Half-jokingly, I suggested to Mr. Nemo that we use our time at home (government-prescribed, but necessary) to turn our bookcases into a Bookstagram pic.
“What’s Bookstagram?”
“Mostly pictures of books.” I don’t quite get it myself, and my password is long-lost, but it seems to be a part of Instagram where readers photograph their books as adorably as possible, and if they are adorable, too, they post pictures of themselves. (I have read that paid models do some of this”Bookstagramming” under feigned names.)
Sometimes the shelves are color-coded. Yes, they put all their red books together, orange books together etc. What a nightmare! Others organize by collection. So we decided to put our Library of America books together.
I love sorting books, and it is easy to find LOAs, because they have black covers. Still, the effect wasn’t quite as I hoped. It looked too much like a bookstore, nothing like Bookstagram. And the next day I awoke to find Mr. Nemo packing up more of our books to make more room for whatever our next collection might be.
With quavering voice, I said, “But what if I want to read Updike or Undset? I’ll never find them.”
All over the country, I imagine people converting their energy into unnecessary projects like this one. And someone in Salt Lake City or Champaign-Urbana is disconcerted because her favorite books are now stored in that closet that doesn’t open unless you roll up the rug and then wrench the stuck door.
All right, this really happened, but it is also kind of a joke.
Stay well! And here are links to two interesting articles.
Five Massive SFF Books to Read While You’re Social-Distancing
Thucydides and the plague of Athens – what it can teach us now
Reading the Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies…really anything by him…Carlos Ruiz Zafon…Jane Austen…just dipped into the short stories by Nancy Hale.
I do love Davies! And I only read the first Carolos Ruiz Zafron. And it IS satisfying to read a big book when we are all more or less in lockdown.
I hope you’re keeping well in these mad, sad times.
I’m fine…cleaning out closets and doing watercolor…trying not to listen to too much news…hope you are well too.
Doing watercolors sounds very calming! Yes, we’re fine, in a homebound way.
Kat,
Not sure if you could locate her books, but I recommend Helen Humphreys. She’s a Canadian and not easily found in the US. The Lost Garden, Evening Chorus and Coventry are wonderful.
Check her out and if you’d like to try her, I’ll find a copy the next time (who knows when) I go to Canada.
Jean
Oh, I’ve never heard of Humphreys. Another to add to the list.