Booking Through Thursday

The reverse of last week’s question:
Imagine that everything is going just swimmingly. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and all’s right with the world. You’re practically bouncing from health and have money in your pocket. The kids are playing and laughing, the puppy is chewing in the cutest possible manner on an officially-sanctioned chew toy, and in between moments of laughter for pure joy, you pick up a book to read .
What is it?

Although last week's question discouraged us from answering "the Bible," I have to say that I do, indeed, turn to my Bible and other devotional books in times of trouble. I also pull out my Pennypress magazine of puzzles (one magazine lasts months!). Those puzzle magazines saw me through a lot of difficult times. But I enjoy pen and paper puzzles so much that I like to do them when things are going well, too. I also get my Bible and devotional books when things are bright and happy.

But as for fiction...let me see. For dark times, I would start with Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, at least until I became so irritated with Mr. March, as I always do, that I packed the book off for donation. After that I would choose anything by Shakespeare. The glorious language is enough to get lost in and to love every minute of it. A favorite? MacBeth. I enjoy that play on many levels. For both good and bad times I might also choose poetry by John Donne or humor by S.J. Perelman or Robert Benchley. One last choice: Alexander Woollcott; although he tends toward purple in his prose, I still find myself enjoying the trips through his reviews and reminiscences.
(submitted by Moon Rani)

Booking through Thursday

Okay . . . picture this (really) worst-case scenario: It’s cold and raining, your boyfriend/girlfriend has just dumped you, you’ve just been fired, the pile of unpaid bills is sky-high, your beloved pet has recently died, and you think you’re coming down with a cold. All you want to do (other than hiding under the covers) is to curl up with a good book, something warm and comforting that will make you feel better.

What do you read?

(Any bets on how quickly somebody says the Bible or some other religious text? A good choice, to be sure, but to be honest, I was thinking more along the lines of fiction…. Unless I laid it on a little strong in the string of catastrophes? Maybe I should have just stuck to catching a cold on a rainy day….)

This one is easy. I read Emily Dickinson. She has been through it all, and can see me through all. (Fiction Just Will Not Do!)

The soul has moments of Escape-
When bursting all the doors-
She dances like a Bomb, abroad-
And swings upon the Hours,

As do the Bee - delirious borne-
Long Dungeoned from his rose-
Touch Liberty- then know no more
But Noon, and Paradise -

melanie

book meme

Here's a meme I stole from Chris at Book-a-rama: go to the advanced book search on Amazon, type your first name into the Title field, and post the most interesting/amusing cover that shows up.













I've been meaning to read this book!
melanie

Booking through Thursday

Are you a Goldilocks kind of reader?

Do you need the light just right, the background noise just so loud but not too loud, the chair just right, the distractions at a minimum?

Or can you open a book at any time and dip right in, whether it’s for twenty seconds, while waiting for the kettle to boil, or indefinitely, like while waiting interminably at the hospital–as long as the book is open in front of your nose, you’re happy to read?

I am neither Goldilocks nor the Princess and the Pea. I can read anywhere, anytime, in any situation - unless the light is bad, in which case I become The Beast (only without his more attractive qualities...)

melanie

"Goldilocks" Booking Through Thursday

Okay, so the other day, a friend was commenting on my monthly reading list and asked when I found the time to read. In the ensuing discussion, she described herself as a “goldilocks” when it comes to reading–she needs to have everything juuuuuust right to be able to focus. This caught my attention because, first, I thought that was a charming way of describing the condition, but, two, while we’ve talked about our reading habits, this is an interesting wrinkle. I’d never really thought about it that way.
So, this is my question to you–are you a Goldilocks kind of reader?
Do you need the light just right, the background noise just so loud but not too loud, the chair just right, the distractions at a minimum?
Or can you open a book at any time and dip right in, whether it’s for twenty seconds, while waiting for the kettle to boil, or indefinitely, like while waiting interminably at the hospital–as long as the book is open in front of your nose, you’re happy to read?

A "Goldilocks reader" - - what a clever phrase! This reader is no Goldilocks, at least not most of the time. I slip into books like a swimmer into a bath-warm pool, and I luxuriate in my reading submersion as long as possible. I am an overly sensitive person, always have been, and everything but everything bothers, distracts or irritates me. But reading usually takes me into the world of the book so that I am a step removed from the real world.
(submitted by Moon Rani)

Taste

Taste is the latest offering from America's longtime etiquette and protocol expert, Leticia Baldridge. It is subtitled, Acquiring What Money Can't Buy. Mrs. Baldridge is a Vassar-educated woman who served as chief of staff to the Jackie Kennedy. Mrs. Baldridge also advised four other First Ladies. She worked closely with the American ambasador to Italy and his wife in the 1940s, and she worked in publicity for Tiffany's. Mrs. Baldridge has written two dozen book and operates a consulitng business. Her credentials are not to be sneezed at by any means. So why did I find this book a disappointment?

When I first heard of this book, I took its subtitle at its word. Developing my aesthetic sense of taste by reading? Sign me up! But the advice and guidance on doing this were few and far between. Much of the book consists of reminiscences of the late Mrs. Onassis and of other people who were once big names in style and entertaining. Mrs. Baldridge and Mrs. Onassis knew one another since adolescence. This longtime friendship shows in every line written about the Kennedys and their household. The passages about them are virtual paeans to Jackie. Even the brief passage ostensibly written about Grace Kelly's sense of style turns out to be more Jackie worship along a put-down of Her Serene Highness' taste and behavior. The word "tacky" came to mind.

I found the book contradictory, too. Some paragraphs say that money is no guarantee of taste, and that having excellent taste is within the reach of anyone. Directly after that are (more) descriptions of opulent living and entertaining served up along with encouragement to live tastefully with Baccarat crystal, fine wine and spirits and other pricey material goods.

The directions on acquiring and improving one's taste consisted of telling readers to go to museums at every opportunity, to read magazines that show tasteful things and to observe beauty wherever one is. Then one ought to contemplate what makes beautiful things beautiful, and to look for patterns in beauty and taste. One ought also to peruse books on different cultures and what was considered beautiful in different times and places. None of this is new or even very helpful.

One last thing: this book suffers from a common ailment, and that is an acute lack of editing. A sharp editor would have shaped and brightened this book by untangling the memoir aspects from the advice aspects from the personal taste aspects. As it is, they all lie there in a heap, and not a very tasteful heap.

Taste is subjective, as Mrs. Baldridge acknowledges. This alone makes writing about it at all a challenge. Instructing people how to develop taste is trickier still. Still, I had hopes of reading something substantive. This book is not that. If you enjoy reading memories of grand times and places, and if you, too, cannot get enough of Mrs. Onassis, then you will enjoy Taste.
(submitted by Moon Rani)