tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post1487843428437597159..comments2022-07-19T07:48:28.683-04:00Comments on Belle, Book, and Candle: A Book of One's Own: People and Their Diaries by Thomas MallonBellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04335523622158333456noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-33468364972833279052014-11-20T09:39:27.270-05:002014-11-20T09:39:27.270-05:00Kathy, "The Assassin's Cloak" is a g...Kathy, "The Assassin's Cloak" is a great way to read from many diaries in one place. If you ever decide to buy a copy, go for the hardback edition. It is quite thick. I was given a paperback copy and returned it for the hardback. Much easier to handle.<br /><br />I am sure you will enjoy Jean Hersey's look at the year. You will be able to experience the changing of the seasons since your part of the country doesn't have all four!Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04335523622158333456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-63322863125641972282014-11-18T13:28:22.724-05:002014-11-18T13:28:22.724-05:00I don't think I've read The Assassin's...I don't think I've read The Assassin's Cloak. I hope you'll write about your reading in it next year. Speaking of that, I will be reading the book you sent me at the end of last year--The Shape of a Year. I'm quite looking forward to it!Kathy A. Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01499969787028085716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-3194416838751822022014-11-18T10:34:46.570-05:002014-11-18T10:34:46.570-05:00Bell, you can get a cheap ink converter for a few ...Bell, you can get a cheap ink converter for a few dollars and use bottle ink, its very easy to install, you should check it out. I switch between cartridges for everyday use (cheaper) and bottle ink for special occasions. Tullikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10524256855855014534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-90732073117491988172014-11-17T12:42:19.289-05:002014-11-17T12:42:19.289-05:00Thanks, Tullik. The majority of my fountain pens a...Thanks, Tullik. The majority of my fountain pens are of the cartridge refill kind. But, I do have a few dip pens. One is glass and comes from Italy and a couple are vintage that belonged to my grandfather. I will investigate. Thank you so much. Myrasaki-Shikibu sounds wonderful!Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04335523622158333456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-46808360062568192482014-11-17T12:04:27.533-05:002014-11-17T12:04:27.533-05:00Hi Belle,
A few years ago when I got back to using...Hi Belle,<br />A few years ago when I got back to using a Fountain Pen, I had a hard time finding ink. As I live in a remote area an on-line search was a challenge. Eventually I found a Japanese ink with rave reviews from fountain-pen experts. A little pricey at about $25 a bottle (50ml) but they produce a wonderful assortment of colours i.e. exotic purple "Myrasaki-Shikibu" and with care and judicious use they last a long time, worth investigation. Tullikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10524256855855014534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-42629688478376083432014-11-17T10:48:49.023-05:002014-11-17T10:48:49.023-05:00Kathy, we are so picky about our journals and pens...Kathy, we are so picky about our journals and pens, aren't we? Maybe discriminating is a more elegant word. <br /><br />Have you heard of the book "The Assassin's Cloak"? I have most likely mentioned it before. It is a daily dip into diaries of all sorts of folks. I plan on using it for one of my morning readings this coming year. A great way to start the day reading about what other people were pondering that same day years ago.<br /><br />Your mention of Julia Cameron reminds me that I want to start in again reading and working through "The Artist's Way". I have several of her books on my shelves. I can't seem to resist buying them. Keep writing!Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04335523622158333456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-35935386682253515672014-11-17T10:21:08.442-05:002014-11-17T10:21:08.442-05:00Don't feel bad, Tullik. I just discovered a no...Don't feel bad, Tullik. I just discovered a notebook dated 2013 that I started as a list of Books Bought. There were just a few entries and then the notebook was abandoned. Happens all the time. The nice thing about a journal is you can just pick up where you left off. <br /><br />I am intrigued...exotic Japanese ink??Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04335523622158333456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-71627763405336742782014-11-17T10:17:49.566-05:002014-11-17T10:17:49.566-05:00I looked at Bromfield Pen's website. Heaven!I looked at Bromfield Pen's website. Heaven!Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04335523622158333456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-66125353126745867162014-11-17T09:19:55.742-05:002014-11-17T09:19:55.742-05:00This sounds vaguely familiar, and I may have read ...This sounds vaguely familiar, and I may have read it at some point. I love reading published journals and letters. I'm fundamentally nosy, I guess.<br /><br />I also have a collection of old journals of my own, all mismatched, and stacked on a shelf in my closet. I don't know if anyone would be interested in reading them after I'm gone--and I'm sure there's plenty of "burnable" comments in them, as I've always let myself go freely in my journals. I currently write in my journal (or do Morning Pages a la Julia Cameron) a few days a week, but not every day. I quite like the look of your journal, and there's something to be said for the feel of a journal in the hand. My last one was leather covered, and just the right size and feel. My current one is a good size, but not as comfortable in the hand.Kathy A. Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01499969787028085716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-29341189127158588452014-11-16T06:44:20.409-05:002014-11-16T06:44:20.409-05:00I hadn't heard of Mallon's other book, so ...I hadn't heard of Mallon's other book, so thank you for mentioning it. I'll add it to my TBR list.<br />Bromfield Pen has been in Boston for decades. I was so happy to see that it was still here. Pens, ink, notebook, accessories! If you ever get to Boston, treat yourself! I'm afraid sometimes I overindulge!joan.kylerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17015342608992682333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-86410814453304892762014-11-15T14:00:56.452-05:002014-11-15T14:00:56.452-05:00I feel very chastised as my new-year resolution of...I feel very chastised as my new-year resolution of keeping a book journal lasted well into summer but something occurred to put me off track, your blog was a stark reminder that I not very good at keeping resolutions! The dozens of notes on my desk (written on the back of my daily cat calender) is living proof of that. So with fountain pen in hand filled with exotic Japanese ink I recommence..! We should all be so thankful Emily Dickinson's instructions (burn my work!) was not followed. Thanks Belle as ever! Tullikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10524256855855014534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-84651547299237721592014-11-15T10:25:29.630-05:002014-11-15T10:25:29.630-05:00Hope you are enjoying your stay in Boston, Joan. A...Hope you are enjoying your stay in Boston, Joan. A pen store? My heart be still. We don't have such a thing here in Louisville, but I still have the fountain pen I bought at a pen shop in Paris and also one from The Pen Shop in London. Good times!<br /><br />Ah, yes. What to do with the journals. I have often pondered this. Burning them seems the best route and I wonder if I should do this before I pass on just to make sure no one peeks! I sometimes think I will read through them but then that seems too overwhelming. I quit keeping my regular, three-pages-a-day journal some years ago when my mom become ill as I couldn't bear to live that time and re-live it on the page. So now I just keep that nightly 'list' journal.<br /><br />By the way, Mr. Mallon also has a book titled "Yours Ever: People and Their Letters" which I am on the hunt for. Unfortunately, my library doesn't have it. Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04335523622158333456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-69585857665721526402014-11-14T07:54:47.959-05:002014-11-14T07:54:47.959-05:00I read and enjoyed this book back in the 1980s, to...I read and enjoyed this book back in the 1980s, too. I've always loved reading diaries. I've kept a journal off and on since 5th grade, when someone attempted to bribe me with a pale blue 'Diary' with a lock to either stop biting my fingernails or stop sucking my finger (which I continued to an embarrassing age). My journals are varied, like yours are, and at the moment are in two cardboard file boxes. No one would ever mistake them for literature, and a reader might wonder if nothing of importance happened in the world during the 50+ years I've kept them. My entries are mostly things that happened to me and have been declining in interest through the years. There was a time when my life was too adventurous for general publication, so I've left instructions that my journals be burned after I'm gone. Or maybe I'll just edit out the interesting parts! I love fountain pens, too, and most of my journals were written with fountain pens. I haven't tried a Lamay, though, but I'm in Boston at the moment and near a lovely pen store, so .....<br />joan.kylerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17015342608992682333noreply@blogger.com