I realize it has been over a week since my last post but there have been good reasons. First and foremost, I started a 40 hour a week research position for my school. This has hindered not only my ability to write the posts themselves but also to read the books I plan on reviewing. I can not promise that I will get a post up each week but I will try to continue posting when I can. Secondly, I was in New York City this past weekend. I decided to do a post on my trip to New York City, particularly my visit to the Strand Bookstore and seeing the musical Anastasia on Broadway.
Located in Greenwich Village, the Strand Bookstore is an icon in the world of bookstores. Comprising of four floors and contain over 2 million books, the store is a must see for any bookworm. It is very easy to become lost among the many shelves and it truly does feel like a bookstore. The store sells both new releases as well as used books so you never know what you will find in the store. I bought eleven books to buy and I could have easily bought more. There is a little something for everyone in the store. Everything from fiction, to history to comics and graphic novels and everything in between. The store does also buy your old books although don’t be surprised if they take everything. It is very rare for the sellers desk to take everything and the store credit you get back isn’t always great. That aside, this was a great place to visit. It felt like an old-fashioned bookstore where you could browse and be surprised by what you find. Highly recommend it for any bookworm.
The biggest highlight of the trip for me was the Broadway smash hit Anastasia. Loosely based around the 1997 Fox animated movie, the musical centers around the journey of one girl as she discovers who she really is. As a die-hard theater person, seeing a show on Broadway has always been a dream of mine. I came across the soundtrack for this show purely by accident and I was hooked. The songs were great and couldn’t wait to see it performed live. The show did not disappoint. On multiple occasions during and after the show, I was in tears because of how genuinely beautiful the show was. The costumes, the set design, the acting and especially the music were all top-notch. Part of the original cast were still performing which made the show even better. Christy Altomare, who plays the lead role of Anya was especially amazing. Her rendition of “Journey to the Past“, which closes the first act, was so good that words do not do it justice. There are times when you go and see a show and you find even one tiny thing to complain about. This show however, was one of the rare occasions where I found no flaws. Everything about the show was amazing and spectacular. I highly recommend this show for anyone who is a fan of the theater. Easily worth the price of admission. And on top of that, I got my Playbill program signed by John Bolton and Zach Adkins who play the main male roles of Vlad and Dimitri respectively
So that was part of my New York City trip. I also hope to have a book review up sometime next week. Thank you so much everyone for bearing with me over the course of the summer. Happy reading everyone!
The Reader's Corner 