If you love books, you likely love paper. And if you love paper, you love art. And if you love art, you love photos. And if you love photos, you likely love books and, see? It all goes in a grand little circle.
Yesterday we were at a picnic. As I was sitting for a caricature portrait, a woman sat next to me and began talking.
“I know you can’t turn around while you’re sitting for a portrait, but when I find out someone is from New York, I have to come over and say ‘hello” and talk to them about that beautiful place.”
And so our conversation began, albeit a bit odd with me staring straight ahead and staring straight ahead, too, in a companionable way, and it was lovely to meet someone new (the idea of the Rotary picnic to begin with…!) And as the artist finished and we turned to one another, the conversation moved into books because Ridley Pearson will be speaking at Rotary this week and I asked if she were attending. “Yes, are you?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s sit together.” And the pact was made.
And then we discussed what we were reading (oh, isn’t this scintilating dialogue,but honestly, it was so nice to go from “hello, who are you” to “here’s what I’m reading,” because, well, you know how we bookaholics are!
She asked if I’d read THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG. No, I hadn’t. She took my arm. “You must,” she conspiratorially.
HM was standing right there as I kudo-ed Book Blogworld for already giving me a heads up, and HM said, “You’ve heard of it?” and I said, “Yes!” and he said, “Would you like to go to Barnes and Noble on the way home and pick it up?”
And I said, “YES!”
Oh, I could nearly have hugged my new friend Judith right then and there.
I DID hug HM.
And we found it, along with fancy coffees and an hour “timeout” at one of the cafe tables.
And the point of all this is Paper.
The cover of the HEDGEHOG book is so smooth. Yes, it’s a softcover. It’s the Euro edition; not because I’m special – anyone who buys it at B&N will get the same. How nice to have a book that is so aesthetic before the reading even begins.
And then, like with so many bookaholics (tho’ they’re not all talkin’), there’s the desire to create something oneself. Maybe writing. Maybe something with paper. And so my compulsion to make something.
Still working on it.
One star down. A galaxy to go.
But the paper is so smooth. (the entry title mentions PAPER. And it is “flapped” on the front and back, quite different than our usual softcover (trade) publications. And it’s a nice blue. And I got all starry-eyed just holding it.
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