Friday, April 16, 2010

Postcard: We're in Heaven


Oma in Heaven

"Book lovers are thought by unbookish people to be gentle and unworldly, and perhaps a few of them are so. But there are those who need books as wildly as the dope-taker in pursuit of his drug. They may not want the book to read immediately, or at all; they want them to possess, to arrange on their shelves, to place by their bedside." —Robertson Davies

Do you like to buy books? There's a wonderful shopping list by the author Italo Calvino— (I'm paraphrasing and editing because it's too long for a blog.) See if you recognize your bookstore habits:

In the shop window you identify the cover with the title you're looking for. You force your way through the shop, past the barricade of Books You Haven't Read, but you're not intimidated. You know that among them are:
  1. Books You Needn't Read,
  2. Books Made For Purposes Other Than Reading,
  3. Books You'd Read If You Had More Time. You bypass them, and move into the
  4. Books You Mean To Read,
  5. Books You'll Read When They Come Out In Paperback section, and bump into the
  6. Books That Everybody's Read So It's As If You've Read Them,
  7. Books You Want To Own So They'll Be Handy Just In Case and
  8. Books You Ought To Get Now So You Can Read Them Next Summer. Suddenly you see
  9. Books Read Long Ago Which It's Now Time To Reread and
  10. Books You've Always Pretended to Have Read And Now It's Time To Really Read Them.

Tattered Cover Bookstore, Denver, CO

Is there a more pleasant place than a room full of books?"
Erik Christian Haugaard

Today we'll be at The Tattered Cover in Denver. Wish you were here?

"Some people say life is the thing.
I prefer books."


12 comments:

Kay Dennison said...

You just described me!!! And a Kindle will never replace the feel and smell of a truly excellent bookstore!!!!!

Jennifer said...

Laughing SO hard right now. I have been been claiming for years that books are my drug of choice. :)

Susan said...

Absolutely spot on! I am a total book lover :)

Miranda said...

YES I wish I was there! I actually LIVE in Denver but I'm in Idaho right now. So, I guess I wouldn't rather be there than with my family...but it's too bad I can't be there to meet you!

Cannwin said...

#7 should be #1.

I'm going to have to say your robertson davies quote trumps my dorothy sayers one... I love it!

Diane said...

Calvino has seen clearly into my mind and heart with that list.

Kathy C. said...

Oh that store looks incredible. Yes, I am guilty of relating to several of those listed book "needs", lol...love books, they do look pretty. I've often bought them just because they have worn old covers and look nice under a lamp. :)

audrey said...

Yes, I wish I were there! I feel exactly the same way.

Amy said...

Excellent List...and I have actually read a book by Italo Calvino: Marcovaldo--in Italian! (One of my most proudly self- acknowledged lifetime achievements, soon to be eclipsed by reading the Book of Mormon in Italian.)

The Grandmother Here said...

Bookstores and the public library just plain overwhelm me. Where do I start? How do I know that it's a good book? I've started taking my friends' advice on www.goodreads.com. I've now got a long "to read" list there.

Susan Adcox said...

Love the list! Have been working on #10. You'd think that, having been an English teacher for many years, I would have read Moby Dick, Atlas Shrugged, Lady Chatterly's Lover and dozens of other classics. Well, I never had, but now I have. I should have passed on the Ayn Rand, but I've thoroughly enjoyed the others.

Cannwin said...

I stole your quote! Hope you don't mind. :)

http://cannwin.blogspot.com/2010/04/text-message-from-me-to-ralexwin-im.html