Sunday, March 01, 2009

Birthdays

Today is the ninety-sixth birthday of Ralph Ellison. Also born today, four years earlier, was Wallace Stegner. Yesterday was Montaigne’s. And the day before that: John Steinbeck, James T. Farrell, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and the author of this blog, who turned fifty-seven on Friday. Mrs Commonplace wanted the books off the floor, but was undecided how to go about it. A Kindle would keep future purchases from winding up there, but would do nothing to relieve the present clutter. She decided upon a Bosch router instead so that Mr Commonplace would perhaps be enticed to build new bookcases. It remains to be seen whether this ploy will succeed.

2 comments:

R/T said...

There is something so thoroughly wrong about having to abandon books and turn instead to a Kindle. In my humble opinion, nothing can replace the tactile aesthetics (to coin a phrase) that a person experiences with a book in his or her hands. If I had a the choice between the Kindle and the books, I would be reading the instructions for the router, ordering some lumber, and getting busy on those shelves. And I would make sure the shelves were expansive enough to allow for even more books.

Rebecca V. O'Neal said...

Happy Birthday!

I'm reading Montaigne now - and the guy's surprisingly funny.

p.s. - IKEA!