I am a Book Smeller

I once read an article by the comedian and writer, Art Buchwald, who confessed he was a book sniffer as he called it.  While I was happy to find someone else confess to this bibliographic crime, I have always said that I smell books, not sniff them.  I guess there is a difference and if I looked up both in the dictionary I would see the difference.  But I’m not sure that I am ready to be told what it is.  The result is the same.

          I have always remembered smells, both good and bad before any other senses I think.  I vividly remember in elementary school the smell of a freshly sharpened pencil mixed with the smell of paper in a Clearfield writing tablet with an Indianhead, complete with a chief’s headdress on the cover. Since I went to school in Pennsylvania, I always figured that the paper tablets were made in Clearfield, PA.  It’s hard for me to describe what those smells were except to say the pencil smelled of freshly cut wood.  It didn’t have a heavy woodsy smell or one that smelled of cedar or something else.  It was almost like sawdust. The paper is even harder to explain.  I always associated it with plain, inexpensive paper which it probably was.  It didn’t have a shiny feel to it, but soft, but rough feel if you will.  Every once in awhile, I find a paperback whose pages smell just like that.

          Books smell differently depending on their subject matter.  Nonfiction smell different from fiction.  And textbooks smell completely different.  When I smell a textbook I am instantly back in college – not high school for whatever reason, but college – I’m usually in Dr. Mitchell’s English history class.  I’ve always loved to smell my books, but never really tried to give the odors a name.  That is except for old, moldy books.  They smell of mold; which is different than old books in good condition which just smell old and warm.  Yes, warm.  If you smell a shiny textbook or any book for that matter, it will have a cold feeling smell.  I guess I will have to try harder to classify each book’s smell so I can compare them.

          Of course, some books are not worthy of reading because of their smell or odor.  I’m not saying a natural smell that came with the book, but one that was subjected to intense torture and attempted murder.  I once found a library book on the shelf which looked like it was dipped in some kind oil and dried.  Its pages were warped and stained. When I opened it, the odors of cigarette smoke and cooking oil was so intense I immediately closed it and turned my head for a clean breath of air.  Oddly, it was not a cookbook.  It was Jaws, by Peter Benchley.  Go figure.  

(Ebrima 11 font)

Boustrophedon and Ablaut Reduplication

Amazingly, I came across two new facts today that I didn’t know about writing and language (That is not really that hard since I’m not an expert in either by any means). The first, boustrophedon, was the “Word of the Day” on Dictionary.com. The other, ablaut reduplication, came in on my daily “ScienceABC Newsletter”. As usual, I find both fascinating.

            Boustrophedon is from the Early Greek meaning literally “like the ox turning”, as in plowing. It is an early form of writing that alternates direction line by line. The first line of writing is from right-to-left with the letters reversed. The second line is from left-to-right with the letters as we normally write. Successive lines continue to alternate. Cool, huh? I haven’t found anything explaining why this method was used, but it was used primarily on the stone tablets of the Greeks. Maybe because it was a quick way to write without the wasted motion of returning the hand and stylus to the edge to begin writing again. And I didn’t find anywhere where someone explained why our writing finally only went from left-to-right, especially since Arabic and Hebrew, to mention a couple civilizations, write right-to-left.

            The ablaut reduplication is when a word is repeated but with a modified vowel or an altered consonant. Examples given in the newsletter were “tick-tock” for the former, and “nitty-gritty” for the latter. There were no set rules, but it did explain that if the word had an “i”, then the next word would probably have an “a” or “o”. Again, the reason for this was not definitely explained, but two connected reasons were offered. The first involved the movement of the tongue. To make the “i” sound, the tongue moves very little, but when the other vowel is sounded, the tongue and lower jaw both move which requires more time and a lower sound. And the higher sounding “i” makes you think something else is coming, while the lower sounding “a” or “o” sounds likely it’s at the end.

            I find this type of information so fascinating. I can’t wait to find them as trivia answers. These would be quality additions to aglet and philtrum. 

(Gadugi 12 is the font)

Not Going Forward, But Revising

Another cold day today. The thermometer has not gone above 15 degrees all day, and it is expected to drop close to or just under zero tonight. Meanwhile, I have spent most of the day rearranging my reading list. A book I have had on hold for several months has finally become available. But it's still listed as a "new" book, meaning I can only get two weeks with it, and the chances of renewing it are slim. Anyhow, I went in and picked it up this afternoon, and was able to convince the librarian - it helps when one is a library volunteer and knows everyone - to give me an additional since no one had it on hold. The book, by the way, is "Dereliction of Duty", by H.R. McMaster.

          So today I have to adjust my reading list. I will finish the Inklings book on Sunday. I still have to read "1776" and "The Annotated Flatland" for upcoming book group selections. I have got into the "Thomas Jefferson Creme Brulee" book and being relatively short, I will keep it. The others that I mentioned earlier will be put on the "Next-to-Read" shelf.

          Oh, and I still have that paper from my ex-student to read this weekend. I owe him a reply. At least it's cold. Keeps me from wanting to go somewhere.

(font is Trebuchet normal size)

Not A Lot to Do When It's This Cold

Today is just too cold to do much today. It feels like 7 degrees with the wind chill. Washed a load of clothes. Went outside and ran the “95 Ford for about 20 minutes and drove it around the neighborhood. Every dip or bump on the street made the frame scream in agony. It sounded like the body was going to start to rip away in the wind. Yesterday, when I was warming it up the heater wasn’t working very well. Today I tried the defroster. It worked much better. When I switched it over to heat, it was still not working very well. Since I only drive it short distances anyhow, that shouldn’t be a problem. It just reinforces the need to begin to look for a new car. We’ll replace the 2008 Saturn Vue and junk the Ford. The Vue will become my car. The wife gets the new car.

            While the car was warming up and before I took it for a drive, I spent time in the garage looking for a book. I had read “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis last year and thought I had put it in the garage. Now that I have made a section for books by him and Tolkien, I wanted to include it. I can’t find it. I either missed it in the loft or I mistakenly gave it to the library. I’ll check the loft again later today.

            As I said, it’s just too cold to think about much to do. It’s warm in the house, but it’s a mental thing. I’ll do some reading, and then try to answer some of the questions for next Tuesday’s book group meeting. The book is “Endurance” by Alfred Lansing. It should be a great meeting. The questions are very good and will definitely create quite a bit of discussion. Whoever has chosen the book for a particular month is responsible for coming up with the questions and leading the discussion for that meeting. Sometimes questions come with a book in a Reader’s Guide at the end, usually in the paperback version, but sometimes one can find them online. Sometimes, you just have to make your own up. I don’t know where these came from but they are good ones.

            I also have a paper that was written by an ex-cadet of mine when he was in high school, and now is a brigade commander at Fort Bragg. He wrote the paper when he was a student at the Naval War College and it is being published. He asked if I had time to read it and give him my comments. I haven’t been in this world for quite awhile but will give it a shot. Actually, I’m very interested in reading it. This young soldier - he’s about 43 now but still a young man to me - is a full Colonel and will make the general ranks soon I’m positive.

            And I need to catch up on the rest of my reading. I got behind on my Inklings book about Lewis and friends but did do that this morning. I also started the 1776 book, but none of the others yet.

            And I didn’t exercise – that’s walking right now – but maybe I can do that as well. Did I say there was not a lot to do today?

(This was typed in font Book Antiqua 11)

"How do I choose my books?", You ask

In my eagerness to tell you about my current reading for the new year, I only briefly mentioned my process saying that it was “simple, but it does take a little time.” Then I rushed on and began describing my books. Sorry about that. Today’s post hopefully will make up for that.

           From just where do I get my book candidates? They are only candidates at this time. Very seldom do I know immediately what my next book is to be. Sometimes the book is one that I have wanted and just bought, usually by mail, and usually from Barnes & Noble. I say sometimes because usually I order more than one book at a time and they get put into a reading order. I say sometimes because often I’m just into another book and it will take me in another direction. This is another way, quite often actually, how my reading is chosen. I want to read another book on the same subject, or as oftentimes happens, an interesting fact or story is mentioned and I am off looking at it for awhile, noting that I want to learn more about it. And this happens in fiction as much as it does nonfiction.

          The third way I choose my reading is from my reading lists. I have two; one for fiction, and one for nonfiction. These lists contain my “current” library. That means books that I actively have displayed in my home, be it the loft, living room, bedroom, or shelves in the garage. Within each list I am always updating the lists, adding and deleting, as well as designating which books are to be considered as “next-reads”.

          The fourth way I choose my reading - it is an extension of the reading lists - is usually the way I come up with my reading. Simply, I look at my shelves and piles of books. I see titles that I have forgotten, but often I will see books from my reading lists and newly purchased ones. I find the visual experience of looking at a book cover or even the spine usually makes the book more appealing to me than seeing the title in a list.

          So now I have my book. How do I begin to read it? First, I read the flyleaf and/or the back cover. Next, I read the acknowledgments, and then the bibliography. I look for books I have already read as well as some possible new ones (I re-check this after I have read the book as well). Fourth, I read any preface or forward if present. Next is the introduction (my college history professor often took his test questions from introductions). And lastly, I begin to read the first few pages. If I am not interested in about the first ten pages, I’ll put the book down and take it out of the reading pile for now. Sometimes when I have completely made a mistake about the book, I either give it away or donate it to the local library at which I volunteer.

          As you can see from the above paragraph, it leans towards nonfiction, but the first – flyleaf/back cover – and reading of the first few pages apply to fiction as well. But my library of a few thousand books are heavily skewed towards nonfiction; probably two-thirds at least.

Like I said, simple.

New Year, New Books to Read

I read 66 books last year. Down a little from last year, but still not bad. And when you consider that a few of those books were grade school books when I was volunteering at Fairfield Elementary, this year is about even. So for the past two days, I have been deciding on what to read. That involves a careful process that I have developed over the years. It’s simple, but it does take a little time.

          Of course, if I have any unfinished books they go to the top of the list automatically. This year I have two: “The Inklings” by Humphrey Carpenter, and “The Annotated Flatland” by Ian Stewart. The former is about C.S. Lewis and a Thursday evening group of friends who met in his rooms at Oxford in the 30’s and 40’s for readings and discussions. Stewart’s book is my choice for our March book group meeting. The original, without any annotations, was written in 1884 by Edwin A. Abbott. The theme of the book is about limitations of a people living in a place called Flatland to view more than 2 dimensions, and what happens when a person named A. Square challenges this view. Underlying this story is a critical view of Victorian views of English society and women’s rights of that time.

          I have added five other books to my current reading. Not all of them get read every day, but I do get to all of them several times a week. I’ve begun “Killers of the King” by Charles Spencer, brother of the late Princess Diana. It’s about the trial and execution of Charles I, Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth, and then finally his son’s, Charles II, revenge on his father’s murderers.

          The next book is “William Shakespeare’s The Force Doth Awaken” by Ian Doescher. This is the seventh installment of the Star Wars series. Written the way Shakespeare would probably have written it, it should be as enjoyable as the previous six. Ironically, I have not seen any of the Star Wars films.  My friends kid me about that. I will watch them one day. But right now, I’ll read the books by Shakespeare.

          The third book I added is “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien. Always wanted to, I’ll read this first, then the Rings trilogy.

The fourth book is “Thomas Jefferson’s Crème Brulee” by Thomas Craughill. It’s about Jefferson and one of his slaves in France during the time there as ambassador and learning about French cuisine (his slave) and crops (him).

          The last book is next month’s book group selection. It’s “1776” by David McCullough. I expect it to be as good as his others.

Is It Time For Resolutions Again?

Every year at this time I sit at my desk and write my resolutions for the coming year. This year I said I was not going to do it. Why should I? I never really try to follow them. If I happen to accomplish one it’s only because of luck. But yet, year after year, I sit and either write them down in one of my many notebooks or more recently, type them into my Smartphone. At the end of the year I review them, and without exception, I fall short. Very short. This year I am going to try something different.

          I was reading a favorite blog that I follow called “Far Side of Fifty”. She said she chooses a word for the year. Then she tries to follow that word in as many different directions as she can come up with. Her word for 2018 is “Explore”. She gave examples. It sounded like something I might have better success with than the lists I have been dealing with year after year. But I do have another alternative that I was going to work with before I saw Far Side’s idea. It is similar to hers but goes a little further. That may or not be good.

          I was going to come up with several words, action verbs mainly, that would help motivate me in different directions. I had already come up with the first word. INERTIA. This would be a motivator for many things that I have put off for days, months, and longer. Believe me, there are many. I have used it briefly for a few weeks when I am sitting in my Lazy Boy chair and finished reading, but haven’t decided what to do next. So I just sit there; or, play with my phone. When I realize what I am doing, I say “Inertia” aloud and get out of the chair. It seems to work.

          I’m going to come up with a few other words that can fit a variety of circumstances. One for sure will be DISCIPLINE. Another, closely linked, with be MOTIVATION. I will be able to use these in many areas.

It will be interesting to see how this works. I’ll let you know later. (BTW, Today's font is Tahoma 12)