My last book event at Watchung Booksellers was so delightful, that I’m thrilled to be signing at another favorite bookstore, Second Time Books of Mount Laurel this Saturday, August 24th, at 11:30 AM. They are part of the Rancocas Woods shops, which includes the Four Green Cats Cafe, a classic Czech eatery with coffee, pastries, and more, and Ma & Pa’s Tex-Mex BBQ, which serves classic Tex Mex fare, plus craft and antique stores. Second Time has all sorts of surprises, but are best known for their excellent Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror collections, plus history and literature. I’ve picked up rare Ursula K. Le Guin books here, all my Oliver Sacks books, and I’ve been eyeing the signed first edition hardcover of We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson as well.
Come browse the shelves, then duck out for a delicious pastry or a brisket quesadilla.
If you can’t make it, you can order signed copies of all my books directly from me:
Last weekend, hopped across the Delaware to ogle osprey with the Philly Queer Birders. We met at Glen Foerd, a mansion turned wedding venue, which happens to have a view of the river right where an osprey has built a nest on a buoy. I met some cool people and we had a good time walking the grounds and observing. It was my first sighting Great Crested Flycatchers, birds that I’ve heard many times before. We saw a large flock of Cedar Waxwings, and many hummingbirds buzzed around.
I didn’t get good photos of the songbirds, but I the ospreys were more forgiving. So… let osprey:
That last photo was taken from the New Jersey side of the river, in Amico Island park. I woke that morning needing to see water, and chose Amico; then I read the Philly Inquirer over breakfast, and saw that the Philly Queer Birders had an event one hour hence. Directly across the river from where I’d been planning to hike. How could I not join them?
I’m learning to enjoy Philly more. I’ve signed up for another Walk Around Philadelphia event, which I learned about thanks to Antonia Malchik; and Sarah and I have gone in for dinner a few times. It’s much easier to visit from Jersey than New York was, when we lived further north. We’re about the same distance from Rittenhouse Square as we used to be from Greenwich Village, and yet a train or car trip from home takes thirty minutes now, where the New York trip is an hour to ninety minutes. And in Philly, you got these guys chilling in a creek off the Delaware:
They weren’t a cotillion of the Philly Queer Birders, no matter their umbrella’s pride theme. Others I saw on the water were turtles. These two big chonkers were on the Philly side, and the row of mud turtles were on the Jersey side. I observed a big, beautiful Belted Kingfisher on Amico as well, but when I set my glasses down to get my camera, they flew off and scolded me. They’re a shy species, and this was the longest I’ve been able to watch one. That beak is something, and you need to be close to see how powerful it is.
I hope you can join me at Second Time Books if you’re in the area. It’s a great shop, and I need to sell a few books to make up for all the books I’ll be buying that day! Help me out.
“Let osprey.” You, my friend, are a genius. 😂
Sorry I won’t be able to make it next week — I loved that bookstore too! So glad you’re doing a signing though & enjoying them, and also the Philly Queer Birders sound awesome.