I’ve come to terms with this consuming passion.  I adore without endangering my family’s finances.  I consider this to be an ennobling passion.

I rearranged some of my books last night and am reveling in the neatness.  It doesn’t look all that different from before but I think I have excuse enough to post some pictures, yes?

Neatly ordered shelves.

A shelf for small books.

One of my favorite sets of books.

Full, but more organized, desk (note the nude child peeking around the corner -where is his mother?).

A small pile of books and things to give away.

I really enjoy the days that I get my reading goal in. It makes me feel responsible.

I worked on setting up an Amazon store today. I thought it would be nice to have all the lovely books I’ve been enjoying reading sorted and selected so it would be easy for others to enjoy them as much as I do. I really love the Everyman’s editions and have linked to their site many times, still it is frankly cheaper to buy through Amazon. Both the book prices and the shipping are significantly less. So buy and read; these books are meant to be enjoyed both as literature and as objects and will last a long time. The store will be permanently accessible through the toolbar above under the page “Treasures of Spada” and I’ll probably link to particular items on occasion once I figure out how to do so.

Lots of pages read but just a children’s book so I don’t feel too accomplished.

I have a little theory. I think that the notion of “love at first sight” may not be as much a sentimental American idea as an Oriental idea. From The Tale of Genji, The Cairo Trilogy, and now The Arabian Nights this theme has been developing. My theory is that it comes of cultures that hide their women. When a woman’s appearance is constantly concealed, a glimpse can precipitate sufficient emotion to convince a man that he loves her. In The Cairo Trilogy this was as often mere lust as anything higher but in Genji it was more mixed and The Arabian Nights was decidedly romantic.

I don’t think I’m cut out to be a stay-at-home-mom. I’m going stir-crazy already. I’m mentally bored. Even reading for the entirety of Luc and Alex’s naps hasn’t been enough for me. I strategize like crazy to get them to sleep at the same time and have been getting about 1&1/2 to 2 hours of peace but the other 6-7 hours in the day are too much. I think I’m a pretty good housekeeper, I don’t mind laundry or dishes, I enjoy baking and cooking, and I love my kids and think that they are pretty dang awesome…but…I feel numbed by the end of the afternoon. I want peace and quiet to think, I want time to focus on writing or reading, I want to accomplish something that doesn’t have to be done all over again tomorrow. I truly think that housekeeping is drudgery; drudgery that can be consecrated to God and made beautiful but drudgery all the same. So for now my goal is to do my duty to the home and the children as graciously and beautifully as possible but also to find some way to incorporate more mental stimulation into my day. Having 200books.com to work on is helping but I feel a need for something a little more. We’ll see how that goes.

Book club was at my house tonight because, of course, we can no longer meet at Veritas. I got to show off my books to my bookish friends and that was fun, so I’m continuing that here. These four photos are all the books I’ve read so far this year. There are three books in the pictures that are standing in for others that I have read but don’t have on hand. One I borrowed and had to return (thanks Aimee!) and two I *gasp* lent out. I put in substitutes so the visual would still be effectively accurate. Which are the unread books?

The bookstore part of Veritas is about 75% done. There are only four shelves still up (mostly because it’s been hard to find boxes for the books) and the computer, and the kiddos’ toys. In the coffeehouse almost all of the movable stuff is gone and just the coffee equipment is left. We actually don’t have to move that until the place is re-leased or we sell the equipment and that is a relief. We decided to go with a POD for our storage needs and it is a huge blessing. We don’t have to drive back and forth to a storage unit (with no car!) and they can deliver the POD to our driveway so I can deal with all our inventory at my leisure. Well, sort of “at my leisure”. I do need to have the POD empty in four months max. Wish me luck.

Also I still haven’t found my ring. Sad. What do you all think about getting a ring tattooed on?

The Complete Short Stories by Evelyn Waugh Page: 500

My love of books has been enjoying a renaissance. I’ve been moving lots of books around and the fun of handling them and seeing them re-arranged seems fresh. I love seeing lovely books all lined up and neat. I want all the walls of my home wallpapered with them. Jared, it’s time to build some bookshelves!

I’m halfway through the year and it’s time for another assessment. Numerically things don’t look good. At this point I should have read 100 books or 39,675 pages. In fact I have read 84 & 1/3 books or 33,914 pages. I’d like to think that catching up almost 6000 pages won’t be hard, but that translates into nearly 100 hours of reading just to catch up. I’m pretty highly motivated to accomplish my goal and I can imagine myself spending some concentrated time conning Kayla and Julie into babysitting and knuckling down and getting the books read. But as time goes on, Veritas is busier than ever and Luc sleeps less and less so I’m equally capable of imagining a 150 book year. Time will tell I guess.

I think it is also time for a non-numerical assessment; time to decide how well I’m blogging this project. So I’m really asking you to help my self-analysis here and point out how I could be making this more interesting for those of you who deign to follow my little project. Do I talk to much about myself? Not enough? Do my domestic worries crop up too often? Am I too whiny? Should I be talking more about the books I’m reading? More about my job? Leave your comments (anonymously if you feel it is necessary) and I’ll offer my personal analysis tomorrow after you give me yours.

I’ve hardly read today. We did finally get a whole Sunday off (thank you Q) but between church, taking the boys swimming and trying to spend a little time with my husband…well, the book just lost out. I’m tired and I don’t feel well; Alex has been a bit under the weather and I think we’re going to stay home tomorrow but that won’t be very restful for me. I’m longing for the days when a cold meant you got to lay on the couch and watch movies all day while mom plied you with goodies.

I’m sure I’ve blogged about this before but reading Thomas Mann has reminded me of the joys of a long and wordy book. sometimes the pleasure in reading comes simply from the process and not from the excitement of the story. Some books carry you forward quickly; incidents pile up and you can’t wait to see what happens next. Other books are almost poetic and the shape of the language is a positive aesthetic pleasure apart from any story told. But books like Joseph are parts of each and a third thing; they repeat and re-emphasize, they argue and debate within themselves. The story is told but slowly with each detail lovingly and precisely described. Their chief delight is that they do not end too quickly and the pleasure of reading is not interrupted by any anxiousness to “find out”. Unless of course you have a reading goal of 200 books…

Joseph and His Brothers By Thomas Mann Page: 160

I ordered a new batch of books yesterday. It’s been awhile since I’ve ordered any (I had to spend my book money on that speeding ticket. Sad.) and I’m so excited to see them come in. I ordered Sherlock Holmes, more Evelyn Waugh (how did he get on the list so many times?), some Dickens and some author I’d never heard of. I like shopping in ‘brick & mortar’ stores, obviously because I own one! But I also love the excitement of waiting for a brown box in the mail. With this project I’ve had that pleasure so often that it ought to be getting old. Instead I’m more acquisitive (when it comes to books anyway) than ever. I love to see the books lining up and love to see how many I’ve read already this year. I’m thrilled to read new books and looking forward to re-reading some Sherlock. I’ve read them all several times and have always loved them. We decided to read them for the book club and I think this is one book everyone will finish. I’m actually not sure which stories are included in this edition though and I won’t know until it arrives in the mail next week. But I’m pretty sure that A Study in Scarlett is in there so that’s a good place to start.

And speaking of starting, I started work on my book proposal today. For those of you that haven’t been around since about March, an editor with a publishing company contacted me about putting together a book proposal based on my 200 books experience. She suggested sending something to her after I was at least half-way through the year and I began writing it this morning. Kayla came over and watched the boys while I snuck off and pecked away at the laptop. It was a rewarding experience (not just being away from the kids!) and I look forward to repeating it (Kayla-willing). I shared some excerpts with Jared and he’s excited to read the book. So I can get at least one copy printed right?

So bybee over at Naked Without Books described me as “nucking futs”…that sounds about right…

It’s not Genji’s fault that my page count was so low today, I was uber-productive at work which equals very little reading. Then I came home with the boys this evening and spent all my time chasing crying kids around. Alex has been going through a fairly clingy stage. He’s incredibly sweet and affectionate but also wants to be held all the freaking time. Which is hard enough just because of the one other kiddo in the house; but add in oh, say, chores, a 60 hour+ work week and 217 pages of reading to get done every day and something has to give. I won’t make the books a priority even though Genji is downright relaxing next to a volatile toddler, no matter how adorable he is. I keep falling further behind and have vague but pleasant visions of a two-week vacation where I have no responsibilities and can read 1000 pages a day. Dream on.

Just for the record, yesterday’s post was not a personal attack on anyone. It was a pleasant, friendly, opinionated but gentle prodding. Really. Please be inspired, not offended, I only have your best interests at heart…