English Language Exchange at "Book In Bar"

Tonight, Elena and I went to "Book in Bar". Book in Bar is a bookstore on the rue Bras de Fer (Arms of Steel Street). They have a large selection of English books and tables throughout the store where one can drink coffee or tea. On the first 3 Fridays of each month, it seems, they promote people to come and exchange English for French. On the 4th Friday, they do German for French.

There are 2 levels, the ground level and downstairs. All tolled, it's probably about twice the size of Bailey-Coy in Seattle which is my neighborhood bookstore. But Bailey-Coy doesn't do coffee.

The event starts at 5. We showed up at exactly 5 and already, all the chairs were taken! Wow! This is an event you want to show up early for! We managed to find some chairs from upstairs and joined the conversation. There was an American girl from Chippewa Falls who's studying at the University of Minnesota. A young French guy who is still a student here. And some people closer to our age. Elena met another group of people. It was a lot of fun. We talked about the elections, Wisconsin, Vancouver, and Cormac McCarthy. One woman had read La route in French and one guy had read Suttree in French. Suttree is my favorite Cormac McCarthy novel. Most McCarthy fans prefer Blood Meridian, but I'm a Suttree man.

We had a good time, met lots of people. It's a great way to spend a Friday evening! The bookstore itself is wonderful. I anticipate spending a lot of time at Book in Bar. And although they have the word 'bar' in their name, they don't have beer and wine. Just coffee and tea. But the French-impaired can rest easy knowing that just around the corner is the Vert Anglais where they can satisfy their need for harder stuff in English.