January can be tough. The cold, the snow, the boxing up of Christmas. The New Years resolutions made, then shortly thereafter abandoned. So what better way to ring in the new year, than new books? I've been hoarding Chapters gift certificates (the Canadian version of B&N) for a year now, and combined with the one I received in my stocking this Christmas, I hit the jackpot (literally. I paid $5 total for all of these books!):
There's Donna Hay's cookbook: Off the Shelf (making the most of the staples in your pantry, including some very useful guides to things such as different types of pastas, rice, oils, herbs, etc.). Also Character & Viewpoint, by Orson Scott Card (which I daresay may become this year's editing bible - Yes, it's that good!). Also Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn (a novel in letters that's and clever and punny as its title). And I couldn't not buy the two Alan Bradley books for sale (he's quickly crawling up my favorite author list), both The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, and I Am Half-Sick of Shadows. As a dedicated dystopian writer and avid dystopian reader, I figured I should stop waiting for the 273 individuals ahead of me on the library wait list and just buy the dang Veronica Roth books (Divergent and Insurgent). Plus, I love them. And, with editing on both my mind and writing agenda, it was time for my own copy of The Elements of Style, by Strunk & White. Lastly, a Kate Morton book that was on sale for $5 (The House At Riverton). If you haven't read The Forgotten Garden, you should. It's good.
No sooner had I lovely un-swaddled them from their careful packaging, and nostalgically cracked them open to catch a whiff of that new book smell, then I lovingly cradled them on 'the shelf'. This my friends, is my bookshelf. As you can see, it is dangerously close to overflowing. Hallelujah for eBooks! And as I stood there gazing in wonder at 'the shelf', that song from the Cinderella musicale popped into my head. Do you know which one I mean? And seized in a fit of excitement, I grabbed my camera. I wanted to share the moment. I wanted to share... "my own little corner, with my own littler chair, where I can be whatever I want to be..."
My angels (Willow Tree ornaments are my favorite, but I'm a sucker for most angels.)
A little reminder. Both be inspired by the high quality fiction that surrounds me (Yes, I own Twilight. Yes, I enjoyed it. What can I say?), and act to inspire others with the stories that I weave. That's the dream, at least.
And speaking of dreams, a little reminder, that for all the sweat and tears and heartache and agony, once in a while, they do come true.
Do you have your own little corner?
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