Jennifer "El" Knox had our Christmas dinner last night and read every poem that made us love poetry in the first place. We were very nerdy (and maybe had some glasses (bottles) of wine). But she did give me one of my favorite shirts ever. I can't wait to wear it. This is what it says:

The Closing of Coliseum Books

On Friday I went to Coliseum Books and bought a ton of poetry (maybe bought their remaining collection?). But the whole time I was in there I kept thinking about the death of bookstores. I adore bookstores. Adore. I worked in my hometown bookstore Readers' Books on and off from the age of fifteen to twenty. It was my home away from home (and it was across the street). I learned the language of books there, I lived in them. It's still my favorite bookstore in the world. (The owners, Andy and Lilla, are like family and secretly I think I'll just move home and work there for the rest of my life. Drink wine. Read books. Go see movies and Sebastiani Theater and walk in the park? Okay.).

Walking into Coliseum on Friday, my heart just sank. So many of the great bookstores are closing and filing for bankruptcy. I want to put my little arms around the store and say, "Sorry. Sorry we Americans to read anymore. Sorry books aren't as important as TV. Some of us really love you. A lot."

A lot.