I'm a Boxer

I've packed my books three times in the last three years.

The first time, all books were carefully cataloged into a spreadsheet and packed according to genre.  Some of the more delicate items were wrapped with brown paper to keep them from shifting.  It was all very deliberate.

The second time, I was still careful, packing books by genre but without the additional packing paper and spreadsheet.  I did dust off a couple of spider webs.

This weekend, Whitman was mixed with Tove Jansson mixed with Kaplan.  I didn't have time to sort and I resisted reading too much before the books went into the boxes (but I still reviewed all my bookmarks aka boarding passes).  I think I've reduced the number of boxes by seven or eight.

Still, I have these, two more boxes of cookbooks, and two shelves yet untouched.  I hope I didn't pack any spiders.

Then there were 19

A Cover Up

As someone who has worked with products which aren't exactly mainstream, I appreciate businesses who find their niche.  "Bibles, Cookbooks and Kid's books" are the top three categories for Ms. McKay's work at The Book Doctor in Dallas.  They repair spines, covers, and a host of other types of damage, including "dog damage."  The work in the gallery photos is really quite amazing.  If your books are feeling spineless, it may be work a look.

Secondhand Love

I've already shared with you that occasionally my books contain the odd boarding pass.  It seems I'm not alone in the habit.  "The Secret Contents of Secondhand Books" by Wayne Gooderham published in The Guardian highlights items discovered in the Skoob Books' warehouse of one million volumes.  (I think we'd lose some members of the GBC for weeks in there if there were reading water.)  My favorites include the tickets and a few postcards (both items personally collected as well).  The last find is unusual anywhere else outside of New Orleans.

In a semi-related note in my rabbit hole journey reading about second hand books, there's also this blog of book dedications.  Though perhaps not technically a dedication, this one had great ap-peal.

Bus-ted

Somewhere in Southeast Alabama is a place that time, but not books have forgotten.

Southeast Alabama
April, 2012

Happy Good Friday.  May you reading time this weekend be plentiful.

Give A Little Bit

In less than two years an idea was conceived and implemented last night to give away one million books. World Book Night had its controversy with concerns that this increased distribution would cause a perception of the reduced value of books. As I have already mentioned, my best and earliest memories were of free books, and I am currently a book purchaser so we have at least one case to dispute this theory.

While hard to find news of how the event turned out due to BBC limitations on US video access, I did find a link from The Guardian discussing the Friday readings in Trafalgar Square.

Another nice read is a list of books from various authors on which titles they would give away and which books have been nice to receive. (Having just finished it, I was pleased to see Great Expectations by Charles Dickens on the list).

Page 30 and Page 11

I don’t use bookmarks when I read. I started this habit in an effort to try to keep my mind stimulated, somewhat akin to working a crossword puzzle but without the newspaper and pen or a laptop/PDA. (Yes, I do use a pen rather than a pencil). I try to commit to memory the page number of my last page read. I am not particularly bound to a routine of stopping at a chapter’s end, especially when reading just before sleep. Occasionally, this practice will create a small problem if I cannot remember my stopping point, and I may re-read a page (or several) to find my spot. I think this makes reading more of an adventure and if I am not able to recall the page, perhaps I need a refresher on the plot?

It is true that if you borrow a book from me, you are likely to find airline check-in stubs at various points, but these were not placeholders. The book merely provided a convenient filing spot at the time of reading. I do like the non-traditional bookmarks such as a receipt, a ribbon or a string, but I would rather not be tied to using one.