Literary foraging - bring a shovel.

 AH HA!  

This past Saturday I found Bookman's Corner OPEN!

I went in...

It said no camera's allowed...

but there was no way anyone

would see me take a few snaps.

W H O A

Piles....and PILES 

of books.
Thus, I began my search to find exactly what I forgot I was looking for.

WARNING: If OCD stay away.
Somehow, the mystery in the overwhelming disorganization

caused quite a stir in me.

I wasn't sure where to begin...

so, I just wandered.

I let myself get lost looking.

Picking up random books...

listening to conversations...

watching people...

I loved it here.

The 'locator tabs' were hand-made...
the owner's attempt at applying some sort of structure to the chaos.

And the smell...just like I had imagined.

I wouldn't come here looking for something specific...you will never find it.

I walked away with four books for $6!
I replaced Catcher in the Rye as I gave my copy to Vee.
I've been wanting to read Sharp Objects every since I couldn't put down Gone Girl!  Score!
The proprietor told me as he picked up Steinbeck, promise me you will throw this book away once you've finished reading it.  In fact, he tossed the book behind him in a pile and laughed.  I'd be doing you a favor, you know.  Then he said, okay, I can't charge you more than a $1.
 Still want it?
 I can already tell I may not get through it...what is with the classics?
Ah...my fav...Oscar Wilde...couldn't pass it up. 
I'll tell you something, this place deserves a special trip.
I can't wait to bring Steinbeck back.
*heehee*

It was about closing time when I left.

I walked outside and saw this station wagon.

You're thinking what I'm thinking...aren't you?

Seems to me, the guy who owns the book store,

probably owns this car.

Rare...Medium...Well Done

Bookman's Corner...a hidden (no understatement) gem in Lincoln Park.

I've walked by this...book store? many times.

It has never been open...at least when I have passed by.

I'm dying to go in.

I'm intrigued by this place.

It's hard to see...but the books...are just haphazardly tossed throughout the store.

Buried...one on top of the other.
I've peered inside...stacks of books, papers, stuff...everywhere.

I must get in there.

I'm pretty certain he isn't using the Dewey Decimal System...

in fact, there seems to be no system in place at all.

But, can you imagine the smell of all the old books?

What hidden treasures await?

If you know me, I love the hunt of a really good deal.

I'm anxious to peruse and find some hidden coffee table book or
some dusty copy of the next classic on my list.

A chaotic mess...

but it looks like a fantastic place to kill some time this Saturday or Sunday 

while the rain comes down...

So, I'll grab my Indiana Jones hat and make my way inside there this weekend...

I'll let you know what turns up.

CLOSED. 

Damn.

Do you judge a book by its cover?

I'll be the first to admit...sometimes I do.  

How can you help it?  

Especially, when you stumble across a few classics in this watercolor edition.  

What an eerily intoxicating story the cover alone tells.  

What gothic romance awaits? 

What secrets lurk in the castles above?

And so began...

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 

My friend Diane shared one night, that this book, of ALL books, was her favorite.  

I thought to myself...rightfully so...it is deemed one of the greatest works of English Fiction.

I couldn't wait to read it after she raved about it. 

I mean, how many books come along that you just looove?  

I mean..love so much...they are deemed a favorite!  

I only have a few...and they aren't trending as 'classics.'

Have you read this?  

All, 453 pages? 

I guess you either know the plot or not.  

In a nutshell,  it's basically an against-all-odds sort of love story.

This Jane character...wow, what a strong moral compass...dealt a tough hand of cards. 

Yet, what I loved most about her, was her strong sense of self, independence and her spirit.

Dealt a bad hand, or not...the cruelty she endured during her childhood, in my opinion, helped develop her independent nature.

She yields more to women of today than back in the day.  

Where we knew that era to prove women submissive, no voice...no dreams...Jane, was quite the opposite.  

A woman, definitely ahead of her time...and I liked that about her.

I'll be honest, I found myself, at times, drifting off...you know...a couple of pages later catching my thoughts and having to rope them back in.  

If you pick this up, you have to be in the frame of mind to read.  Absorb.  Take it in.  

Is it worth the read...or do you rent the movie?  

I guess it's up to you.  

I'm plowing through the classics...it's on the bucket list. 

In fact, my mantra of late...

I.must.read.the.classics.

What's next you ask?  

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte...the sister writes...stay tuned.

No TV yields a classic.

About two weeks ago my goddam TV just went black.  There was no warning...no snow...no sound without a view...nada...just went black.  Lame.  Lousy piece of crap.  So, I did some sluething around and found out it was probably the t-board and I could replace it at Radio Shack and take the back off of the goddam television and fix it and bam, that goddam TV would probably work again. I didn't do that.  And, I haven't bought another one...yet.

 Needless to say, I've got an abundance of 'free time'. I was thinking about my bucket list and remembered I had put read/reread the classics.  While we were in Europe, Vee and I had discussed this and we each bought one and decided we would trade when we finished it.  

Five months later and no TV, I pick up Catcher in the Rye.  

Did you read this?  Do you remember Holden talks just like that?  Every other word is lousy or goddam.  At first, I really thought the book was lousy.  I was asking people in casual conversations, what was so goddam great about Catcher in the Rye?  Why is this book deemed, a classic?  

I really was. 

 I really thought the goddam book was lousy.  

But, I kept reading it and I grew to like how J.D. Salinger wrote.  It was just like how he talked. He didn't shape the book after journalistic rules.  He seemed to just write and I liked that.

 After reading awhile, I started to feel a little sorry for Holden. He was a regular teenager.  Growing up and dealing and just making his way...discovering what it must be like trying to come into being a man. 

 My favorite part, is his affection for his sister, Phoebe.  He sneaks home one night (he got kicked out of Prep school) and wakes her up to talk.   Without going into all the detail, she asks him what he wants to be?  What do you want to do Holden? 

 I love that he sat there and had to think about it...and he finally said he didn't know. She was like - you don't know?  Who doesn't know what they want to be?  Then he explained he'd like to be in the rye fields when the children play.  When they are all high on life, floating around and getting too close to the edge. He would catch them...you know, be a catcher in the rye and all.  

Seems like a simple dream...or heroic in a way.  I don't know, I just liked it.  I liked that he didn't know what he wanted to do..at least not right away.  Because, sometimes I don't even know...and here I am...41.

  I will tell you something...I don't think I've ever been in a rye field and I decided I don't remember ever reading this book! 

 I came to this conclusion because, I didn't remember that is why the book is named, Catcher in the Rye.  Hence, on my bucket list, read the classics and reread the ones you think you've read...because I probably didn't or I didn't retain anything important about the book.  Reminds me of, St. Elmo's Fire - remember?  I didn't recall why or what St. Elmo's Fire meant...where was I?  

Regardless, I have changed my stance on it...I no longer think the book is lousy.  I think it's a goddam great book. I like the honesty and the emotions. I love his adventurous spirit and quest for love, albeit odd.  He seems so innocent, almost silly but courageous...and in the end...I liked all the language.  I found it entertaining...thankfully, right...cause, I still got no goddam TV. 

I wondered about the book.  I wondered WHY it had such acclaim because although, I like it...I don't love it. So, I read that most think, because of the time it was written, in the 1950's, it was deemed of such radical social opinion and written at a time of conservatism that if published today, it most likely would go under the radar and not have reached such stature. There is a lot of criticism and praise for the book...it's interesting to read.  What I found most interesting however, was to read about J.D. Salinger himself. He became uninterested in fame after seeking it and turned recluse.  Dying what most would consider a lonley life at 91.   

In the meantime, I've read Gone Girl (total page turner), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (cute - a movie is coming out soon) and Wife 22 (loved it).

How have I plowed through all of these goddam books?  Oh, my lousy TV broke.  Perhaps, not such a bad thing after all.   

Big chills...or not?

Oooh, I bet you're wondering how I knew...
About your plans to make me blue...

Another '80's favorite. Another one we've all seen a million times.  Another soundtrack that played endlessly...for years. 

I watched it again the night before last.  Then...I listened to the soundtrack all day yesterday and all day today...filled with Motown classics.  The Rolling Stones, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin and Smokey Robinson to name a few.  Some amazing tunes peppered throughout...do I dare say...a boring movie.  Seriously, re-watch it...ugh, it dragged on.

I found myself dissecting it...another group (seven) of thirty-somethings who briefly reunite for a weekend after a life-long friend commits suicide.  Set at some palatial, quintessential southern home, where they all come together and end up spending the weekend wondering...again...what is the meaning of life?  What is our purpose?  Hmmm...flashing back to St. Elmo's Fire...the chase after meaning...the constant wonder of what we are supposed to be doing?  

Yes, a classic film with a soundtrack that in my opinion...saves face. I really don't remember finding them all so...whiny.  I did love the scene where they are all dancing around the kitchen singing...and they all get the old -school Nike's...but come on Kevin Kline...get some new running shorts - ewwww...they were totally grossing me out.

Over the course of the movie you discover the group of friends, are in fact, quite successful.  But, as they peel open the layers of themselves...after what seems like a long-drawn out.. wine...doobie-filled weekend, you discover they all  come to the conclusion their lives don't represent any real purpose.   Again, no conclusions about their own lives...or life in general.  There goes one of the songs in my head, "You Can't Always Get What You Want."  Or can you?

There we are...still thinking about the biggest burning question in life.  After some thought...perhaps that is the meaning of the movie...to leave us wondering.  Who are we?  Where have we been?  Where are we going?

Alex,  the one who was deemed the smartest...the brightest...the one who would 'do something' with his life...and ended up, he was the least accomplished and then committed suicide.  Why did he commit suicide...I am not sure the reasons ever really become clear?

Who is really to say what constitutes a meaningful life as long as you are living your own?  Isn't that really the beauty?  Again, ultimate reality is different for everyone. 

I heard it through the grapevine,
Not much longer would you be mine.
I heard it through the grapevine,
Oh I'm just about to lose my mind.
Honey, honey, yea.



 

Great balls of fire...

Rainy days beg for a comfy couch, cozy blanket, a good movie and popcorn. 

Sunday, as I was searching the movie channels an old favorite popped up; St. Elmo’s Fire.  It had already started but I’ve seen it a few times before.  So I settled in. 

The infamous, Brat Pack…a coming of age film about finding the meaning of life…ah, adulthood.  They all looked so young.  As I watched… a few things made me wonder…things I hadn’t wondered before…

There is a scene where Demi Moore locks herself in her apartment because her life is in utter shambles and Rob Lowe breaks down the door (after she has unlocked it) and tries to tell her that she is making all of her problems bigger than they are and references it to St. Elmo’s Fire.  Do you remember?  He continues to explain that the sailors would guide their journeys around it but that there was no fire…in fact, no St. Elmo.  They THOUGHT they needed it to keep them going when things got tough. He then takes the spray can and his lighter...great balls of fire! 

I will admit a couple of things; I must have been completely swooning over Rob Lowe because I totally missed that analogy before.  Seriously, we all had a crush on Rob Lowe, before the scandal, right?  Secondly, how embarrassing…all of this time, I thought St. Elmo’s Fire was in reference to the bar they all congregated to…not the ‘phenomenon relating to weather.’    

Just so you know, in case I wasn’t the only person on the planet thinking that, according to Wikipedia, St. Elmo’s Fire is a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a coronal discharge from a grounded object in an electric field in the atmosphere (such as those generated by thunderstorms created by a volcanic eruption).  The phenomenon sometimes appeared on ships at sea during thunderstorms and was regarded by sailors with religious awe for its glowing ball of light, accounting for the name. 

KEWL.  First of all, I love the word phenomenon and I find weather so fascinating. 

I also found it interesting that Kevin aka Andrew McCarthy was able to define the meaning of life after being with Leslie aka Ali Sheedy.  The entire movie…he is reserved…quiet, not living and then they have one night and there he is... smiling, opening up, writing, suddenly published and showing a happy that we see was sadly, one sided. Leslie's heart is still with the ass hole, typical.      

My mind wandered off as I watched, thinking to myself…what do I consider to be the meaning of life? It seems like the one burning question that no one is really able to define.  The ultimate reality is different for everyone.

In the end, the glowing ball of light for the Brat Pack was that they were growing up…pursuing dreams…moving on…and discovering they outgrew St. Elmo’s Fire.  

A haphazard list...all about me

There is nothing specific...no pattern or objective…no aim, no real direction...no rules...just completely random things about me I thought I’d share…

Here is a random picture of me to go along with my random list...

1.    I prefer cupcakes on my birthday over a cake

2.    I am dying to go to Africa

3.    I am extremely ticklish

4.    My favorite food is Sushi but a good steak and a glass of red wine is a close second

5.    I have moved around a lot since college.  Indianapolis, Chicago, San Diego, Las Vegas, San Francisco including Marin County, Park City, Laguna Beach, back to PC, back to Indiana, then Chicago, Sawyer, MI and now I've landed in Indiana.  This rolling stone collects no moss.

6.    I wish I had a deeper voice…kind of Demi Moore-ish

7.    I think the Golden Gate Bridge and the Palace of Fine Art should be considered as two of the Wonders of the World.

8.    I love when people do the ‘little things’

9.    I put myself through college on a swimming scholarship and I have no idea how I made it to all of those morning practices

10. I’m a hopeless romantic.  However, if someone does something romantic for me I turn five shades of red, get really quiet and feel embarrassed but then relish on it for dayz

11. I absolutely love music and can’t believe my iPod died three months ago and I still haven’t replaced it

12. I feel blessed that I am a twin because she is my best friend and I can’t imagine life without her

13. The first concert I ever went to was Billy Joel with my college bestie, Marta

14. I like to go to really nice restaurants and eat at the bar

15. I always shorten words, for example, grocery = ‘groc’

16. I would like to own a loft in Chicago whether I live there full time or not

17. I don’t tell my family and friends I love them enough.  I hope they know.

18. I cry easily and I am overly-emotional.  A trait I dislike about myself

19. I think it’s interesting when people see me and think it’s Vee

20. I need the sun…

21. I never wore makeup in high school or college and now I feel like I can’t leave the house without it

22. Growing up we spent Christmas Eve at my sister Lucinda’s house.  It was one of my favorite parts of Christmas!

23. I am most proud of having started and continued ‘Generations’ with my family for over 15 years

24. I love dessert and would prefer it over any meal any day of the week

25. I have had a weird aversion to eggs and mushrooms this past year…for some reason they completely gross me out.

What are some random things about you? I’d love to know.