I spent this weekend in various coffee shops finishing the second draft of my first novel. It's more of a novella, really, but my deadline is September 30th, so I've been working pretty furiously. Saturday was gloomy, but Sunday was a beautiful sunny day. I set up shop on the back patio of the new Starbucks on Queen's Road. Surrounded by skyscrapers, it's one of the few coffee shops in Central where you can sit outside and enjoy the weather. On the patio, I spotted a couple of Filipino women having a Bible study and a separate group studying a Jehovah's Witness text. There were three Western women reading on the terrace. One had Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins; one had a book by an author whose last name is Koch (there are quite a few Kochs on Amazon); one was taking notes in The Universal Journal. When I got off the MTR this morning I saw someone carrying a Lee Child novel. I spotted four Chinese books this week, one of which had a bright yellow cover. How about you? What are people reading in your town this week?
Sounds like a lovely weekend! It's so nice to hear about an outdoor coffee shop in Hong Kong. I've spotted a few people carrying books in the last week, but I couldn't read the titles no matter how carefully I tried to look. They walked by too quickly. At home Tom is reading The Five Rules for Successful Stock Investing, which he claims is a page-turner. I'm reading Kim Fay's debut novel, The Map of Lost Memories, which takes place in 1920s Shanghai, Saigon, and Angkor Wat! I love it so far.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your deadline. I'm sure you'll make it with time to spare!
+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteI haven't spotted any people carrying or reading books in public, but I did have lunch with a friend in a restaurant that had several shelves full of children's picture books. (I think I saw The Very Hungry Caterpillar!) It was a weekday, so there weren't any children there, but I know that if I were a parent, that would be one of my favourite restaurants to take my children to. =)