OLD BOOKS!

Look what arrived on my doorstep Saturday morning! A box full of old, musty books!



Behold!  Old books!

I found this lot of about 40 vintage books on Ebay and was actually able to win the auction for a fair and reasonable price. I'm not on Ebay much but I'm a bit afraid I may now be hooked. They range in age anywhere from the late 1800's to the 1950's and appear to be in excellent condition. A couple are in French which I find cool as hell. Below are a couple of my favorites from the lot.



It's "Profusely" Illustrated!



My husband did not think this an appropriate cover picture for 'Uncle Tom's Cabin".

I don't fancy myself a true antiquarian...yet. I don't know which books are truly rare and which are just old. And I don't know the different condition ratings and standards for aged books. But I do know I love books and I know that I believe old books are beautiful and should be treasured and protected.

I have a small but growing library - mostly just books I've read over the years, starting from my childhood. But I've picked up some old books here and there at antique stores and estate auctions. I have a love for all antiques - furniture, glassware, vintage jewelry and clothing and yes, books.  I always say I would have been much better suited having been born either in the Victorian era or the 1930s or 40s.   

My library.  Ruined by my husband's hunting decor.

However, recently I met a woman who is a true antiquarian and her friendship has definitely piqued my interest in vintage book collecting and preservation. Her and her husband boast a collection of over 100,000 books, if my memory is correct.  They have travelled all over the world collecting rare, old books.  They remodelled their turn-of-the-century farmhouse for the express purpose of storing and showcasing their book collection where every available wall and surface contains bookshelves or storage cases.  Yet, still they have to keep a large portion in storage due to lack of room.  Their collection contains books as small as your pinkie nail and as tall your hips.  And her and her husband give lectures on their collection as well as antique book collecting in general.  Needless to say, I am absolutely dying to get a foot in her house and take a good look at her collection.  Unfortunately - yet understandably - they guard their collection closely and don't let many people in their house.  Frowny face.

I don't believe I'll ever have a collection as large or awe inspiring as hers.  But I can have this small, yet growing collection of my own.  Now, where to put them?

War of the eReaders - Part 2

First I would like to extend a warm welcome to my new friends and followers from the Book Blogs forum. I look forward to chatting, networking, and most of all, reading all your wonderful book blogs, in the near future. Thanks for stopping by!

Now, on to business!

As some of you may or may not remember, some time ago, I posted about a decision I had been pondering for some time: whether or not I should purchase an ereader; and if I did, which brand would be the right one for me. I was hesitant to purchase one because I was unwilling to give up my physical books and I love collecting, sorting and organizing my books in my small yet growing personal library. However, the ease of carrying around an ereader (as opposed to a physical book), especially when travelling, as well as the instant gratification of being able to download a book whenever the fancy strikes were tempting considerations.

As luck would have it, my decision was made for me when my friend and fellow blogger, Mike, alerted me to a sale of refurbished Nooks at the Barnes & Noble Ebay store. Purchasing a refurb was another apprehension I quickly got over. Buying a used anything makes me nervous, especially when it comes to electronics. Also, I'm a germ-a-phobe and I couldn't be sure what lude and disgusting acts the previous owners had been preforming with my Nook. Mike assured me that certified refurb electronics were perfectly fine, and in some cases better than new for the mere fact that the device had actually been turned on and inspected for defects prior to resale. I was, however, advised not to lick it when I received it in the mail :) Wise and sage advice, Gubby!



My Nook arrived and I immediately downloaded a couple free books just to test it out and get the ball rolling. A word of warning, although the Barnes & Noble free book selection is extensive, it's not exactly high quality. There are some good books offered in there but you have to wade through piles of erotica and religious lit to find them. Strange combination, I know. I quickly graduated from free books to paying for a couple. Barnes & Noble makes it ever so easy. They keep your credit card on file for you and everything so it's not even like you are spending money when you download a book. How nice of them, right?

The gadgets on the Nook, I have to admit, are awesome, although I am sure they are not exclusive to only the Nook. I am loving both the "Look Up Word" and the "Find" features. The Nook contains a full dictionary so when you come across an unfamiliar word you simply click "look up" and the Nook pulls up the word's definition. And the find feature does just that: type in a word and the Nook will find all other instances of that word in the book. It's a handy feature for the book I am currently reading, Game of Thrones by George RR Martin which contains many different characters, some of which I need to be reminded of who they are and how they fit in the story. Also handy for such a book is the "bookmark" feature. Game of Thrones has some reference material at both the beginning and the end of the book that is handy to refer to throughout reading. I simply assigned a bookmark to both sections and can flip to either with just a click. But enough about Game of Thrones. I will be blogging on it soon enough.

I have to say, I am enjoying my new Nook and believe I would recommend it, or any ereader, to anyone. Now, I'm not saying I'm going to give up my real books. No way, no how. But it's a fun alternative and will come in very handy for travel.

Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs

I recently signed up for Blogging For Books. It is a website for Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing that provides free books to bloggers in exchange for an honest review posted on our respective blogs. Free books, people! Hells yes!

My first book arrived in the mail a few weeks ago, much to my giddy excitement. When you sign up, you are asked to provide your reading interests and your provided selection of books to review is then based off these interests. I chose all but a few categories, which probably wasn't smart. When I logged in to chose my first book, the only options given to me were religious and inspirational selections. I enjoy reading religious history, especially Catholic history as I am a newly minted Catholic myself. However, these selections were not religious history. They were mostly of the "how to live a godly life" or "chick in a bonnet and prairie dress on the cover" variety. You know the type I'm talking about. I know now that I need to narrow my selected interests to a few top categories in order to be provided with a selection that actually fits my interests. We live and we learn, I guess. I'm hopeful the selection will be better the second time around.

So, of all the religious fluff that was provided to me, I chose the one that I thought would be the most interesting. It sounded fun, gossipy and dishy. I chose Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs. The cover, as you can see, sports a picture of just the eyes of a heavily made-up woman throwing us a come-hither glance. Racy! Provocative! Captivating! Nope, not so much. It turned out to be your run-of-the-mill preachy bullshit.

We start with Eve, whom the author describes as "the original bad girl". Eve's major sin was eating the apple of the Tree of Knowledge despite God having told her not to. We move on to other bad girls such as Lot's wife who was turned into a pillar of salt for turning around for one last look of Sodom and Gomorrah as her and her family fled it's destruction; Sapphira was dropped dead because her and her husband failed to donate all the proceeds from a sale of their farmland to the local religious leaders; and of course, Jezebel, the Big Kahuna of bad girls.

For each story, the author kindly points out each woman's sins and how we can learn from them today. That's all fine and good. The Bible is good for that, after all. But when the author tells us that the lessons we can take away from the story of Potiphar's Wife (who attempted to lure Joseph and, presumably his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, into an affair with her) are to"leave the office door open when we meet with a male coworker" or "make sure we are appropriately dressed" (actual quotes, page 59) to protect ourselves from committing adultery. You know what, screw you lady! I can talk to whomever, wherever I like. I can wear whatever I like. You know why? Because I'm an adult and I have self control over my primal urges. My virtue should not be so easily questioned. And men's virtue should not be so easily questioned, either. She is suggesting that all men and just waiting for a closed door or a short skirt as an invitation to jump me. I would like to think not, in this day and age. And if so, then you are associating with the wrong people, young lady!

Needless to say, the book did not suit my feminist tastes. If you're a man who likes to put your woman in her place, or you are a woman who enjoys being put in your place, this is the book for you. You will get all the ammunition in the world for why women are the downfall of society and humankind. If you are an intelligent human being, then take a pass on this one. No bows today for Bad Girls of the Bible. It was complete and udder crap. Thank god it was free. Here's to hoping my next Blogging for Books selection is much better.

Oh and in accordance with FTC guidelines I must disclose that "I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review." So there.