by be. aaron, Eng.Lit. major
I just moved and have been unpacking the boxes of books which have survived the purges of perhaps fifteen previous moves. I’ve been in a prolonged nomadic period and have learned to shelve my books alphabetically and to label the boxes according to which shelf on which bookcase and in which room they will come to rest for the time being. I am hoping to stay put in this perch for a few years because for the first time, I have an actual study, something that’s always been high on my list of things to attain in life. Next on my list of lifetime achievements will be to have a study with built-in bookshelves. This will require one more move.
In the process of unpacking the books, I’ve leafed through some that belonged to my father in his childhood- one has a pencil drawing of Popeye and a note scribbled in the back which says, “Do we have any English homework?” My father would definitely have done his English homework. I trace the Eng. Lit. major gene, the curly hair gene, and an undiluted pool of genes for which I am not thankful, to him. I found a place of prominence for a book from my own childhood and a resting area for a pile of classic kids’ books that I plan to read for the procrastination phase of a project.
I gave away some books in the process of this move– mostly required reading for NYU courses on Fundraising + Philanthropy. I now know how to write a grant, though thanks to Bernie Madoff and the current economy, it’s become a less relevant skill. In the time I spent walking my dog around the block, all of the books were spirited away from the sidewalk, except for “Ethics in Fundraising”.
Even though my bookshelves are stuffed to capacity, I just ordered another pile,used, from abe books, for my summer reading, which is in addition to my reading for purposes of procrastination.
I just finished Jill Bolte Taylor’s “My Stroke of Insight”, a must read. You can learn to reduce anger, sadness, grouchiness to an experience that lasts ninety seconds rather than a whole weekend, season or year.
I am now reading Colm Toibin’s “The Master” about Henry James. It’s a must read for Eng. Lit. majors. I was reading it in bed last night and this found poem, written on a slip of memo paper from “THE POD HOTEL” slipped out:
Melissa you are neat
And I can’t stand the heat
You are so fine
I want to make you mine
Sweet and gentle
You make me mental
From Leslie M. 5-29-08 12:09 a.m.
It’s the best bookmark I’ve ever had.
Also on my summer reading list– Jonah Lehrer’s, “How We Decide,” and delicious fiction which I haven’t been of a mind to devour for ages: Ian McEwan’s “Saturday,” and Mary Gaitskill’s story collection, “Don’t Cry.”
I wonder which of these books will make the cut next time I move.
