A Few Quotes from Books about Books and Libraries and Reading that I Like

Portrait of Maria Zambaco by Edward Byrne-Jones (1870)

“We are rare and we are weird…there is nothing you can do to change us…Really, don’t try. We are so happy, in our own way…Be glad of all the benefits it will bring, rather than lamenting all the fresh air avoided, the friendships not made, the exercise not taken, the body of rewarding and potentially lucrative activities, hobbies, and skills not developed. Leave us be. We’re fine. More than fine. Reading’s our thing.”― Lucy Mangan, Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading

The Station of Saint-Lazar by Edouard Manet (1873)

“Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul.”― Joyce Carol Oates

John Keats by Joseph Severn (1821)

“We read to know we're not alone.”― William Nicholson, Shadowlands: A Play

Portrait of Duranty by Edgar Degas (1879)

“It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.” ― James Baldwin

Bookworm by Karl Spitzweg (1850)

“I still find libraries astonishing; I still think they speak to our better instincts. The library remains one of the few places in the world where you don’t have to buy anything, know anyone, or believe anything to enter in.”― Katherine Rundell

In the Bookshop by Viktor Vasnetsov (1876)

“There's always a story. It's all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything's got a story in it. Change the story, change the world.”― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

Reading Girl by Gustav Adolph Hennig (1828)

“It's the secret we never, ever tell our children. No adult ever read a book because it's good for us. We read because it is fun.”― Jacqueline French

The Girl Reading a Book by Jean Honoré Fragonard (1776)

“The main effort of arranging your life should be to progressively reduce the amount of time required to decently maintain yourself so that you can have all the time you want for reading.”― Norman Rush

Reading a Storybook by James Tissot (1878-79)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.      

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Friday Book Friends: Book Beginnings on Fridays, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop... I've been intending to join these fun book memes for many years, and I finally got around to trying these out on Fridays in December.  I plan to continue participating in 2023.

Today's Featured Book 

 Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries 

by Heather Fawcett

Genre: Fantasy

Published: January 10, 2023

Page Count: 320 pages

Summary: 

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party—or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, muddle Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

"Shadow is not at all happy with me. He lies by the fire while the chill wind rattles the door, tail inert, staring out from beneath that shaggy forelock of his with the sort of accusatory resignation peculiar to dogs, as if to say: Of all the stupid adventures you've dragged me on, this will surely be the death of us. I fear I have to agree, though this makes me no less eager to begin my research."

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Freda's Voice and visit others in the linky. 

"For the first time, he looked at me as if I had surprised him. I guess he'd never had much reason to bargain with mortals when he could simply sing them senseless and then drain their hearts dry."

The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.    

February 3rd - 9th - What was your favorite genre to read as a child? Do you still read that genre, or do you read something else now? (submitted by Mark @ Carstairs Considers)

Magical stories! 

Edward Eager's books, 

like Half Magic and The Time Garden and Magic by the Lake.

A Wrinkle in Time.

Fairy tales.

I loved magical stories when I was a kid.

I still love them,

but I have a hard time finding them now that I'm a grownup.

☂ Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life ☂ by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Today's Featured Book 

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Genre: Memoir

Published: January 25, 2005

Page Count: 240 pages

Summary: 

How do you conjure a life? Give the truest account of what you saw, felt, learned, loved, strived for? 

For Amy Krouse Rosenthal, the surprising answer came in the form of an encyclopedia. In Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life,  she has ingeniously adapted this centuries-old format for conveying knowledge into a poignant, wise, often funny, fully realized memoir.
 
Using mostly short entries organized from A to Z, many of which are cross-referenced, Rosenthal captures in wonderful and episodic detail the moments, observations, and emotions that comprise a contemporary life. Start anywhere—preferably at the beginning—and see how one young woman’s alphabetized existence can open up and define the world in new and unexpected ways.
 
An ordinary life, perhaps, but an extraordinary book.

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

"I was not abused, abandoned, or locked up as a child. My parents were not alcoholics, nor were they ever divorced or dead. We did not live in poverty, or in misery, or in an exotic country. I am not a misunderstood genius, a former child celebrity, or the child of a celebrity. I am not a drug addict, sex addict, food addict, or recovered anything. If I indeed had a past life, I have no recollection of who I was. 

I have not survived against all odds.

I have not lived to tell.

I have not witnessed the extraordinary.

This is my story.

                                                        ---Amy Krouse Rosenthal, age 39

                                                                                                Chicago

                                                                                             June 2004"

                                                          

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Freda's Voice and visit others in the linky. 

My Review of Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life

REVIEW

I've read and reviewed 6,846 books at Goodreads (as of today) and this book is probably #13 or #14 on my list of my very favorite reads ever. I'd give it ten zillion ✩✩✩✩✩✩✩s, if I could. Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life is a memoir, and it's a kind of a picture book for grownups, and it's a history book for those of us of-a-certain-age, and it's a book that is full of Very Wise Thoughts. 

Amy was actually the Goddess of Creativity...Creativity dripped out of her fingers every time she wrote and it spilled out of her mouth every time she spoke and it surged from her body every time she moved. 

"Make the most of your time here," she told us, almost as if she knew something was in route for her before the doctors did.

So, okay, this isn't much of a review, but, hey, I honestly just lead a rather ordinary life myself. Still, I'd urge you to grab a bit of that life-force that was AKR and read this book. And then watch her little TED talks and view her little videos and you might even read her picture books. And then GO...GO AND MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME HERE.

 

A Little More About Amy Krouse Rosenthal...

Amy died in 2017. She was 51. She had ovarian cancer. She wrote lots of my favorite books including Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life for grownups, but she also wrote lots of my favorite books for children including Little Pea and Yes Day. She also created lots of wonderful interactive celebrations (take a look at some here). I was delighted to meet her several times at author events. Here is the last photo I took of her. She was autographing her most recent book, Textbook Amy Rosenthal:

The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.    

January 27th - Feb. 2nd - Do you prefer to read in a quiet or noisy setting? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

That's easy.....VERY, VERY, VERY QUIET. Please do not come into the room and disturb me. There should be no sounds coming from the tv or computer. QUIET. COMPLETELY QUIET.

A Poem a Day: "The Orange"

"Every day is a fresh beginning,

Listen my soul to the glad refrain.

And, spite of old sorrows

Troubles forecasted

And possible pain,

Take heart with the day and begin again..."

                                    ---Susan Coolidge

I decided to celebrate 2023 by starting the day with a poem. 

I read fast. You may know that about me, but you may not know that I like reading fast. But sometimes I do not. 

"At last the secret is out, as it always must come in the end,

The delicious story is ripe to tell to the intimate friend;

Over the tea-cups and in the square the tongue has its desire;

Still waters run deep, my dear, there’s never smoke without fire.

Behind the corpse in the reservoir, behind the ghost on the links,

Behind the lady who dances and the man who madly drinks,

Under the look of fatigue, the attack of migraine and the sigh

There is always another story, there is more than meets the eye..."

                                                                    ---W. H. Auden

Poetry slows me. Poetry makes me zoom in on each word. Poetry entices me to read, and then read again.

"Lying, thinking

Last night

How to find my soul a home

Where water is not thirsty

And bread loaf is not stone

I came up with one thing

And I don't believe I'm wrong

That nobody,

But nobody

Can make it out here alone

Alone, all alone,

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone..."

                                    ---Maya Angelou

There are no cheap words in poetry, no thoughtless spurt of too-sweet icing a-top. Every word counts. 

"When I am an old, old woman I may very well

be living all alone like many another before me

and I rather look forward to the day when I shall have

a tumbledown house on a hill top and behave

just as I wish to. No more need to be proud—

at the tag end of life one is at last allowed

to be answerable to no one. Then I shall wear

a shapeless felt hat clapped on over my white hair,

sneakers with holes for the toes, and a ragged dress..."

                                            ---Kate Barnes

So, then, a poem-ful adventure for the year...

I've compiled my own selection of poems in a Google Doc which I then transformed, after much experimenting, into a little ebook of poems. You might like to take a look here.  

It seems right that I should end this post with a poem, a favorite, "The Orange." Wendy Cope, I hope you will forgive me for sharing it in its entirety. It is, after all, my favorite.

The Orange

"At lunchtime I bought a huge orange

The size of it made us all laugh.

I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave—

They got quarters and I had a half.

And that orange it made me so happy,

As ordinary things often do

Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park

This is peace and contentment. It's new.

The rest of the day was quite easy.

I did all my jobs on my list

And enjoyed them and had some time over.

I love you. I'm glad I exist."

                                    ---Wendy Cope

Hey, you, go read some poetry today.

For more photos, link up at Wordless Wednesday, Comedy Plus, Messymimi's Meanderings, Keith's Ramblings, Create With Joy, Amanda's Books and More, and My Corner of the World.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered, or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative! It was first created by Kathy over at Bermuda Onion and is now hosted at Elza Reads.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

I've been intending to join into these fun book memes for many years, and I've finally got around to trying these out on Fridays in December. I plan to continue participating in 2023.

Today's Featured Book... 

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Genre: Fiction

Published: November 30, 2021

Page Count: 128 pages

Summary: 

It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church. 

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

"In October there were yellow trees. Then the clocks went back the hour and the long November winds came in and blew, and stripped the trees bare. In the town of New Ross, chimneys threw out smoke which fell away and drifted off in hairy, drawn-out strings before dispersing along the quays, and soon the River Barrow, dark as stout, swelled up with rain.

The people, for the most part, unhappily endured the weather: shop-keepers and tradesmen, men and women in the post office and the dole queue, the mart, the coffee shop and supermarket, the bingo hall, the pubs and the chipper all commented, in their own ways, on the cold and what rain had fallen, asking what was in it---and could there be something in it---for who could believe that there, again, was another raw-cold day? Children pulled their hoods up before facing out to school, while their mothers, so used now to ducking their heads and running to the clothesline, or hardly daring to hang anything out at all, had little faith in getting so much as a shirt dry before evening. And then the nights came on and the frosts took hold again, and the blades of cold slid under doors and cut the knees off those who still knelt to say the rosary."

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Freda's Voice and visit others in the linky. 

"The girl stood in a type of trance, and had begun to shake.

'Come on in,' the Mother Superior told him. 'We'll make tea. This is a terrible business.'

'Ah, I'll not,' Furlong stepped back---as though the step could take him back into the time before this.

'You'll come in,' she said. "I'll not have it otherwise.'"

The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.    

January 20th - 26th - Do you use social media to keep up with your favorite authors? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

I try. 

Writers quickly join social media, like FB and Twitter and IG, but they just as quickly seem to abandon it. 

I back off from social media that seems largely mean-spirited and/or a time-waste, too. 

I tend to gravitate to my blog where the community is gentler and kinder.