The Favorite Reads of the Great Writers

I love the idea behind this article that was sent to me by oedb.org and is titled, "The Favorite Books of America's Best Authors." Even the people that write the incredible books that we love to read must have a list of favorite books. This list compiles twenty famous author's favorite books.

Ernest Hemingway said of Mark Twain's, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, "It's the best book we've had. All American writing comes from that." I love the idea of one great and legendary American writer complimenting another phenomenal American writer.

Two writers, Ray Bradbury and Cormac McCarthy, on the list named Moby Dick as their favorite book. I had to read the nearly 8-pound book the summer before my junior year in high school and unlike the other 60 students that also had to read it, I loved it. It is not my absolute favorite book but I still felt a great wave of accomplishment upon completing the famous book.

In a Library

Libraries are one of my favorite things. I love the feel of a room or building devoted completely to housing books and the stories those books in turn are a home for. My dream house will have its own library with stacks and stacks of my favorite books, vintage globes, turquoise bookshelves, vases of beautiful flowers, comfy chairs, colorful chandeliers and scarves hanging from floor lamps. Kinda like a gypsy library.

This article was sent to me by oedb.org and is titled, "15 Libraries Taking Summer Reading to the Next Level" and can be found here.

When all three of us lived at home during the summer which now hasn't happened for two years, we would have contests to see who could read the greatest amount of books. It was always interesting to see what the three of us would read individually. My mom and I tend to read similar books and Brytten reads biographies of her icons; Ava Gardner, Marilyn Monroe, Goldie Hawn. Oh and there was that summer I read every book Tom Brokaw has ever written...

As college students that face nine months of reading materials selected for us and having a minute amount of time for leisure reading, I think its important that we use our summer months to catch up on the stories we want to immerse ourselves in. This list compiles libraries across the country that have set out to cater to the summer reading desires of adult readers.

Here are my favorite things about each library included in this list:

Framingham Public Library
This library leads a reading competition much like the one we all did around third grade. Adult readers can log the amount of books they read, chosen completely on their own and the final prize is a Kindle. I love a good, healthy reading competition!

The Charles H. Stone Memorial Library
This library has a summer reading program for younger readers. I am a big fan of the program they have instigated because it combines reading and also the joys of summer that are unique to those three great months. Besides just reading, the young readers participating in this program can participate in a mobile space lab, yoga classes, magic shows and other fun activities designed especially for tween and teen readers.

Pima County Public Library
This library also has interactive activities for readers of every age. There are over 100 activities for its reading program participants to engage themselves with including learning more about native plants, taking photos, painting landscapes, cardio kung fu and younger kids can enjoy juggling shows, story time, and rocket-building activities.

Metropolitan Library System
Like the previous libraries this library also combine creativity-boosting activities in conjunction with reading like fiends. Activities include magic shows, steampunk-themed exhibits, business buidling classes, wizard rock shows (I have to admit, I am not entirely sure what that would be...), and a gnome hunt. A gnome hunt?? How can that not be fun?!

New Orleans Public Library
I am a big fan of all things New Orleans and it is one of my favorite cities I have traveled to so I was delighted to see it included on the list. Following the trend, this library promotes fun hands-on-learning-without-realizing-you-are-learning activities. But what is most impressive is that it boasts 500 teens and a whopping 3,260 kids signed up to participate in the summer reading program. 

Newton Country Library
This library has a unique system set up to encourage summer reading. Kids can sign up and pledge to read at least 15 minutes a day. When I read the pledge part I envisioned a secret readers handshake. Winner then receive free books and gift certificates. The library also brings in storytellers and kids can journey to the library to read under the stars, which I absolutely adore.  

Indianapolis Public Library
Ok I love everything about this library. Their program is called Gear Up for Good and is open to readers as young as toddlers. Go them! The program includes a children's book blog suggesting recommended books and most impressively an earn-and-learn program to help youngsters pay off library debt. Which would have been nice for Brytten and I when we were little as I am pretty sure we are now thousands of dollars in debt to the Sioux Falls Public Library because the books we checked out about 13 years ago are still dwelling in my bedroom. 

Fort Worth Public Library
I really like this library's attempt to combine fine arts in young readers. Their program not only encourages reading, obviously but also brings a jazz festival and art exhibits to the library. Way to go having all their bases covered. 

Harris County Public Library
The summer reading program at this library saw a humongous 81% jump in participation in the last year. This program encourages participants to utilize a ReaderNation blog to get suggestions for reading materials and then share their thoughts on the selections. They can even sign up with a personal reading consultant which I may have to add to my list of dream jobs. 

Clermont County Public Library
Their summer reading program's theme is "Read: Morning, Noon, and Night." Simply awesome.

Findlay Hancock County Public Library 
Like most of the other libraries in this list, this library combines other art forms along with the great art of reading. But these activities include scrapbooking, jewelry making and basket weaving. I love that!

New York Public Library
The mega-famous library has 23,000 registrants that can participate in awesome-ness like chess games, films, video games, and knitting circles.  

Brytten and I at the New York Public Library five years ago

Aiken County Public Library
This library is motivated to get the whole family involved in summer reading and has instigated programs including admiring creatures from the local River Ecology Lab, a Star Wars family fun night (ok, the three of us wouldn't have found that too fun...), an abstract painting class (that we would have found fun), and puppet shoes. 

Seattle Public Library
Summer readers in Seattle can take part in movie nights, grown-up story times, operatic performances, readings, and lectures on science and literature topics. 

San Antonio Public Library
Teen readers in this summer reading program can share reviews and make reading suggestions online. Maybe they will become future bloggers. Most impressively, and what makes this library probably the best on the list is their free lunch program which invites underprivileged kids to eat lunch, enjoy a book and take part in a community program. 

Business-Savy

Yet another article I was asked to comment on can be found on onlinemba.com and is titled, "The 25 Best Business Novels to Dig Into This Summer." Ok truth time: I have only taken one business-related course at Augustana and rely a whole lot on my mother to explain the business-y things I will someday only hope to understand. I should probably start tackling this list now...

Or watch the movies that several of these books have been made into...

After just briefly browsing through the list I was impressed by the general theme that these books take on: Try with all your might to succeed in a designated area.
A.K.A. Be a good college student.

Check out the article here: http://www.onlinemba.com/blog/the-25-best-business-novels-to-dig-into-this-summer/

Additionally I love F. Scott Fitzgerald and never looked at The Great Gatsby as a business novel but rather a look at one of the most fascinating decades. I love reading books in a new light so maybe I will attempt to put on my businesswoman hat and reread this American classic.

Stuck in School?

Another article I was asked to blog about doesn't exactly hit home for me during this lazy-of-all-laziness summer but it definitely does for a lot of my friends that are taking summer classes to get ahead. And on a side note I am once again grateful for my major and minors that overlap one another with several classes. This article titled, "8 Ways to Make Summer School Feel Like a Vacation" was presented to me by onlinedegreeprograms.com and can be found here: http://www.onlinedegreeprograms.com/blog/2012/8-ways-to-make-summer-school-feel-like-a-vacation/

Because its me and I live the 9 months of the year that aren't technically classified as summer like its summer -which is hard to do when you live in South Dakota- I think this list could apply all year round.

1. Study by the pool
I definitely agree that alternative study places are necessary especially when you can soak up some Vitamin D

2. Take mini vacations
These could be anything... a quick weekend road trip, a bike ride in the middle of the day, a pedicure...

3. Read for pleasure
This should absolutely be done all year! As college students we have to read a lengthy list of books as a requirement. Reading books that we choose to find intriguing keeps your interests sparked, thus making you a better learner.

4. Reward yourself
I would suggest the same things as the mini vacations

5. Explore your college town
This is proving to be more and more important! I wasn't really aware of this since I went to a college in my hometown but when my sister went to school 6 hours away I saw how important it is to not only invest yourself in your campus but in the town you will spend more of the next four years, if not many after that, in.

6. Go out and have fun
Duh! You will exhaust yourself basically immediately if you are in school mode all the time

7. Take classes in subjects you love
... Hence why I will graduate with an art minor

8. Sleep in
Definitely. You need it. One of the most relaxing things is going to sleep without an alarm set.

Give Yourself a Project

This has been quite the week for blogging! Since Monday I have had 6 requests from websites and organizations geared for college students to blog for them. The first request came from onlinecollegecourses.com and invited me to share their article, "50 Fun Self-Improvement Projects to Assign Yourself This Summer."

The article came be found here:  http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2012/07/08/50-fun-self-improvement-projects-to-assign-yourself-this-summer/

This blog started as a self-improvement project to improve my writing and dedication to writing and now over a year later I am glad I have kept it up. Hint, hint...

Summer is the perfect time to try something new that you think about doing during the school year but a huge list of other priorities always pops up. I am impressed by this list that includes 50 different ideas and people with numerous interests could get some inspiration from this article. It is divided into categories with ideas pertaining to each category.

In the Arts section two of my favorite suggestions are to write your autobiography and to tackle a "Best Novels" list. Sometimes when I tell some of my friends a quirky story about my life they inform me that I have to write it in my memoir. At this rate my future memoir will be a series. Yesterday, my friend Abbie told me the books she has read this summer (a whopping 11 so far) and one of which she found on a list that college women should read. I found another list that the Huffington Post compiled for some suggestions: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/27/best-books-college-students_n_721365.html#s141789&title=Flatland_by_Edwin. One of my favorite books that takes about 45 minutes to read is "The House on Mango Street." Its a perfect summer read, including the fact that a lovely summer fruit is in the title, but also that you can read it during a quick break from swimming at a lake.

The next section of the article is Food and Health. One of the ideas is listed as "Acquaint yourself with wine." I love how that is worded. My friend Cady and I visited a local winery a couple weeks ago. Calico Skies is just south of Sioux Falls in what may be the most beautiful building in this state and every person I know should go there. We got to sample about 6 wines and then enjoyed a glass. My goal is to be able to identify wines beyond how my friend Adam would describe them... "Well, that's winey."

And because I am just that informative today check out Calico Skies website here: http://www.calicoskieswine.com/

My other favorite idea in the Food and Health section of this article was to explore yoga. For comic relief I suggest doing yoga in the backyard or front yard if you are really daring and see how your neighbors react. Win Win! Since yoga and laughter are both so good for us!

The next section was simply listed as safety. I wasn't able to relate since I am always living on the edge. Haha totally kidding. One of the suggestions was to take up Krav Maga which I guess is a grown-up, uber-serious Tae Kwon Do. Or if you are me you can just go to your sister's boyfriend's Martial Arts class that he teaches and get some more comic relief from watching the little kids grunt and punch the air with all their might...

The fourth section was Communication. The first suggestion was to learn Morse Code which seems a tad unnecessary but just the other day I watched the episode of The Office in which Jim and Pam take a Morse Code class with the sole intention to irritate Dwight. So I guess if you have a Dwight-like character in your life, this would be an excellent way to spend your summer! The other suggestion that I really liked in the Communication section was to learn new vocabulary words. My mom discovered the word, aisling, which is Gaelic for dream. Lovely.

The next section is Home and Garden which should apply to me since I am the first born of the world's greenest thumb. So obviously the suggestion that says "Start a Garden" should excite me. But I do love picking out flowers with my mom and strolling around greenhouses and having different smells of flowers waft into my nose. I love watching my mom plant those flowers and she puts as much consideration into the colors that go into a single pot that a professional painter would consider when picking and mixing paint colors.

The other suggestion I enjoyed in this section was to build a rocking chair. Ok, I really don't have any desire to build or even own a rocking chair. But I love spending my summers watching my grandpa work on his various crafty-man projects and this summer will include welding a torch for our Olympic-themed Viking Days homecoming celebration so I guess that could be in the same category...

Technology of course took up its own section and again, this isn't really up my alley. However I think there is so much we can learn from technology and I am in awe of the way it connects us with the rest of the world. My friend Katie left the other day for a month-long trek around the world and luckily she is keeping a blog so I can be in the know about her awesome trip. This post is getting link-happy so here is a link to her lovely blog: http://asummerwithmysiblings.blogspot.com/

The final section of this article was titled "Miscellaneous" which I think could be renamed to "Pinterest-It-Up." Make those lace-trimmed shorts! Paint your own lamp shade! Create your own stationary and wax seal! Make your own clutch out of placemats! You get the idea..

I also like the idea of learning how to tie a necktie. I feel as though men look at this skill as a step to becoming a grownup. And women, as independent as we view ourselves, we like the idea of knowing how to tie a man's necktie.

This article is a very well, compiled list that could inspire nearly anyone to stretch their skills and imagination! Use these 100-or-so days to learn something new that you are able to do and didn't even realize it!

My sister had this as a Facebook status the other day that seems perfect for this post and to use as a mantra.


“Your 20s are your ‘selfish’ years. It’s a decade to immerse yourself in every single thing possible. Be selfish with your time, and all the aspects of you. Tinker with shit, travel, explore, love a lot, love a little, and never touch the ground.”
—Kyoko Escamilla

Summer Reading

Summer is the season of sunshine, hammocks, swimming, hiking, and of course reading. From the time we are able to read we start drafting a summer reading list. Much to my mother's unwarranted perplexity, I read the same four books every summer to kick off my own summer reading list. I, of course, then add new reads to the list but I think of these four as a staple to my summer. My absolute favorite book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, is the foundation of my summer and I make it a personal goal to get as many of my friends as possible to adopt it as their favorite book as well.

I blogged about this book last summer here and quoted some of my favorite quips and passages. It was interesting to read it again this summer and underline/highlight/dog-ear different parts of the book that jumped out at me. That's the thing about reading the same book multiple times... It stays the same but you are different. Thus its definitely like reading a totally different book, Mother! And she is the woman that reads books multiple times simply because she forgets that she has already read them. At least I do it with a purpose.

And now here is what 2012 decided were my favorite parts of this lovely book:

“Susan Scott said you took to the audience at the luncheon like a drunkard to rum - and they to you.”

Ok, maybe I just liked this line because this happens to be the summer I turned 21...

“I can’t think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can’t talk to, or worse, someone I can’t be silent with.” 

So true...

“The hairs, they are a disaster.”

This is my sentiment basically every day..

“He had no imagination, either- fatal for one engaged in child-rearing.”

After living with my mom again I realize that an imagination is necessary in one's hopes of being a good parent...

“I am a grown woman - mostly - and I can guzzle champagne with whomever I choose.” 

Again, that whole turning 21 thing...

“I didn’t ask if you were in love with him, I asked what his favorite animal was.”

That is obviously an important characteristic in a person

“... defying her will be such a pleasure.”

I have become quite defiant in the last year

“increasing personhood”

This may be one of the loveliest things I have ever read. I hope I have increasing personhood throughout all my days.

“Now he talks to himself, which I find terribly endearing since I do, too.” 

Who doesn't? 

“I remember lying in our hay-loft reading The Secret Garden with a cowbell beside me. I’d read for an hour and then ring the bell for a glass of lemonade to be brought to me. Mrs. Hutchins, the cook, finally grew weary of this arrangement and told my mother, and that was the end of my cowbell, but not my reading in the hay.” 

This is precisely why summer reading is so necessary 

Muchness

In Alice in Wonderland the Mad Hatter says to Alice, "You used to be much more... muchier. You've lost your muchness."

After some other interesting conversations that I won't post about (My mom should be very thankful!) my mom randomly brought up this quote when we were sitting at Barnes and Noble today. We concurred that I have gained my muchness while being in college. The whole point of college is to develop into the person that we want to be. I know I have done that. My muchness has been achieved!

Also I have decided I am going to relight my goal of publishing a novel. When I was really little my goal was to have a novel published by the time I was 16. I have bumped that goal up to 38. Watch out world, it will happen!

Spear-y

This is the first year in three years that my mom, Brytten and I have spent Christmas in Spearfish. And it was wonderful. I spent these six days with my wonderful family, riding horses, working in the shop with my grandpa, tending to the chickens and the ducks, wrapping presents, eating cookies, running in my new sneaks, watching movies, becoming obsessed with How I Met Your Mother and thus telling Abbie to "Suit Up."

Spearfish Creek 

 I rode John's new horse, Chico and Jackie's horse, Sven and now am determined to own my own horse someday. Pictures of horses have been added to my 'dream book' from Jackie.

After my mom made a simple comment about needing a button for one of her projects my grandpa got up from the table and went out to his shop. He came back carrying a big white cement bucket and made us guess what was in it. The guesses included cement, baby ducks, and eggs. False. The huge bucket was filled with buttons and he purchased the whole thing at an auction.

While my grandpa and I were working in the shop on Christmas Eve for about a ba-jillion hours we came across the box that holds the cradle that all new babies in the family sleep in. He pointed it out to me and then asked if I still plan on using it. Good grief.

Spearfish Creek 

During a convo between my grandpa and I, we expressed the fact that we are each other's favorite people.

Spearfish Creek 

Today I stole the mini-van, blasted the road trip cd's I made and drove around my favorite town. I stopped at the Green Bean like I did nearly everyday this summer, went downtown and made a few purchases and then walked around the park. I strolled over to the fish hatchery and found it humorous that besides being a PA, my favorite job I have ever had was working at a fish hatchery.

One of my purchases was a future-teacher present for Abbie and this wonderful old book that will eventually go in my library.

Words on a Page

Today is Augie's Reading Day and instead of reading my Mass Media Law book I would much rather read from the selections and piles of books all over my room!

Letter Writing as an Art Form

Last year on St. Patrick's Day my friend Kaycee and I road tripped to Omaha to see the one and only Lady Gaga in concert. The combination of Lady Gaga and St. Patrick's Day meant that Kaycee and I were basically the only sober people in the entire city of Omaha.

The next morning we did some extreme shopping which meant that I went to Anthropologie and spent oodles of well-worth-it money. One of my purchases that day has proved well worth the money. I found this set of 100 postcards printed as book covers and placed in a hollowed book to hold them. There is a huge amount of variety to the covers and they are all quite whimsical and I have found the perfect postcard to send to all of my friends. One of the postcards had images of the Beatles so naturally that was sent to Tyler. Another was a cover of Brighton Rock and that was recently sent to my lovely sister, Brytten.

The book of postcards has taken permanent residence on my windowsill with my collection of vintage books. I love writing them out because they combine all sorts of literature and letter writing. Letters always brighten my day. I have also expanded my list of books to read!

Reading Roundup and Birdie Brown Eyes

Ok, I have another post about Reading Roundup. My aunt Jackie, a great dog lover, was flipping through my new book and found this wonderful poem by Winifred Welles whose name is blog-worthy alone.

I'd like a different dog

For every kind of weather-

A narrow greyhound for a fog,

A wolfhound strange and white,

With a tail like a silver feather

To run with in the night,

When snow is still, and winter stars are bright.

In the fall I'd like to see 

In answer to my whistle,

A golden spaniel look at me.

But best of all for rain

A terrier, hairy as a thistle, 

To trot with fine disdain

Beside me down the soaked, sweet-smelling lane. 

Birdie- a dog for any weather

Reading Roundup

I mentioned my most recent purchase in the previous post, Roundup, but I decided it needed its own moment in the sun! It is truly lovely and I am determined to find the following books in addition to this version which is Book One. Reading Roundup is a child's reading guide that is filled with stories and poems and pictures about people, animals and adventures. The inside cover is inscribed in blue ink, 'Beach School 1959.' There is even a ballerina on the back cover!

This book seems to be an introduction to the greatness of literature for young readers. The table of contents is divided into the following subheads: Ourselves and Others, Animal Parade, Looking Backward, Let's Play the Game, Unforgettable People, Just for Fun, In Quest of Adventure, Modern Marvels, and The American Way. Some of the notable contributing authors include Robert Frost, Charles Lamb, Emily Dickinson, Laura Ingalls Wilder (my personal favorite), Mark Twain, Carl Sandburg, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman. One excerpt that I am very excited to read is entitled The Laurence Boy and is listed as a radio play by Walter Hackett and adapted from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

On the division page of Ourselves and Others is this poem by Elizabeth Madox Roberts from "The People."

The ants are walking under the ground, 

And the pigeons are flying over the steeple, 

And in between are the people. 

The division page of Animal Parade has this poem by George Eliot...

Animals are such agreeable friends- 

they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms. 

The division page for Looking Backward features a perfect poem by Soren Kierkegaard for the title of the section. 

Life can only be understood backwards; 

but it must be lived forwards.

The division page of Let's Play the Game features a two-page illustration in blues and whites of sailboats in the sea and numerous people standing on a dock and the following line from John Masefield from "Biography."

The days that make us happy make us wise. 

I was quite delighted to read the quote on the division page of Unforgettable People because it was written by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet in A Book of Americans, which I also own.

We couldn't put in all the great

Or even all the small,

And many names with sterling claims

We haven't used at all. 

The quote featured on the division page of Just for Fun is by the literary great, William Shakespeare in The Taming of the Shrew.

And frame your mind to mirth and merriment,

Which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life. 

The division page of In Quest of Adventure presents the poem by John Vanderbilt in "Highways and Byways." And I LOVE it!

Oh, you may take a highway,

A wide, straight highway,

A fine cement highway, 

For yourself.

But give me a byway, 

A rutted, narrow byway, 

A turning, wooded byway, 

For myself.

I love the poem by Nancy Byrd Turner in "Sic Transit" on the division page of Modern Marvels as well!

My grandson's grandson somewhere in the rack 

Of time will wake one night, and hear below

The levels where the winking air-lines glow

A rumble like a beetle on its back,

And smile, and bless the last old motorcar

Rattling to join the horse and dinosaur. 

Again I was elated to open to the division page of The American Way and who do I see? George, Thomas, Teddy, and Abe! The poem on this page was written by Abraham Lincoln.

As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master.

This expresses my idea of democracy. 

Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference,

is no democracy. 

502 pages of literary and future library loveliness. 

And it only cost me $5.30

RoundUp!

I love it when there is an stumbled upon theme in life. My Fourth of July weekend definitely had it! One of my best friends, Abbie, came to spend the holiday weekend with me in Spearfish and we celebrated in ways that would have made our founding fathers proud. Our Fourth of July including going to Belle Fourche to enjoy the parade, a carnival, a rodeo and the overall awesomeness of the town. We succeeded. We have come to the conclusion that we can make any place fun and our pending T.V. show would be titled "Finding Fun in America."

Also our Fourth of July celebrations in Belle Fourche will now become an annual thing. I have 84 more Fourth of July's in Belle to look forward to!

The parade was great and the best part was when one of the floats threw out baggies of cherries. We had been sharing our candy and popsicles with the little girls standing near us but we claimed the cherries for ourselves. As well as pens.

Belle Fourche and its fantastic parade

The festivities continued with Patriotic Red (cherry) snowcones in the park and corn dogs and the two slide rides at the carnival.

Why wouldn't Belle Fourche have the BEST snow cones??!

Nothing says America like corn dogs on the Fourth of July

This is where Belle Fourche demonstrated why it is so great... As we were walking towards the rodeo a tractor pulling a trailer asked if we wanted a ride. Hells yes we wanted a ride on a tractor to a rodeo in Belle Fourche! We enjoyed the rodeo as all rodeo-goers should, not with cowboy hats and boots but with binoculars. My mom and my aunt Jackie used to cart binoculars with them to the Black Hills Roundup Rodeo to check out the cowboy's butts. We followed suit and it was well worth it!

We were starting to get a little excited about the Rodeo...

Then came the binoculars!

Thanks for humoring me, Kyle!

Is there a better name for a bucking bronco than Lipstick 'n Whiskey?

We kept the merriment going for a couple more days. We stopped at an antique store in Spearfish where I purchased quite possibly the greatest thing ever! "Reading Roundup: Book One" is the newest addition to my future library as a lovely beginner's reader book. The inside of the front cover is inscribed with 'Beach School 1959' and the back cover has a ballerina. This purchase also put a big shiny bow on the weekend's theme of Roundup! We were on Roundup Street in Belle Fourche, went to the Black Hills Roundup Rodeo and now I own Reading Roundup. My grandpa also added that he uses Roundup in his garden which is also an important element to the theme.

On Abbie's last night here we rounded up some boys and went to Deadwood. We ate, they gambled, we rode a trolley through the entire town and danced and laid in the middle of a football field. A perfect way to end my Fourth of July weekend that went all the way to Wednesday!

Trolley Ride through Deadwood 

Library Inspiration

Yes, several of my posts lately have been about the library I will one day have in my house. Well, here is another! This past St. Patrick's Day my friend Kaycee and I went to a Lady Gaga concert in Omaha and then we took the next day off as a early spring break present to ourselves and did some power shopping through Omaha. Old Market is one of my favorite places to shop, eat, and walk on a cobble stone street. During this trip I was finally able to check out a book store that I had passed during several previous trips to Omaha.

This store was glorious. Every inch was covered in books and even the floor had stacks of book. There was a single aisle that only one person could walk through at a time. Random chairs were placed between shelves and these chairs usually held a few books as well. There were also a few books that had been deliberately displayed to show the cover. I bought a beautiful vintage book about a dog and took an assortment of photos. As I was searching through my photo library I found these pictures and decided they need a spot on my blog. I hope one day my library somewhat resembles this store. I love how the colors were all natural and most of the palette came from the covers of the books. It smelled like books too. If Yankee Candle made a book-scented candle I would certainly buy it. Hell, I would even buy the car air freshener. This store was for books and books only which is rarely the case anymore. That statement is somewhat hypocritical because I strolled through the store with coffee from Scooters in my hand.

A Lovely Book

Summer is the best reading season. You can read which ever books you want to read and the best part is you can read them while swaying in a hammock and eating a popsicle.

One of my favorite books is "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society." I read it for the first time last summer and then of course made a lot of my friends and their moms read it as well. It is composed entirely of letters between the main character Juliet, a writer, who is interested in potentially writing a book about the effects the German Occupation had on the tiny island of Guernsey in the English Channel during World War II. The letters are between her and her editor, her best friend, and the residents of Guernsey who founded the literary society. It is truly lovely and is a book about loving books. I have decided that I will read it every summer and when I have my own library in my house someday it will receive a special spot on my bookshelf. I will also visit Guernsey at some point in my life.

During this second reading, I underlined some of my favorite passages that exemplify why books are so wonderful.

Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers. 


Men are more interesting in books than they are in real life.


Am I in love with him? What kind of a question is that? It's a tuba among the flutes, and I expect better of you. 


I think you learn more if you're laughing at the same time. 


Do you live by the river? I hope so, because people who live near running water are much nicer than people who don't. I'd be mean as a scorpion if I lived inland. 


Lovely.