In Which I Name Names

My name is Stephanie and I'm a bookaholic.

Wait. You already know that part.

And you also know that I have been trying to cure myself. You remember our little conversation--the one when I told you that I was running out of room to store my books and I promised to quit getting more.

Wait, never mind. I'm pretty sure that conversation was with Captain America. And I think he was telling me that I had run out of room and that I had to quit getting more. Whatever.

I have been trying, though. And backsliding. But it's not my fault. Honest. I am surrounded by enablers. Like the enabler nice library lady who called the other day to say they had 3 boxes of RDCBs with my name on them. How do you turn something down when they say "with your name on them"??

And there's my enabler friend, Kellee, who called the other day to say she had found some beauties on her vacation. How are you going to turn down books that someone schlepped around on their vacation just for you? And especially when she had to convince her husband that schlepping them around just for you on their vacation was a good thing. And especially when one of them was this big!

But she was right--it's a beauty!
Check out the embossed alphabet on the cloth cover...

...front and back.

Happy sigh...

And then there's my enabler pew-mate Taunya, who caught me at church the other day to say she had brought me a set of encyclopedias--a whole, beautiful set, with gold embossed spines. A set that glitters on my shelves waiting its turn to be transformed into a magnificent work of art. One set. I promised myself I could do just one set, and that would be it.

Until Karen called on Tuesday.

She said that someone had just brought a bunch of RDCBs to the church rummage sale and I could have first dibs at them if I wanted. She said they were waiting at the church in a box "with your name on them."

Karen knows just how to enable play me.

And man, check out these stunners that were in the box!

Seahorses! Seahorses, I tell you! Really, Captain America, how can you expect me to turn down seahorses??

And then Wednesday was the official opening day of the rummage sale, so I had to go back and see what else was available. Just doing my part for the church. Right?

And score!

This one's going to be another Eiffel tower.

And this tiny, tiny book has sparkly embossed edges that just might be long enough to fold one word.

And I found this roughed up, but still very foldable Complete Works of Shakespeare!

And I think I might spell "History" with this one for a favorite teacher or professor?

And I got this one because have you ever noticed how pretty pages can be when they are covered with standard mathematical tables? You can just get lost in them. And make beautiful flowers with them.

Or the word "Actuary."

Happy sigh.

And then I heard a voice coming from near the cashier table. "Hey, Stephanie, look what I've got for you over here." 

It was Kellee.

I tried to walk away. Honest, Captain America. In fact I thought about it for a good half second, before I realized she was holding a book, and I hurried over.

It was an RDCB. From 1961. My year. And check out those titles.

.

But I promise that was it.

Except for this one. I bought this one, too because, well, who else is gonna buy a book that big and I didn't want the church to be stuck with it. And I was pretty sure my original enabler, Barb, would approve.

And just as I started to feel the tiniest bit guilty that I had so many books, Kellee told me that she had convinced the other cashier to order two customized books. Whoo-hoo!

A new order! And two more books I'm going to have to replace.

In Which I Save the Universe One Folded Book at a Time

It's 102 degrees Fahrenheit in Houston which means, of course, that it's almost autumn. Ugh! It is so freeeeeeeking hot outside. What is there to do but look forward to cooler days, right? Halloween has to be just around the corner.

Which makes me want to look back. To this picture.  

Now you might think that this is one of the most awesome Princess Leia costumes ever and you're right, it could have been. Except this picture was taken in 1972...and Star Wars didn't come out until 1977. Which means that, you got it, this is no Halloween costume. This was me dressed up for my piano recital. (Don't judge...and don't tell Captain America this picture exists either.)

But I say we go with it. I was the first one in the world with a Princess Leia Halloween costume and if Antiques Roadshow ever asks, we're all sticking with this story. Got it?

So speaking of Halloween, I've been busy getting Halloween books ready for my big fall craft show coming up in a couple of months. You, however, don't need to wait because you (yeah, I'm talking to you) can grab some of these nifty books now on Etsy.

There are some old favorites from last season like the Scary book...

Buy me on Etsy!

 ...and...who could forget...the spider?!?

Buy me on Etsy!

There's even a new version of

that would look really boo-tiful on a bookshelf

Buy me on Etsy!

And for that matter a new version of

Check out that ominous endpaper! It sparkles!

Buy me on Etsy!

And speaking of sparkling, the purple, glittery trees on these creepy endpapers shine!

This is the perfect gift when you don't know what to buy...

Buy me on Etsy!

...your creepy friend who wears a big, brown bun right above each ear. She'll get the idea.

Get an Eyeful of that Eiffel!

Did you know that when you build an Eiffel Tower out of steel, you start at the bottom and work your way to the top?

But when you build an Eiffel Tower out of a book, you start at the top...

...and work...

...your way...

...to the bottom.

Ta da!

(I can fold tall things now, too!)

Running out of exclamation points and font sizes!!!!!!!!

Had to make a quick trip to Walmart today to get a copy of All You magazine.

I wanted to see the Back-to-School special issue:

I opened it up and whoa, what is that??
One of my books is featured in an ad on page 3!!!!!!

It's a Kellogg's ad to promote a special relationship they have with Scholastic books. Buy Kellogg's cereal, get free books. Great deal!

But wait, there's another of my books on page 5!!!

And hey, another on page 7, too!!

Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo!!!!!

Daisy, Daisy, All In a Book Vase True

Today has been a stormy one at our house. At 4 p.m. is was as dark as 8 p.m., but here's something to brighten a day.

Daisies!

And even better? Daisies in a bright gold book vase!

I made these daisies as a commission for a birthday present.

Here are what daisies look like when you take a picture with a Olloclip Fisheye lens.

These daisies are another product of the Paper Blooms book. I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying that book.

As much as I'm enjoying these daisies.

Book Review: The Handmaid's Tale

Title: The Handmaid's Tale
Author: Margaret Atwood
Format: Audiobook
Reading Dates: May 27, 2013 - June 12, 2013
Rating: ****1/2

In a recent season of the TV show Survivor, contestants stood in shoulder-deep water in the Pacific Ocean. Above their heads was a railing, and as the tide slowly came in they went from chatting amiably with each other to sputtering pitifully, their noses pressed as far through the railing as nature would allow, trying to grab that last bit of air that they could. As I read The Handmaid's Tale, that same deep sense of claustrophobia crept over me. That sudden panic when you realize that everything was just fine a little bit ago, but how in the hell did I get here and will I ever be able to get out?

The unnamed handmaid in this case lives in a dystopian future where religious fundamentalists have taken over the United States. Infertility is the norm, so the powers that be enforce a strict interpretation of the Old Testament and conscript young women who may have a chance at being fertile into becoming the handmaids of powerful leaders. Their sole purpose is to bring a baby into the world, and their life is limited to only that.

The fact that I felt like I was choking from lack of air most of the time I read this book is testament to Margaret Atwood's fine writing and Clare Dane's masterful narration. This one has been tagged by editors as an Audible Essential, and I agree. Really good book, highly recommended.

Book Review: The Great Dissent

Title: The Great Dissent
Author: Thomas Healy
Format: Book
Reading Dates: June 23, 2013 - July 4, 2013
Rating: *****

I opened this book, read the first few pages, closed it and then went to get a pencil. This, I knew, was going to be one of those books where I wanted to do a lot of underlining and note-taking.

The Great Dissent follows the path that Oliver Wendell Holmes took from 1918 to 1919 as he wrestled with the issue of the kinds of speech the government protects and the kinds that it can prosecute. Author Thomas Healy does a masterful job of taking someone with a novice understanding of the points of view involved (like me!) and explaining the nuances of the differences. Through careful analysis of legal opinions and letters to and from colleagues, Healy exposes the arguments that Holmes considered as his beliefs transformed from the Constitution being society's protector to the individual's protector.

The story weaves its way through the many free speech cases that reached the Supreme Court as a result of the Espionage and Sedition Acts enacted during the course of the First World War, and as much a part of the story as Holmes' journey is the story of his friends and colleagues who revered their old friend, but who had different opinions on free speech and wanted to sway Holmes to their way of thinking as he worked his way through the docket. 

One often believes that the way things are is the way things have always been and I always find it fascinating when I run up against evidence where that's not the case. So it was with this book as Healy chronicled the interpretation of the First Amendment over the years and the cases that determined the generally understood meaning of the Amendment at that time. Good history all around! 

I also enjoyed the serious, yet congenial back and forth that Holmes and his friends employed as they presented their arguments to each other. They all seemed to genuinely like each other while often having diametrically opposed opinions. It made me once again bemoan the present state of disagreement where two sides tend not to engage each other at all, but engage with their like-minded compatriots in calling the other side names. And Holmes' willingness to listen to opposing opinions and alter his on point of view when he felt it needed to be altered was also admirable. 

The Great Dissent is a fine, engaging book on a dense subject that still is accessible to the layman. Highly recommended!