Mugged

I love these literary-inspired mugs from Anthropologie. I've already bought some as birthday gifts for a few of my friends. I would fill one of these with Earl Grey and nestle down with a good biography.

"A novel idea."

One of my favorite things about books is that they are inspiring before you even open them. And even if you don't open them at all. The special feeling one gets from books can be, and has been, translated into a style that emanates "book." It's hard to explain why. But J. Crew does an excellent job of replicating this feeling with their fall collections, particularly this year. As part of their store displays they even have stacks of books, rows of books lined up on shelves. I received their catalog yesterday and found books hidden in many of the pages. They even suggest a visit to their vintage book store, which is now part of the J. Crew men's shop in SOHO. Books are a lifestyle, something to strive for. More on this subject at a later date.

Cookbooks

The shelf full of cookbooks in the kitchen.

I've found that I've never needed these when a special occasion was not approaching, and especially not when, like the past few days, the rest of the family has been absent. I've been following Michael Pollan's words: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Happy August!

In light of my last post and the beginning of a new month, I give you Men of August, Book 1:


Marly's Choice, by Lora Leigh.

Find it at Amazon.com.

The Romance Section

A covert snapshot of the romance novels on sale at CVS pharmacy.

I don't claim to be an expert on romance literature; I can't say I've read even one romance novel. The industry, however, and subsequently the the romance of section of book stores, fascinates me.

I can definitely see the appeal of the romance novel - scenes from romantic and sexual fantasies that don't carry the same stigma as pornography, plus the added intellectual stimulation of reading - but that doesn't keep me from finding it amusing. I, too, enjoy the steamy scenes that crop up in the books I read. But they are rarely as amusing as 250 pages of "pulsating members" and "savage highlanders."

A few of my friends and I have taken to browsing the romance section in Borders Bookstore, and we've noticed a number of trends. Here's a list of what we've noticed:

-American Indians
-rich, married (unavailable) men
-rich men in general
-highlanders
-vampires
-inexperienced young women
-foreigners

Maybe I shouldn't be, but I was surprised to see that when you search for "romance" on the Borders website, you are answered with almost 16,000 matches.

The Marquis Literary Magazine

The Marquis Literary Magazine, Spring 2007, Vol. 29 No. 2

Going through a pile of things on my crowded desk I came across this, the Spring 2007 issue of Lafayette College's literary magazine, The Marquis. I probably acquired this copy at the activities fair last fall. I remember meeting one of the editors that day, Ross Burlingame.

This fall, however, I will be co-editor, along with my friend Ross Moretti. In the transition last spring the multiplicity of the name was a little challenging. The magazine is selective, and the editorial staff goes through several weeding processes to determine which pieces we think are worthy of recognition. I was lucky enough to have one of my poems selected last year. Most of the submissions we received were poetry, but we were also sent several short-fiction pieces. The magazine also accepts student art and photography.

Here's the Spring 2009 issue:

The Marquis Literary Magazine, Spring 2009, Vol. 31

Keeping Time

One of my best friends, and future roommate, Britta, made this for me last spring as a belated Christmas present. Over winter break she texted me, asking what was my favorite book as a child. I answered, Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter. It is actually a working clock!

Home Library

The bookshelf in my room at home near Philadelphia.



The living room.



The den.



The upstairs hallway.

There are lots of old books in my house. In addition to the fact that we accumulated many of them because my mother never used to be able to resist when they cost 25 cents at yard sales, the majority are probably from my grandparents' house, my dad's parents. When they died we had to clean out the old place, and as my dad's brother didn't have room for the books we took them. Most of them are old classics and ancient copies from my dad's high school classes. Below is The Hemingway Reader , copyright 1953 Charles Scribner's Sons.

The Hemingway Reader, by Ernest Hemingway.

We've gotten rid of a lot of them over the years, but I've found that it's been rather convenient to have such a plethora of crumbling books around. Combined with what I have on my personal shelf, I won't have to buy a new book for a very long time. In theory. I usually can't help myself.

At the moment, however, I am content with the reading I have lined up for myself for the remainder of the summer. I am currently reading The Falls, by Joyce Carol Oates, and enjoying it very much. Next up, or maybe as a side-dish to go with Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf, is Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. I read most of his famous The Omnivore's Dilemma last summer - it's the reason I became a vegetarian - but have yet to get to the rest of it. My sister is reading Mrs. Dalloway for her English class in the fall, and since I haven't yet read it I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and see if I had any insights for her; she tells me repeatedly how confused she is by it.

I also plan to read My Stroke of Insight, by Jill Bolte Taylor. My father had a stroke last October - luckily not a severe one - but it has altered all of our lives and I've heard that Dr. Taylor's story is very eye-opening. While my dad seems almost completely normal, it is strange to think, for example, that he may not understand everything I say to him in a conversation. I read a small passage while I was waiting for the train the day I bought it and had to close it because it brought tears to my eyes very suddenly. I was away at school when he had the stroke, and my mother didn't tell me about until almost a week later.

In addition to all this I have my own summer reading to do as an Orientation Leader - the January 2009 issue of Scientific American. I should get started on that tonight; training is only a few weeks away.

The Book and The Worm

And so begins my book blog, "The Book and The Worm."

I have started this blog as an outlet for my love of books. I love to read - obviously - but my love for books goes deeper than that; there is a presence books have about them, a feeling they give off that makes them something of which it is worth taking notice.

I have an obsession with books. Old books and new books, lots of books together, stacked, in piles, alone on coffee tables and nightstands, sitting furtively on the corners of shelves and desks. I also have an obsession with the way books make me feel. There is a whole lifestyle-mood, one could say, that goes with books. It reminds me of the fall, is the fall, in essence, and evokes dead leaves tossed by an impatient wind and the momentary relief one feels when getting in out of the new cold, and craving a cup of tea and argyle socks.

So I dedicate this blog to this feeling, to books. And I hope you get some enjoyment out of it. Please, read on!