Tag: christopher morley

I finished,

Parnassus On Wheels and

The Haunted Bookshop.

The wait,

 getting them out of storage,

 was worth it.

Delightful books,

about the love of books,

and the communication of that love.

Anybody who sells books,

should track it down.

It will renew evangelical zeal in you.

You know the book business is tough,

you make,

no money,

you compete with thrift stores,

who sell books according to,

 size!!

People want the flavour of the month,

think,

vampires,

zombies,

I travelled to India, Italy or Nepal,

 and it changed my life,

how to make a million dollars,

by thinking you will:-)

But, you also meet exceptional people,

the book lovers,

like my friend the busy writer,

my friend with impeccable taste,

Francois the anarchist,

the guy who is reading twelve books a week,

to keep from going insane.

People of outstanding character,

or of loose morals.

People who love books,

and if they love books,

they are my people,

the bookish,

the tribe.

Some days,

usually,

in the polar bear days,

of January, February,

or the smouldering sticky days,

of July and August,

it’s Montreal, we get both,

you wonder,

why did I give up my,

steady job,

45 g’s,

with benefits and a pension plan?

And,

Then,

In walks,

this kid you know,

and haven’t seen in a few years,

you say “Hey, how you doing?”

and she smiles and says “you remember me?”

“Of course!”

and then she hands you a promotional card for her new book,

and says “thanks for encouraging me”.

You don’t remember encouraging her,

to do anything but,

read,

but,

obviously you made a difference.

              To spread good books about, to sow them on fertile minds,

              to propagate understanding and a carefulness of life and beauty,

              isn’t that high enough a mission for a man?

              page 192 The Haunted Bookshop-Christopher Morley

Well, it is for this Butch,

and although that doesn’t pay the bills or keep you warm at night,

it helps you sleep,

knowing,

that sometimes,

you make a difference. 

Later girls,

BB

When I visited the Grande Bibliotheque on Sunday,

I wanted to find two books I have read much about,

especially on some of the Brit book blogs,

The Haunted Bookshop and Parnassus On Wheels,

 by Christopher Morley.

I couldn’t find either of them.

I looked in the English language novels and in the mysteries.

Couldn’t find them.

So I waited my turn and looked them up on the computer,

**side note : I love the digital age but, I really miss card catalogues,  I believe it is more esthetics than practicality, the beautiful wooden drawers and typed cards- Gorgeous. **

they were there,

in a one volume compilation.

Cool,

 so I scroll down to get the call number,

and then I notice the notation which roughly translates as,

in storage.

I walk over to the information desk,

 and ask the young lady if I can take it out.

Of course, she says, as long as my file is free of fines,

it is.

I can fill out a form and in approximately fourteen days,

I will be notified of the book’s arrival and,

 have four days to pick it up.

So we filled out the form and,

 I should be reading them sometime in January.

I was a little bit disappointed,

I had hoped to read them over Christmas,

but, January is probably better,

all bookshops are sort of haunted in January,

mine is no exception.

The point of this story,

and there is one,

in the many years that I have used libraries,

 this is a first.

I have never had a book brought out of storage.

Does this mean I am hopelessly out of style?

Perhaps.

But, what I really think it means is that,

I have become more picky about my reading and,

more patient.

A few years ago,

 I would have skipped the waiting,

 and picked it up at a bookstore or ordered it online.

Spent too much money.

Now I prefer to wait and,

chance picking it up used or borrow it from the library.

I no longer have the ambition of owning thousands of books,

been there, done that, moved them too many times.

I want to read them.

Part of the fun has become anticipation,

book foreplay.

Kinky.

Well…

Later girls

BB