June 20, 2024

Here’s the plan:

• Finish reading the books I’ve requested from the library.
• Request no books from the library till fall.
• Focus on books on my own bookshelves waiting to be read.
• Choose one shelf at the library and read any of the books that appeal to me.

It is now three weeks into June. How am I doing so far?

Library Holds

It has taken me most of this month to complete my library “hold” list. I wrote in an earlier post https://wordpress.com/post/livingonlifeslabyrinth.com/3634 about three of those books, Long Island by Colm Toibin, The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez and Family Family by Laurie Frankel. All three are winners. The last book on the “hold” list was Lucky by Jane Smiley, and I liked that very much, too. I will write about that in my June Summary post on July 4th.

So far I am sticking to my intentions and have not added any titles to my library hold list. This is NOT easy for me, especially as I read about new releases like This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud, Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan, The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley and….

I know when I begin to create a hold list in the fall, there will be a long waiting list for each of these books. Sigh. And I know my TBR list will continue to grow, as well, but I tend to be obsessed with reading what is new–perhaps that relates to working in an independent bookstore decades ago–and I think it is time to lighten up! Now that being said, I am not opposed to adding new titles to my own bookshelf. After all, summer includes visiting some favorite bookstores, and purchases will be made! Top of my list, by the way, is Sandwich by Catherine Newman.

My Bookshelves

So far this month I have read just one of my own books: The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson, and I will write about it in my June Summary. Simonson is the author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, by the way, which I own and liked very much. I can imagine reading it again, but first there are other delights awaiting me. I am going to start with the latest (and, alas, last) Maisie Dobbs mystery by Jacqueline Winspear, The Comfort of Ghosts and then I will read Forgotten Sunday by Valerie Perrin who wrote one of my all-time favorite books, Fresh Water for Flowers.

Trust me, I have more than enough books both in the snug and the garret, let alone the living room and the lower level, to keep me happy and engaged for a long time. And did I mention there will be trips this summer to bookstores where it will be impossible not to add to my collection?

A Wild Card Library Bookshelf

How fondly I remember browsing the library shelves when I was a child. There was the thrill of discovering an author or a title unfamiliar to me. I didn’t have a TBR list, but rather was simply open to possibilities, bringing home piles of books. Library trips were a kind of pilgrimage, leading me on new paths and introducing me to new companions.

I realized I rarely browse in the library these days. I go to the library to pick up a requested book when it is available, and I usually check the Lucky Day shelf, but that’s it.

I admit I fear going down the deep rabbit hole of library stacks these day, so instead decided to adopt one shelf; a shelf I will browse in this summer. I decided to focus on Fiction Shelf #14 (I was born on April 14). My intention is not to read all the books on that shelf nor is it to start at the beginning of the shelf and move towards the end. Instead, I will read whatever I want to on the chosen shelf, and if I exhaust what I want to read on that shelf, I will select another one.

My only rule for the Wild Card Shelf is that I will check out only one book at a time.

On #14 are several titles and authors totally unfamiliar to me, including several books by Sebastian Barry. And there is an old book I read many years ago that I think I will enjoy reading again, Love for Lydia by H.E. Bates (1952). But I was most delighted to see three books by Erica Bauermeister. In April I read a nonfiction book by her, which I loved, House Lessons, Renovating a Life (2020) and in 2023 I read one of the novels on this shelf, No Two Persons, another enjoyable read. I decided to start with one of the Bauermeister books.

Wild Card Shelf, Book #1: The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister

The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister (2013) is engaging and insightful, a perfect kind of summer reading experience, whether the day is rainy or too hot and steamy for movement. The book introduces us to a variety of characters who in some way are connected to Lillian, a restaurant owner. Al is the accountant who has a surprising avocation; Chloe, a budding chef lives with Isabelle, who is slipping into dementia. Finnegan is tall and steady as a tree, but almost unseen. And others, each examples of shadow and light in their characters and their lives. A few quotes, and trust me, I could include many others:

Lillian was a woman in love with a kitchen. It was not the love of an architect, the deep satisfaction in a lay-out of counters and cabinets designed to make the act of cooking effortless. Nor was it the love of a grown-up  for the kitchen of her childhood, nostalgia soaked into every surface. Lillian's love for her kitchen was the radiant gratitude of an artist for a space where imagination moves without obstacles, the small quiet happiness of finding a home, even if the other people in it are passing through--maybe even a bit because of that. p 68

Isabelle was used to surprises these days, to playing hide-and-seek with the world. She didn't even need to count before words and ideas, faces and memories would scatter off into corners where she couldn't find them. Sometimes they came back; other times they were simply gone. Isabelle liked to think that perhaps some of them had found each other, had struck up friendships and gone out for coffee, or were hidden behind the couch making love. It was better than thinking they were never coming back. p. 132

It was intriguing how people came at their stories, Finnegan thought as he listened to Isabelle. He had learned to watch the gap between question and answer, having realized that the less obvious the connection the more interesting the material left unsaid. Diving into the gap yourself was rarely productive, but if allowed to talk uninterrupted, the storyteller would eventually build bridges across it, bridges made of memories that felt safe and familiar, anecdotes that had turned solid and durable with the retelling. After a while, you could go fishing. p. 241.

An Invitation

Do you have a summer reading plan? I would love to know.

NOTE: Garage Sale This Weekend

Many of you have shopped my husband’s annual garage sale in the past and know what magic he creates by painting old unwanted furniture. He transforms chairs and dressers and tables and whatever gets in his way!!! (See pictures on Tuesday’s post.) This year’s sale is Friday and Saturday, June 21-22 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. 2025 Wellesley Ave, St Paul.

All proceeds go to benefit Lutheran Social Services programs for youth experiencing homelessness.

Access to the sale is through the alley only (between Wellesley and Stanford).