Monday, August 18, 2008

Don't need it...


...but I want it.

Yep.
In spite of the ongoing purge/reorganization of my personal belongings aka 'Stuff', it's still difficult (not always, but at times) to ignore glossy color ads for New Stuff To Buy.

Though I can successfully bypass the latest in technics, cars and clothing; new titles in books: well, that is another matter altogether.

A soon to be released book speaks to my obsession with All Things History of the Wild West (real or imagined).

Granted, 'The Wild West Catalog' appears the quintessential coffee table offering, replete with pretty close-up photos and a minimum amount of text.
However, the appeal of history-in-a-nutshell combined with glossy pictures has me salivating for a looksee and/or a must have it - will buy it.

Regarding books, my mind has been a bit fatigued lately from 'too many books on the bedside table syndrome'.

Long, slow but enjoyable reads of late include 'Mayflower' (Nathaniel Philbrick), 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' (Betty Smith) and 'Girl With a Pearl Earring' (Tracy Chevalier). 'Girl...' is a re-read for this month's book group. What makes reading so tough going for me is that I don't read one book at a time. My tendency is simultaneous reads. A few pages of this book one night, another few pages of that book the next.
Yes, it does lead to moments of plot confusion! Doh!

Can you believe?
I'm still reading (and just about done) 'Two Years Before the Mast'. I can only handle being at sea for a few pages at a time. A might waterlogged, I'm still happy to be along on Richard Henry Dana's journey. It's another adventurous as well as significant first person historical narrative on the opening of the American west. Aha. Recurring theme....
Although most of the nautical terms in 'Two Years...' aren't familiar to me, I've been savouring every word.

Back to the aforementioned book I don't need - given another 6 months, it's likely 'The Wild West Catalog' will be found on a big box book seller sale table for %%% off.

Hmmmmmm.....

%%% off speaks to another of my obsessions: Good-Stuff-at-Cheap-Prices.

You can bet that I'll be keeping a watchful eye out for it.

1 comment:

House Dreams said...

I never read "Mast" but eveidenly there is some anscestor in there.

How do you read such dense stuff. I couldn't read "Girl" again if you paid me. Oh, wait, maybe I never even read it. Maybe I just saw the movie.