Have you ever had a book inspire you to action? I have. A few have inspired me to change my life, reach out to others, and purchase items I never would have purchased before.
84 Charing Cross Road ( I know I'm discussing THAT book AGAIN) inspired me to look up all of its book and literary references and read them for myself.
"The Oxford book of English Verse" is on it's way to my house, thanks to Miss Hanff's recommendation, and I now have a copy of "On the Art of Writing" by Sir Arthur Quiller Couch, another book Miss Hanff seemed to think I needed.
My glaring lack of knowledge of foreign policy has driven me to purchase several books as well over the years, but I thought since most nations we are currently in strife with base their actions on their beliefs, I thought it prudent to study up on the basics of religion( other then my own).
Then of course, there are the books you read for no other purpose then entertainment. I call them junk food for the brain, thus my purchase of Preston & Childs' "Book of the dead". I am sure I shall enjoy them all.
Let's hope they don't inspire more purchases, or I may have to sell a kidney soon.
7/26/07
A new stack
What does a bibliophile do on her vacation?
Go shopping for books of course!
We lack the money for the honeymoon of our dreams, but we zealously attacked a trip to the California coast. I brought a list of all possible bookshops with me, being the obsessed bibliophile I am, and we hit the boardwalk, bookshops, and aquarium.
The books on my wish list were nowhere to be found, or had been tucked away for safe keeping. Number one on my list was a copy of 84 Charing cross road, since I am disgustingly obsessed with that film, and I never found it. I settled for second best, I ordered a copy online WHILE on my honeymoon...that still counts right?
Because I am sure this book will have to be pried out of my hands upon my death, I inscribed the front with a message to it's future owners. I hope one day they will love it as much as I do.
I also ordered a copy of two other Hanff books, which I am enjoying immensly. They are very much like easing into an overstuffed chair, propping your feet up, and reading letters from an old dear friend on her travels.
But, I was not to be undaunted from actually having a physical book in my hands that WAS purchased in person on my vacation, so when my husband and I went to historic Colton Hall in Monterey, they had a lovely bound book that seemed to belong on my bookshelf.
With my book in hand, and a small art print of "The Lone Cypress", I considered my honeymoon complete.
7/25/07
What was the first book you ever read?
And how did that book change your life?
Click on the title link above......
7/17/07
The lost constitution
My husband and I have joined our insanity in historical thriller fiction. As soon as he read the outline of this book, he deemed it must be his. The only problem with that is he only reads audio books, or rather listens to audio books. We will happily collect donations of audio books, should anyone take pity on our plight.
The constitution itself has sprouted many rebellions, beliefs,and debates...but what if another draft or section was suddenly found...buried away waiting for discovery? Would it unify a nation,divide it? How far would someone go to leave history either unchanged, or blow it wide open in patriotic fervor? What would the highest bidder do with an item of such magnitude?
As you contemplate that question, I shall contemplate picking up a copy of this for my husband, so we can debate it's ramifications together. It may be fiction, but were it to happen....just imagine the possibilities, the least of which...what if we had it wrong all this time? The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Click on the title to buy it from Amazon.com
Unusual place to buy books: Costco!
The cover says " The fusion of bibliomania and romantic comedy is appealingly offbeat"
( a review by Janet Maslin, New york Times.)
Literacy and Longing in L.A
All it took for me to buy this was the word 'Bibliomania' on the cover.
Pathetic, sort of, in an obsessive compulsive collectors way that only other biliophiles would understand.
I think I may die one day by having my bookcases collapse in on me. Somehow, that would seem a rather poetic and ironic way to go.
Just an FYI: Costco can deplete your bank account if you don't watch your book spending...lol
Two gifts and an adoption
I adopted "The thirteenth tale" after all, aren't all books adopted?
The two others are lovely gifts from my husband, who for some strange reason, loves me and supports my book addiction.
I cannot find any information on the book " A conference of govenors" though.
7/12/07
Shelfari
http://www.shelfari.com/weeza/shelf
Now, this book sharing site is deceptive: upload your current books and share your library with others, sounds safe, right? WRONG!It is the devil incarnate to your wallet!
As if I didn't have enough books to read, I can now browse thousands of other users bookcases. Do you see the simplistic "you must buy this book" lullabye that this can inspire? Just click on a page,and similar books on user pages across the world pop up.It recommends books, it finds like minded collectors, it inspires a need to show off every book you have ever read. Why? I'm not sure, but those shelves call to me....no really, they do!
See the cleverly hidden message? Network your books with others...share the joy of books...BUY THIS BOOK! You MUST have it!
I am either a schmuck or supportive, as this deceptively simple tool lulled me into posting my book collection. The true evil lies in the conflict within, when it shows you other users pages, with book tastes similar to yours, yet somehow you are expected to resist temptation.
I think not, my willpower dissolved after 10 books.
It is simplistic, effective and addicting. You are warned!
Click on the arrow on the "shelf" images below to peruse my section...but go no further. Other pages will entice you with books you MUST have, and sucker you in to buying them in a sense of solidarity with other readers.
I love this site, all kidding aside, but it is strangely addictive.
6/18/07
6/17/07
5/28/07
Library lust
I have started collecting books about books,( I mentioned this before) which of course is a self perpetuating vicious cycle that makes me lust over other books...and the cycle continues.
Within these pages are destinations, or for true bibliophiles, meccas.
5/9/07
A movie for the collector in us all
I have watched this movie a dozen times since I purchased it a month ago, on a recommendation of a friend, and I'm so glad I stumbled across it.
40 years of friendship through the pages of books are chronicled in its scenes, spanning two continents, and numerous references are made to great ( and not so great) literature.
Helen Hanff, a lovely New Yorker and avid antiquarian book lover, contacts Frank Doel, a book dealer in London, to inquire about the availability of cheap yet worthwhile volumes to fill her collection.
Thus a friendship is borne through letters, book orders, gifts and a love of English literature.
To paraphrase a lovely scene, where Helene describes the beauty of a first edition volume in contrast to her utilitarian apartment:
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" Take a look at this...isn't that beautiful"
Helene hands her friend a lovely brown leather book, and her friend runs her hands over the book, examining the spine.
"It's beautiful".
Smiling ruefully Helene explains " It's a first edition my dear,one HUNDRED years old" as she irons her clothing carefully.
"It's beautiful" repeats her friend, now turning the pages with curiosity.
"I feel guilty about owning it, all that gleaming leather and gold stamping.It belongs in a pine paneled library in some old English country home, you know what I mean?" shrugs Helene. A wistful look overtakes her face "It should be read by the fire in a gentlemens easy chair,not in some second hand overstuffed seat in a broken down brownstone front" she declares, as her face changes from wistful to lamenting.
"Oh now, if I were this book, I want to live RIGHT HERE," her friend gestures solidly, smiling.
"You're Right" smiles Helene broadly, pausing her ironing to soak in the thought.
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I can only hope my gold gilded books would feel the same way, in our modest house, filled with not so real antiques, and chain store furnishings. I would hope they would want to be on my shelves...right here, out of anywhere else.
Were I so lucky as to know an antiquarian book dealer, I am certain I would have them on speed dial.Since I am not that lucky yet in life, I shall make do with the wonders of the internet.
Now, if I could just afford that $2,000 edition of Jane Austens' works....
Confession: after watching this again, I went back and wrote down all the book names I could make out and attempted to track them all down. So far in my quest, four of them are readily available, only 2 of which are affordable...in keeping with Helene's own search for affordable literature, I shall continue the search. Though I think I may skip the Latin bible this time around...unless one seems like it would want to "live right here"
5/8/07
Reading, breathing, living.
I grew up the youngest of four kids in a suburb of Seattle. I also grew up being disabled and partially deaf, and all the challenges that went with that set of circumstances. My books provided not just an adventure, but a way to try out lives.
I will never ski, but I can read about the thrills of streaking down a glistening slope in Austria.
I will not travel much, but through books I can almost smell the spices in the markets of India, see the Elephants crossing the lowlands of Africa, and I can imagine 5th Avenue in NYC...with the wide boulevards, honking horns, and the sea of yellow taxis as far as the eye can see.
I have seen all these places and more. I have flown, swam, fought, created peace...all through the lives of characters.
Where will I go tomorrow, and what will my name be? Will I be a hero, villian, or ambitious nobody?
Books are my escape and my destination rolled into one, and for that I thank the authors.
I am whatever I want to be in their pages.
When you know you are a bibliophile
I know I am a book addict. I embrace it, accept it, feed it and wallow in my book addiction. I have ordered my books by EXACT height and subject on my bookcases, and then decided it should be divided by antique and modern versions, so of course I had to start over again.
Now, this addiction takes on yet another level when you find yourself buying books on how others display their prized books.
Just yesterday I was watching a movie about a book collector while shopping for 1850's volumes online, while thumbing through this book. I cannot decide if that's insanity, immersion, or just dedication.
I can however heartily recommend this beautifully photographed book that displays quite adequately the libraries of owners across the globe.
I found myself jealous of many collections, shaking my head at a few others that seemed to not display their books with reverence, and feeling inspired to continue building my own library.
Just skip the resources section at the back of the book, or you'll find yourself at the airport, on the way to far off libraries and gorgeous stores. After all, only they will understand your addiction to the written word....right?
A pleasant read
Were I to wish for one possibility, it would be truth in sentencing for criminals. Not as proposed through legal wrangling by lobbyists, but the actual facts as seen through the eyes of crime victims themselves.
In this book, the dead speak of their own tragedy that has befallen them through their own words, but not in conventional means. Imagine if you will the ability to pick up an object and know exactly who touched it before you, and their hopes, dreams and sadness that surrounded them. Such is the discipline of psycometry...the ability to touch an object and know it's history.
Natalie Lindstrom, the main character, has just such an ability, and can actually see what the victim saw just before their demise.Employed by both the police and FBI, Natalie is called on to testify in court cases involving lives cut short by murderous acts. As a criminal justice nerd, this idea is fascinating to me, as are the reprocussions. The few characters in this book with this talent have strikingly violet colored eyes, and thus stick out like a sore thumb amongst others. Contact lenses are their salvation. ( i think that sentence is one of the oddest things i have typed, and cannot help but giggle at the thought of salvation through lenses)
Picture if you knew someone in your town had this skill, and it was proven...how would others react? They would both be vilified and praised, stalked and shunned.
But the dead speak...and they speak volumes in this book.
Pick it up, it's worthy of a summers day, as are it's sequels
