Blog Schedule

I post on Monday with an occasional random blog thrown in for good measure. I do my best to answer all comments via email and visit around on the days I post.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

B is for Books and Blogfest

First of all I must thank everyone who commented yesterday and who decided to follow my blog. I am truly honored and humbled.

Now on to the next letter!


BOOK comes to us from the Old English boc and is akin to the Old High German bouh. The Old English boc means "beech," probably from the early Germanic practice of carving runic characters onto beechwood tablets. Cool.

This is my bookshelf. On it/in it, is a 1912 set of Junior Classics, The Enchanted World Time-Life Books series, a 1917 edition of Grimm Brother's fairy tales called Little Brother and Little Sister. It is illustrated by Arthur Rackham. You can also find other books about fairies, gnomes and magical creatures, along side Oscar Wilde and The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara Walker. There's the Tibetan Book of the Dead and The Golden Bough, Winnie-the-Pooh, The Cat in the Hat, and The Neverending Story. Here also is my small collection of books about the Virgin Islands, Leaves of Grass, The Hive and the Honey Bee, Chronology of the Ancient World and so many more.

Many of these books I inherited or were given to me. Many I've had since childhood. All of them say something about me. They tell you not only what I'm interested in, but what I like to read and what I value. They give you some idea of who I am. They are clues to my personality.



Cicero said, A room without books is like a body without a soul.

I couldn't agree more. I have been in homes that are barren of books. Homes like that make me uneasy.

I come away feeling odd, out of sorts, realizing I know very little about the people who inhabit that space. I come away thinking either they are hiding themselves or that they are ignorant, incurious, or worse, don't care.

B is for books. Oxygen filled blood for the brain.

What do your books say about you as a person, a writer, a reader?





B is also for blogfest as in Vicki Rocho's Memory Lane Blogfest over at Rambles and Randomness. She is celebrating one year of blogging and has asked us to answer these questions.

1. When did you start your blog? October 29, 2007
2. What is first denomination (price) of postage stamp you remember? Three and four cents
3. How old were you when you learned to ride a bike? I was eight. My sister taught me.
4. What was the 1st concert you attended without parental supervision? I was like 23 when I went to my first concert and saw Seals and Crofts!
5. How old were you when you got your first kiss? Oh gosh, I was 14 and it is one of my most embarrassing moments….would be excellent fodder for a scene in a novel.
6. What is your earliest memory? Watching a news clip of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. I was just shy of three years old.

45 comments:

  1. I feel the same way when I'm in a home without books. I get downright nervous, the way I do in an ICU room.

    I just joined the A to Z Challenge today. Shouldn't be a big challenge; I love to blog (perhaps too much!).

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  2. hehe oh the first kiss. I remember the boy had red iceblock stain around his mouth and I thought yuck. :o)

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  3. My shelves, storage containers, available surfaces are full of history, murder mysteries, genealogy, hubbies old childrens books, alternative medicine, maeve binchey, old family bibles, decorating.....and odds and sods. I can't imagine life without books. Shudder.

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  4. Wow 3 cents for a stamp! How nice that must've been. :)

    Great to learn more about you.

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  5. I love your bookshelf. I would definitely be raiding it if I were your neighbor.

    3 cents for stamps really? How things have changed.


    Dafeenah

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  6. Great bookshelf! Hmm, I guess my books would say that I buy too many??? :o)

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  7. I love your bookshelf and am now a new follower!

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  8. It's always fun to peek in on other's book shelves. Thank for the peek. You have a wonderfully varied collection.
    Manzanita
    Wanna buy a duck

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  9. Oh, how I'd love to dig around and lose myself in the books on your shelves! What a fabulous selection from which to choose. :o) We seem to have the same taste in book choices. Loved this 'B' post.

    Visiting from the A to Z challenge. Happy Saturday! :o)

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  10. Great post! And I love your blogfest answers. Would have loved to watch Queen Elizabeth's coronation, but my parents procrastinated too long, LOL!

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  11. I can't imagine a home without lots of books. It would be a motel room.
    Jan Morrison

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  12. WE moved a few years back from an apartment. I had to give up a lot of my bookshelves before that, times were tough, so most of my books are in boxes in the garage. All the necessary ones for writing are in my office.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium.

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  13. I love the Cicero quote. It is true of our house--books in every single room!

    How cool to have seen Elizabeth's coronation! My oldest brother was alive then (he's enough older than me to be my dad)--wonder if he remembers?

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  14. Ahh, I love Cicero's quote about books; truly beleive that one!

    :)
    Happy A to Z!

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  15. Loved your bookshelf.. I had always wanted to have one :) some time..some day!

    Followed you from A-z challenge :)

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  16. Awesome post, lots of good info and you even managed to work another blogfest into it. ;). I already follow your blog though ;).

    bethfred.com

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  17. wow -- I'm trying to think if I remember any homes without books. I've probably stepped foot in them, but didn't realize it because I didn't know the people well enough. The people I know do books!

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  18. awesome entry! And I love the questions. It's fun getting to know my blog buddies in a new way. :0)

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  19. I can NOT walk past a book store, library or yard sale without looking for new books. If I lose one, I MUST replace it as soon as possible. Every genre fills my bookshelves. It's an obsession!

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  20. I completely agree with you about homes without books! They make me suspicious of its inhabitants. Like you wrote, I worry that they just don't care.

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  21. Nice bookshelf but where are the others. I'll bet you have some more, there isn't a room in our house with book shelves in it.

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  22. I know what you mean about books.

    Even two or three lying around sets me at ease.

    :-)

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  23. I have TONS of children's books gracing my shelves so I guess you could say I'm just a big kid!

    Great post!

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  24. A house without books! Awful!
    My books say I have eclectic tastes. I have bookshelves in my home office--professional books--in my office waiting room--children's books--in the guest room--trade paperbacks, both fiction and non-fiction--in my study--writing books, books from childhood, romance novels (I used to write them), travel, non-fiction--and in the living room all my hardbacks. Hope you'll stop by my B post at www.widowsphere.blogspot.com

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  25. I enjoy getting a glimpse of other people's bookshelves. I can't imagine a world without books.

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  26. I am stopping by and now following you site. Books are my friends, i indulge myself in the comfort of their pages, I share the hopes, fears, laughter and tears of the characters, when I need to escape they are my safe haven.

    Being published is a dream I am now living. i do hope you find a moment to stop by here:

    http://sooozsaysstuff.blogspot.com/2011/04/a-z-challenge-day-3-c-crocodile-with.html

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  27. my sister taught me to ride a bike as well!!!! and WOW! you've been blogging for some time, huh!?!? :)

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  28. Happy B-day. I'm a new follower from the A-Z Challenge - nice to meet you! :)

    www.margokelly.blogspot.com

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  29. Wow, you have a great memory. You remember the coronation? Cool.
    Edge of Your Seat Romance

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  30. 1. When did you start your blog? Which one? I started blogging in 1996, I think.

    2. What is first denomination (price) of postage stamp you remember? Ten cents for a letter, two or three for a postcard, I think.

    3. How old were you when you learned to ride a bike? I don't remember! Probably about six or seven.

    4. What was the 1st concert you attended without parental supervision? Boston in Clear Lake, Florida. I was about 15 at the time; traveled about three hours across the state with three friends. I DID have their permission, though!

    5. How old were you when you got your first kiss? Twelve? Do those really even count?

    6. What is your earliest memory? Getting a gold pen on a chain from a waitress. My mom swears I was only seven months old. I have my doubts - it's a vivid, visual memory, though, and I know I was quite young. I remember an Easter Egg tree from when I was three.

    Fun blog stop! I am enjoying reading everyone's take on the letter "B"



    Holly Jahangiri

    It's All a Matter of Perspective

    This year, it's personal - I'm now a "survivor." Please give to Relay for Life.

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  31. Really enjoyed the photo of your bookshelf and a brief glimpse of some of the titles there. The Arthur Rackham-illustrated fairy tales sounds heavenly.

    A few titles on my shelf:
    On the Road by Jack Kerouac
    March by Geraldine Brooks
    Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
    Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny
    Tempting Fate by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

    A Piece of My Mind

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  32. I so agree I am always at a loss for words when someone tells me they do not read. I become immediately bored with them.

    http://www.doreenmcgettigan.com

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  33. Yes lovely post about books. I have a similar bookshelf to yours but with of course, different types of books which show who I am. Lovely quote from Cicero as well!

    Duncan In Kuantan

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  34. Love that quote! I feel so comforted when I'm surrounded by books. The lack of books stresses me out!

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  35. Children and adults should be surrounded by books. Fascinating facts the origin of books.


    Grandpa
    Life on The Farm

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  36. Visiting from the A-Z Blogging Challenge. Nice to "meet" you! I'm a new follower. Have a great Sunday and a fun A-Z April :-)

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  37. Oh Bish! That first kiss thing grossed me out, but I noticed the boy left smiling. UGH!

    And YAY for books. The Horace Mann (I think) quote comes to mind. A house with books is like a room without windows.

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  38. I have books all over my house. I would feel so empty without them.

    I went to see Seals and Crofts in the early 70s before they had become very popular. It was a great concert.


    Contrary to my usual practice of subscribing to comments, to save time during challenge I will not be doing so during April. If you want to respond to my comment , please email me directly from your email notification for the comment.
    Thanks.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out
    Twitter hashtag: #atozchallenge

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  39. I have to say the US Virgin Islands are one of my most favorite places on earth. I have dreams of moving there!

    You have me intruigued about your first kiss AND most embarrasing moment.

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  40. My husband and I love that Cicero quote so much, we named a cat after the orator...that and because he meowed and meowed. Great post!

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  41. With all the books on my shelves around my house, I think you'd get to know me too well! :-)

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  42. Visiting from the A-Z Challenge. I remember Cicero saying that on our last date -- that's how long I've been reading books. Love them and hope they're in Heaven. (That's on the assumption I'm going there!)

    Come visit when you can at:
    http://www.mainstreamsolarcooking.com
    http://rockingchairreflections.blogspot.com (A-Z)

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  43. wow, you have an eclectic collection of books

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  44. I actually did not know the origin of the word 'book,' so thank you for that. Also, the have a book of The Neverending Story? It would be sweet if they had one like the book in the movie with the Orin on the front.

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