I donated boxes of books to the PA library when I moved. I've always had a lot of book shelves everywehre I've lived. Odd thing is, I haven't actually read most of them. I just like having books around --plus I always intend to read them all. And I'm not giving up on that. I have long lists of books recorded on "book lists" on my computer. Pulitzer Prize winners through the years -- most I always intended to read.
I don't actually remember that my dad read books much. I'm sure he must have as he always encouraged us to use the public library and would drive us all the way uptown often just so we could check some out. And he always took the Seattle Times. His twin brother next door always took the PI and dad would go down and read that paper too. But Uncle Jim never read our Times papers. My dad always did crossword puzzles too. The only book that comes to mind that I can remember him sitting down to read was by Dale Carnagie- How to win friends and influence people. But I could be wrong on that too. I just recall visiting Aunt Velna on her houseboat in Seattle when we were kids and Velna made us leave dad alone so he could sit and read in peace. At first I thought maybe it was a book my Norman Vincent Peale but Aunt Velna was never a religious person and I don't think that type of book would have interested her. She was an avid reader. She'd go to Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul and The Salvation Army just to load up on books. She was a prolific letter writer too. We started exchanging letters when I was nine and she wrote me long ones all the time. How I wish I had kept them. Darn! Darn! Darn!
Anyhow, getting back to the books I have on my shelves now. There are about 19 of them and I intend to read them all. Well, maybe. I'll start them (like I do movies on Amazon Prime or Netflix) but if they fail to hold my interest, they'll get put on the library shelves here at Disco View. They have a pretty nice sized library in there but we can only go in one at a time by reserving. Totally stupid! I don't plan on visiting that library UNTIL I've gone through my own books here. Each one will be discarded as I go along so I can bring in more.
I'm reading book four of a set about Swede immigrants settling in Minnesota in the 1800s. When I finish it, I'll go to my bookshelf and see what I can find. My list includes (without authors listed):
The Group/ Once in every Life/ Weekend Warriors/ 1st to Die/ Postmortem/ Not a sparrow falls/ The Trail to Ogalalla/ Harry Potter Goblet of Fire/ Vanishing Acts/ Heart full of lives/ Frankenstein/ A great reckoning/ Jane Eyre/ The Egg & I/ Imitation of Life/ Malice/ Road to Omaha/ The Eyes of Darkness/ and Last Letter Home. (the one I'm on now).
Some of these books are ones I just grabbed in the laundry room on the free table or in the library downstairs before quarantine, or old volumes I've had for years but never actually read. I still have books on my shelves that I have read and will always keep -- like my brother's sci fi novels and my PT books.
I have long typed lists in a notebook of those books I wanted to check out at the public library before everything got crazy and the world went nuts. My granddaughter, Catie, works at Thriftbooks.com so I can always order there if I JUST GOTTA HAVE SOME BOOK I hear about. I used to belong to Book Clubs. Who didn't? Every fall I'd get six or seven free for joining, I'd buy what was required and then cancel my membership until I needed some more free books to rejoin. I don't feel guilty about it. They made plenty of money on me.
I've also loved browsing book stores and when I hit garage sales, I can't leave until I look over what books they're trying to get rid of. I don't have a kindle but I suppose I may end up purchasing one someday. I'm not quite ready yet as it's so easy to get hard copy books at a cheap price. I seldom buy books at Goodwill. For some reason, they just totally annoy the hell out of me by what they charge. What they charge for everything really. They're handy as hell when you're desperate to unload your stuff if you're moving but I have been giving them less and less of my money through the years.
Catie asked me to write this blog post for her thriftbooks.com website when she first started working there. If I can find a copy, I'll cut and paste it here. Here it is....
I ended up with 19 books on my
list. The oldest was Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriett Beecher Stowe published in
1852. It was the second highest selling book of the century after the
Bible. When I was in elementary school,
we ordered TAB books in the classroom. What a thrill that was when the box
arrived. Two of my favorites from that
period are The Lion’s Paw by Robb White and Sue Barton, Student Nurse by Helen Dore Boylston. I
noticed both those books are showing up on eBay lists today.
I read all the Nancy Drew mysteries
by Carolyn Keene as did all my friends.
Other favorites from the 1940s are Girl of the Limberlost by Gene
Stratton-Porter, So Big by Edna Ferber, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty
Smith, and Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor. The 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s books on
my list included On the Beach by Nevil Shute, Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline
Susann, The Godfather by Mario Puzo, Roots by Alex Haley, Thorn Birds by
Colleen McCullough, and The Stand by Stephen King.
I must have identified with girls
and women who were struggling to make ends meet. I was influenced by my Aunt
Velna who lived through the depression and spent her entire life convinced we
were going to have another one any minute.
She was born in 1905 and I noticed that she often read books about
pioneers and farming. I was raised by my
father and grandfather with aunts and uncles always on the sidelines directing me
on how to behave. They were all thrifty
and resourceful and I took notice.
In the 1980s, I loved Clan of the
Cave Bear by Jean Auel, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Lonesome Dove by
Larry McMurtry, and One More Time by Carol Burnett. Carol’s book was the only nonfiction on my
list. I loved her autobiography and was encouraged to write my own after
reading it. Her mother was never going to a win an award for her mothering
skills and I identified with that right away. I was impressed that she wrote in
such a way about her mom that she forgave her shortcomings and took it all with
a grain of salt. I wanted to write like that. I sent Carol a fan letter and much to my
delight, she wrote me back. I also wrote
to Stephen King after reading The Stand.
His return postcard to me is in my box of collections with Carol’s
letter.
If I had to pick my top three
favorites (can’t pick just one) I guess I’d have to go with Roots, Lonesome
Dove, and Clan of the Cave Bear. Alex Haley’s Roots encouraged me to research
my family tree and what a delight that hobby ended up being. My mother was
adopted in 1927 and never was able to find out anything on her biological
family. With the introduction of computers, however, I was able to send her
photos of both her parents in 2000 when she was 74. I recognized at an early age that I had a
desire to learn about my genealogy history. Alex Haley’s book had the staying
power to keep me finding the answers I wanted.
This looks kinda dorky now but once it's finished and pressed and framed, it'll be a nice gift.
No comments:
Post a Comment