Confessions of a Bibliophile...

Now ain't that the truth? So tell me: what's your favorite book to "sink into"? My list is oh so very long. But recently it's been The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And Midnight in Austenland. And The Devil in the White City. And  Death Comes to Pemberly. Did you know that I simply adore the smell of books? My very most favorite thing to do in the summer time is to go to King's English (an awesome independent bookstore that's been built in an old house) when it's raining. Why raining, you may ask?

Because King's English is so old that they don't have central air. Just a swamp cooler. So the humid smell of the swamp cooler mixes with the delightful smell of thousands upon thousands of book to create a perfume that I would purchase should anyone ever bottle that incredible mixture. Does this make me crazy? Quite possibly. Do I care? Not even a little bit. There is something entirely magical about a bookstore. Especially independent stores like King's English. Call me a hipster if you must, you definitely won't be the first. 

As much as I like shopping for books on Amazon and reading them on my Kindle (Amazon would have to do something completely horrible to shake my loyalty), part of me craves the sensory experience of shopping for a book. I love chatting with the sales girl at the register about what a sweetheart Shannon Hale is and how much we loved her latest book. I love that they have 'recommendation' shelves where employees get to list their favorite books and why they loved them. I love the faint smell of coffee that always seems to linger in the fiction section and they way the light comes in through the window just right when I sit on the bench to read the first few pages of each of the huge pile of books that I want to buy.

I love going to the Shannon Hale loving sales girl and asking her to tell me why she loved The Elegance of a Hedgehog more than The Lenningrad Madonnas. I love the sense of community that a bookstore creates. For just a little while, you're all friends. It's not odd to recommend a book to a stranger or ask the opinion of someone you'll likely never see again. I don't think there's anything more satisfying than that.

Excuses, excuses...

(Taps on imaginary microphone) Testing 1, 2, 3... Is anyone still there? I wouldn't blame you if you weren't. I've been quite the blogging slacker, now haven't I? There's been good reason, I assure you. Would you like to hear the reasons or are you sick to death of excuses? To be perfectly honest, I don't care if you're sick to death of excuses. I'm going to tell you anyway. Now won't that be fun? (clears throat) Here we go.

Where I have been instead of writing on my blog:

*Driving to Cedar City for the Shakespeare Festival. This means that I spent three blissful days watching 6 plays only one of which I really hated. (Blech, Romeo and Juliet is not my thing. I blame it on being in jr. high when the Leo DiCaprio/Clare Danes/Baz Lurhmann version came out and every hormonal girl on the planet was completely enraptured with it. Okay, let's be honest, they were enraptured with Leo DiCaprio. Who has a tendency to die at the end of his movies. Which means that I found it to be silly and slightly ridiculous because my mom thought it was silly and slightly ridiculous.)

*Hanging out with the Stahelis. This means that I get teased more than normal (as I live alone and don't usually tease myself). It also means that I laugh more than normal. Which I love.

*Watching Harry Potter 7.2 and subsequently bawling my eyes out. DON'T JUDGE. I'm slightly attached to Harry. And Ron. And Hermione. And the Weasleys. (Oh Fred!) Sara and I ended up in each other's laps a couple of times. And it was delightful. I now have to go and re-read all of the books. Yes. Have to.

*Playing with Charisse. Why yes, she did visit me from London. And why yes, I loved it. Also, she brought me some awesome London-esque things. Like a "Mind the Gap" magnet for my fridge and a London Olympics key chain which I proudly use, as well as a dog. Yes. She brought me a dog all the way from London. He's meant to be a doorstop, but in actuality, he sits in the green chair in my room. (He's stuffed. And is made of out Union Jack fabric, which matches my "Keep Calm" poster.)

*Watching lots and lots of movies. Thor. Jane Eyre. The good parts version of the Toby Stephens Jane Eyre. Castle. Penelope. Gilmore Girls. Friday Night Lights.

*Reading. I re-read A Wrinkle in Time while I was in Cedar. I bought it from King's English right before I left and can I please just tell you what a treat that book is? I'd forgotten how much I adored it. I also read part of Quatrain, which is a series of short stores by Sharon Shinn who wrote one of my favorite books, Summers at Castle Aubrun. Read it. You will love it. Well, you will if you have any sense.

*Making thank you cards. I finally got all of my card making stuff from my padres' garage and that means making cards again. Which I have sorely missed.

Anyway, readers. This is a faithful accounting of all of my dealings for the past 10 days. I promise to try and be around more often.

M