Books
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When I fill in for Trish or Dave on Blog for Iowa I post about what I am reading. In part, I do so to share books I felt were worthwhile. In part to encourage people to read actual books in any format. The sad state of American reading is hard to ignore. 40 percent… Read more
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When I had a newspaper route, I stopped at the corner drugstore and occasionally bought mass-market paperback books. They are characterized by their small size (roughly 4.25 x 6.87 inches), lower price point, and widespread distribution in places like airports, grocery stores, and drugstores. I have so many of them that I built a special… Read more
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We are out of storage space in the house, so something has to go. Before the library’s March 7, annual used book sale, I donated more than 600 books. It was pleasurable seeing them laying on tables in the main meeting room while people browsed through them. I hadn’t realized how many French language books… Read more
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Calling this project done for now. I went through all remaining boxes in the two stacks and prepped two more boxes for the library used book sale. There are five empty boxes and a good amount of new stuff placed in old boxes. This was the first major sort of my books since they arrived… Read more
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For years, my books about North American indigenous culture were tucked away in a box. I decided I was wrong about them and with newly opened space because of The Great Sort, I put them on a shelf. These are in addition to the works by and about Black Hawk which I always kept out,… Read more
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When handling hundreds of books long packed away, a few will stand out. Not only do I want to keep those in this photo, I want to read or re-read them next year. It’s part of the process of the Great Sort. While living in Mainz, Germany, I had a stamp made with my military… Read more
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I spent two hours rearranging poetry books in my stacks. I decided eight 23-inch shelves was enough poetry and some had to go. Now there is an eight-inch stack of poetry books awaiting disposition. Poetry measured in inches. I rearranged the poetry so more in which I have interest rest at eye level. On top… Read more
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In late November I’ve read 63 books this year. Not all of them were good, yet many of them were exceptional. This post is about books I am glad to have read this year. The Politics of Resentment by Katherine Cramer Cramer’s examination of rural political consciousness — and the resentment often directed toward “liberal… Read more
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I did not receive an advance reader’s copy of Queen Esther by John Irving. I emailed the bookstore in the county seat to make sure they would have it on publication day. On Nov. 4, I drove there and parked on Iowa Avenue, the same Iowa Avenue Irving described in The Water Method Man. I… Read more
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When the email from Macmillan Publishers arrived I knew I would purchase The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb, by Garrett M. Graff. I immediately logged in to Amazon and found I could order it to be delivered the next day, on publication day… Read more
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