 First It’s Fall, Then It’s Summer It’s a good thing I didn’t put flannel sheets on the bed a couple of days ago. I was thinking about it because the clouds and cool air were beginning to make me think that fall had officially arrived. Alas, I was wrong. At least for today, which feels like a rather typical summer day. I put away the rich Boeuf Bourguignon recipe I had been eyeing for the weekend’s special dish and replaced it with a simple broiled steak and chilled artichoke. I don’t feel like cooking. I don’t much feel like reading either. At least not books. Like the Boeuf Bourguignon, books feel too heavy for this weather. That’s not to say I am not reading books. I am. After finishing Bill Bryson’s new At Home, I picked up my unfinished Red Highways: A Liberal’s Journey into the Heartland and The Great Fire of Rome: The Fall of the Emperor Nero and His City. I am nearing the end of the former, and in the beginning of the latter. But it is taking a bit of an effort to pick those up. Once I do, I find myself engrossed in them. But this weekend I found myself tempted by the undemanding magazines that have recently come into my home from both new subscriptions and my local Freecycle group. They inevitably fall into one of two groups: home and garden or cooking. It was on Friday that I saw the ad on Freecycle for “two boxes of magazines, assorted.” She named a couple of the publications that I recognized as home decorating ones, and one I had not heard of before: Domino. (This turned out to be another one in that arena that is now defunct.) Out of the two large boxes I dumped about fifteen into the recycle bin and took approximately sixty into my house. What I like about browsing through magazines is, as I referred to above, their relative insubstantiality. Compared to books, that is. I don’t have to read the articles, and even if I do they are short. Mostly I just browse the images thinking not of doing what I see or of buying the objects they are promoting, but for ideas I can adapt to suit my tastes. These magazines are not the first time I have run across this idea, but they are providing more variations of what I’ve seen in Architectural Digest and elsewhere—and that is frames. Or framing pictures. Or not pictures but occasionally letters or even nothing at all. The types of frames, mostly unmatched and of various sizes, shapes, materials, and colors, are grouped in interesting ways. I am a big fan of Penguin Classics books, and I adore the old versions such as these. I own only one at the moment: the 1939 edition of Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh. The binding is tight and it has obviously never been read. After all these decades I am not sure it would hold up to a good read so I am thinking that this would be the perfect edition (along with, as I can buy them, its similarly-aged Penguin companions) to put into old but attractive frames, perhaps even without glass, and hang them in one of those seemingly unorganized but enticing arrangements on my bedroom wall. I can envision a small collection of them—some in frames too large for them, others in oval or square shapes, and in various materials—hanging or even standing on a nearby dresser. It seems an excellent project for the coming winter, and I think I might be able to spare a few dollars here and there for the books (since the conditions isn’t all that important to me) and the frames I can find at our local thrift stores. I only await fall’s return. Upcoming Book Festivals: If you are in Abilene, Texas on the weekend of September 20-25, why not take in the West Texas Book & Music Festival? Though most of the events take place on Saturday, there are outdoor concerts, a reception honoring recently published local authors, the Texas Cookbook Gala (already sold out), author talks and school appearances, and a Friday night Author Reception and Preview Party. Saturday brings a full day of authors and vendors, various panels and sessions, the Boots & Books Luncheon, and two concerts to finish up the day. Sioux City, South Dakota is the host of the South Dakota Festival of Books coming up on Thursday through Sunday, September 23-26. Thursday’s event is an open mic reading offered by the South Dakota State Poetry Society. Friday’s events begin at 10:00 am with More than 225 authors will be appearing at the Baltimore Book Festival, which takes place on the weekend of September 24-26 at Mount Vernon Place in Baltimore, Maryland. Events over three days (Friday and Saturday from noon to 8:00, and Sunday from noon to 7:00) span an amazing variety: theatre, lectures, talks, panel discussions, readings, poetry, literary walking tours, music, a special Maryland Romance stage, literary games, and many other things. Don’t miss this one if you are in the area. On Saturday, September 25, the National Book Festival will take place on the National Mall in Washington, DC from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. Nearly seventy-five authors will be there to sign books, talk, and meet their reader in the Children, Teens & Children, Fiction & Mystery, History & Biography, Contemporary Life and Poetry & Prose pavilions. Other pavilions include a Pavilion of the States focusing on the literary traditions of the country’s states and its territories, and a Let’s Read America one where children and families will enjoy reading-related activities. Santa Rosa, California, hosts the Sonoma County Book Festival on Saturday, September 25 with a wide variety of events including readings, presentations, and book signings by both local and national authors, panel discussion, multicultural programs, staged performances, art, music, a children’s tent with events for both young children and teens, more than fifty exhibitors and more than forty authors. The festival runs from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The second annual Small Press Festival, which will be held on the weekend of September 25-26 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of information for attendees, but it appears as if there will be nearly forty vendors/exhibitors, bookstore and library trolley tours ($10), Obscure Games and a performance by Dean Cercone. The West Hollywood Book Fair is one amazing festival. Occurring on Sunday, September 26, in Hollywood, California, this festival attracts more than 30,000 attendees, 300 authors and artists, 150 exhibitors, and has fifteen stages (eight panel and special guest stages, three live theater stages, a poetry stage, a storytelling stage, a readings & comedy stage, a kids’ stage, a ghost story telling tent, a teen stage, and the Writing Workshop Room) and offers a lot of special events including a new “Evening Program.” It runs from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, which is amazing considering how much they have. Really, if you are anywhere near the L.A. area this one is not to be missed. The Pub House: Imaging Books & Reading: Of Interest: Until next week, read well, read often and read on!
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