My first day in Manhattan

I have been here for just over a week and have had many experiences in both the Bronx and Manhattan that are worth repeating here. Perhaps the most exciting is what happened the first day I went to Manhattan. I left the Bronx in search of several items necessary to my comfort: sheets, a pillow (with a pillowcase please), a blanket, and a fan (because the Bronx is hot in the summer). I took the train to Lincoln Center where I had been told there was a Bed, Bath and Beyond (which there was) and also came across a Barnes and Noble, an AMC Theater, the Gap, and Banana Republic. I wandered into Barnes and Noble because I couldn't help myself and I spent twenty minutes or so there being careful not to get too attached to anything I found because this shopping trip was designated for housewares only and everything I purchased had to be carried back uptown on the subway. When I had taken my fill, I walked out and was heading to Bed, Bath and Beyond when I noticed a poster in the bookstore's window. Joyce Carol Oates is reading Aug 8th at 7:30, it read. I was so disoriented because of my move that I didn't know what day it was, but after checking my phone I saw that it was the 8th and Mrs. Oates would be reading there in about four hours.

I first read Joyce Carol Oates at Green River Community College for an English class. Her short story "Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?" was assigned reading. I loved it so much that over the years I read several of her novels as well: I'll Take You There, Beasts, The Tattooed Girl, The Falls, and Black Water. She often uses contemporary events as inspiration for her novels. For example, Her novel Blonde is about the last few days of the life of Marilyn Monroe. Her most recent novel My Sister, My Love: The Intimate Story of Skylar Rampike takes the JonBenet Ramsey case as its inspiration, though Oates is firm in her insistence that it is not about that particular case. She currently teaches creative writing at Princeton and has been published in the New Yorker.

She read from her new novel for about half an hour and interspersed the reading with anecdotes, comments, and insight into her writing style all of which was fascinating. Afterwords there was a Q & A session and finally a booksigning. I was very glad I had the opportunity to attend.

I also found the time to see Mamma Mia! that day which was light and funny. Meryl Streep was incredible, but I still can't get used to seeing Pierce Brosnan in a musical. Any thoughts?