Conversations

The ongoing conversation in our house  ~~

 

A Halloween Booooooook Sale…

It’s that time again…the

The Big — Really Big —  Book Sale

The iconic annual tradition here in San Francisco.

This Friends of the SF Public Library sale is the largest used book sale in the West and attracts book lovers from around the nation.  Over 500,000 books and media with nothing priced over $4. You know you’re in trouble when they give you a shopping cart as you enter the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason

Pretty amazing.  Come and see for yourself.  Dates above.

No question, I’ll be there —  both volunteering and shopping.

 

A Reflection

A moment of reflection~~

I was so very fortunate to have gone to high school with boys who, while far from perfect, were brought up to respect girls, didn’t take advantage and understood—no matter the circumstances, party drunk or not ~ that NO means NO.

Many of those boys are still friends and one very special one, I married.

The Great British Baking Show Returns

As I previously confessed,  I’ve hardly any books to tell you about.

And now that I have some free time to catch up on my reading…what am I doing instead?

 

Yup — The Great British Baking Show is back as of August 31st.

This new season is packaged as Season 5 in the United States (airing on Netflix), but aired as Season 8 in England. It’s the first season after the show’s move from BBC to the British Channel 4 (a head scratching move for many of us).  It’s also the first season with the new lineup of hosts and judges (Noel is a creative casting choice to be sure):

(Noel Fielding, Sandi Toksvig, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith.)

I’ve watched the first two episodes and I can happily report to all you other GBBS fans out there — that the spirit of the show is intact.  (Although I miss Mary Berry…)

This charming baking show phenom remains as kind and warm as ever, and the first episode features some of the most incredible cakes in the show’s history.

I’m as hooked as the first time around, which is a puzzlement, as I’m a reluctant (and rather average) baker, at best.  Husband is much better – his apple pie is amazing.

What is it about this show?  For me, it’s a combination of the eccentric  contestants — representing a wide range of both UK class and geography, the tension while they create their masterpieces under time constraints, and the ever-polite British ability to maintain a stiff upper lip while simultaneously laughing at themselves.

And then there’s always the small (or large) disaster…

 

Don’t worry, I’ll be back to my books again soon, as  I won’t have the TV for long, football season is starting

Until then…I’m watching The Great British Baking Show

Summer break

Book Barmy is taking a bit of a summer break.

While I thought my summer would be like this…

Instead, we’re having a lovely, but busy time with visitors and celebrations.

Reunions with loved ones not seen for months — even years.  We’ve been catching up, meeting new babies, graduates off to college, birthdays  – lots of laughter mixed with a few tears. Life marches on  — very sobering as Husband and I don’t feel any older.

So my books are abandoned – while I happily play elsewhere…

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned — despite limited reading time, I am halfway through what is proving to be a great book.

Bookmarks Magazine

I became addicted to magazines during my advertising gigs in the 1980’s and 90’s.  I’m talking about curl-up and slowly turn the glossy pages, real magazines.  Back in those ancient times, magazines were a mainstay media outlet for advertisers.  As a benefit, I was on many complimentary subscription lists.  From Good Housekeeping to Vanity Fair to Tennis Magazine — they piled up waiting for the quiet evening or foggy afternoon when I could curl up and browse them.

Many magazines are now long gone, and many have moved to digital editions. Nonetheless, I’m still addicted to real magazines, I buy them off the newsstand from time to time, and still subscribe to a few magazines – sadly no longer complimentary, but funded out of my own Book Barmy budget.

That’s hysterical, you really think I stick to a budget?

But, back on subject — Bookmarks Magazine is my favorite magazine.  I’ve been a subscriber almost since they launched in 2002.  A small publication dedicated to readers, bookgroups and librarians — with the charming mantra For Everyone who Hasn’t Read Everything.

I do a little dance when it arrives in the mail.  Just look at the fun covers.

What’s unique about Bookmarks is they gather and summarize a wide range of published book reviews (good and bad)  and summarize those reviews. So a voracious bibliophiliac reader, like myself, can make decisions on whether or not to seek out a newly published book (see Book Barmy budget above).

They also have their own articles and book recommendations such as Books You Missed and Shouldn’t Have, Great Forgotten Mysteries, and Non-fiction Must Reads.

They always profile a book group (with a fun group photo) their reading list and favorite and least favorite reads over the years of the book group.

Regular readers recommend their own list of 10 books, grouped under the heading “Have You Read?“.

Sadly, their website is not kept current, I fear they suffer from lack of staffing…but you can still subscribe.

I suggest you call the phone number Phone: Toll free: (888) 721-2402 to subscribe versus using their web page.  They are a legitimate publication, the issues have come to me every two months for 12 years now.   However, their web page and social media presence is pretty weak.  (I sort of like that, I picture three or four people sitting around a book-strewn office reading, while their computers and smart phones gather dust.)

And, if I can’t convince you to subscribe – maybe Kurt Vonnegut can:

He weighed in on Bookmarks Magazine — after one of their first issues featured a profile on his life and works;

….the first publication to summarize my career as a writer. I am beguiled by your physical beauty and I am moved by how head-over-heels in love with books you are. And nowhere else have I found such thoughtful and literate reportage on the state of the American soul, as that soul makes itself known in the books we write. News of the hour indeed!