A Gift Just for Me

Bloomsbury Bookbag

by Levenger

I do love to treat myself. This year I splurged and bought the above pictured Bloomsbury Bookbag from Levenger. It was on sale before Christmas (and still is for $49) and comes stocked with a selection of bookish items. Mine contained a full-size notepad, a book bungee, bookmark sticky flags, two small magnifying cards, a selection of index cards, and a telescoping pen.

It is quite the stylish tote! This bag is made of blue (not quite as dark as in this photo) cotton canvas with leather trim and handles. The inside is lined and roomy and has a zippered pocket. There are six outside pockets just made for stuffing. The bottom is flat so it sits well - an important consideration.

Also pictured are three books on my list to read in 2014 beginning with The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin and One Summer by Bill Bryson. The book that is still gift wrapped is an autographed copy of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt that I bought in Savannah on my recent Grand Southern Literary Tour 2013.

Of course, this bag will hold much more than books, but I can't think of anything else I would rather carry around with me. 

What gift did you treat yourself to this year?

Eureka! A Reading Pillow That Works

The Pyramid Reading Pillow  

I have written a few times about the frustration of not being able to find a comfortable pillow designed for reading in bed. 

That quest has come to a successful end. I am not one to tout products, but I do want to tell you about the Pyramid Pillow from Levenger.com. Instead of holding me, this pillow is designed to hold a book - paper or electronic - in my lap, on a desk, or in bed.

I love this pillow. It has a canvas cover, is filled like a beanbag, is lightweight, and has pockets to hold reading glasses, phone, or pen and paper. It even comes with its own screen-cleaning cloth. It measures about 10 inches wide by 12 inches deep by 9 inches high. 

I can snuggle down in my bed, covers up to my chin, with my head propped up on pillows and rest this gem on my chest. My Kindle fits perfectly on the 'ledge' on one side of the pillow and is held at a comfortable angle for reading. I like my Kindle for reading in bed as I can increase the font size and can actually see the words on the page, er, screen. 

A plus for me, besides the above, is that this small pillow sits on my bedside table holding the Kindle when I am not using it. I never could figure out where to put those bed rest pillows during the day. They were not very attractive and were so bulky they were difficult to store. 

If you are interested in this companion to your nighttime reading, it is item number FA4235. It also comes in a tan/gray color (which isn't as attractive as my black/gray one). It costs $39. Levenger seems to always have some sort of sale going on so you could keep an eye out for a bargain. When I bought mine a few weeks ago, it was on sale and I got it for $34 including shipping.

Who knew that a little pillow could make me so happy!

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.