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Claire Laporte's avatar

I just spent most of the summer in Oxford, which was a move in reverse of yours. It was great being able to get a real scone with clotted cream and find many Trollope novels on the shelves of the bookstores. The oldness of Oxford was lovely. Nothing is that old here in Cambridge Massachusetts. I couldn't believe how cold it was on a regular basis in summer, though! And now that I am back in Cambridge, summer here seems to have ended just as I arrived, alas. But I am looking forward to fresh vegetables ...

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Megan Chase's avatar

Capitol Hill Books is my sister’s (part owner) bookstore! I passed along your complimentary words! Thank you! 🙂

If you’re interested in the story of CH Books this is my sister’s husband/my much beloved brother-in law:

https://dcist.com/story/19/04/02/he-wasnt-a-poet-exactly-but-his-heart-was-capitol-hill-books-co-owner-dies-at-41/

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Henry Oliver's avatar

Oh cool! Thanks!

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Doug Hesney's avatar

Filter coffee! Was in the UK and then Amsterdam for a week, and could not get a decent cup of filtered, drip coffee!

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Amos Wollen's avatar

Capitol Hill books is great! Went there just before I flew back from the EV conference, got a cool book about Nietzsche

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Seth's avatar

"The homeless people are much more visible than in London, and they have much more stuff."

This seems like a crossover anthropology/economics dissertation begging to be written. Or maybe it has already? Seems like the kind of thing Tyler Cowen might have read a book about at some point.

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Thomas Larson's avatar

After your recommendation of Old Filth, your views carry a lot of weight with me, so I have just purchased "Young Sam Johnson" on ebay.

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Henry Oliver's avatar

Yay!

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Tandy's avatar

I love that you're on this side of the pond now! Have always wished I could take you to lunch. Now perhaps, with your indulgence, I can do that. Hope your health is good and your family is settling in. I'll be in NVA in October and will reach out before then.

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Henry Oliver's avatar

yay!

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Claire Laporte's avatar

... oh, and one thing I really couldn't believe from my summer in Oxford is how very much water gets used. In the US, all of our appliances have flow restrictors to preserve water. At Oxford, my shower felt like Niagara Falls and the toilet was like a giant turbulent maelstrom. I'll miss the shower. I gather that the water system in the UK is having to be overhauled, so maybe this will change.

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Nicholas Weininger's avatar

Come to Northern California in summer sometime if you can, and try the fruit from a farmer's market or a U-Pick farmstead. If you think the stuff we ship to Virginia is good...

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Henry Oliver's avatar

Surely the Alchian Allen conjecture means the best fruit is not in CA?

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Thomas Larson's avatar

Are we/you recommending the Hibbert biography? I am still thinking the Bate biography is the second best biography.

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Henry Oliver's avatar

have not read it... Bate only dipped in. I like James Clifford.

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