Jove Decadent by Ramon Casos i Carbo, 1899.
The Novel by Charles-Amable Lenoir
“For a long time I used to go to bed early. Sometimes, when I had put out my candle, my eyes would close so quickly that I had not even time to say “I’m going to sleep.” And half an hour later the thought that it was time to go to sleep would awaken me; I would try to put away the book which, I imagined, was still in my hands, and to blow out the light; I had been thinking all the time, while I was asleep, of what I had just been reading, but my thoughts had run into a channel of their own, until I myself seemed actually to have become the subject of my book: a church, a quartet, the rivalry between Francois I and Charles V.”-Marcel Proust, Swann’s Way
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust at lemonbooks-$14.00
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”-Marcel Proust
Proust Quote Scrabble Tile Pendant by Gratitude Jewelry-$9.95
“…presently my aunt would dip a little madeleine in the boiling infusion, whose taste of dead leaves or faded blossom she so relished, and hand me a piece when it was sufficiently soft.”-Marcel Proust, Swann’s Way Continue reading
I’d like to think that I’m a relaxed, purposeful, and serene-looking reader, a leisurely woman out of a nineteenth-century painting. Cushioned in velvet and satin, a pile of books, a pot of tea, and a vase of flowers artfully arranged on an elegantly draped table near-to-hand. Like this, more or less:
Louise Tiffany Reading by Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1888
My delusions are so humble, aren’t they? The reality is a bit different. Okay, considerably different. For starters, it involves backaches and too much dog hair. I live in a sea of language, a blizzard of words. If I’m not writing, I’m reading. The former is done at the desk in my studio with neatness, solitude, and organization. The latter is a haphazard affair. I hunker down with a book or three in, on, or beside whatever can pass for a seat: my swinging sixties swivel chair; the bathtub; my too-lumpy bed; on the dining room floor; or, somewhat claustrophobically, on the couch crushed beneath a pile of scratchy dog paws and icy snouts. My solution? A dedicated reading space, of course!
We’ve been in our huge flat for 2 1/2 years, and my studio has been used as such from the get-go. Why am I so late to the party with this? I’ve always been a wallflower but this, this, is ridiculous. I spend far too much time on Pinterest to be ignorant of or immune to the sweet siren call of The Perfectly Curated Reading Nook. The concept makes my heart sing with girlish enthusiasm. The effort required to make this over-the-top idea come true? Not so much. In fact, it makes me think of this:
My girl Ophelia knows how I feel.
What’s a writer-reader with bohemian taste, an absurd imagination, and lazy tendencies to do in lieu of actual work? Drag an old chair that has been in the family for 40+ years to the middle of her studio and call it a day.
Before: Communing with the chair in the late 1970s.
The Gold Chair is older than I am. It’s now missing a few buttons and is slightly threadbare in spots; it reminds me of a passage in The Velveteen Rabbit (or How Toys Become Real) by Margery Williams: Continue reading
What follows is a mad cyclone of some of the oddly delectable bits and bobs setting my head and heart on fire this early November, vintage-style.
Grab your favourite beverage, sit back, and enjoy looking at these Robert Louis Stevenson themed goods!
Robert Louis Stevenson Quote-Letterpress Art Print by tag team tompkins-$8.00
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson at 4Get-Me-Not Treasures-$18.00 Continue reading
The Many Covers of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ (courtesy of Flavorwire).
Which one is your favourite?
“I shut my eyes in order to see.”-Paul Gauguin
North Carolina on the fly.
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 