NEW BOOKS, NEW BLOG

A huge number of "new" books have just tumbled (along with the leaves) right through my door, including a mint copy of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, a fascinating novel & best-seller currently being read by Washington's book group.
Two "new" audio books are in: The Secret Life of Bees and Morality for Young Girls (a #1 Ladies Detective Agency book).
Brand new titles from Knitting Out Loud include The Secret Language of Knitters and Mason-Dixon Knitting: Outside the Lines, both warm & funny. These are well-priced at 14.95 & 19.95 respectively and make great gifts. You don't have to be a knitter to listen to and laugh along with these wonderful audio books.

More titles:
Praying for Sheetrock by Melissa F Greene (non-fic), "a beautiful & compelling story of a small Southern town's awakening to civil rights and the courageous black man who led the call", $6;
Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott, one of my personal favorites - Lamott writes about the "soft" topics - spirituality, motherhood - in an uncompromising, rueful voice, $4;
Selected Poems of WH Auden, anything by Auden is a score!, $6;
The Flame Trees of Thika and it's sequel The Mottled Lizard by Elspeth Huxley, classic autobiography of Huxley's African childhood, $6 each;
Collected Stories of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, stories that are "rich & startling" by one of the world's greatest writers, $4;
and a bunch of cool additions to our mystery section.

I am currently looking for: anything by Annie Proulx; Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo; vintage knitting & spinning books; current audio books in great condition; anything about small farms, off-the-grid living, goats & such-like.

Lastly: I am starting a NEW BLOG, called My Life With Knitters, inspired by the many wonderful, creative, hard-working people that I've met since I re-entered the fiber world
about 2 years ago. I will be profiling designers, small business owners, mentors & friends who have helped to propel me on my way. These are fascinating people, making inspiring choices with their lives (and their dollars). Please read along & comment!

Bookstore hours are CRAZY: call ahead (845-2133), email (kjelenfy@fairpoint.net) or stop by on a Saturday or Sunday between 9 am & 3 pm, the surest times to see me. Don't forget to say hi to Winnie & Lucy, our adorable cashmere goats!

A House Trashed by Books

This foggy morning I'm sitting in what was once a lovely room. All around me huddle stacks of books, unlovely, in that I can't read them or even properly see most of the spines & titles. Village Books is moving all right and it's re-located into every nook and cranny of my home, awaiting its new space.

It occurs to me that used book dealers should be in vogue these days - after all, we recycled long before most people. And we recycle the best of what humanity has to offer - our stories, our observations, our musings; whatever, in fact, comes into our heads and can be written down. This is how we learn from each other and from other eras; this is how we are reminded that we can triumph as we have before.

In this spirit, I'd like to remind you of or introduce you to some older volumes that you may have overlooked or forgotten. All of these titles are favorites and, of course, all are available from Village Books.

Parnassus on Wheels & The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley, 1917, 1919
These two charming books are often available at your local used book shop or even Goodwill.
I've always been envious of Parnassus, a little book caravan that travels the American countryside selling what people truly need. That's the life for me! And what better place to browse (maybe minus the pipe smoke), than The Haunted Bookshop, where the owner, Roger Mifflin, now married in Brooklyn and a stationary rather than rolling purveyor of books, becomes involved in an urban-sized mystery and the lives of two young lovers.

Herself Surprised, The Horse's Mouth, and Prisoner of Grace by Joyce Cary 1941, 1944, 1952
Many people have read Horse's Mouth or seen the movie version starring Alec Guiness as the redoubtable painter, Gulley Jimson. The Horse's Mouth is a classic and rightfully so. It's both poetic and rollicking, a difficult combination to achieve. But did you know that Sarah Monday has a book all to herself and is Surprised (perhaps the most entertaining of the three) and that the whole, complicated mess is sorted (and philosophized about) in Prisoner?

And finally (for today), nothing can beat the Mrs. Tim Christie series by D.E. Stevenson (1934 & on). These witty stories are written in diary form by Hester Tim, wife of a British Infantryman between the wars. These are light reads; but they convey a stalwartness (particularly in Mrs. Tim Carries On, which takes place as WWII begins) and courage that we desperately need in the US today. Charmingly told tales of frugality, perseverance and charity to one's neighbors are just what we need these days. The Mrs. Tim books have become collectors' items, but you may find them (as I did) in a library that doesn't "cull" its stacks every five seconds or, of course in a truly good used book shop. Like Village Books.

More soon,

Karen