Kent Haruf

 

I read Plainsong in two nights, Benediction in one. I cried at least 3-4 times during the last one. Eventide is on its way. I'm telling you, these are wonderful. That is my problem with great fiction. I can't stop and I'm up until one or two in the morning reading. With non-fiction or the New Yorker, I finally grow weary and am asleep by 10:30. These two were worth the bags under my eyes.

Wrapping The Week

{Source}

The inequalities that minorities and women in this country continue to struggle against seem insurmountable. It is difficult to "keep the faith" so to speak. It has been a rough summer. I have to believe things are going to get better. But I know I have to work for it too. Trying to figure out how to make an impact. To keep my head from not popping off my neck, I've been reading more to help me unwind, get out of my normal spaces. 

Reading this. And just finished The Uncoupling and The Ten Year Nap. New thrift store nearby has decent selection for under a dollar each.  Next, on to some feminist classics that I've never tackled. And Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Women stay in jobs longer than they should. And of the office...we use enough post-it notes to...well...this.

Better than the typical bucket list.

Bogaletch Gebre is an incredible woman.

And for some levity...Don't Pierce The Brat.

xoa

Tiny Books at Vamp and Tramp

Just stumbled upon this Maine book artist, Rebecca Goodale. Her books and illustrations below are beautiful. Vamp and Tramp  has an entire page devoted to miniature books (books not exceeding 3 inches in width or height). I'll be exploring these links over the next several days. I love tiny books. I hadn't heard of Vamp and Tramp. They are out of Birmingham, Alabama and have some amazing fine artist books. Exciting.

Harry Bertoia

I subscribed to Sasha Cagan's To Do List back in 2000. But the print magazine folded after only three issues. (Not the first nor last time a favorite publication broke my heart.) The To Do List blog is worth checking out. If you are a list nut like me, you may be interested in The Lists, To-dos and Illustrated Inventories of Great Artists. I just heard about it and I'm hopeful the library has it. Check out the list of Italian artist Harry Bertoia, designer of the diamond chair. I agree...his neatness is excellent!

 

Montague Books

It is no secret that I love books. I just can't bring myself to buy an e-reader, but I can buy used books out the wazoo with the pipe dream of finishing them all in my lifetime. 

I found a slideshow of The World's Most Inspiring Bookstores and have become complete enchanted with Montague Bookmill, whose tagline is – Books you don't need in a place you can't find.  A former gristmill, the store overlooks the Sawmill River. You can read on a couch next to an open window overlooking a river. Really?! Does it get any better? I'm adding it to my must visit places. More photos on Publishers Weekly. And they even host live music on occasion. LOVE!

 

{source}

{source}

I have a Books & Shelves Pinboard on Pinterest and am always keeping an eye on the
Bookshelf Porn Tumblr.  I think the video below, from Type bookstore in Toronto, is really amazing. Where is your favorite place to read?

Guidebook To St. Louis

St. Louis is lucky to have Amanda Doyle as an evangelist, and videographer Bill Streeter to capture the word.

Luddite

{Nigella Lawson in her library}

I do not own a smart phone. I spend enough time on the computer (at work and home) thank you very much. I'm an old lady with a three year old (ha). I have to concentrate on the immediate, on every minute as it happens because I don't want to miss a single thing about her quick-as-a-wink childhood. So interesting and amazing and fun, she is. Sure, sometimes I think it would be great to be able to look up restaurant hours and directions on the fly. But what about all the mysteries and surprises I might miss out on--the things that happen when I am "lost"?  [I highly recommend Matt Richtel's series in The New York Times, "Your Brain On Computers" or his interview on Fresh Air.]

I also do not own a Kindle or the like. I really think I will remain a Luddite to my death on this issue. Books are so perfect. And the thought of kids not having a bunch of books to puddle through makes me anxious in a way I don't think I've ever experienced. Audrey adores books and so many times we have already caught her reading in bed when she was supposed to be sleeping. I think this observation from an article Nicholson Baker wrote in the New Yorker a couple years ago is so funny.

The Kindle edition of “Selected Nuclear Materials and Engineering Systems,” an e-book for people who design nuclear power plants, sells for more than eight thousand dollars. Figure 2 is an elaborate chart of a reaction scheme, with many call-outs and chemical equations. It’s totally illegible. “You Save: $1,607.80 (20%),” the Kindle page says. “I’m not going to buy this book until the price comes down,” one stern Amazoner wrote.

A Day At The Seashore

I don't want to jinx anything, but we may have access to a beach front home at Emerald Isle, NC for a couple of days over the Thanksgiving holiday! I blogged about this earlier this fall and can't believe that the stars are aligning. I will follow up with more details as they become available. We just got Audrey the Little Golden Books classic A Day At The Seashore. She loves the story (?) and I'm in love with the vintage illustration. It will be chilly in November, but I am so excited I can't see straight.

Atchafalaya Houseboat

Photo: C.C. Lockwood

I wandered upon an image from Gwen Carpenter Roland's Atchafalaya Houseboat: My Years in the Louisiana Swamp, and now can't wait to get my hands on this book and see more photos.

From NPR: 

"In the 1970s, Gwen Carpenter Roland was about to start work on her doctorate when she decided instead to live off the land — and water — in the Atchafalaya River Basin Swamp in south-central Louisiana.With a box of crayons and the book How to Build Your Home in the Woods, Roland and her then-partner, Calvin Voisin, built a houseboat on a barge. They lived there for six years, with no electricity and no running water." 

I have a total romanticized view about this situation. The bed on a swing, a box of crayons, the 1970s with a hippy boyfried...all sounds dreamy. No running water...not so much.  

Read an excerpt from the book or listen to the 2006 All Things Considered interview with Roland.

The Glass Castle

I'm just now getting around to reading absorbing memoir The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. A friend lent me her copy and I haven't been able to put it down. Walls is a writer and journalist who tells the story of growing up with an alcoholic father and mentally ill mother. Some of the accounts are harrowing and almost difficult to read, especially as the mom to a young daughter. But Walls is an excellent writer and it moves along quickly. I'm about one third of the way through it.

Just for fun, here are some real glass castles (ok, glass houses) with links to more photos.

Philip Johnson's famous Glass House in Connecticut

Designed by Utz-Sanby Architects, this glass house is actually a luxury tree house.

 

North Carolina Glass House by Tonic Design

And you MUST go look at the gorgeous photos of the Jodlowa House near Krakow Poland designed by PCKO Architects in co-operation with MOFO Architects. Stunning.

Library Love

I love that Audrey already squeals, "Booooks! Booooks!" when we pass either of our neighborhood libraries. We love going to the library, but extracting her when it is time to go can be a bit of a challenge. It easier when Lindsey is with us. But it is a dreary day, so we may just do it.

I found some lovely library photos on the Curious Expeditions blog. You really need to check out the entire post, but for now, here are some beauties for your slobbering selves. I hope to devote a future blog post to personal libraries. Save that for another rainy day.

Real Gabinete Portugues De Leitura Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

(This looks amazing!)

Handelingenkamer Tweede Kamer Der Staten-Generaal Den Haag, the Hague, Netherlands

(This looks beautiful, but not sure it is quite cozy enough for my tastes.)

Peabody Library, Baltimore, MD

(A brighter options, with nice reading cubbies.)

Theology Room at St. Deiniol’s library, North Wales

(This may be my pick. The lighting is gorgeous.)

 

Rennie Mackintosh Library, Glasgow School of Art, Scotland

(Aesthetically interesting, but the desks look not too comfy.)

Cornell Law School Library, Ithaca, NY, USA

(Another beauty for its lighting. But law books. Ugh.)

Sterling Memorial, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA

(I have serious card catalog envy issues. This photo doesn't help.)

Wrapping the Week

{Image via We ♥ It}

“Each has to enter the nest made by the other imperfect bird.” (Rumi)

My workload has increased and the weeks have been flying by. I feel like I'm really just going through the motions with just about everything right now. I've had some beautiful moments this week, but internally, I really feel like a wreck. I am trying to carve out some time to sort it all. I feel like I'm not living a very authentic or observant life and that has to change.

I've been reading Anne Lamott's Imperfect Birds this week. It is brutal and tender and I haven't been able to put it down. The relationship between the parents and their teenage daughter makes me want to go back and read the chapter on why children lie from Po Bronson's Nurture Shock, another book I could not put down. I want to be such a good example to Audrey and I feel myself failing in certain areas. Already I can see some of my best and worst attributes her. She's only 28 months old and she's already made the sort of "arghhheck" noise I make when frustrated. That was funny and difficult to hear. But people are constantly commenting on what a happy kid she seems to be. I know she feels very secure and happy and that truly brings me joy. I just need to do a better job of taking care of myself...for the long haul and all.

So, this is my round up of sweets this week:

• These little pencil sets are so adorable and inspirational.
• I really enjoyed this NY Times article about Doo Nanny, an annual alt/folk art micro festival in Alabama that just started out as an art party. The slideshow is great.
• My lullaby to Audrey, my sunshine. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Tiny Books 2

I am all crazy for and inspired by the tiny books lately. These are by Jenny Meilihove, who has all kinds of cute tiny things on her site. Oh, and an Etsy shop called behappynow.

Reading

I am halfway through Passing Strange. I stopped to devour Game Change, which I started Tuesday night and will finish tonight. There are at least four unread New Yorkers next to my bed. I wish I could escape for an entire week to a room with a fireplace and endless supply of hot tea to just catch up on reading. I'm starting to think the crammed bookshelf next to my bed and above my head is just terrible Feng Shui.

Tiny Books

Don't you just love these tiny books by UK artist Jane Foster? I found them on her blog.