In Pursuit of Books

Dear Diary,  I don't want to offend you, but I must confess that as a young girl I never kept a diary.  Or if I did, I certainly don't remember it!  Somehow diary keeping never interested me...perhaps I didn't feel that my activities, thoughts and dreams were worth writing down...or perhaps I was simply too busy doing them, thinking them, and dreaming about them that to stop and write them down seemed pointless.   

What I really felt passionate about was reading books...and my introduction to the public library at about the age of seven was unquestionably one of the most important influences in my life.  

 My mother escaped from the drudgery and disappointments of her life into books, so we went to the library often.  Once I began to read, I soon learned what an amazing place existed inside the world of books.  That's where I lived, as often as I could.  I abandoned the children's/young adults' section of the library by the time I was ten or eleven...those novels over on the other side were much more attractive with their wide scope of story line, depth of character development and all the lovely detailed descriptions....especially those historical novels.  I'm sure I learned more about history and its time lines and how one thing led to another from all the novels I read than I ever did in school, especially English history...all those kings and queens...and early American history.

 So...interwoven tightly throughout the fabric of my life, along with all the usual milestones and events...is the pursuit of books.  Always looking for something new to learn, something beautiful to absorb, something exciting or adventurous or life-changing or instructional, explorations of other cultures and other countries, the joy of cooking, the pleasures of eating, drinking, companionship, friendships, travels, and also the many difficulties and hardships life brings...you name it...what a deep and rich inheritance of words, thoughts, ideas, loves, hopes, dreams.  I simply cannot imagine who I would be if not for all those books! 

 So, I visited the new One Dollar Bookstore today.

These photos are from my visit...

...and each and every book you see in these pictures...

is only one dollar!

Can you believe I only came home with one book?

It's the Elizabeth Goudge in the middle of the photo above

in the green cover:  The Scent of Water.

I already own this book, and have read it many times.

Why do I need another one?

I don't, but I could not leave it there!

Pithy quotes about books are stenciled on the walls.

I especially liked this one.

 Most of my book purchases these days come from the section on religion.  Perhaps this is a normal occurrence as we grow older?   Or maybe it's just a quirk of my own.  They have quite a large selection of books in "Religion" at the One Dollar Bookstore.  I wasn't really looking for anything specific and browsed rather quickly on this visit...perhaps next time I'll spend much more time and really look at everything carefully.

Careful browsing is required, if you don't want to miss something.  Their shelving system is organized but only in a very general way, and can be rather hit-and-miss.  I'm always finding books that don't belong...this novel by Rumer Godden, for example, does not really belong in the section on religion...even though a nun is pictured on the cover.  But this makes finding that special book more like a treasure hunt, requiring one to slow down and mosey along at a leisurely pace (and how else can one mosey?)...I like that.

They also have a collection of vinyl records.

While all books are one dollar, the records are two dollars.

 I'm not sure, but might there be some subliminal message here?

Who placed that book next to this record?

And why?
You can listen to Smoke Gets in Your Eyes HERE

 Do you remember the Perry Como show on TV in the early 50's?

Oops, I'm dating myself, aren't I...

...I had a big crush on Perry Como when I was about five.

We did not have a TV at home, but my grandparents did,

and we would often go to their house to watch the Perry Como show.

I thought he had the most wonderful voice

and my favorite song of his was:

"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket...."

 If you have a record player in this 21st century age,

you can go on holiday in Rio...

 ...attend church on Sunday in Hawaii...
I googled this church;
it was dedicated in 1842 and it's still there.

...and even get up to speed on the Lamaze techniques for childbirth preparation!

I never would have realized that is Patty Duke on the left
...some of you are asking "Patty who?"...
...if I hadn't read the cover.

Wow, was I ever really that young too?

My son was born a little over 30 years ago,  and I used the Lamaze technique...

...things seemed to be going along nicely for quite a long time...
but that was because my water never broke!
When the dilation had reached the correct size
a procedure was done to break the water

...then the hard labor arrived,

and that was the end of Lamaze...oh my!

Is this too much information for you, Dear Diary?
My apologies...I'll stop now.

Such hops and skips down memory lane!

As well as visiting the bookstore today, I also did some hopping and skipping along the waterfront downtown.  Well, I exaggerate!  Sedate walking is more like it.  And next time, Dear Diary, I will share some sights from my walk.