I love getting great gifts. They usually come from people that really know you and know the kinds of things you will like. It usually doesn't take much to please me. One of the benefits of being eclectic is that people end up getting you the coolest things. One such gift was given to me as a Christmas present this past season. I had the chance to visit with my good friend Alex while I was in Georgia and he pulled out a bag which I could immediately see contained a small book-like gift wrapped in newspaper-ish wrapping. Concealed under this faux newspaper was a delightful 1928 Edition of A.A. Milne's "House at Pooh Corner." That was the year "House at Pooh Corner" was first published. Have you ever received a gift which brings you immediate gratification without even having to use it?
Fond memories were flooding my mind as I recalled early morning travels to the 100 Acre Wood while eating cereal in front of an old wood-frame television. Thumbing the pages of the little red cloth-bound book sent me back to Germany and the Dobbins' house where I first read of Tigger, and a House for Eeyore, and Rabbit's Busy Day and left Christopher Robin and Pooh at the Enchanted Place. From there my mind wandered to the walks Alex and I would take out the back door of the Dobbins' house, through the German farmland, adding to the sweet smell of meadow grass that permeated the air our own "Grand Thoughts about Nothing." It was amazing. I didn't even have to read one word of the book, just holding it in my hands, smelling the pages full of that old book smell, and looking over its tattered edges and cloth cover immediately sent me to another place. It opened before me the world of the past to travel in reminiscence.
Books have more than one function. Their use is multifaceted. They are, of course, primarily to be read, but they fill so many other important roles, not least of which is to be organized and displayed on a book shelf. To that end I went about, one recent weekend, fashioning such an object to house the many books that had been living on my floor (a most unacceptable place for books but can be used in times of desperation for want of adequate space or place. The need to accumulate good books always outweighs the need to have a clean floor, which is really just a big shelf anyway). I was fortunate enough to find an old screen door in our attic. It would a perfect frame for the book shelf not only because of its functionality but also because of it aesthetic and symbolic potential. The old screen door frame gives the shelf the ability to combine function and form in a pleasing way and if I may say so myself it does this quite well. Of course, I am a bit biased having built the thing and the refurbished farmhouse look being something I have a propensity towards.
Fond memories were flooding my mind as I recalled early morning travels to the 100 Acre Wood while eating cereal in front of an old wood-frame television. Thumbing the pages of the little red cloth-bound book sent me back to Germany and the Dobbins' house where I first read of Tigger, and a House for Eeyore, and Rabbit's Busy Day and left Christopher Robin and Pooh at the Enchanted Place. From there my mind wandered to the walks Alex and I would take out the back door of the Dobbins' house, through the German farmland, adding to the sweet smell of meadow grass that permeated the air our own "Grand Thoughts about Nothing." It was amazing. I didn't even have to read one word of the book, just holding it in my hands, smelling the pages full of that old book smell, and looking over its tattered edges and cloth cover immediately sent me to another place. It opened before me the world of the past to travel in reminiscence.
Books have more than one function. Their use is multifaceted. They are, of course, primarily to be read, but they fill so many other important roles, not least of which is to be organized and displayed on a book shelf. To that end I went about, one recent weekend, fashioning such an object to house the many books that had been living on my floor (a most unacceptable place for books but can be used in times of desperation for want of adequate space or place. The need to accumulate good books always outweighs the need to have a clean floor, which is really just a big shelf anyway). I was fortunate enough to find an old screen door in our attic. It would a perfect frame for the book shelf not only because of its functionality but also because of it aesthetic and symbolic potential. The old screen door frame gives the shelf the ability to combine function and form in a pleasing way and if I may say so myself it does this quite well. Of course, I am a bit biased having built the thing and the refurbished farmhouse look being something I have a propensity towards.
The bookshelf now stands like a work of art, a doorway into other worlds, beckoning the observer to experience reality anew stepping through the door in their imaginations, a conversation piece, a display, a bookshelf...
Books are not just meant to be read. They are to be looked at, talked about, displayed, smelt, felt, thought about, experienced, and they are to become part of your family. I have yet to win my wife over to the importance of one day having every wall in the house stacked with books. I keep telling her its for the kids...
Books are not just meant to be read. They are to be looked at, talked about, displayed, smelt, felt, thought about, experienced, and they are to become part of your family. I have yet to win my wife over to the importance of one day having every wall in the house stacked with books. I keep telling her its for the kids...