The library is still not a place to spend time. Like literally, you can't. You can go in to return things you've taken out and are done reading, watching, etc. You can pick new items up. But once you're done with that there's nothing to do but leave.
One consequence of that is that I forgot their scheduling quirks. With a lot of holiday Mondays they close on Saturday as well to make it a three day weekend. Over the past year or so I had finally started thinking ahead to the next big holiday that might effect the schedule so I could plan around the closings. But when they close for a few weeks and then when they reopen their schedule is still mostly non-functioning, that makes it harder to orient yourself.
Still, I'm glad the library system is there to get stuff to read and watch. One book I just finished is Peter De Vries's <i>Mrs. Wallop</i>. It's kind of a clever little comedy. A landlady is excited to read her tenant's newly published novel, but is put out to find an unflattering portrayal in it of a landlady character. Except that when she discusses it with him later he tells her the character is really a disguised portrait of his own mother. In the same conversation, she proudly tells him that her own son has been working on a novel himself. As it turns out, the son has some uncomplimentary things to say about his own mother. This doesn't make Mrs. Wallop happy, but her response is not quite what you'd expect.
Also been reading a book called <i>Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s</i> by Cara Greenberg. Combining image and text, it tackles some of the same topics as Tom Wolfe's <i>From Bauhaus to Our House</i>, but Greenberg is more of a Bauhaus defender it seems. I'm neutral in the fight. Sharp design is a delight, of course, but everything gets complicated by real life.
2 comments:
The good news is that the libraries are open again so we can hope it won't be too much longer before you can return to your usual routine of browsing and sitting. That is what they're meant to be for, after all, and my hope is that it will happen naturally.
The Peter Devries book sounds pretty amusing. A reviewer on Goodreads said "like Adlai Stevenson and Mark Twain, has suffered from the American assumption that anyone with a sense of humor is not to be taken seriously." I may have to find a copy of one of his books - they appear to be largely unavailable except at libraries one would hope.
I enjoy reading articles about architecture, generally the more traditional kinds are what appeals to me and that's pretty much true of furniture as well. So long as the chairs are comfortable and the tables don't tilt I'm generally satisfied.
I got a note from our old friend Geraldine this evening that she asked me to send to you after I sent her the chalk video you posted last week. She and Alan still live in a tiny village outside of Cork - another of the world's lovely places.
🏡Please forward to Benji
I think my favourite medium to use is chalk or chalk pastels preferably for more intense pigment .
I realize that Benji probably doesn't remember me ... he was a small boy , meeting a lot of new experiences every day , I remember little Benjamin very well and he's well imbedded in my heart of people I care about .
Chalk is amazing Benji - it's not permanent ever after , it's great it's here and then it's gone . I hope you can get some chalk or if you have to work indoors because of weather , splurge and get chalk pastels like Rembrandts or better
Animation with chalk or sand or paint or anything you got is easy if you have a camera .
Sending Love 💕
She also attached a video of David Zinn for you to see.
That's a pretty good line about Stevenson and Twain. I'm curious as to when Mark Twain started being thought of as a great American writer. He represented a new movement in making fiction from this country more distinct from the British stuff. TS Eliot had interesting things to say about Huckleberry Finn.
As to De Vries, I'd read a story of his before, so I had a little idea of what to expect. I do like to read outright humorous poetry and fiction sometimes, to remind myself how it's done.
My taste in furniture and my needs of it are pretty simple. I do like to see sometimes how artists and craftspeople have applied their talents to it. And the kinds of response this work has gotten from the public, at all levels.
I do remember Geraldine. It's strange to hear from her because the last time she saw me I was gangly but tiny, and entirely unformed. It's cool that she's talking up chalk. It does indeed have a light and playful quality that I like to see. And that's a cool video of the guy in Michigan who works with chalk.
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