Jump to content

delights that we hold in possibility


dinneR

Recommended Posts

11 minutes ago, denniS said:

I love books. They delight me. I am aware that I may suffer from a Gentle Madness. 

How Many Books Does It Take to Make a Place Feel Like Home?

There’s a reason that some people won’t let go of their physical books — and a new term for it: ‘book-wrapt.’

From the article:

And masses of books, he said, represent “delights that we hold in possibility” — the joy of being able to lift a hand and tap unexplored worlds. (Because who among us has read every single book in our libraries?) “I like to be in a room where I’ve read half the books, and I’d like there to be enough books that I cannot possibly read them in my remaining years,” he said.

Still, one can dream of completion, as Mr. Byers, who was ordained as a Presbyterian minister, apparently did when he inscribed this verse inside volumes from his own collection:

This book belongs to the

Rev. Reid Byers,

Who still hopes to read it

Before he expires.

 

24LIBRARY-slide-U15M-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale

 Dennis, after I took the snowman photo today in my snowy walk today, I dropped by bookstore.

Seems like in the past few years there are a few  fiction and non-fiction books released with theme of libraries/booksellers.  Sometimes I think some people are reflecting what they think they lost  (sometimes it's real, but some times not). 

The latest I saw today, was "The Midnight Library", a novel.

The Midnight Library (matthaig.com)  Seems like the motif of long shelves of  books.. holds all the possibilities in life ....and plot includes revisiting / changing what one has done in past, turnaround regrets. :(  I don't know what to say since I really have a few very deep regrets I've been trying to work through.  Of course, I stand by my career for lst 25 yrs. to serve in libraries before switching.

We can only do so much better to honour those who have left us ..and those who are still with us...wanting/waiting for us.

See the source image

  • Heart 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, shootingstar said:

 Dennis, after I took the snowman photo today in my snowy walk today, I dropped by bookstore.

Seems like in the past few years there are a few  fiction and non-fiction books released with theme of libraries/booksellers.  Sometimes I think some people are reflecting what they think they lost  (sometimes it's real, but some times not). 

The latest I saw today, was "The Midnight Library", a novel.

The Midnight Library (matthaig.com)  Seems like the motif of long shelves of  books.. holds all the possibilities in life ....and plot includes revisiting / changing what one has done in past, turnaround regrets. :(  I don't know what to say since I really have a few very deep regrets I've been trying to work through.  Of course, I stand by my career for lst 25 yrs. to serve in libraries before switching.

We can only do so much better to honour those who have left us ..and those who are still with us...wanting/waiting for us.

See the source image

I do enjoy books about books. Ex-Libris is one of my favorites. I'm not even sure if I still have my copy. It was signed by Anne Fadiman. It is a delightful collection of essays. 

Anne Fadiman and Confessions of a Common Reader - Jane Cawthorne

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cookbooks have become my latest weakness. I received two as gifts, purchased two more with my shopping spree winnings, ordered another and am considering one more. The Modern Larder is so much fun to read. I think @Old No. 7 would enjoy it.

I might have to invest in a new bookcase. The floor stacks are growing larger by the day.

The Modern Larder by Michelle McKenzie

  • Heart 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, denniS said:

Cookbooks have become my latest weakness. I received two as gifts, purchased two more with my shopping spree winnings, ordered another and am considering one more. The Modern Larder is so much fun to read. I think @Old No. 7 would enjoy it.

I might have to invest in a new bookcase. The floor stacks are growing larger by the day.

The Modern Larder by Michelle McKenzie

Have you committed  50% of  your winnings to titles already? Or still savouring the exploration of titles?

Admittedly, when I sold my condo in Toronto to relocate my household with dearie, in our cross-country move to Vancouver, I truly had to cut down my collection to well over  50%. I  had  over  probably 200 books. Then going to Calgary required me to leave more bks. behind. 

When I eptlrf for a national bookchain long ago, it was interesting to see differences in inventory titles in a downtown business Toronto district, a wealthy upscale area and then 3rd location, out in the suburbs. Clearly alot less book choice titles for adults in suburban location, vs. children's books.  I was jockeying amongst 3 different locations before had my lst  library job.

Good thing about online ordering, is opening the world of  choices  the widest. The problem is wandering around a database for couple million titles is not really efficient for exploring into side subject areas and chance titles. 

 

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

Have you committed  50% of  your winnings to titles already? Or still savouring the exploration of titles?

Admittedly, when I sold my condo in Toronto to relocate my household with dearie, in our cross-country move to Vancouver, I truly had to cut down my collection to well over  50%. I  had  over  probably 200 books. Then going to Calgary required me to leave more bks. behind. 

When I eptlrf for a national bookchain long ago, it was interesting to see differences in inventory titles in a downtown business Toronto district, a wealthy upscale area and then 3rd location, out in the suburbs. Clearly alot less book choice titles for adults in suburban location, vs. children's books.  I was jockeying amongst 3 different locations before had my lst  library job.

Good thing about online ordering, is opening the world of  choices  the widest. The problem is wandering around a database for couple million titles is not really efficient for exploring into side subject areas and chance titles. 

 

I've spent most of it. I think $285 of $400. I ordered two more books for about $60. So I have a little more to spend.

It was a joy to spend some time browsing and choosing. I bought two cookbooks, a book of essays and a collection of short stories by Murakami. I bought two field guides and two records. I plan to get another field guide and I ordered another cookbook and the Collected Short Stories of Lorrie Moore. It might take me years to read it, but I can savor it over and over again. 

Over the years, I've owned thousands of books and now just a few hundred. I like owning fewer books, but they seem to be multiplying around my apartment.

Collected Stories - (everyman's Library Contemporary Classics) By Lorrie  Moore (hardcover) : Target

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, denniS said:

My purchases so far. 

IMG_20220103_192150964_BURST000_COVER_TOP.jpg

My wife's nightstand (and the surrounding floor areas) is PILES of books.  She loves having them piled high and god only knows if she will ever get through them or not.

My side is closer to that pile you show above (plus magazines).  Mainly because most of my stuff is on my Kindle.

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Razors Edge said:

My wife's nightstand (and the surrounding floor areas) is PILES of books.  She loves having them piled high and god only knows if she will ever get through them or not.

My side is closer to that pile you show above (plus magazines).  Mainly because most of my stuff is on my Kindle.

My mother said books are her friends. She just likes having them around.

I do to. I like to dip into books and read an essay or short story. I'll read a cookbook just for the story. I get two food magazines too. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I worked in Orlando I believe I knew where just about every bookstore in town was located.  With my eyes now I simply can't read a book for more than just a few minutes.  Consequently, everything these days is electronic in nature.

Probably just as well as most of the bookstores around here have closed and those that are left are coffee table book repositories.

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

The bottom 2 books look like rare cookbooks...in English (of course).  The bookstore doesn't sell any art prints? 

They are self-published. Hank & Holly or H&H publishing. They are not rare though, widely available in the U.S. and probably Canada as well. Hank Shaw is great. He has a really good podcast. 

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/home/search/?keywords=hank shaw#internal=1

They have art. It is way beyond my means. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Wilbur said:

A few years ago my wife purged her library at a garage sale.  One buyer bought everything at twice the per-book price she was asking.  He was the 7am show for an 8am garage sale.  This, after I claimed, "nobody buys books anymore!"  :)  Dummy. 

There is a novel about such an occurrence. I wish I could remember the name of it. It's a terrible book, poorly written, but hilarious. Two people show up at a garage sale and all of the books are valuable first editions. A fight breaks out, maybe a murder. 

Booked to Die is a really good mystery about first editions. I loved that book. 

md30171656809.jpg

  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

I know! 

Mick likes books too.

In advance of the Stones' Wednesday concert at TCF Bank Stadium, Jagger hit independent bookstore James & Mary Laurie Booksellers in the North Loop on Monday (he must have read our North Loop Guide). Owner James Laurie says he got a call from a hotel concierge saying someone of note wanted to stop by. He didn’t know who until the rock legend walked through the door, wearing a baseball cap, sweater, and sport coat.

Laurie says Jagger couldn’t have been nicer—“like talking to a high school friend.” Jagger spent about an hour in the store—without any gawkers—and purchased gifts for friends. Laurie declined to name titles, saying only that Jagger is "very generous."

MickJaggerLaurieBook.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, denniS said:

Mick likes books too.

In advance of the Stones' Wednesday concert at TCF Bank Stadium, Jagger hit independent bookstore James & Mary Laurie Booksellers in the North Loop on Monday (he must have read our North Loop Guide). Owner James Laurie says he got a call from a hotel concierge saying someone of note wanted to stop by. He didn’t know who until the rock legend walked through the door, wearing a baseball cap, sweater, and sport coat.

Laurie says Jagger couldn’t have been nicer—“like talking to a high school friend.” Jagger spent about an hour in the store—without any gawkers—and purchased gifts for friends. Laurie declined to name titles, saying only that Jagger is "very generous."

MickJaggerLaurieBook.jpg

Is that Minneapolis? Is that our Monkey? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...