Pretty excited!!!

Good morning you all.

I’ve been pretty busy,

the cold is also,

back,

brrr,

yuck.

To which I say,

‘It’s February genius, what do you expect!”

I have been juggling books all week,

reading,

Study In Scarlet,

before bed,

a few pages,

every day of Susan Sontag’s On Photography,

which I am particularly,

interested in,

given my new photography,

well,

let’s call it,

what it is,

obsession

😛

almost finished,

Jeff O’Brien’s The Couch Sessions,

which I should write about,

on the weekend.

Have been enjoying,

Zoe Amos’s Superior,

an adventure romance,

which I will also be writing about,

soon.

But,

the big thing,

this week,

is the re-reading of Helene Hanff’s,

The Duchess Of Bloomsbury Street,

in preparation,

for something,

that has me major,

hyped,

excited,

nervous,

yep,

all of those,

I will be participating,

in my first podcast!

Ok,

so let me tell you about it.

On face book,

I have been part of a group,

known as:

Friends of Helene Hanff,

because of my undying love,

for her works,

especially,

as those of you, who have been following, the blog for a while, know,

84, Charing Cross Road,

which,

I believe,

may be,

my favourite book.

It certainly is the book,

I have read most often,

and,

my pleasure,

in it,

has in no way,

diminished,

with time.

So long story short,

a fellow member,

asked me to be friends,

on face book,

and,

I accepted,

I don’t always accept,

I check to see,

if we have friends,

in common and stuff,

but,

this time,

I accepted,

right away,

I liked her face.

After a few days,

she contacted me,

and,

told me about her website,

http://beabehn.com

and about her,

“Women A’Loud!”,

We are Women A’Loud! and We are Reading Through It!

Women A’Loud! is a weekly broadcast that spotlights women through words, writing, reading, and wit. We capture a glimpse of our world every week through a few unique segments:

and,

she asked me to,

participate in a discussion,

of,

the great Helene’s work.

I listened to some of the broadcasts,

you should too, informative and lighthearted, nice vibe,

so again,

long story,

not so short,

😛

on Sunday,

we will be skyping,

and,

the broadcast will air pretty soon.

So, that’s what I have been,

up to

🙂

I will post,

all the details,

pretty soon,

but,

I wanted to tell,

you all,

about it,

’cause it’s important to me,

and,

I thought you might get,

a kick out of it.

Later girls,

**the new header is one of my pictures, the beanie was a gift from my most special someone and the bag is the absolute bomb of leather bags my sweet Renaud gave me, I call it, the photograph, Anarchist Writer***

On travel ??

What a glorious morning it is,

sunny, cool, blue blue sky.

I’m at home,

Thursday morning,

mom’s in charge,

at the bookstore.

I’ve had breakfast,

Great grains cereal with extra raisins and soy milk, I’m so middle aged- the Dude looks hopefully at the bowl and when I let him have the dregs , he looks at me, disappointed, puzzled and, I think, a little grossed out. He doesn’t speak human, but, if he did, I’m pretty sure he’s be saying “you like this shit?”- In point of fact- I do, a Franciscan monk breakfast, for the twenty-first century:-)

It’s my birthday next week,

I’ll be forty-seven,

and,

three days later,

I’m getting my,

buzz cut for Cancer:-)

Should be an interesting week,

if you factor in the fact,

that mom has picked that week,

to have the kitchen painted,

busy, busy, bald:-)

I got my new John Irving,

yesterday,

hot of the press.

I ordered something else,

in order to avoid,

the shipping charges,

a Helene Hanff book

(she of 84 Charing Cross Road fame)

it’s called,

Apple Of My Eye,

all about Helene’s New York,

a sort of a guide book,

it’s delightful,

as all her books are,

feel like you are right there with her,

sharing a Martini and a cigarette,

nice.

The thing is,

I don’t travel,

never have,

it’s not in my,

temperament,

not part of my lifestyle,

I have no objections,

per se,

I just don’t.

Many people think that’s,

close minded?

reductive?

lacking an adventurous spirit?

all this might be true,

I don’t think it is,

but still,

what do I know?

🙂

I know,

that I like to travel in books,

with interesting people,

I used to like,

historical novels,

read tons of them,

not so much anymore.

Now, I like my fiction,

and,

memoirs,

not biography so much,

as,

memoir,

slices of lives,

traveling to New York,

with Helene,

watching Paris from my window,

with Colette,

and her cats,

having and raising a baby,

in France,

with Adam Gopnik,

drinks with Janet and Hem,

walking through the 1930’s garden at Sissinghurst,

with Vita and Virginia,

that’s what I like.

But,

since I now eat my cereal,

with soy milk,

maybe,

I’ll experience Shakespeare and Company,

for myself,

live,

with the sights and sounds.

If I can have my head shaved,

change my eating habits,

maybe I can learn to travel,

maybe,

you can teach a middle aged butch,

new tricks

WinK!!!

Later girls,

Books are my Solace

Whenever life gets me down or kicks me in the face, books are my solace.

The British writer Ruth Rendell once said “Some say life’s the thing, I— prefer reading”

That statement although a slight exaggeration, has a lot of truth.

Books rarely let you down. Even if, for whatever reason, they don’t appeal to you, you can always find something

enjoyable about them. The cover, the smell—– whatever. A book is boring? You get another book. No feelings are

hurt– there are no misinterpretations. Books never think you’re cold or cerebral , they set forth stories, ideas, theories—that you “buy” or not.

Over the years a few books stand out in the bringing of solace and pleasure.

Anything by John Irving, most especially The World According To Garp.

My top book for old sweater comfort by a roaring fire is, 84 Charing Cross Road.

I first discovered this book in a way I often do, through a really good movie.

84 Charing Cross Road, was a intelligent feel good movie starring the great, and sorely missed, Anne Bancroft and the very touching Anthony Hopkins. I saw this movie, loved it, and went on living my life.

Years later, I came upon an article that delighted over the book (which enjoys a small cult following)

and the same week a customer of mine, who has impeccable taste, mentioned it. I went out the next day and bought a copy. I have read it at least twenty times since. The book is a correspondence between a New York writer, Helene Hanff and a London bookseller, Frank Doel. Frank works for Marks and Co. booksellers located at 84 Charing Cross Road. Their correspondence spans over 30 years, it is delightful, humorous and irresistible to the lover of books.

I have since read Hanff’s other books, I liked them, she’s funny and well-read, but, Charing Cross is to me unique in it’s warmth and succinctness. It’s a small book, novella length and thus can be read and re-read, it is not a massive undertaking. A couple of hours spent with an old “friend”.

I can’t tell you how much it has helped me over the tough times over the years

Later girls

this post also appears at bookishinmtl