Ahead of schedule!

Apparently some folks are making it a goal to read one book a week.  A noble goal - I suspect I exceed that goal every year, since I'm known for reading when I ought to be doing other things.

So I wrote down all the books I've read this year - which is pretty easy for me to do also, since I've either blogged that I read it or it's in my Kindle library!!

And with finishing Back When We Were Grownups I have read 10 books in 2015 - since there have only been 8 weeks in the year so far, I am ahead of the game.

The novel - another one by fave author Anne Tyler - was slow starting, but by the time I finished, I was enjoying it.  The main character had lots of qualities I could identify with.  And she was the caretaker of assorted children, stepchildren, and grandchildren.  She also took care of her almost 100 year old father-in-law - and his 100th birthday party was the culminating event in the story.

Some Anne Tyler books are better than others.  But this one was an enjoyable read.

 

A little bedtime reading

 Porter, Harry W., and Isla have been here since Thursday.  And I had assumed that only Isla would want to be read to, but I was wrong.  Harry W. was interested too, and often Porter would sidle in!

I have gotten rid of a lot of my picture books - gotten rid of in the sense that I have found new homes for them!!  But there are still some old faves on the shelves.

 

Isla was sure this would be "boring" but changed her mind!

 

This one she emphatically declared boring, but Harry W. didn't agree with her.

 

And Porter and Dad came in to see what all the laughter was about as I read this one tonight.

I love a good picture book - and I love reading them to kids.

I need to get my "Little Free Library" up and running!!

And maybe I need to become familiar with some of the new titles out there too!!

My Own Little Free Library

Perhaps you are familiar with the Little Free Library concept.  Or perhaps you are not.  But I love the idea of it - and I love all the Little Free Libraries I see in town - or I read about in the LA Times - or see on the website. There was one near Hannah's place in DC, and Theo and Ida loved stopping and getting a book.  There was one in their neighborhood in VA too - and I found a book I really enjoyed reading when I was there last summer.  The possibilities are endless.

Harry and Dawn have one - and I confess I have coveted it!  I guess I coveted it so well that they got the message and gave me my own Little Free Library for Christmas - Bonny was part of the gift too!

Now I am really excited to get it up and running - heaven knows I have plenty of books to spare!!  I have the spot picked out - and Harry is on board - I just need to nudge him in the direction of getting it set up so I can start playing Madame Librarian!!

I plan to set it up on the curb north of our driveway - it's a barren little spot, so I feel that a bench would be in order too.  I thought I had an old wrought iron bench behind the garage that could have been spruced up, but apparently in a fit of purging I got rid of it.

Oh well, now I'll just have to get a new one.

I also need to name my  Little Free Library - Harry and Dawn's is "The Lemon Avenue Library."  I'm thinking and brainstorming - suggestions are welcome.

Watch for updates!!

And stop by for a book if you're in town!

Some pre-boarding thoughts!

This photo has nothing to do with the post. But Karl says you need photos or posts get boring. The photo is of my collection of books to give away or sell. I'm leaving them out - maybe while I'm gone, Harry will figure out how to exchange them for cash!!

What I wanted to share was a quote we used in our Ward Conference presentations for the last 5 months - we did one a month since February. I'm glad to be finished. But it took all that time for this quote to really have an impact on me.

Chieko Okazaki, former counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency, said, "Remember, the goal of faith is not a problem-free life; the goal of faith is salvation."

I think we should all memorize it, and repeat it to ourselves often.

A love of books!

It is amazing to me to reflect upon the large numbers of books that we go through in our household. As a child, we had the scriptures, a set of World Book Encyclopedia, and a collection of Andersen fairy tales and the Brothers Grimm. I distinctly remember the year I was eleven or twelve, and I received a book for Christmas. Books were at school. Books were in the library. Books were not on our shelves.

The traveling library came every other Friday. During the school year it came to the school. In the summer time, it came to the gas station on the corner of White Oak and Chatsworth. Alice and I took the wagon - we could each check out 12 books - by the time the two weeks was up, Alice and I had each read all 24 books and were eager for more.

I'm not sure when I started acquiring books. Of course in college I had textbooks, and as an English major, I had lots of other books to buy too. Soon I was buying books that weren't required. After Harry and I were married, nearly every gift we gave each other was some kind of book.

And it has mushroomed from there. Now there are just too many books. Some of my books are like old friends - I just like to check in with them every now and then!!

So we are purging - and this box is destined for the Friends of the Library. But I keep buying them too - that's a habit I need to break. Maybe once I retire.

That can be my goal!!

If you know a book I own and you'd like to have it, just ask!! I'll even mail it to you!!

"There is no frigate like a book . . ."

I love books. I love reading. I love libraries and books stores. I have spent many happy hours browsing in library stacks and bookstores.

But a few years ago, when I discovered Amazon.com and used books therein, I started buying used books. And I don't spend much time in bookstores anymore. And even though Monrovia boasts a beautiful new library, I hardly spend any time there either.

But mostly, I now have far too many books. Even though I "purge" my own shelves on a regular basis, I still have too many books. And far too many of them are second rate. Or I haven't even gotten around to reading them.

Last week I read an article in Sunset magazine about a family that has taken recycling to almost the ultimate end - among other things, they take glass jars and cloth sacks to the market and don't buy anything that comes in packages, they get compostable toothbrushes from Australia, and they don't own any books - all their books come from the library.

Well, that is too extreme for me. But it got me thinking that since my over-arching goal for the new year is to simplify my life, it might be prudent for me to get back into the library habit. Or get back into the habit of borrowing books from other people. Or if I'm going to buy books, buy them from a used book store that will buy them back from you!! (and we have one just 5 minutes from our house!!)

Right now I am reading a very good book - On Gold Mountain by Lisa See - that a man at church handed it to me one Sunday - his wife and I often discuss books - and so I started reading it. It's a memoir about Ms. See's family and their life in California - most particularly Los Angeles and Chinatown.

I would say I'm off to a good start!