This Is My Secret

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Saint-Malo: Rooftops and Chimneys

One of the first things I noticed about Saint-Malo is the distinctive wide, flat chimneys. I was told this is very typical in Brittany. I couldn't get enough of them. I've mentioned before that Saint-Malo is a city inside a wall; I took some of these pictures while standing on the ground and some from the wall.

From the wall.

This one too,

and this one,

and this one. I haven't shown you any pictures of the sea yet,
but they're coming. We'll climb down those steps in a future post :)

Saint-Malo: A Day in the Life at Étonnants Voyageurs

Signing.

Drinks.

Going to sit on a panel, which may or may not be taking place inside a secret garden.

More signing. In case you're under the misapprehension that signing mostly involves
signing, actually it's mostly talking about cassoulet recipes with Jean-Claude Dunyach,
watching Laurence Suhner draw beautiful pictures, and staring across the aisle at
Marie Pavlenko and Paolo Bacigalupi. Occasionally Gilles Servat does a dance.

In a quiet moment, checking the Appendix of Bitterblue to see how to abuse a cat in French.
(If this picture looks a bit odd on the top, it's because I realized
there's an enormous Graceling spoiler (in French) above the entry for "Lovejoy,"
so I (clumsily) photoshopped it out. Readers, I respect you.)

Finally, after all that hard work... in a bar full of books,

where it is fun to look down on the proceedings,

and where the ceiling is held up by books…

more drinks.

:o)

I'm back in Paris now and leave for Épinal tomorrow, but I'll share my many pictures of the town of Saint-Malo over the next few days whenever I can.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Saint-Malo: You Guess the Theme

Saint-Malo: Details on Buildings

I has Wi-Fi! But not much time for blogging this evening, so I'm going to do two quick posts, each with a particular theme. With these Saint-Malo pictures, I'm going to start small and work my way up to the big stuff. First: little things on buildings.

Like graffiti

of kitties.

Like gargoyle drains

(on Cathedrale Saint Vincent),

this interesting little window,

and signs above shops.

This one isn't a shop -- it's the Biblioteque (library) de Saint Malo.

So Many Pictures of Saint-Malo, So Little Wi-Fi

I think it's impossible to take an ugly picture in Saint-Malo, which is a walled city in Brittany, right on the English Channel. Unfortunately, it takes a long time and costs a fortune for me to upload the pictures unless I have good Wi-Fi, which I don't at the moment, so it'll be a few days until I'm able to share. I'll do it when I can.

A young person at Le Livre de Poche stand in the signing hall this morning: "Is Tolkien signing?"

My French publisher: "Unfortunately, he is dead."

(Polite but clear. Two excellent qualities of my French publisher.)

Me, ordering room service for tomorrow's breakfast: "Bonsoir. I would like to order breakfast for the morning."

The lady: "Would you like coffee or tea?"

Me: "Tea, please."

The lady: "Very good. You will have some orange juice and some croissant with a nice chocolat."

Me (delighted): "Okay then!"

(Decisive and confident. Two excellent qualities of French breakfast room service.)

I am having a wonderful trip :)

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Links Before Leaving

I have a to-do list the length of, um, something long (why did I set myself up to have to take time to think up a clever metaphor?) so this will be quick, but -- I'm reading a very funny book. It's called Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School: Book the First) and is by Gail Carriger. A new character was just described thusly:

The door burst open. A young man stood before them. He was a tall, swarthy fellow of the type that Petunia would swoon over; rakishly handsome in a floppy way.

"In a floppy way" had me howling, and can't you just see him perfectly? I just started Chapter 5, which is titled, "Never Hurl Garlic Mash at a Man with a Crossbow."

Over at the CBC Diversity blog, Rebecca Rabinowitz has written a really wonderful post about the problematic depiction of fat characters in children's literature: Diversity 101: Who's That Fat Kid?

And a friend recently directed me to two wonderful TED talks in which men -- Jackson Katz and Tony Porter -- talk about feminism and masculinity. Katz, whose talk is entitled "Violence and Silence," mentions that men who talk about feminism get more attention than women who talk about feminism and acknowledges that this is unfair. Nonetheless, we unquestionably need more men talking about these things, encouraging other men to take responsibility when the responsibility is theirs, and thinking deeply about why we trap little boys in what Tony Porter calls the "Man Box." These are well worth watching. Rosa, thanks a million.