Stories, Reflections & Journeys
“My name is Sue … and I’m a procrastinator!”
Ok, so perhaps there isn’t a 12 step program out there for those of us who run a last-minute sprint to complete tasks we really don’t want to do. But there should be!
No doubt your list will be different from mine, but here’s a start … [Read more…]
I’m sure anyone who has been following my blog for a while will know reading has always been one of my life’s delights. I’ve shared some of that joy through blog posts such as Widdershins, Holding the Centre, Revisiting Brideshead, The Book Thief, or Audiobooks, E-books and Old Friends
I don’t remember the process of learning to read. But I actually do remember not being able to read. And I have the evidence! :)
Two of the books on my laden bookshelves are the very first two books I ever owned. One is a collection of nursery rhymes, with gorgeous illustrations by Hilda Boswell. The other is a book of stories about a family of teddy bears: The Teddy Bears’ Picnic, with images by Dutch illustrator Willy Schermelé.
I still have a very clear memory of only seeing the pictures . Large slabs of each page (the text) meant nothing to me. But the illustrations – Hilda Boswell’s in particular – were a wonder-filled world to explore while the nursery rhymes or stories were read aloud to me. I can actually remember that time when I needed an adult’s voice to interpret and share the stories that went with the pictures. [Read more…]
Old or new, the only sign I always try to rid my books of (usually with little success) is the price-sticker that malignant booksellers attach to the backs. These evil white scabs rip off with difficulty, leaving leprous wounds and traces of slime to which adhere the dust and fluff of ages, making me wish for a special gummy hell to which the inventor of these stickers would be condemned.
Alberto Manguel, The Library at Night