It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way, we have 27 shopping days left until Christmas. That's right - 27.  Rather daunting if you are one of the millions who do EVERYTHING on the list. You know what list I am talking about.
Shop Shop, Shop.

• Buy presents for everyone, and then buy some extras for people who you forgot, people who "gift" you, and for people who give parties.
• Dare you give a party as well?
• Buy all the wrapping, ribbon, tags, scotch tape, stickers, etc. for the presents.
• Wrap everything.
• Plan the Christmas meal.
• Shop for the food for the Christmas meal.
• Cook the Christmas meal.
• And don't forget to invite the guests to the Christmas meal.
• Decorate - outside lights, blow-up Santas, wreaths, greens, sparkle lights on the roof...
• Get a tree.
• Find where all the ornaments are stored.
• Decorate the tree and do not forget the tinsel. It is such a pleasant reminder when you are still finding it everywhere in Marcn.
• String the lights on the tree and make sure they are perfectly placed.
• Christmas Cards - store bought or photo made?
• Addresses and stamps.
• Return address stamps, maybe some special ones for the holiday?
• Display the cards that you, in turn, receive. Artfully and visibley. 
• Where is the Christmas china? Find it and display.
• Polish all the silver that you only use once a year.
• Find the Christmas music; did you put it on your iPod?
• Make the 8 different kinds of Christmas cookies for which you have become famous.
• Package the cookies in holiday tins and distribute to family and friends; and don't forget to keep some for yourself. 

All this and more, in just 27 days. Get cracking. You can do it.

And don't forget to have FUN! 

Never enough books, I say!

Some of my favorite books from the past few or more years - what an abundance!

• The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (2010)
• Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson (2010)
• The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (2006)
• Stones From the River By Ursala Hegi (1995)
• The Master Butcher’s Singing Club by Louise Erdrich (2005)
• The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver (1989).
• This Boy’s Life: A Memoir by Tobias Wolfe (2000).
• Cronkite by Douglas Brinkley (2013).
• The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathon Lethem (2004)
• Zeitoun by David Egers (2010)
• The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (2008)
• The Corrections by Jonathon Franzen (2002)
• Empire Falls by Richard Russo (2002)
• The Invisible Circus by Jennifer Egan (2007)
• Something I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You by Alice Munro (2004)
• The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood (1998)
• Unless by Carol Shields (2003)
• The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha  Mukherjee (2011)
•  Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (1999)
• All Aunt Hagar’s Children by Edward P. Jones (2006)
• The Echo Maker by Richard Powers (2007)
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (2012)

A Gutter is not a Gutter

Like our own bodies, books also have distinct parts; organs, matter, structure, which work together to create and maintain the system we call a book. I don't really think much about this aspect of books when I pick one up to read; just as I don't think much about what makes my feet move or my eyes blink as I go through the day.

Since I love books, I thought I would do a little bit of research and try to map the anatomy of a book. It is certainly beautiful, a piece of art in itself.
The photo here is a wonderful example of the beauty and artisanship that goes into creating a book. It is "A contemporary 15th century binding of brown calf over wooden boards, with two center and four corner bosses." Otto Vollbehr Collection, Library of Congress.

Today's hardcovers certainly suffer in comparison!

So what is there to know about a book? More than I can cover here. So I will just cover some of the basics. Books have a front and back cover - rather prosaic. The cover is part of a unit called the case components, the things that enclose the actual text components of the book. The case also includes the spine which, usually contains all, or some, of four elements  in the following order: (1) author, editor, or compiler; (2) title; (3) publisher; and (4) publisher logo. 

And here is where I will stop because this is all so prosaic. And if I continue I might discourage potential readers from picking up a book!  For me, a book is its 'aboutness,' the font used, the feel of the paper, and all the possibilities waiting for me to begin on Page 1.