I’m back at work, slightly rested from my trip to Atlanta. Luckily, it was not too hot, rather it was pleasant and warm. I savagely consumed Benjamin Percy’s Refresh, Refresh. I started it as the plane took off and didn’t put it down until I finished the last page, even forgoing the paltry snack the flight attendant handed me. The strongest stories in the collection for me were ‘Meltdown’, a post apocalyptic tale about a man returning to the wasteland surrounding the nuclear power plant, and ‘The Woods’, a story about a father and son hunting in the woods. I normally don’t read that many short story collections. I read very fast and I find it hard to get into something that’s only 10 pages (this sounds silly I know, but it’s true for me). But this collection grabbed me. Maybe it’s how Percy writes about ordinary, worn down men (all of the main characters in the stories are men) being pushed out of their ordinary ruts by events or other people. I found it quite exhilarating.
On Sunday, I went with my family to the impressive Decatur Book Festival. I’ve never been to Decatur, which is near downtown Atlanta. They just finished major renovations to the town square and there’s lots of small stores and restaurants, including four independent book stores! I didn’t get a chance to visit any of them unfortunately. I can only find one online–Wordsmiths Books, which opened just last year. They’re housed in a rather neat old bank building post office. Anyway, we missed most of the authors and events, but it was nice to see such a large crowd even on the last day of the festival.