Dirty—Again!
October 21, 2007

Yesterday we had a windstorm here that whipped trees, ripped open gates (at least it did mine) and caused my cats to dive repeatedly under the bed at the terrifying sound of the gusts howling outside the windows. Since I like my windows open, it also blew an almost unbelievable amount of dust and dirt into the house.

I came home from a full day of visiting family to find the kitchen floor and counters no longer white, the cats’ food and water bowls filthy, and the books which just last weekend had been painstakingly cleaned and re-shelved now sporting a layer of dusty dirt so thick I can write in it—and read it without my reading glasses.

I dislike cleaning with a passion I reserve for few other things. And now I get to deep clean all over again. It’s enough to make this girl cry. Or grab a book. Or two. Ones that you are going to be hearing about over the next month because I am loving them.

As I mentioned in an earlier letter, I made the decision to review only occasionally in order to restore my personal passion for reading. It has worked—and what I am reading is something I don’t plan to review as much as share with you.

In the meantime, BiblioBuffet’s contributors have been hard at work on their reviews and essays. Please enjoy them, and if you like feel free to contact any of us at any time. Herewith is this week’s new content:
 
A lover of art in life and art in novels, Amanda Joseph found the perfect combination of painting and words in a story that uses the enigmatic, dangerous and brilliant sixteenth century artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio as the catalyst for a complex exploration of  life and love today. Find it in Rants and Raves From Down Under.

How does he write? Paul Clark decided to explore that problem when he decided to sleep rather than face his deadline for this column. How he solved it is the subject of this week’s A Walk Through My Bookshelves.

Henry Carrigan, a fine reviewer in his own right and a passionate, widely-read reader admits that he attempts to emulate Michael Dirda, the former longtime books editor of the Washington Post Book World and Pulitzer Prize winner. Why is something he talks about when he reviews Dirda’s new book this week in Readings.

Resolutions aren’t just for the new year. Lisa Guidarini has proven to herself that autumn resolutions are just as easy to break. So like many she has decided to give them up. Read why and how in this week’s Reviews & Reflections.

E-mail and the Internet are fun! So proclaims Anne Michael as she adds up the pros of reading mail and other things online and gives thanks in Seasoned Lightly.

Kat Warren returns with another one of her beloved reading lists for Bibliopinions, this time focusing on those that fit particularly well with autumn. “I don’t know why I produce book lists at the drop of a hat but I suspect there’s something pathological associated with this uncontrollable impulse,” she says. I don’t know either, but I am sure glad she does.  You will be too.

It’s a good thing for my loved ones that I collect bookmarks rather than typewriters or even buses. But when you have a passion for even bookmarks, it’s only a matter of time until they begin to take over space on your shelves and other flat surfaces. In this week’s On Marking Books, I revisit the question of storage and display issues for the first time in more than a year and certainly more than 600 bookmarks ago. I also asked a number of other collectors what they did, and with all of our ideas I think we might just have an answer (or two) for those of you who are desperately seeking solutions.

My site-of-the-week for this week is Edward R. Hamilton, my favorite book remainder dealer. If you love books, are appalled at the increasing prices and wish to help your budget this is the place. There are other remainder outfits, but this one is the best. It’s only flaw—if you can call it that, and I cannot—is that they use media mail. Your books will take a while to get to you, but when that day arrives, oh, what a joy. New books are no less than 30 percent off, and their older books (mostly hardcover, no used) can get as low as $1.95. Their nearly 100-page oversized catalog is sent once a month. Prepare to become addicted if you go here. The customer service is OUTSTANDING!

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

Lauren