A Congratulations and a May Recap

Woman Reading
by
Louai Kayyali

Well as everyone I am sure knows by now, American author Madeline Miller has won the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction with her debut novel The Song of Achilles. Congratulations to her.

Although happy for Ms. Miller, I am disappointed that State of Wonder by Ann Patchett did not win. That book I have read and found it engaging. I read it in two gulps.

This is a short reading wrap-up for May:

Books read: A paltry 4
Books bought: 0 (could that be right?)
Still reading: Amenities of Book-Collecting by A. Edward Newton
Authors met: 0

Mr. Newton has enlightened me with essays on Mrs. Thrale, a good friend and benefactor of Dr. Samuel Johnson; Mr. William Godwin, the ridiculous philosopher (as Newton calls him) whose one claim to fame, besides being a rather contentious and unlikeable fellow, is being the father of Mary Wollstonecraft and father-in-law of Shelley; the origins and life of Temple Bar, the gateway into London; Mr. Trollope; and, James Boswell and his book about Dr. Johnson.

I have a new stack of book review magazines from The Professor across the street. And I have still not unpacked the bags of books bought on The Grand Southern Literary Tour.

Will I ever catch up?

Pelican Books

A Levenger catalogue arrived today in the mail. It offers absolutely drool-worthy notebooks, fountain pens, desk accessories, leather gear, furniture, and lamps for the personal library - all out of my price range of course. It touts itself as the purveyor of Tools for Serious Readers.

On the cover of this catalogue is the orange Penguin edition of On the Road by Jack Kerouac. Seeing it sent me to my bookshelves to find my one book that has the distinctive Penguin cover. Mine is not a Penguin though. It is a Pelican sporting a light blue cover with the white band. The title is A Book of English Essays by W.E. Williams. It is number A99.

The original price was one shilling and sixpence. I paid two pounds for it in 2002 in a used bookstore on Charing Cross Road in London. The copyright date is 1948 and the owner signed his name in ink on the title page: J. Leslie ???? Nov.'48. I can't quite make out the last name...Weigh or Neigh?

Anyway, this is a prize in my library, not only because I bought it in London, but because is contains essays by Addison and Steele, along with Charles Lamb, Robert Louis Stevenson, A.A. Milne, and Aldous Huxley.

Wikipedia tells me that Pelican was an enlargement of Penguin books that Sir Allen Lane founded in 1935. Pelicans came along in 1937 and were intended to educate rather than entertain. The first Pelican was George Bernard Shaw's The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism and Capitalism.

I see that Mr. Williams, the editor of my book, was one of the four members of the advisory board for the Pelicans and was editor-in-chief of Penguin from 1936 to 1965.

The Pelican series was discontinued in 1984.

I don't see too many old Penguins or Pelicans in American used bookstores which is a shame. In looking for the image above I find that there are some interesting volumes on architecture, composers, poetry, opera, wild flowers, Queen Elizabeth I and life in Shakespeare's time.

This could be a new book quest for me. I see trouble ahead.

Ailing

Crawled out from under the covers just long enough to report that I am feeling under the weather and have no book report today.

Memorial Day 2012

Memorial Day is celebrated today in America. It also heralds the beginning of summer.

Memorial Day or Decoration Day as it used to be called, originated after the American Civil War to honor Union soldiers who had died. Now it is a national holiday to honor all U.S. military men and women.

In the South, some nine states officially celebrate Confederate Memorial Day at different times. In Kentucky, the day is observed on June 3, which is the birthday of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America and a native Kentuckian.

On my bookshelf, sits a very fragile, stained volume. It has a deep maroon hard cover imprinted with gold letters. The title of this book is Confederate Veteran Association of Kentucky. The confederate flag is also printed in gold on the cover.

It is the fourth edition of the membership book of the Association. It is dated July 1, 1893 and contains the constitution and by-laws of the organization formed in 1891

"for the cultivation of social relations among those who were honorably engaged in the service of the Confederate States of America; to preserve the fraternal ties of comradeship; to aid and assist those of its members who, from disease, misfortune or the infirmities of age, may become incapable of supporting themselves or families; to pay a decent respect to the remains and to the memory of those who die, and to see that no worthy member shall ever become an object of public charity."

Why do I have this book, you might well ask.

Because it lists as a member my great-uncle (my grandmother's brother):

 J.W. Lyttle.....Lexington, Ky......Private.....Co. A, 3rd Ky. Battalion Cavalry

It also lists one of his sisters, Mamie Lyttle, as an honorary member along with wives and mothers of the veterans.

This of course interests no one but me, but J.W.'s involvement in the Civil War, (or the Northern Aggression or The Great Unpleasantness as it is sometimes referred to) is part of my family history.

And when would I ever have a chance to write about my ownership of said book except on this blog and on this day.

Mr. Newton Holds Forth

Photo of A. Edward Newton's library at his home, Oak Knoll, in Philadelphia
The man pictured by the fireplace is his son, E. Swift Newton

I have spent this dreadfully hot and humid Sunday in the cool of my reading chair enjoying time with A. Edward Newton and his thoughts on The Amenities of Book-Collecting. He writes about collecting rare books, but his thoughts are apropos of those of us who love books rare or otherwise.

Here are some I noted:

My sport is book hunting. I look upon it as a game, a game requiring skill, some money, and luck.

And his take on Dickens, written in 1918, which holds true today:

Age cannot wither nor custom stale his infinite variety. As a great creative genius he ranks with Shakespeare. He has given pleasure to millions; he has been translated into all the language of Europe.
 ...and the  marvel is that when Dickens is spoken of, it is difficult to arrive at an agreement as to which is his greatest book.

And finally:
There is joy in mere ownership. It may be silly, or it may be selfish; but is is a joy, akin to that of possessing land, which seems to need no defense. We do not walk over our property every day; we frequently do not see it; but when the fancy takes us, we love to forget our cares and responsibilities in a ramble over our fields. In like manner, and for the same reason, we browse with delight in a corner of our library in which we have placed our most precious books. We should buy our books as we buy our clothes, not only to cover our nakedness, but to embellish us; and we should buy more books and fewer clothes.

A Garden Stroll

I came across this garden meme on Cornflower's blog. She posted it in celebration of the Chelsea Flower Show. This is my first meme. What fun.

Early this morning during my stay at A Writer's House in Wales, I stepped out into the garden after Breakfast with Socrates and marveled at the Millions of sunlight sparkles in the water in the fountain. They reminded me of Loose Diamonds.

My visit to the house was A Lighthearted Quest along with visits to 18 Bookshops during the month of The Enchanted April. The garden fountain was Framed by rose bushes with blooms of pink, yellow, and white. They reminded me of the gardens I had seen on my many wonderful Journeys in Bella Tuscany.

At that moment, Mr. g, having finished his morning meal that consisted of a Balzac's Omelette and kippers, joined me in the garden and we began to deadhead the geraniums growing along the path. We came across a small wren that had been Killed at the Whim of a Hat by some neighborhood cat, I suppose.

That put me in a thoughtful mood as I pondered that poor little bird's Appointment with Death.

“I like Living Alone,” I told him, thinking of the choices I have made. “It is all part of my Happiness Project.”

He agreed that such decisions were all part of The Greater Journey. As we continued to enjoy our early morning stroll in the garden, I made a promise to remember the State of Wonder and contentment I felt at this moment.

A Smarter Smart Phone

I recently upgraded my old smart phone for an even smarter one. It has a huge screen which I love. I downloaded my Nook app and today as I was waiting in a coffee shop between appointments I started reading Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley. It was his first novel and it was published in 1921.

I can't remember now where I read about this book that pokes fun at British customs of that time. It is a country house novel and promises to be witty and engaging.

Crome is the name of the manor.

I have had it on my Nook for some time now, but have never been able to read it on that device. I always got an error message so I was surprised and pleased to be able to get the text on my phone.

It is a short novel and it was free. How great is that. And don't you just love the cover photo that I found?