thank you, Alexandra

Earlier this week, I donated to Goodwill - 9 of the 11 Alexandra Stoddard books I own. Alexandra Stoddard is a designer and an inspirational life coach. She's written books - lots of them.
I purchased quite a few during the 1980's and have read all of them.
Voraciously.
Cover to cover.

Now I'm moving the books on, so that someone else might enjoy and learn from them.

Passing on the volumes was easier said than done, for Stoddard was, at one time -  my improve-your-life / make your-home-a-private-haven-as-well-as-welcoming-to-others guru / mentor/ inspirational maven.

I've incorporated a great deal of her philosophy on life/living as my own. Recently came across the books again on the shelves of my home library and leafed through them. Flashback - to happy memories of the period in my life when, from these books, came guidance for a life lived with grace and style. Suffice it to say that I got my money's worth with the books. Adopted, adapted, trying to stay with the program. Now it's time to pass the books along.

May I share with you some Stoddard wisdom as I interpret it...

To take pleasure in the rituals that make up one's daily routine. Those recurring acts we perform that define a rhythm to our everyday. A cup of tea, served in a lovely china cup and saucer (or coffee poured into a favourite mug). Fluffing the bed pillows. Taking the dog for a walk. Feeding the cat. Opening the mailbox and finding the gift of a card or letter sent to you by a friend. Preparing breakfast. Sitting down to eat it. Opening the blinds to consider the day's weather.  A hot shower. Listening to your favourite music whilst commuting to work. Shopping. Walking. Planning. Running errands. Sitting down. Taking your shoes off at the end of a long day.
Chopping vegetables with a sharp knife. Folding clean laundry. Taking the time to relive and enjoy a memory. Hugging. Laughing so hard that you cry. Doing the newspaper crossword puzzle. Taking a photograph. Making connections.

Stuff like that. And more.

Learning to treasure the little things that render a moment significant. Savoring the sensation of a taste, a texture, a sound.

To celebrate the joy of color - be it brilliant or subtle.

How to be true to oneself. To be radiant, yet modest.

To understand that silence can be golden. And classy.

Alexandra Stoddard emphasizes the importance of creating a home. A place that, more than anything - reflects the personality of its inhabitants. As a designer, she encourages development of the ability to take note of line, color and composition - at the same time, injecting personal meaning into one's home decor. No cookie cutter environment (copied from the pages of Architectural Digest) is as welcoming as a setting that is hand-picked and hand-made. The appeal of mismatch, whether made by conscious effort or accidental. No living, bedroom or dining room 'suits' for students of Stoddard. There really is an undeniable cozy factor that an eclectic decor can evoke, serving to cuddle one's own well-being. Eclectic can also convey a warm 'welcome' to guests.

Besides the art of personalizing one's life and environment, another thread runs throughout her many books - that communication is primary to living a good life with others.
I am reminded again and again of how important words (whether written or spoken) are as the tools to build, maintain and repair relationships. Just as active listening is key to keeping the portal of a friendship open, constant, accessible.

From the time when I began a study of her writings, I came to understand what it means to develop, maintain and grow a friendship. Also - how to be true to oneself by allowing some relationships to run a natural course, diminishing intensity on their own - gracefully. Not to fight the reality that some friendships are destined to fade. Not to be unafraid to put a deliberate end to interactions that prove toxic. To not waste time with poisoning our own greater life purpose with corrosive influences.

Stoddard, as a sensitive, caring individual, intimates how essential it is be a friend who pays attention.
To me, successful communication is a balanced exchange of ideas, thoughts and feelings. 

These, and other lessons are now incorporated into my everyday, and I still strive towards goals set by Alexandra Stoddard's writings. With the passing of more than two decades, the books I own are decidedly oh-so-dated in style - yet the core lessons remain.

So the time has come to clear those titles from the home library. To make room for more books with more lessons. Without a doubt, there will be confirmation of the same tenets.

A fond farewell, then - to my clutch of Stoddard books.
Save for two. This one and this one.

I let them go -
but not without a most appreciative -
' Thank you, Alexandra '

'... a dirty little book thief..'

Once in a great while, there appears a news article of trite importance to the world at large, yet adds a bit of contemplation to my day.

Here is one such article.
(Do listen to the audio as well)

What'cha readin'?

In the past few months, I've perused or am still perusing, the following titles:

A Thousand Splendid Suns (book club selection)

A Perfect Red (recommended by and on loan from a friend)

The Old Iron Road (recommended by and on loan from another friend)

The Nasty Bits (a Christmas wish list fulfillment!)

A New Earth: Awakening Your Life's Purpose (recommended by and on loan from yet another friend)

Art History for DUMMIES (library book)

The best american magazine writing 2008 (library book)

Three Cups of Tea - (this month's book club selection)

The entire set of Jane Austen novels - (a Christmas gift, via BN classics)

wallpaper PROJECTS - (soon to be released coooooool crafty book)(You may consider this a shameless plug as well)

'Too many books, not nearly enough time' rings so true for me.

I've also become the world's s-l-o-w-e-s-t reader, which frustrates me no end as I am faced with enticing titles at the public library, bookstore or the well-stocked book shelf of a friend or family member.

Worse yet, my ability to remember anything is fast going going gone.
How quickly I forget something just read.
F'rinstance: Which countries vied for the secrets of cochineal, exactly when were the Fauves creating excitement in the art realm and what the heck happened at the end of 'A Thousand Splendid Suns', anyway?

No matter.
I still enjoy the reads and the pleasurable AHA! moments derived from books.
Pity it fades so quickly from my memory though...

So - what about you?
What'cha readin'?

(image of glasses on book from http://osc3.redirection.com.ru/)

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.

Within the books of our home library...

...it's not unusual to find bits of ephemera I've slipped between the pages over the years...for safekeeping.

Little things that double as bookmarks:
Notes & doodles written/drawn by DollinkDaughters when they were kids. Chinese Good Luck red envelopes (sans money, but kept for how pretty they are). A receipt from purchase of the book. Airplane seat ticket stubs. Recipes. Unused cocktail napkins. Candy wrappers. Grocery lists.

If the book happens to be a Russian novel, one might find a listing of the names of the characters = full names + nicknames (those of you who have read Russian novels understand that it's near impossible to keep track of those lengthy names without writing them down).

It's especially amusing for me to discover slips of paper on which I've written notes to myself.

I came across one just the other day. Flipping through an old book which was about to go into a donation box for Goodwill, I found a slip of folded scrap paper on which I'd jotted three very important things to remember. The note contains the following info that is definitely worth saving (perhaps in the pages of another book):

(1) Klatuu/ Barada/ Nikto
- because I always forget...and it's of the utmost importance to remember....just in case... an alien robotic form needs to be stopped.... from zapping me with its eye-laser-beam.

(2) The words from a scene of one of my favourite Danny Kaye films:
The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle.. The chalice from the palace has the brew that is true. *** The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon. The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true.

Just in case one ever has to choose between the vessel and the flagon.

(3) The lines to W. H. Auden's 'Funeral Blues' - as memorably recited in the movie 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'.

So sweetly poignant.

A sailing we will go...

Two Years Before the Mast
~ by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.














If someone told me a decade ago that a book about a young-man-coming-of-age-via-his-two -year-adventure-on-board-sailing -ships-in-the-1800's-written-in-detailed-narrative-form would be of any interest to me, I would have - at the very least...scoffed.

Go figure.

I love this book.
I'm only halfway through Richard Henry Dana Jr.'s personal narrative, and I've already ear-marked it as a 'must re-read to learn more' book.

You can read it online here or here or here and at numerous other sites (entire books online - isn't that something?!?).

Better yet, pick up a hard copy at your local library to hold in your hands, curl up with in your favorite chair and leisurely peruse chapter by chapter.

The very best approach would be to purchase the book for the at-home library. Then you have the luxury to savor it...slowly... time and again...

Once upon a time...

The ability to read is a privilege and a gift.
There is little that compares with the pleasure of cozying down in a comfortable well-lit place for a read.
Quiet time with the written word.

Reading aloud can also be quite an enjoyable experience.
I sometimes read aloud to myself - or to others (and they usually don't run screaming...perhaps are too polite to...).

When it comes to being read to, children certainly are the lucky ones.
They oft have storytime offered: at home, childcare, school, bookstores, church and the library.

Adults have far fewer storytime opportunities.
In my humble opinion - young, older and old ALL delight in being read to.

Sure, we adults can stop in at book-signings to hear authors read brief excerpts of their latest book. A great variety/number of audio book titles are available for us to buy or borrow for a listen on our car CD or MP3 player.

Wouldn't adult storytime be even sweeeeeeter, though?

I love me my public library, but so far, they don't offer adult story-time.
KUDOs to public libraries that offer such programs!

As a special treat, let's all us adults spend a bit of social time reading aloud to each other now and again. Try it with your significant other(s) first, then relatives and close friends.
Might be - nice.

Ka-Boom!!!

Currently reading: 'Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded'.

A wee tale of geological phenomena, with undertones of fire and brimstone.

1883.
WEST of Java.
Krakatoa ~ a cataclysmic volcanic eruption, producing an equally deadly tsunami. The implosion-explosion ultimately killed 36,000, triggered worldwide atmospheric changes and influenced a multitude of existing and future global developments.

WOW.
Earth power.

This book is engaging.
But then historical/sociological non-fiction accounts appeal to me. Not for everyone, I realize. A few pages here and there are snoozers, and that's because a geology geek I am not. Geek-nerd in selected areas, but not this.

'Krakatoa' ...
* History, politics, geology, geography, literature, art, poetry, technology, meteorology and a slew of other science lessons.
*World commerce (and colonization!), fauna and flora, continental drift (aka plate tectonics), human foibles (my personal fave!).
*Coffee, pepper, clove and mace spice up the mix.

All this and more - based on a single event of 125 years ago. A fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a second in the Big Picture View (love the Cirque-type music accompanying this video).

Author Simon Wincester happily veers off on seemingly unrelated tangents within any given chapter. No worries, for he then artfully corrals all these digressions back to the topic at hand.
Wincester's droll humor makes the fact-upon-conjecture-upon-fact-upon-empirical evidence an easier read. A good thing, as science-tech-talk can get a bit dry.

'Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded' may render you feeling a bit insignificant in relation to the greater scheme of things. At the same time, the realization that your 15-minutes of fame existence on this earth is actually part of something VERY HUGE, and QUITE WONDROUS.
That alone is plenty exciting and worth the read.

Bonus trivia discovered whilst researching online: One theory linking Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' to the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa.

for love of reading

Hands-down.
Reading is a joy.

I find book stores and libraries irresistible.
Wondrous places to wander, dream, escape, learn.

Making reading choices can be overwhelming (I find it delightfully so). It sometimes becomes necessary to pick up a book on choosing what books to read.
I have one that lists Not-to-be-missed-in-this-lifetime Classics.

There are books written about the sheer pleasure of words, of reading.
I have this title on my home library shelf as well, right alongside another great read (and no, I don't alphabetize my books).

Huzzah! for books, for reading, and for Clifton Fadiman and (his daughter) Anne Fadiman.

OMG! She's got a new book of essays out!

pocket - hankin

For too many months now, I've avoided a certain topic for b's blog, but something grossed me out in the laundry room today - prompting me to write this post:

Men who tote hankerchiefs for blowing their noses into.
Convenient.
Eco-friendly.

I beg to differ.
Hankies toted round for nose-blowing are, in essence - snot rags.
Blow your nose. Wad up the hankerchief. Shove it back into your pocket. Wait for another opportunity to re-use the already been used hanky. Use and re-use until it's a crumpled dried wrinkly mass of....of....of.....euuwww.

Bring it home, toss it into the laundry basket for someone to discover (and have to handle?!?) when it's time to do a wash.

Grosso estrememosso.

The only reason a man should carry round a clean cloth hankerchief is to offer it to a lady who needs to blot a bit of perspiration from her brow on a hot day, or to dab the area 'neath her eyes when a tear manages to escape. To my knowledge, ladies who still carry hankerchiefs don't do the snot-blow-then-carry-it-around-thang. So, guys - stop awreddy! Think Kleenex tissues. Use and dispose, s'il vous plait.

Where oh where is Mrs. Tiggle-Winkle when it's laundry day 'round here?!?

Addendum: BTW, in this house, we both do the laundry. Since the arrrrrrghhankies aren't separated out (I've asked, but this request is not complied with), I sometimes/ oftentimes come across one in the dirty clothes basket = Jump back, Jack!

In some circles, pocket-hankins have proven useful to wipe up other things. But we won't go there on b's blog. Not today, anyway. And definitely not until M. Tiggle-Winkle moves in and takes over washday duties.

From the library of....

My good friend Dorrie gave me this book in 1972.

At the time, the only kind of knitting I'd done was garter stitch scarves.
Make that singular: scarf.

My pal must have imagined that I would one day (sooner than later) be capable of tackling the most complicated of patterns, for this book contains knitting graphs for the fanciest-looking lace, extremely involved cables and multi-colored knitting.
Who, me?

I shelved the book and eventually forgot about it, but kept on knitting.
In the 1970's and 80's I cranked out a number of sweaters and knitting did become an obsession for me. Still, the most complex stitches I attempted were the simplest cables. They look difficult to do, but are actually easy and fun.

The most challenging project I took on was a 2 - color Scandinavian design pullover, which I fancied knitting for myself.
The sad story of this cute (imagine reindeer, trees and snowflakes) sweater project began when
(1) the pattern got too confusing and
(2) I got distracted with life-beyond-crafts...(read: a new home in a new town, a small child starting grade school, a new baby and HD getting furloughed from his job).

The super demanding (for me) craft project was all but abandoned...tossed into a bag, then into a box and ultimately into the garage....for... over 25 years! I eventually stopped knitting altogether.

Now I'm back - with a vengeance.
These last weeks of knitting class, our focus has been on mosaic knitting.
The guru of this technique is Barbara Walker, who authored a book on the subject. The book is considered something of a bible on mosaic knitting, and is a 'must-have' for those who are fond of this approach to using multiple colored yarns for needlework.

You can imagine my amazement when I discovered Walker's original book was already in my home library (DOH!).
Along with the charted lace, cable and fair isle patterns, this book introduces the mosaic knitting technique that made absolutely no sense to me all those years ago.
Now that I 'get it', the patterns will keep me plenty busy until Barbara Walker's definitive book on mosaic knitting is finally added to the home 'fiber craft library' (hint hint).

Go figure.
After 35 years, I can finally relate.

Psssst!:
Happy Ending - With my renewed passion for knitting and fascination with more involved knitting patterns, it looks like I will finally be finishing this decades old project this year, folks!
The resulting sweater will be too small to fit me now, but DDLLS said if I complete the dang thing, she'd wear it at Christmastime 2007.

Since we're perusing 'bibles' from the home library, here's another:

'Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee' was one of The Books of the 1970's.
Native Americans + Settling of the New World = Painful truths and realities = Yes, Gracie, there really was a holocaust in this country.

My weathered copy will be re-read before May 27th, when the HBO miniseries airs.

We can only hope the series will do justice; that all who screen it will benefit from the awareness that an accurate adaptation of a quality book can provide.

Good times rollllllllll:
An offering from the home library that excites the crafty senses!
The satisfaction of finding out a favourite book has been made into a movie!

What good fortune that neither book made it onto any past 'purge lists'.

Home Library/Libraries

As a kid, I owned few books.
Much of my spare time was spent at the local library, where I could happily while away the hours surrounded by endless shelves of books of every kind on any subject.

At age 19, I moved into a tiny (roach-infested) apartment in San Francisco, and one of the first things set up was a little shelf for books. Back then we had no Ikea, so bookshelves for young folks who were just starting out typically took shape from brick n' board...
[Segue: ...or discarded wooden crates from stores. I dragged home a couple of big ones from Chinatown once - what a mistake! After setting up books and records within the large openings, I noted the wood smelled faintly of stale urine....! You better know those stinky crates went bye-bye post haste back into the street].

Return from segue:
My brick n' board shelf was assembled from an eight inch wide, eight foot long piece of wood that was a sign+ four cinder blocks. The sign was a 'found object'. When acquired, it was painted white with the words ROAD CLOSED stenciled in black spray paint. Pretty cool. ROAD CLOSED stood upright as wall art for the longest time before getting sawed in half to become a shelf. I can't even remember where it's from, though I suspect some folks who closed a road back in 1971 found their signage went missing one day...

Anyways.
Aforementioned sign became my first bookshelf.
Easily dismantled, that thing moved from apartment to apartment until it was finally replaced when HD and I finally got into serious real estate (co-op housing). A big new, handmade shelf was constructed for the living room, made of fir, and stained in an 'oak' color. The design was from an old Sunset how-to book (the best!) on building simple bookshelves.

That shelf was meant to last until we could someday afford a fancy, sturdy, wall-to-wall storebought shelving unit.
Thirty years later, and repainted in an off-white color, the Sunset bookshelf is still standing (with a few bowed shelves) and continues to house our official home library.
You can't see from this pic, but there are stacks of paperbacks on some of the lowest shelves.

In addition to ye olde bookshelf, two smaller shelves have been purchased in recent years to hold cookbooks (in the kitchen)
and art books (in the art/craft room)


And the library keeps growing.
New books are continuously welcomed into life/library. Monthly, weekly (OK, sometimes several times a week) acquisitions.
Amazon.com has a record this long of my book purchases over the last years.

Quantity, if not quality, of books does get outta control around here, signaling that a purge is due. Time to move old books on to make room for new ones.
I am usually loathe to perform the task and must steel myself in seeking out the titles that we've either 'outgrown' or 'no longer-never did-never will interest the readers in this home'.

Some reject books were received as gifts (by people who didn't have a clue), purchased on a whim or acquired in some other fashion (think long term book loans - these would finally go back to their original owners).
Of course, books are saved from the Goodwill box if there is an iota of sentimental value attached...

Even with the periodic purges, my library never really gets smaller.
There's temporary storage of books in the garage - those that will eventually be cycled back into the house. Not unlike a museum rotating its vast collection of art works (this museum houses approx. 700,000 pieces of art, with only about 15,000 on current display).
Well, kinda sorta.

'Too many books, too little time'?
An adage that rings deafeningly loud and with absolute truth in this home of multiple libraries.
Are you too a collector of books ..... lover of reading ..... closet librarian, perhaps?

P.S. I still fancy moving into a bigger house* someday ~ for several reasons.
From reading these posts, you can probably guess what those are.

* dreaming via the pipe - if anything, our living space will downsize further as the years progress...

update on my reading...

Confession #1:
I should be reading more (I have the same problem with exercising...need to do it more...).

I'm what you'd call a s-l-0-w reader. Very slow.

It took me awhile, but I'm finally done reading that book on color (mentioned in a previous posts...). Took it slow and easy, savoring a few pages a night before beddy-bye time.

For anyone who dabbles in color (and who doesn't, really?), there is much to learn from this mini but mighty tome about the source of pigments that make up our lives. Some of it is pretty crazy. You won't believe what the most brilliant red is made from!
[Ladies, you may be smearing bug guts on your lips every day]

Confession #2: I have an issue with not being able to retain much of what I read anymore - even after just reading it. However alarming that may sound, it doesn't prevent me from taking great pleasure in the act of reading. But the vicious cycle of reading and forgetting is so very frustrating, yet continues.

My new approach, as some of you already know (from reading b's blog) is re-reading a book right after finishing it. Of course, this doesn't apply to just any book. It has to be one I'm making a conscious effort to remember significant bits from. The color book qualifies for a re-read. But get this: when I'm done with the second go round, I'll start it again.Why? I'm banking on the possibility that with each repeat perusal, I just might retain more and more of the wealth of information within those pages.

Go on - grill me on color. In about 2 years. By then, I should have something of it etched into my gray matter.

After having just expressed a desire to read MORE, re-reading may seem counterproductive. Why keep with the same book when OMG, there are endless read-worthy titles out there to last a lifetime.
It is so true what 'they' say: so many good books, so little time...

Confession #3: Aside from the read and re-read approach, I haven't quite figured out how to remedy my read n' forget affliction.
Would doing a book report work? In the last few years, I did some extensive book reporting for college courses. The kind of analytical research that picks a book and its meaning apart only to put it back together again (and hope for the best). Comparing and contrasting until blue in the face and/or earning an A for the course. Even having experienced that intense degree of focus on a book, if pressed to recall my analysis, most of the time I still can't...

It's been said that discussing what you've just read with someone is a great way to process the essence of the material. Hence book groups. I'm in one, and it does help a wee bit - but not enough.

I love books.
I want to read more.
Moreover, I want to remember what I read.

Aicheemama!
To be young and to be able to remember things!

NO library...

There is one county in California that has no library. I'm not even sure if any version of Bookmobile makes the rounds there.

Sierra County (north of Lake Tahoe) is rural, and no - that doesn't translate to folks who don't read. Over 3500 residents there are in need of a new venue to house books as well as offer community classroom space and a children's center. Even with $2.3 milion dollars raised for the plan, the county is still $500,000 short towards financing construction of such a center. With the coffers already depleted, Sierra County may or may not be able to raise the extra money. No money, no library center.

Following the online article are reader's comments: one reporting that another CA. county has just been financed to erect two new libraries in a city east of Sacramento (where there are already quite a few existing libraries). Cost for new construction: 16 million dollars. Not surprisingly, this is in a high-growth, affluent, residential area which is certainly not lacking for much of anything.
One county struggling to build their very first modest-sized library center (which, at this writing, may or may not happen) and another erecting one of palatial (possibly ostentatious?) proportions. Population and economic differences between the two counties is obvious, but when it comes to libraries, all are equal in their need for one, wouldn't you think?

Everyone should have access to the wealth of information that a public library makes available. A library is a building which houses borrowable books, certainly. Yet the building represents so much more...

When I was a kid, the Chinatown Branch Public Library (posted photo) was my home away from home. Located two and a half blocks from our flat, it was an easy walk, and I could be found there every day after school hanging out with friends and doing homework. An avid reader who didn't own any books of my own, the library was my sole source of reading material (other than my younger brother's comic book collection). I'd peruse the shelves and bring home a stack of books every week. Those would be finished within days, and I'd be back for more.

Even at that young age I realized that the public library was a special place offering unique gifts of knowledge and discovery. A virtual treasure trove of books - all free to borrow, to pore over, to learn from. Every title holds promise of an exciting adventure to new worlds and existences different from one's own. Within the confines of its four walls, the library provides countless opportunities for adventure, travel, fantasy, mystery. Books that prompt questions. Books that provide answers.

In its own quiet way, the library was then and still is - exciting. Comforting. Always welcoming.
Come in, sit down, read a book.
Stay awhile. Or awhile longer.
Take the book home to read. Just be sure to bring it back so someone else can have a turn.

I loved the sounds and smells of the Chinatown Branch Library: old books, new books, the warm mustiness of the central heating system. The heavy swoosh of the big double wood and glass doors as they swung open on smooth hinges. The 'snap' as card catalog drawers were pushed closed. The 'due back' date stamp as it was inked and pressed onto a card by the librarian, then inserted into the front pocket of the book. Creaky wooden furniture.

It was MY library. I owned those sounds and those smells.

Back then, librarians shushed .
I know it's an outdated stereotype, but geeez, I even miss the shushing.

Everyone should have a library of their own 'to own'. A place to make friends with books. Somewhere to escape to from the world and to find new worlds to escape into.

Sierra County is in need of someone who can do an 'Andrew Carnegie'. Will anyone in the 21st century step up to the philanthropist plate for a cause such as this?

My reward...

I have to say - I slogged through last month's Book Club selection. Granted, I did learn something of Bach + Frederick the Great + The Age of Enlightenment + Prussia + the Germanic dukedoms + galant + canon + fugue et cetera. But boyohboy it took me long and laboured hours to get through that book. This title, as one club member stated 'was not a lite summer read'.

That understood, my intention was to read enough to engage in a semi-informed discussion with my fellow book club readers. By the evening of our meeting, I had managed all but the last two chapters. Took notes in the margins, even! I successfully (?) offered a few enlightened comments to our booktalk. Not bad, considering I was interested in Bach's music and the Enlightenment; though not as much into the particulars of early German history. The book utilizes the history to frame in context the two aforementioned topics, which makes a whole lot of sense - but ohmygod the dates, places and names (all those Johanns!) did boggle my feebled brain...

At any rate, with the monthly meeting come and gone, the selection could have easily been retired to the shelf without me ever re-visiting it. Yet (doh!) I challenged myself to complete the read.

Why bother when 'the Bach book' proved so tough-going in the first place? This January 1st, I (foolishly - as new year promises often prove to be) resolved to get all-the-way-through Book Club Selections (if I begin them at all, that is...) however daunting the subject matter, writing, or small print (!). Some titles, particularly non-fiction - provide a special challenge in that they can come across rather 'dry'. Bottom line: it's too easy for me to give up on a book, move on and feel, once again - the failed bookworm.

As an incentive for reading the 'Bach book' through to the end, I dangled the proverbial carrot at the finish line: another book. One I've been looking forward to reading. For months. 'Color: A Natural History of the Palette' was highly recommended to me months ago. I bought the book, set it aside, and proceeded to go through the stack of titles already heaped on my bedside table before allowing myself to reach for this much-anticipated book. Today, having perused 'the stack' as well as 'the Bach book', I happily sat myself down, cracked open the smooth, untouched pages of 'Color' and read the preface...

Hallelujah!
I can already tell this is going to be a goodie. No slog this time round.

Barbapapa addendum...

...for all you Barbapapa fans (thanks for commenting!), here's another crazy fun link!

Question: Which blobby room did you wish to live in?

Oh what fun!

Whether or not you know the Barbapapas, here is a funfunfun link. Here's another.
There's more at the site.
Play time!
Have FUN!