Bookstore Books: A Reflection

Now that I no longer live on Maui, it seems doubtful that I will continue to have access to a free supply of books. (There is a friends of the library here, of course, and they actually run a used bookstore. I am contemplating signing up to volunteer, but would like to go and check out the place first. Even if I do volunteer, however, there are no guarantees that free books will be a perk of the job.)

At any rate, with the free supply of books at least temporarily cut off (and most of my books returned to the bookstore), I thought now would be a good time to reflect on the free books I brought home in September & October of 2010. How many did I read? And did I like them?

September:

Life in a Medieval Village - I read the first two chapters but never finished it. I took it back to the bookstore and didn't add it to my "to read" list.

Nathaniel's Nutmeg - Didn't read it. Returned it to the bookstore. Didn't add it to the list.

October:

Knockdown - Read it. Didn't really like it.

Collapse - Didn't read it. Returned it to the bookstore. Didn't add it to the list.

I Was Told There'd Be Cake - Read a little bit. Didn't like it. Returned it to the bookstore.

Eccentrics - Never got around to reading it. Ultimately decided not to include it on my "to read" list because said list is so long already. Took it back to the bookstore, where it was immediately snatched up.

The Last Lecture - Didn't read it. Returned it to the bookstore. Didn't add it to the list.

House Rules - Didn't read it. Returned it to the bookstore. Didn't add it to the list.

Three Weeks with My Brother - Read it. Loved it.

The Secret Life of Bees - Read it. Loved it.

On Fortune's Wheel - Read it. Liked it.

The Serpent & the Moon - Didn't read it, but still want to. Put it on my "to read" list.

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets - Read it. Loved it.

Coroner's Journal - Haven't read it yet; brought it with me from Maui.

The Victorian Internet - Read it. Liked it.

Furies of Calderon - Read it. Loved it.

So, of the 16 books I brought home, I read 7 and still intend to read 2. So about half? Hmmm...not sure if that's good or bad.

Bookstore Books 10/23/10

Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

A fantasy novel about a young man who, despite lacking the power of "furycrafting" (unlike most people in his world), may just be the one person who can save them all from a terrible war.

I haven't started reading this book yet. I just noticed that it's "Book One" of a series. I hate getting sucked into series, but I'll give it a shot anyway.

The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage

A non-fiction book about the invention, rise, and eventual fall of the electric telegraph.

I've read two chapters of this book. Have found it a touch dry so far, but will continue reading. It's pretty short and I think it gets a lot better.

Coroner's Journal by Louis Cataldie, M.D.

The jacket description of this book has got to be the longest and most complex I've ever seen, hahaha. But I found one sentence that sums up what this non-fiction book is about: "Not for the faint of heart, this is a close-up look at the world of a coroner in a small southern city with big-city problems."

I haven't started this book yet but I'm really looking forward to it.

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice

A novel of the young British upper class in 1950s London.

I haven't started this book yet. I'm hoping it's really good.

And finally (a lot of great stuff came my way this week!).....

The Serpent and the Moon by Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent

The true story of King Henri II of France, who spent most of his life in love with Diane de Poitiers (an aristocrat 19 years his senior), even through his politically advantageous marriage to Catherine de Medici. The author is a descendant of both Catherine and Diane. The book includes a truly dizzying family tree of all the key players and lots of sumptuous pictures.

I haven't started reading this book yet.

Bookstore Books 10/16/10

I've been feeling too lazy to take pictures of the books I've picked up recently, which has kept me from posting to the blog. So I decided that all posts today will be picture-free. Here are the books that I picked up on 10/16:

On Fortune's Wheel by Cynthia Voigt

A fantasy (possibly in the YA category?) novel about a young woman who tries to stop a thief in the night and finds herself thrown into the journey of a lifetime.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Probably best known to most people from the recent movie version. This is the story of a young teenaged girl who runs away from home only to find both herself and the real home she'd always desired.

Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas Sparks and Micah Sparks

Nicholas Sparks is a famous novelist who typically turns out schmaltzy fair such as A Walk to Remember and Nights in Rodanthe. I've never read any of his books before because, frankly, they seem a bit cheesy to me. But this book is a memoir that he wrote with his brother. It describes both the three-week world tour the brothers took together in 2002 and their lives growing up together.

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I have already read all three of these books and enjoyed them all thoroughly.

And Now for Something Lovely

A gift from one of my fellow volunteers this past weekend. They grow in her yard (and lots of other places here).

Found Pictures: Pregnant Wedding Couple

I have to admit that a fellow volunteer and I shared a snicker over this picture. These poor people look sooo uncomfortable. Why do wedding photographers make people do such awkward things?

I'm pretty sure this picture is on Maui. If not, definitely somewhere in Hawaii. I doubt it will translate well over the computer, but with the physical picture in hand you can see another island very faintly off in the distance. Kind of looks like Lanai.

No writing on the back of this photo. I wonder how old their child is now?

Found Pictures: Consciously Rustic House

Hmm. Not my cup of tea as far as houses go at all. But I do have to admit that I wonder two things:

1. Where is this house? I'm guessing "not Hawaii" due to the evergreens.

2. What does it look like on the inside? Because if it were decorated with bearskin rugs on the floor and animal heads mounted on the wall, that might be kind of cool.

There is no writing on the back of this picture. Alas.

Books from the Bookstore 10/9/10

House Rules by Rachel Sontag. It's a memoir by a woman who grew up with a very controlling father and a mentally ill mother. I read the first few pages the other day and decided that I didn't want to read this book after all.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Perhaps you've heard of this one. It's written by this college professor who was invited to do a "last lecture" (apparently such lectures are common on college campuses these days; college professors are invited to think about their death and lecture on all the things they'd want to say). Only after accepting the gig, Pausch found out that he really was dying of pancreatic cancer and had only a few months to live.

I read the first few pages, couldn't get into it, and set it aside to take back. But I've decided that I want to give it another shot.

Eccentrics: A Study of Sanity and Strangeness by Dr. David Weeks and Jamie James. This one should be fairly self-explanatory. It's a study of eccentrics. I'm excited about this one! Does anybody else find it funny that one of the authors of this book is Jamie James or am I just a nerd?

Bunny Suicides

Ah yes, the very rare bookstore purchase.

(I get most of my books from there for free because I take them back when I'm done with them. It's one of the perks of being a volunteer. I buy them when I know I'm not going to bring them back, but since we're moving back to the mainland in the not-too-distant future, I try not to buy too many.)

As stated in my previous post, I'm rather morbid, a trait that extends to my sense of humor. And that is why I love this series:

I was just telling someone this week about the bunny suicides. I don't remember who, but I do remember that they looked more confused than amused. Oh well. To each their own. At any rate, since I was just talking about it, I was thrilled to stumble across the "box of bunny suicides" at the bookstore and I had to buy it.

If you don't know what they are, the title is pretty self-explanatory. It's a bunch of cartoons depicting these cute little bunnies committing suicide through various clever methods. I suppose when I explain it, it doesn't sound very funny, but believe me, it is. I laughed and laughed while flipping through the books last night.

Two of my favorites (warning: nerd alert):

A bunny standing on a transporter pad next to two Stark Trek guys, only he's only half on the pad, so when the transporter is energized, only half the bunny gets beamed up.

A bunny pouring pepper in Sauron's (Lord of the Rings) all-seeing eye.

I love that just 20 cents bought me so much entertainment.

Bookstore Books 10/02/10

I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crossley. I've wanted to read this book for a long time; since before we moved to Hawaii, in fact. So I was pleased to see it finally come through the bookstore. However, I read the first essay in the book last night and started to read a second but got bored. I intend to give it another go at a later date, but I'm beginning to suspect that I don't like "essay books," especially those written by people who think they're vastly more clever than they actually are.

As an aside, it really bugs me when people buy sale books at Borders or Barnes & Noble or whatever and can't be bothered to take the stickers off of them. Why would you want to carry around a book with a sticker on it that says "Buy one, get the second one half price"?

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond. I also have his book Guns, Germs, and Steel, which has been sitting in the "to read" pile for quite some time. I don't anticipate reading either any time particularly soon.

Knockdown: The Harrowing True Account of a Yacht Race Turned Deadly by Martin Dugard. This is the account of the disaster that befell the 1998 Sydney to Hobart yacht race, when a freak storm paralyzed several of the boats, causing multiple deaths. I actually remember hearing about this disaster when it occurred.

I'm rather morbid. I love a good disaster story, so this is the one I'm most likely to delve into first, along with my European village book (see 9/26/10 blog post) and my Genghis Khan book (which had been in the "to read" pile for a very long time until recently).

Found Items: MFOL bookmark

Bookmarks are, of course, commonly found in donated books at the bookstore. And one of the volunteers (I don't even know who) does make these cardstock paper bookmarks with funny sayings on them that people can have for free.

But the twain, as Robert Frost would say, rarely meet. This weekend, however, one of my fellow volunteers found an MFOL (Maui Friends of the Library) bookmark in a book that was returned to us, and it's one I'd never seen before:

"Canadians know a good deal when they see one, eh," it says. "They shop at Maui Friends of the Library Used Book Store."

I have to say that I'm rather tickled by this bookmark, especially since there's a "Canadian" joke that is frequently mentioned in my household.

At any rate, the MFOL bookstore is in fact a good deal - just 10 cents per book - so if you live on Maui you should check it out.

Found Pictures: VW Camper

It never ceases to amuse me, the random pictures that I find tucked away in books.

With a much-needed influx of books received last weekend, I finally found another gem:

This one has three inscriptions on the back. They say: "'87 VW Camper"; "HCts Beach lot - camping area - Paia - Date was Brian - Ross' 60th Bday Gathering"; and "Paid 400 - to Donald Gusman of HCts - sold it for 2400 - couldn't get it to run well."

I haven't yet figured out what "HCts" means, although the town mentioned, Paia, is here on Maui. The rest seems self-explanatory.

I have often wondered what sort of person uses a photograph as a bookmark. For me, pictures are precious and I would never use one to mark my place in a book. But this one in particular fascinates me. Who takes a picture of a vehicle to commemorate a party they went to? And then writes down the name of their date on the back? Why no picture of the date?

On the other hand, I would like to congratulate the owner of this picture for selling the showcased vehicle for $2,000 more than they paid for it, particularly since, as they say, they "couldn't get it to run well." Good show!

Tales from the Bookstore: Necklace

Two weekends ago, when I was at the bookstore, I admired the necklaces that a man and his wife were wearing. It turns out that the man made these necklaces from glass that he's found on various beaches around the world. He doesn't do anything to the glass, just fashions it into a necklace as-is, with truly beautiful results.

The man was delighted that I had complimented his artwork and said that he had more necklaces in the car. A few minutes later, he came back in with the necklaces in-hand. He insisted that one of my fellow volunteers and I both pick one free-of-charge. Here is mine:

And a close up of the glass:

I wish that I had taken a photo of the other volunteer's choice, a piece that looked black when lying flat, but a deep, rich green when held up to the light.

I was deeply moved by this freely-given gift. It brightened my whole day. In a world where we seem to be hearing the worst news all of the time, it's nice to know that people can still surprise and humble me with their kindness.

Tales from the Bookstore: A Taste of Home

Several weeks ago, I missed my day at the bookstore due to a bad case of death-flu. Since coming back, pickings there have been a little slim. These last few weeks, we've had the least amount of donations I've seen since I started volunteering there some 8 months ago.

Needless to say, found objects have been a little scarce. However, the weekend I came back from the death-flu, I found this lovely little bookmark:

Oh Powell's, how I do miss thee, one of favorite things in my adopted hometown of Portland, Oregon.

The find was not too much of a surprise; a lot of people move here from Oregon and vice versa. But it sure gave my little heart a thrill.

Found Pictures: Cute Dog

The universal response to this picture (thus far) has been: "Awwwww."

A Banner Day for Found Items

Lots of great stuff at the bookstore last Saturday! I now wonder if there was always this much stuff to be found and I wasn't looking. What have I missed out on all these weekends?

The theme of last Saturday seemed to be postcards. I found three of them:

I find it interesting that two of them had a "space" theme, even though I found them in different books, neither of which were space-themed themselves.

I also found this shellacked Canadian two dollar bill bookmark:

No one else wanted it, so it came home with me, even though I don't tend to use bookmarks. Why would you pass up shellacked money?

Found Pictures: Lady in Repose with Kayaks

She's a little hard to see; I didn't even notice her the first time I looked at the picture. I suggest viewing the expanded version.

I wonder where this picture was taken? It looks like a beautiful spot.

Found Pictures: Lady with Cat

I found the discovery of this particular picture rather coincidental, as earlier in the day I had put away a book entitled Cats and Their Women. The book is a collection of pictures of women with their cats. It had a very strong crazy cat-lady vibe.

At any rate, I'm rather fond of this picture. Was this lady actually just chilling on the couch, reading, when someone (husband?) came along and decided to snap a picture or was it posed? I guess we'll never know.

Tales from the Bookstore: Proud Parent

I volunteer every Saturday at a used bookstore whose proceeds benefit the local library system. This has got to be one of my all-time favorite volunteer gigs. I love books. I love talking about books. The other volunteers are great, and I like talking to the customers, especially the "regulars" who come back every few weeks; sometimes every week.

Today I was talking to a lady at the counter who bragged that her son was in one of the books she was purchasing (it was a locally-made book). I expressed interest, so she opened the book to the page he was on. "Here's his picture," she said. "He's not credited, but he's so excited to have his picture in a book."

The picture was of a disheveled-looking man (likely homeless), rummaging through a dumpster. "It says he's a homeless man on Oahu, but that's not accurate. This picture is obviously taken at Iao," she said. I was a bit taken-aback, I have to admit. I don't think I've ever heard anyone brag about their homeless child before. "Is he all right?" I asked. "Oh yes," she replied. "He's autistic, but he started his own business collecting cans for money."

She beamed with so much pride. And I was incredibly touched.

It made me think of all the children in the world - both those that are still children and those that are all grown up - who have worked so hard in their lives to make their parents proud, only to be disappointed because their achievements are never enough. Some parents just aren't proud of anything their kids do, unless it's exactly what they wanted them to do. It's very sad.

But here was this woman, so proud of her son, no matter how small his achievements have been. As the child of a father who couldn't give a flip about her achievements one way or the other, it touched me down to my soul.

I wish that more parents were this accepting of their children, and vice versa.