Wanderlust

I am moving to San Francisco in late August. Packing up three bookcases of books and other various possessions to haul them across the state. Again. At least this time I managed to stay put for six years in Orange County. Prior to that, I moved about once every other year. As a singleton, I don’t feel tied to a particular place, though Southern California is where I grew up and where my family lives. While I’ll miss them (and will break my brother’s back by asking him to help me move 30 boxes of aforementioned books), I know I’m doing the right thing by venturing back to the city.

Aside from the fact that I’ll most likely be paying a fortune to live in a shoebox, have nowhere to park my car, and have to walk two blocks to a Laundromat, there’s something about living in a large city that invigorates me. I love the energy, the way everything is open late, how people populate the streets with their bikes, dogs, and parade-of-the-day. I love how people form small groups to combat the anonymity of the city.

This may sound completely prejudiced, but it also seems literature is more alive and present in the cities. In New York City, you get on the subway, and people are reading. They’re in the cafes and at the parks reading. There is a newsstand on every corner, in every underground station, and the bookstores… Eighteen miles of shelves in one building.  I swear, if I’d stayed in New York they would’ve found my dead body rotting on the bottom floor of the Strand bookstore amongst the shelves of reviewer’s copies. I read Jasper Fforde’s LOST IN A GOOD BOOK long before it was released, spelling errors and all. Be still my heart!

When I lived in New York, there were also more free readings and interesting panels on an on-going basis. I started a book club with no shortage of attendees, but in California, I can’t find enough people who’d be willing to drive fifteen minutes to take part. Perhaps it’s the nature of Southern California that everything is sprawling and far away that makes it difficult. Still, I can’t wait to be in the hub of things!