountain College" shelf, past Asheville and local history, past Thomas Wolfe, to hiking, to cooking... Cookbooks are better browsed, checking recipes, ingredients, spicing. Found Southern Girl meets Vegetarian Boy, almost bought it, more out of guilt that I ought to buy something, but put it back on the shelf after seeing the price ($29.99) and figuring Amazon would save me the $5 I dropped in the guitar player's case on the way in."

"Bagel gone, milk finished, it's 5:11 and my 5:30 is at "books & bubbly" (Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar). I'll get there the back way, up the hill of the alley beside the lot in front of the Basilica, past the Asheville Pinball Museum, walking inside the length of Grove Arcade, coming out on the Bouquinistes of Asheville."