Say Her Name by Francisco Goldman

This is a novel that chronicles the relationship of Francisco Goldman and his wife Aura Estrada, who died a month before their second anniversary.  Goldman explores the relationship, and tries to capture her essence--and in the process work out his grief and loss.  Goldman was more than 27 years her senior, so he is also mourning who she might have become and the family they might have created.  The book is at times tender, angry, remorseful, and passionate.  Because it is set in a fictional framework, Goldman can fictionalize some details and more freely explore the truth...at least, that's the author's rationale for presenting it this way.  Though at times I found the book a bit self-serving, there is a raw truth embedded here and if you have ever loved somebody wholeheartedly and then had to lose them in a tragic way I'm sure you can relate to some of the feelings Goldman articulates.  I had a problem (as a woman) in relating to some of the paths Goldman took in exorcising his grief...but you read it and see what you think. 

The 20 most beautiful bookstores in the world

Next to a library, the bookstore is one of my favorite places to hang out.  Here, courtesy of Flavorwire, are some really nice representations.

Stephen King's home in Bangor Maine

Sort of looks like it should be Stephen's home too, doesn't it?

Oh, wow. Just wow. Moby Dick typed on toilet paper!

Ebay user Heppcat has offered this up for auction.  There are four full rolls, one roll (epilogue) is about 1/5 of a roll and one half-roll. All of the rolls of tp came out of a brand new — clean — package of 2-ply cottonelle. They’ve been handled very gingerly and infrequently.  Bidding starts at $399.95

A Whale of a Bookshelf

This bookshelf is from young designer Justin Southey. You can store books in the belly of the whale and then swim him around the room on the casters.  Southey is a designer and illustrator living in South Africa. His nautical bookshelf doesn't currently appear to be available for purchase, but we can dream, can't we?

Everything you need

Mary Anning was a fossil hunter who discovered the first complete pterodactyl (now called a pterosaur) in Great Britain, as well as specimens of ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs.  She was a common working class girl who got to meet some of the top scientists of the time.  Remarkable creatures is a remarkable book about Mary Anning and her friendship with an upper class lady named Elizabeth Philpot, who collected fossils of fish.  But it is so much more than just a story about friendship.  It is a story about two women who are trapped within the confines and expectations of the time they live in, a time where women don't have the freedoms that we experience today; a time when women had to fight to be recognized outside of certain prescribed parameters.  It is the story of passion played out in life and the delicate balance between loyalty, appreciation, and envy. 

Funny library montage

Says it all

Joy of Books

A friend of mine called my attention to this and it was just too good not to share.

Nice quote

This quote came from an e-mail newsletter from a bookstore:

"People hold books in a special way--like they hold nothing else.   They hold them not like inanimate things but like ones that have gone to sleep. Children often carry toys in the same manner.  I don't hold my e-reader that special way; it's just a tool, maybe even a toy. My home is engulfed in traditional books, which I do handle with care. There's room for both. All part of the adaptation process."

More book art

The erosion of cultures and of "culture" as a whole is the theme that runs through Guy Laramee's art. We are currently told that the paper book is bound to die and that the library as a place is finished.  Will new technology really change anything concerning our human condition?  Explore one artist's fascinating contemplation concerning this topic.

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

This book was written in 1982, and twenty-five years later found its way to the London stage.  It was an astonishing piece of theater, featuring some unique life size stage horses.

After Kathleen Kennedy saw the London play, she told Steven Spielberg, who bought the rights to the book, and directed the film that was released on Christmas day.

Spielberg's film adaptation was beautifully done.  The cinematography is incredible and the film is full of shots that look like they came right out of a fine painting.  Spielberg's visuals and the musical score by John Williams was the perfect pairing.  Not surprisingly, it is an emotional, sentimental, and heart warming movie.  The acting is superb (especially by the young man who plays Albert, Jeremy Irvine).  The brutality and universal suffering of war is clearly shown, and the film is a tribute to honest emotionally direct storytelling.

Michael Morpurgo is an award winning children's author, poet, and playwright, who has written over 100 books.  Through the eyes of the war horse, Joey, Morpurgo tells a moving and powerful story.  Joey tells his story from the beginning of his life on the farm with Albert through his involvement in the First World War.  Surrounded by violence and loss, he just tries to survive.  A red bay horse actually existed back in 1914 and was painted by a Captain James Nicholls in autumn of that same year.  That's where the inspiration for this book came from.  In World War I, over six million horses died.  The human death toll was estimated at fifteen million.

Read the book, then see the film, and if you get a chance--experience the stage play. 

Then Again by Diane Keaton

Then Again is Diane Keaton's memoir about her Mother and herself.  If you know Diane Keaton only as the actress who starred in many memorable movies over the years (Annie Hall, the Godfather trilogy, Reds, etc.), this book will give you a glimpse into her family life and personal life.  Her mother was perhaps the most formidable influence in her life and Diane writes about their bond with great candor.  Her mother kept 85 journals (literally thousands of pages) in which she wrote about her marriage, her children, and herself and Diane has used these to paint a portrait of her mother that is unflinching in its honesty.  Diane's mother was an intellectual with restless and creative energy who struggled to find an outlet for her talents.  Diane wonders openly in the book what would have happened to her own dreams of being in the spotlight, if her mother's had been realized. 



Warm, funny, and self-deprecating, it's a marvelous little book about family--those people you love and who love you.

The Book Surgeon

Using knives, tweezers and surgical tools, Brian Dettmer carves one page at a time. Nothing inside the out-of-date encyclopedias, medical journals, illustration books, or dictionaries is relocated or implanted, only removed.

Happy New Year

Book Art by A_Ferrari

An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo



An Elephant in the Garden is inspired by historical fact (click here) and by the author's admiration for an animal he calls "the noblest and wisest, and most sensitive of all creatures."  It is a story that brings together an unlikely group of survivors whose faith in kindness and love proves the best weapon of all.

The bombing of Dresden looms and Lizzie's mother, a zookeeper, persuades the zoo director to allow Marlene, a young elephant that has bonded with Lizzie and her younger brother, Karl, to be kept safe in their garden.  Their home is destroyed when bombs are dropped, so the family and Marlene have no choice but to flee with thousands of others in the dead of winter.  This is the story of how they walked and kept themselves safe from approaching Russian soldiers.

It is a heartwarming narrative, with a calm and steady tone that engages the reader and builds in intensity as the story unfolds.  You will be drawn into this tale of survival and its thought provoking and poignant exploration of the terrible impact of war on both sides of the fighting.  Michael Morpurgo also wrote War Horse, which was made into a film Directed by Steven Spielberg being released on Christmas day.

And another inspiration for this lovely book was of course the elephants themselves.  If you love elephants (like I do), you may be interested in this link to another story about elephants during World War II--a very sad story indeed--and this link to one of my all time favorite books about elephants, that I discovered in a used bookstore in Chicago many years ago. 

The Future of Printed Books

Thanks to Wired, the next time someone asks me about ebooks killing off the print book, I've got my response all formulated.

The Hunger Games

Okay, if you still haven't read this trilogy, you've got time.  Here's the movie trailer to whet your appetite.

Dewey Decimal Rap

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Fifty-year-old Alice Howland, a Harvard professor of cognitive psychology, is at the top of her game.  Her kids are grown, her marriage secure, her career on fire, when--after mere months of forgetfulness--she finds herself in the rapidly downward spiral of early onset Alzheimer's disease.  With no cure or treatment, Alice struggles to find meaning and purpose in her everyday life as her concept of self slips away.  Without memory or hope, she is forced to live in the moment, which is in turns beautiful, terrifying, and maddening.

The author, Lisa Genova, is a first-time author who holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University.  She is a member of the Dementia Advocacy, Support Network International and DementiaUSA and is an online columnist for the National Alzheimer's association. She lives with her husband and two children in Cape Cod.

This book was an uncomfortable read for me because my great grandmother had memory issues, my grandmother had them, and my mother (who just turned 80) is starting to experience some difficulty.  Apparently, this runs in the women in my family, so of course is of great concern to me.  Just because there is a strong genetic linkage, it doesn't mean that I will inherit the disorder, but obviously it is of concern to me.

This book is important for several reasons.  First and foremost, the glimpse we get into what it is like for the patient going through this long dark season (we see what it is like to literally lose your mind); and the differing points of view concerning what it is like to deal with a loved one who is deteriorating right in front of your eyes.  It is haunting, heartbreaking, and frightening.  Perhaps the scariest thing for me was losing your language capability.  That would be the hardest thing for me to bear in the whole horrible process.

There is a touching passage in the book where she talks about how she used to be..."I used to know how the mind handled language, and I could communicate what I knew.  I used to be someone who knew a lot.  No one asks for my opinion or advice anymore.  I miss that.  I used to be curious and independent and confident.  I miss being sure of things.  There's no peace in being unsure of everything all the time.  I miss doing everything easily.  I miss being a part of what's happening.  I miss feeling wanted.  I miss my life and my family.  I loved my life and family."

I highly recommend this book.  Even if you are lucky enough to have never been touched by this dread disease, you will gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the toll it exacts.