Read Your Bookcase

Creative Collection from Andrew Keir

Is this really a less than useful design as one of the blog commenters writes? You be the judge.

You can check out more pictures by clicking HERE.

Happy Halloween

Have a Happy Halloween!

Watch Tonight!: NBC News Segment on “Our Bodies, Ourselves” | Our Bodies Our Blog

I remember when I was first introduced to Our Bodies, Ourselves in a college level class at the University of Michigan in the mid-1970s. It was surprising and rather embarrassing how little I knew and I was already married with children!

This book was a revelation, a clarifier, an assurance, and an eye-opener. It changed many of my perceptions about what was 'normal'.

A 40th Anniversary Edition has just been released. If you're not familiar with it, maybe now's the time to get a hold of a copy. (Jackson District Library has it on order. They have older editions as well.) Check to see if your local library has a copy. If they don't, recommend they purchase it!

(Thanks to my friend Jennifer for bringing this to my attention!)

Public Bookshelves - A Novel Idea

Germany has discovered the concept of public bookshelves according to an article in The Christian Science Monitor. Public libraries in this country have been doing similar things for years. My branch library has a paperback and magazine exchange that I frequent. It's totally unmonitored and housed in the entry way. (The librarians straighten  the table top if things get too messy.)

Germany has taken the concept a step further and the idea is spreading. Donations and volunteers support the effort. Read the whole article HERE. (Thanks to K. Krentz for pointing out this article.)

The Lantern (2011)

The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

References to Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca are made when writing about The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson. That is a powerful hook. And this is a lovely book. The writing is charming and the author captures the sights, sounds, and fragrances of Provence.

"Do photographs and memories complement each other, or do photographs inevitably prove more dominant, ultimately taking the place of the true memory?" Such are the kind of thoughts our narrator ponders as she seeks to learn the truth behind her husband's first wife, the talented and beautiful Rachel.

The past and present of the abandoned house where Eve and Dom settle are woven together in short chapters with the thoughts of a previous tenant Benedicte. The author also comments on her blog that in addition to being an homage to DuMaurier "Along the way it became a novel about perfume and blindness and the past life of houses, and also about books, reading and the imagination."

Unfortunately I had to drag myself through this book. I'm not sure why. Maybe I've read too many books recently that jump back and forth from past to present. There were things that led me to expect a slightly different resolution at the end. More mysterious and gothic. It was not to be.


View all my reviews

small is the new big (2006)

Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas by Seth Godin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since I follow Seth Godin's blog, I impulsively picked up his 2006 collection of earlier blog posts the last time I was in the library. Have I mentioned I love Seth? He rants about the same things I rant about and there is nothing more endearing than knowing someone else thinks as you do.

Like all his work, he sparks your creativity. You are free to pick and choose and see what makes sense in your own world.

Loosely alphabeticalized, you can read this book in small or larger (would that be appropriate?) chunks over a period of time.

View all my reviews

Thinking about my tag line on this blog. . .

Just taking the second part, about how what you are reading affects who you will become (if you aren't already now), I should be a mysterious, dramatic, gothic romantic. (Just kidding.)

Reading Your Own Work in Front of an Audience

Sisters in Crime, an organization that was formed to promote women mystery writers, had an interesting post yesterday. It deals with the 'performance author'. You know, the one who gets asked to read from their book at an event. Author's can be very shy about doing a reading in front of an audience and Ramona DeFelice Long offer four tips to make that process easier. Click HERE to read what she had to say.