When I read Jen’s mournful post about the books she’s lost in the various moves between childhood and adulthood, my heart broke a little. One becomes accustomed to losses — and there really are many things you lose between childhood and adulthood — but you hope the losses don’t include things like spontaneity and whimsy — and books. Jen — we’re glass half-empty type of people when it comes to lost books, too. But don’t give up hope — there may yet be an overlooked box somewhere…
Oh, cool! Mitali’s live-blogging from the Northeast SCBWI conference! She’s hung out with Laurie Halse Anderson, and now she’s sitting next to Nancy Werlin!
Via Bookshelves o’ Bookish Doom, — Harlequin has been wading into the YA market for awhile now, as we know — but we’ve never taken a look at the writer’s guidelines for the Kimani Tru series before. Okay, WOW, specific, maybe? And we thought it was cool that Colleen had a pocketful of plots.
Life with house guests, or “Death March with Castles,” as I like to call it, continues through Tuesday, so the posting will be a bit erratic, but I’m still here! And I’m hearing rumors of a sestina challenge with the Poetry Princesses, and they claim *I* started it.
MOI!?
Man. Some poets. Can’t take a joke.
Thanks for caring, TadMack. I hope not to lose spontaneity and whimsy along with my books. I suppose in a way the fact that I care so MUCH about the lost books is a sign that I’ve maintained my childhood passion for them. And that is a good thing – it would be much sadder to be someone who doesn’t really care what happened to their childhood favorites (or, even worse, never had any childhood favorites to begin with). Thanks for that perspective. And yes, perhaps a box will turn up somewhere, or something…
Good luck surviving the castle tours – it’s hard having guest, because you can never find enough time to read (well, occasionally I have guest who will sit and read with me, but they are relatively few).
Yes, guests who will sit and read next to you are relatively rare. I’m not much for entertaining unless I’m the entertainment.
I’m waiting for your book, TadMack. I’m drumming my fingers. I don’t believe in book release dates. As soon as the book has gone to press, it should be released to the public immediately.
So say I.
Man, even friends who will sit and read shorter things than books with you — who will come over for Sunday brunch with the newspaper of their choice and sit quietly for several hours — are vanishingly rare. But hope springs eternal.
Since my Dad was the reason many of my childhood books disappeared, it’s really hard for me to see someone who loves books as much as you do lose hers just because of the way things go in life. I know how hard it is to even donate books, much less lose them!!
Jennifer, somewhere, someone else may be reading them… that’s what I always tell myself…
Alkelda, I agree with you!! It may show up sooner… or later…
I have a friend–we’ve been friends since childhood–who is one of a select few who is willing (and in fact happy) to get together simply to read. I treasure those friendships! 🙂
Sorry about your Dad and your childhood books, Tanita. I guess losses do make a person more empathetic to other people’s losses, but it’s a pretty painful way to learn. But you’re right – since I don’t know exactly what happened to the books, I can imagine that some of the boxes were lost, instead of destroyed, and that someone, somewhere, is appreciating the books. Many have my name in them. Wouldn’t it be cool to find a lost book like that in a used bookstore, with your own name in it? I know the chances are vanishingly small, but still…
I agree – even friends who will quietly and companionably read are few and far between. Actually, the two people who are most good about that for me are my youngest brother and my mother.
I am looking forward to your book, too!
I remember a moment early in my marriage when my husband and I were both curled up on the couch, reading. We looked up, smiled at each other, and went back to reading. I thought: thank God I married the right person!
I tried to tell them you were joking but they were already jumping up and down…
So sad about losing boxes of books. I’ve lost favorite toys in our many family moves but somehow the books always made it through. Another of the great blessings of my parents.