Sarasota, buy the book

Just got back from Florida; folks have a condo on the gulf side in Sarasota.

I try to visit a few times annually, and always make it a point to drop in on A. Parker's Books/Book Bazaar on Main Street. Since 1980, rare, out-of-print and used tomes. Some great art history and technique anthologies, in addition to celebrity (auto)biographies. Part of a network of shops in New Orleans (Crescent City Books) and Boston (Commonwealth Books).

I make it a point to pick up one Hollywood exposé on every trip, usually on stars who are just about to shuffle off this mortal coil (STING, MERV GRIFFIN, LIZ TAYLOR, BRANDO, GARLAND). The one I bought on this trip was "More About All About Eve," a behind-the-scenes commentary on the classic 1950 film by director Joseph Mankiewicz. Script included. The copy was pretty beat up. $38...thought that was high, but prices are usually negotiable. The snooty know-it-all bespectacled blond behind the counter refused to budge on the cost, citing "abebooks.com is listing $50-100 for this copy." She lied; checked when I got home...$25-30. So avoid her and deal with the short, bearded, inebriated fellow who resembles Professor Lilloman from High Anxiety.

Searching for an illustrated copy of Ruskin's "King Of The Golden River," if anyone comes across...

A. Parker's Books/Book Bazaar
1488 Main Street, Sarasota, Florida, 34236
Toll-free in the U.S. (888) 317-7300
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Breathing at 32,000 feet

Shameless cross-blog plug about alleviating sinus congestion.

I have to go through a cuckoo ritual every time I fly, courtesy of my twitch-doctor, Geoffrey Pollack, Central Park West (right off the C train). An hour before boarding, I take a decongestant (Sudafed). Then I spray Afrin into each nostril while inhaling deeply. THEN I pinch my nostrils shut, close my mouth, and blow...til my ears pop. Once in my seat, I wear special ear plugs to equalize the air pressure in my head. AND THEN I chew gum upon take-off. Gotta do the WHOLE THING OVER AGAIN 45 minutes before landing. If I don't, my ear drums rupture. OUCH. The alternative is to get that tube surgery...yuck.
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