Old Book Monday - September 24
Quite a few book bloggers participate in a weekly meme in which they share delicious and mouth-watering pictures of the new books they have recently received. I love strolling through the blogosphere and checking out these pictures. I don’t buy a lot of new books but realized I could still participate by sharing pictures of what I do buy a lot of—OLD books. Hence, “Old Book Mondays.”
This week’s “Old Book Monday” is yet another...old guide book! Actually, it's two guide books - both about Boston. You may remember that I have a special fetish for old guide books :-)
Man, I really love the feel of old books in the hand - they're always just the right size and so comfortable to hold! The red one is about an inch thick and the blue one is only 1/4" - 1/2" thick, which makes them both perfect to hand. ::happy sigh::
Of course, now I have to make a completely dorky joke that most of you won't get: "Bring me the blue pages!" (okay, if you know what that's from (no cheating and googling it! You're either a real nerd or you're not! :-)) leave a comment below - you might win something :-) )
Ahem. Okay, now that that's out of my system, moving on....So the red book, "And This is Boston" by Eleanor Early, was published in 1938 and other than a drawing in the front, is just narrative text.
But what a narrative it is! This isn't a guide book per se - it's a delightful chat with your friend who lives in the city. The book starts:
Boston is like a nice old lady. If you don't know her very well, you might think her prosey, and a little dull. Old ladies are frequently misjudged, and Dame Boston - dear old thing - doesn't always put her best foot forward. There is nothing loud about her, nor blatant. She's quiet and conservative, and she clings to her old-fashioned things, and tucks them away in quiet corners, and shows them only to those who really love her.And later:
This morning we are going to walk north. This afternoon we will return to the Common by a circuitous route, and continue down, past the Frog Pond, to the Public Garden. now if we are to see the north end of teh city before luncheon we must be on our way.It's like have a very good friend show you about the city. No rushing about, no marathon races from sight to sight. No, Eleanor is taking us on a delightful, leisurely stroll through Boston, and I can't wait to go!
The second book, "Boston, A Guide Book to the City and Vicinity" by Edwin M. Bacon, was published in 1930 and it's a lot more no-nonsense.
This book starts out:
The town of Boston was founded in 1630 by English colonists sent out by the "Governor and Company of the Massachsuetts Bay in New England," under the lead of John Winthrop, the second governor of the Bay Colony, who arrived at Salem in June of that year with the charter of 1629.Needless to say, I didn't pick this one up for its prose style, but for the maps and illustrations, of which, it has plenty (every page is like this):
And though I didn't intend it at the time I picked these books up, they both ended up being invaluable references for Hereafter - they provided a lot of great background and and period appropriate references to Boston (especially the subway and the names of streets that have since been changed) for the character of Amy! You just never know where story ideas will come from :-)
What about you? Have any recent book acquisitions you want to share?
For even more book love, visit some of the sites participating in any of the following "weekly book haul" memes:
-Book Haul - hosted by The Non-Reluctant Reader
-Just a Book Haul - hosted by Forever Lost in Books
-Letterbox Love - hosted by Narratively Speaking
-Mailbox Monday - hosted by Marcia Larsen
-Showcase Sunday - hosted by Books, Biscuits, and Tea
-Stacking the Shelves - hosted by Tynga's Reviews
-Sunday Post - hosted by Kimba, The Caffeinated Book Reviewer
-Unpack This - hosted by Mostly Reveiws