A Lifetime of Valentines
February 14, 2010

It seems appropriate that the date this new issue goes live is Valentine’s Day. And I want to note a few things that I view as “valentines” in my own life.

First, my parents. My father’s recent and serious hospitalization brought home again how much I love and appreciate the incredible people Mom and Dad are, and how fortunate I am to have had such a long and mostly good life with them. They are my original valentines, a bit wrinkled with age now but even more treasured by me than in the beginning. They are the ones who passed on to me my love of books and reading by taking time out of a hectic young married life to read to me and to help me learn to read. I recall sitting on my father’s knee after dinner and sounding out letters, finding the words created by those letters, and the stories created by those words. It’s nearly impossible to imagine how different my life would be today did I not have that. All the books I have read since then—every single one—came from those evenings.

It’s amazing to me to think that they found the time and patience to give me that gift. Money was very tight, and I learned only a few years ago that toward the end of many months we ate oatmeal for dinner as well as breakfast because there just wasn’t enough money to buy anything more expensive until payday. I admire the willingness of my dad to take a second job, working a couple of fourteen-hour weekdays and some weekends for several years, because he wanted to live up to his obligations to provide for his family. I marvel at my mother’s patience when five young children pulled at her hems seven days a week, screaming and crying, and that she never once let us see any despair or impatience. And with all that they both made time to support my growing reading habit.

And that’s what I see whenever I look at my bookshelves. Not just books. Not just shelves. What really awaits me is the world of reading—the characters, places, times, battles, love affairs, people, experiences, events—that are storied on those books on those shelves. Roses and chocolates need not apply. My ability and passion for reading is their real valentine gift to me. This gift has steered me though the brightest and darkest times in my life with its steady helm. And I know it will continue to do so when my parents are gone. They live in my books as deeply as any author or character. Perhaps more so. Because it was they who provided the way for me to those books.

Upcoming Book Festivals:
Unfortunately, there are no festivals coming up this next weekend.

The Pub House:
Tartarus Press is a London publisher that specializes in the supernatural. Unlike many others, however, this publisher believes in understated, elegant covers—uniform cream with minimal decoration. Inside are stories from authors famous (Edith Wharton, H.G. Wells, William Hope Hodgson) and obscure, but they all offer excellent reading. The Saint Perpetuus Club of Buenos Aires by Eric Stener Carlson begins in a diary found in an old secondhand bookshop by a civil servant who slowly begins to understand that, contrary to his initial belief that it contained only the writings of a mad man, it might actually contain the secrets of controlling time. But when it leads him to the doors of a dangerous secret society, he needs to decide what he will risk for the answer. The story is encased in a sewn hardback with silk ribbon marker, and limited to 300 copies. Strange Tales, Volume Three, edited by Rosalie Parker, contains seventeen stories representing “the very best of contemporary weirdness” one of which is “Countess Otho” a story in which the actor-protagonist, who achieves success when he inherits the manuscript of an un-produced play, finds that the cause and price of his fame are . . . mysterious. This book is also a sewn hardback with silk ribbon marker, and limited to 500 copies.

Of Interest:
For bookmark lovers, collectors, and those curious about why anyone would love these pieces of ephemera so passionately I have the place for you: the first annual Virtual Bookmark Collectors Convention! Coming up next weekend, February 20-21, the convention will offer forums, galleries, and, in three different time zone periods, presentations on and about bookmarks.

Right now, though, the forums are open and bookmarks are being added to the galleries. Both are open to anyone 24/7. As one of the co-founders, I encourage anyone anywhere to join us next weekend. The cost is a mere $10, and you can even attend in your pajamas. (No one will see.) You can buy bookmarks, trade bookmarks, learn to make bookmarks (in fabric/yarn), become skilled at buying on eBay, acquire excellent research techniques for your bookmarks, and more. There’s more to bookmarks than paper so join us and learn why they inspire devotion.

This Week . . .
Mirage Bookmarks has a quote competition going now, and the prize is $50 and the possibility of having the winner’s quote used on a new bookmark.

It begins here: Stephen Spielberg once said, “Why pay a dollar for a bookmark? Why not use the dollar for a bookmark?” The challenge is to answer that question with a witty retort of your own. Do you have one? Or two? Or more? Enter as many times as you like with different responses by sending your answer to Mirage Bookmark at mail [at] miragebookmark [dot] ch
 
The deadline is September 30, so you have some time. But since it’s easy to forget, why not enter now. To see how others have answered, look here.

Until next week, read well, read often and read on!

Lauren