I remember what it was like to be in my early twenties, bubbly, enthusiastic, grabbing all the world’s adventures, wanting to taste and touch and feel everything. I took on so much, and I took it for granted that I could do it. Saying “no” to any creative endeavor was not an option.

Three decades later I find myself admiring that energy, spirit and wonderful eagerness that shaped and formed my early adult life. But I don’t really miss it. I like quiet and living in a Zen-like atmosphere. Even though my life is often interrupted with professional and personal demands, I always return to the peaceful pace that renews my spirit. I am in awe of those who keep up that multi-tasking kind of schedule. One of them is BiblioBuffet’s international columnist Amanda Joseph (“Rants & Raves From Down Under”) who is finishing up law school and looking at her first professional position, working at a bookstore, interning with two filmmakers, keeping a blog and writing her bi-weekly column. Even for someone who thrives on it that kind of schedule is wearing. So for the present, her regular column is on hiatus, and when she can Amanda will contribute occasional pieces to Bibliopinions. I wish her the best as she heads off into that great landscape called the future with open hands and her 20-ish passion. Amanda, thank you for being you and for being part of BiblioBuffet.

It’s not inappropriate, I suppose, that thinking about the differences in my lifestyle choices between my early twenties and now that Monday, March 10 is National Napping Day —the time for all nappers to lie down and be counted. Naps, as far as I am concerned, are one of life’s great pleasures. If you share that enthusiasm, celebrate it this week by grabbing a book, lying down and reading for a few minutes before closing your eyes for ten minutes or an hour.  

The beauty of Marcel Proust’s “melancholy and lyrical work” is the subject of Henry Carrigan’s thoughts and essay in this week’s Readings. Proust is not for the young, he relates, but for those with the experience of time and memory, a road into selfhood and all it encompasses.  

Who loves misery? Andi Miller does—as long as it comes in novel form. “Some of the best books I’ve ever read have made me bawl like a baby or my jaw drag in awe,” she writes as she explores her passion for the sadder side of life in The Finicky Reader.

The Berlin Wall was a symbol of the wide split between the two superpowers from the end of World War II until late 1989. Watching it fall, literally, on television was an extraordinary event that touched everyone who saw it. Since then, pieces of the Wall have become part of many exhibits and collections, and in this week’s On Marking Books, Laine Farley talks about her piece of it in a special bookmark.

Author Julie Baxbaum sits down with Lisa Guidarini for a little woman-to-woman chat to talk about her newest book, The Opposite of Love, this week in Reviews & Reflections.

Paul Clark returns to his grandfather’s library in A Walk Through My Bookshelves with the help of a book that was “found, lost, found again, misplaced, found, and then ‘discovered.’”

Facing paperwork is not Anne Michael’s favorite thing to do, but imagining what kind of wine would go best with each task can make it a bit easier. Maybe. This week in Seasoned Lightly, our humorist looks at the possible relationships between wines and whines. 

Potter Style has nothing to do with the Harry Potter books. Rather they are part of a stationery line put out by lifestyle publisher Clarkson Potter. These gorgeous booklovers’ gifts include notebooks, journals, stationery, gift tags, note cards, and kits for everything from creating a cookbook to planning a baby shower. They are wonderful! Though they have a wide variety of themes, including seasonal, magic, birds, horses, botanical, Brontë sisters, cocktails, coffee shop, constellation, cupcakes and more.

As a writer and reader, though, I am particularly drawn  to the Proust items. The gift tags come in fantastic designed box (suitable for display purposes after the cards have been used) and offer five different shapes and types plus ribbons for attaching them. Four of them have quotes from Proust, one is an illustration of a woman on a bicycle. These are unique and incredibly beautiful. Any booklover would adore seeing them on gift packages.

The note cards are thick, rich and creamy with a fantastic design that pulls one into the image itself. “A change in the weather is sufficient to re-create the world and ourselves” say Proust, whose image on a cancelled stamp hovers next to two nineteenth-century women huddled under an umbrella while holding up their skirts. Even the envelopes are illustrated, the inside with a reproduction of Proust’s handwritten manuscript. Any writer or booklover who enjoys sending cards and letters will adore these.

Journals or blank books can be used for so many things—appointment keepers, reading notes, thoughts, ideas, ramblings, rants—and are so popular that the business of making them is quite healthy. But the Proust journal is probably the most beautiful I have ever seen. Not too beautiful to write in (I do plan to use it), but I find myself caressing it whenever I pick it up. The exterior is lavishly (but not extravagantly) illustrated with images connected with Proust, and flexible burgundy ribbon to hold the book closed.  The interior pages are a delicate gray with subtle green lines and small lavender illustrations. I am in love with this journal even though I have yet to get through Proust’s seven-volume novel.

“We want to capture the warmth of a thoughtful gesture or good laugh; offer space for a reflective moment, and bring beauty to unexpected corners,” the publisher’s notes said. I have to say: they do. They definitely do! Anyone who would like a gift card or a gift tag may write me with your mailing address. I will be happy to share what I have and send you one of your choice. 

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

Lauren