You Can Never Own Too Many Books

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

We all have our vices.  We all have things in this World we are weak towards.  Our Earthly kryptonite.  For me it's books!  I love books!  I love having books!!  I love being surrounded by books!!!

When I was at BYU I lived in the library and bookstore.  When something bad happened I went to the bookstore to buy a book.  When something good happened... I went to the bookstore to buy a book.  It's not like I had money or anything!  For lunch I brought cold lunches complete with peanut butter sandwiches.  My wardrobe consisted of clearance shirts from Walmart, $3 each.  My money went to books.  But I was so stressed and burned out with homework they weren't read.  But I kept buying them anyway.  They just make me happy.

After graduating I learned the BYU Creamery had a student/child size ice-cream cone, and they have REALLY good ice-cream.  I used to joke that it's good I didn't know about the dollar something ice-cream cones when I was going there.  I would have saved money on books!

A few years ago the Konmari tidying method was all the rage, and I liked to say that if I was ever going to organize and get rid of stuff, I'd never get rid of my books because they all give me joy.

The sad thing is that I'm still buying books.  The Amazon marketplace is such a good place to find used books.  I completed my American Girl book collection using the marketplace.  It's an extensive collection including all the short stories, mysteries, etc.  And after watching Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, I went to the Amazon Marketplace and bought all the Timothy Zhan Star Wars books in hardback.

I still need to read all these books.

So, yes, my name is Sarah and I have a book collecting addiction.

The first set of books I want to read this year is The Work and the Glory books by Gerald N. Lund.  Lund was my Grandma and Grandpa A's home teacher back in Southern California a long time ago.  But it's also the only book series both my Grandma's read.  My Grandma Stufflebeam wasn't a reader, but she read the series twice, and then she gave me her set.  I bought my Grandma A the first two books and she bought the rest in the nine book series.  The books take place during Latter-Day Saint church history time, and since we're studying the Doctrine and Covenants for Sunday School, it seems like it's time I should finally read them.  Honor my Grandma's, and step back in time to experience what it was like to be an early convert. 

After I'm finish reading those books I need to decide to read the Star Wars books or the American Girl books.  I'm leaning towards Star Wars next.  Also, before turning 39 I need to finish listening to the Harry Potter series on Audible.  I want to revisit the last book while being the same age Lupin and Snape were when they died.  It would just be a really interesting experience.

So happy book reading!!

I've got Worlds to visit.

Sarah

Joy in Reading; The Library from My Childhood Burned Down

(Trinity College from a trip a few years ago,

not the Library that burned down.)

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." Walt Disney

A few days ago pictures from childhood friends started popping up on Facebook.  All the same, from different times and angles, all tragic.  The library in Porterville California was on fire.  The next day more pictures popped up, one of which showed the tattered library burned to a crisp, a lone surviving window with stained glass blue, yellow, and green bearing a single word "READ" survived.  Color against the black.  A message to keep reading despite the ashes.  A beautiful yet sad message considering the circumstance.

Two firefighters lost their lives in the blaze.  The fire started by two teenagers, age thirteen, arrested.

As a book lover my heart breaks.  All those treasures, historical records, etc, lost.

For my friends I hope joy can grow from this pain, and for the families of the two firefighters who died, I hope they can find peace.

A Little Boost from Dr. Seuss

I just got back from Costco.  Food shopping, but I found this little jewel from Dr. Seuss: "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"  For some reason I've never read it.  My brother got a copy as a gift when he graduated from college.

 

Apparently this book is a popular graduation gift.  I thought I heard somewhere that he gave this as a graduation speech once, but I can't find any indication of this.  Instead I found that this is the last book he wrote and was published while he was alive, when he was battling cancer.

Everyone should read it at least once, regardless of where you are in life.  You can start fresh at any point.  But also, this book deals with the dark, lonely times of life as well, which we all pass.  I read this book while in the book section of Costco, and I fought tears as the message touched my soul, finding hope in the message.

So if you're starting a new path, or a little lost on the path you're on, or even if you feel fine in your direction, finding this book to read is always a good idea.  It's a nice reminder.

Also, a little random, did you know the term Nerd is credited to Dr. Seuss?  He wrote the word in the book If I Ran the Zoo.  Though I just finished reading a little debate on where the term Nerd comes from, if it is Dr. Seuss, or simply sprung up around the same time by coincidence.  Geek, originally, was a circus performer who bites off the heads of chickens.  Seriously.  I used to think of myself as more of a geek, but I have a visual thinking memory, and now I just see headless chickens, and it's not a pleasant image.  Though I do like to call my decorating style as "girly geeky chic," because "girly nerdy chic" doesn't sound as good.

Heh, okay, off tangent.

I truly recommend "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" if you haven't read it.  Read it at a book store or library if that's you're option.  This book is really a gem.  And Dr. Seuss is truly a genius.   A creative giant.

My 100 Book Challenge

I found this little sign in a gift shop at The Apple Farm in San Luis Obispo last week.  On it says, "Not To Be Trusted In A Bookstore With A Credit Card."

Okay, I'm not that bad!  But close.

The sad thing is I've developed a habit of buying books and not reading them.  Literately, I've got complete shelves of books that haven't been read.  Yup.  It's indulgent.  It's like buying CD's and never listening to the music.  Or buying Art and putting it in a closet, never to be glanced upon.

So, starting today, I will not buy another book until I've read 100 books I already own!  This number has fluctuated between 100 and 50 in the last few months, but, no, I'm going big.  This will be hard.  Ahh!!

Now, children's short picture books don't count.  Any book above 100 pages, with or without pictures, counts.  Now if a book is in a larger book, like a collection of Mark Twain or Jane Austin, each individual book is counted, not the entire column.  E-books,  comic collections, manga, short story/novella anthologies count as well, as long as there are more than 100 pages.

At the end of all this I'll list the 100 books I read, to stay accountable, and if I slipped and bought something.

Maybe I'm setting myself up for failure?  But this is a good goal.

Last week I found a charming antique book in an antique store: Little Sister Snow by Frances Little, printed 1909, and with the most charming illustrations on the inside.

This will be the last book I've purchased!!  Until said 100 books are read.

 What a find this was!!  And only $6, too!! :D

Why One Writes

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

~Maya Angelou

I profess that the above statement is true.

It is agony.

An agony I'm working through.

 I found this quote while reading through other inspiration quotes on Buzzfeed about writing, and why we write, or just simply finding motivation to write.  I've got stories inside me.  Characters.  Worlds.  Ideas.  Some of them I wonder if I'm too late in telling, and that worries me.  But it's cluttered.  My head and heart are cluttered, and after all this time I'm working through getting some of what is in my head out on paper.

It's a frightening process that works against my insecurities.  Not reading until the 3rd grade and so forth, those burdens that still haunt, even though I've overcome those weaknesses years ago.  But for me the real trial is turning what I see visually and feel emotionally into words.

It wasn't until I was a senior in High School that I learned people thought in words.  I would have small conversations in my head, but really everything I experienced in my mind was jumping from one image to the next, living through one scene to the next.

It was late at night and my friends and I were lying on the ground starring up at the stairs, inventing constellations.  And as we gazed into the heavens we began talking about thought processes.  Every single one of my friends thought in words.  They didn't see pictures!  I was amazed and baffled.  I though everyone sees things happening in their mind like a movie.  One day, after that, I asked one of my friends who was there that night how she writes stories.  Does she really not see the characters moving about?  And she told me that when she writes she hears the words in her head, but that was it.  No pictures.  No movements.  No buildings or scenery.

And all I could think was how boring that must be.

But the problem I'm having is translating what I hear, see, feel, and experience into words.  And most of the time I'm not there, simply an observer watching, laughing, crying.  I just got to find the words.

It's a process.

I'm learning.

This nice thing about writing is that there isn't an average age or expiration date.

And so many writers who have found success did so later in life.

Imagination is for the young and old alike.

I found the below image on Facebook and had a good laugh over it.

And don't worry, I'm still working on my music as well. ;0)

The American Girl Beforever Makeover: And all the Great Books that Came Before

 I found out a couple months ago that American Girl, my favorite childhood book series that brings history to life, was getting a complete makeover, which happened August 28, #Beforever style.  I put a hashtag there, because it sounds hashtagish.

I read someone that beforever stands for become forever, and the idea is that girls are forever, no matter the era they are born.  And with this change the 6 books have become two, all illustrations and looking back sections removed.

They removed my favorite parts of American girl!  I remember checking the Samantha (1904) and Molly (1944) books out of the Westfield Elementary library.  I loved looking at the pictures and reading the history sections at the end.  American Girl books helped me find a love of reading, history, and a realization that the past is alive.

Why did American Girl change an amazing concept?  These books have become cheapened.

 So I went to Barnes & Noble, and sure enough no illustrations nor history sections, just as I read online.

 I love the original book collections.

 The beautiful covers.

 And all the beautiful pictures.  All gone.

 One fun aspect, the only good aspect in my opinion, is the "choose your style" books that each historical girl received.  The idea is you've gone back in time and experience everything that is happening, choosing your path, getting different outcomes.

 So thanks to the change I went Amazon Marketplace crazy, and bought many of the past books at good prices before prices start rising.

I got all 12 book series.  (Yes, there's been that many!  Felicity, Kristen, Molly, and Marie Grace/Cecile dolls have been archived, and they didn't receive a Beforever update.  Samantha got brought back for the Beforever release.)

And if you want to get some of the past books, search "American Girl [characters name] Story collection."  "Molly Story Collection" works too, if you want her.  You lose some of the historical sections, only getting one at the end of the bound volume, but at least you get the illustrations, and the prices are still pretty good.)

 There were short story collections for many of the original girls: I bought Kit, Kristen, Samantha, Felicity, Josefina, and Molly.  Addy is still in the mail.  There are short stories for Kaya, but I haven't purchased the book.

(Out of print, only available used)

 Each short story has beautiful illustrations and a looking back section.

Then there were three traveling like scrapbooks published, one for Samantha, Molly, and Kit.

 Each book has fun tidbits, and things you can pull out.  I've received Samantha, and can't wait for Kit and Molly.

(Out of print, only available used)

 Then there's the Welcome to [Samantha] World books, which are essentially glorified "looking back" sections with a lot of great information and pictures.  There's one for Addy and Kaya as well.  Addy is still in the mail, and I hope to one day get Kaya.

(Out of print, only available used)

 There are the American Girl mystery books.  I have several of them, and they are quite fun.  The books are novel like with no illustrations . . .

 . . . but each book has a "looking back" section!

These books are still available for purchase.

 Best friend books!  I have Emily, Ruthie, and Ivy, but I don't have Nellie or Elizabeth.  Apparently the companion books for Felicity and Samantha go OOC (out of character), so I haven't bothered quite yet, though I should consider buying them.

 And once again the best friend books have beautiful illustrations and interesting looking back sections.

American girl has announced that they will no longer be publishing or making best friend dolls.

(Out of print, only available used)

Then there are the Girl of the Year books!  Each year there is a modern girl featured, who receives a doll, books, movie, the works.  They're fun, but my heart is with the historical characters.

So I'm a little disheartened with Beforever.  It feels as if American Girl has lost their charm, which is a shame, and if they release a new historical girl under this new format, I will feel cheated not having beautiful illustrations and looking back sections.

You Know A Book is Well Loved When . . .

The Princess Bride!  Amazing movie!  It's a classic, and anyone who hasn't seen it needs to.  So many great one liners, and it makes me want to learn sword fighting . . . with both hands, because becoming a right handed master swordsman isn't enough.

If anything it's a fantastic story, which I believe I became acquainted with the movie during my Sophomore year of High School.  My friends found the book a year or so later.  Since we went to school in California, in which all the schools are outdoor, there was this tree we ate lunch under.  It was our tree.  During our Princess Bride period we would pass the book around, reading out loud between bites of sandwich, giggling like crazy.  The Princess Bride is like that.  Giggle worthy, and it's a perfect reading out loud book.

The first chapter isn't in the movie at all.  It's there we learn the history of all the beautiful women before Buttercup, and so forth, and that Florin existed before Europe, but after Paris.  And we learn about boys:

"The boys.  The Village boys.  The beef-witted  featherbrained  rattleskulled  clodpated  sim-domed noodle-noggined  sapheaded  lunkknobbed boys." 

My friend Freda had that line memorized and would repeat it on occasion; that's because the line is true.

I seriously recommend everyone read The Princess Bride.  It's a great, fun read.  The movie's great, a lot like the book, only there's more in the book.  And you can see how often I've read it, because the cover fell off!  I've lent it out many times as well.

So if you need a little humor in your life, and a whole lot of literary fun, may I recommend The Princess Bride.

Sarah

Finding a good Book is like finding a good Exercise

I always find it sad whenever I hear someone say they don't like reading; My first thought is they just haven't found the right book, or the right genre.   Not everyone likes Shakespeare or Hemingway.  As I've stated in past blog posts, it was the Star Wars expanded Universe books that got me into reading, and from there I started getting into other series.  There's something for everyone.

And I always find it sad when I hear someone say they don't like to exercise; My immediate thought whenever I hear that is they haven't found the right exercise.  Crazy as it sounds, exercising doesn't have to be a chore!  It can be enjoyable and fun.

On the Shape magazine's website they have an article 20 Super-Fit Chicks Who Don't Run.  Worth poking through, because it's refreshing!  I once thought that in order to get really fit I needed to be good at running.  All the celebrities seem to be doing it: Marathons here, 5k's there, the occasional triathlon.  It's inspiring, but there's a little something that stops me from running: I hate it!

I started training for a 5k last year.  I was motivated!  I had one of those 2 months to a 5k calender keeping me on track, and I actually got through the first month.  Plus I'm competitive and like earning awards and getting free shirts.  The world of 5k's seemed like a perfect fit for me.  The chance at a medal and an expanding wardrobe.  But I just couldn't like running.  

Hiking, on the other hand, is great fun.  Not the right season for it, but I love getting into nature and smelling the woodsy air.  And I love Zumba and Spinning.  Love it so much that it doesn't feel like exercise, even when I feel like I'm about to die.

There are so many great ways to get exercise, and it doesn't have to be the torture chamber we see on The Biggest Loser.  A fun bike ride, a game of tennis, basketball, a walk around the mall, etc.  So many possibilities!  Like finding a good book, there's a perfect exercise for everyone.

. . . and who knows, maybe one day I'll give the 5k another try and end up liking it.

Bauman Rare Books in Las Vegas

So I totally geeked out when I discovered the Bauman Rare Books store at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.  I'm the kind of girl who really isn't into jewelry (I honestly don't understand the appeal of Diamonds), and I'm annoyed with shoe stores (whenever I walk into a shoe store and find cute shoes, I kinda freak out.)  But there is something I do drool over: antique books.  I have a nice, small collection including an 8 volume 1882 set of Charles Dickens books, and a 1904 Edger Allen Poe book of tales. 

Benjamin Franklin is my most favorite American Founding Father.  He's brilliant, smart, witty, and invented a musical instrument.  The store had a first edition Poor Richard's Almanack, and I was allowed to hold it!  I was so afraid to touch the book, the binding and pages are delicate, but it was amazing.  It's cool to think that it was likely Franklin who printed the book in his shop.  At least that's what I imagined when I held the book in my hands.  It was so cool. 

A 1632 edition of William Shakespeare's plays.  I turned to Macbeth, because apparently there's a chance I'm descended from King Duncan, one of the main characters in Macbeth, through his third son. Apparently if you have some clan Robertson in you, that line possibly leads to Duncan, or so I've read, but I'm highly skeptical when it comes to all things genealogical.  Regardless, it's one of my favorite plays.  

And I found writing in the margin!  The worker in the shop didn't know there was writing, so it's cool knowing I discovered it.  Honestly when I collect books, finding writing leads me to generally purchase the book.  It humanizes it; gives the book character and history.  You know someone loved the book before you did.   

A first edition of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.  A book of controversy!  I personally think it's better then Tom Sawyer.

Seeing this first edition of The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White made me smile.  If the title sounds like a Disney movie, it is.  The Disney Film, about Merlin and King Arthur, where Arther turns into animals and so forth, is based on this book.  And it's the first book in the epic, giant The Once and Future King.  If you haven't read this book, you're missing out.

And finally a typewriter Earnest Hemingway used to write portions of The Dangerous Summer, and the typewriter is still functional.  Really cool.

Oh man, I felt like a kid in a candy store.  It felt like a museum!  I was afraid to breath, but boy was I happy being surrounded by history.

Treasures in Old Books

Everyone who knows me knows how much I love books, but one thing people may not know is how much I love collecting antique books.  I don't have a large collection, only a happy little shelf.  One of the things that I love to find in these books are notes, or writtings, names written on the first page, etc.  Anything that gives these old pages a history and character.  Proof that someone loved it before I did.

Cambria California has a book/art gallery called The Bookery.  I've bought a few volumes from them, and quite a few years ago I found this 1904 edition of The Masquerader.  When I was flipping through the pages I found this little note:

"Mary:

Take my advice and go back to Ken.  You are losing

the best thing in life.  You can't tarry too long and get away with it."

Ollie"

I want to know the story behind this letter!  Who are these people?  What happened?  Did Mary take his advice?  When was this written?  Questions I doubt I will ever find the answer to.

The paper seems kinda modern, but there is a bit of yellowing, and Ollie is an old-fashioned name.  How many people do you know use the word "tarry" in casual conversation?  But this is a fun little mystery I've found, and I can't help but imagine what may have come to pass.

Sarah