I have to tell you that I had a tiny bit of a breakdown this week. Well, maybe more than tiny, and it was book-related. The first thing that happened is that I discovered it will be a couple of months before I can get a library card here, as I do not yet have official documentation for my new address. I was more upset than one should be to discover this, possibly due to that time of the month looming, possibly due to the comedown from months of stress, possibly due to everything being new and different. The librarian told me she couldn’t give me a card, and I was blinking back tears about it all day.
But you know me, I rallied, thinking that at least I held onto my CPL account on my Libby app, so I can get e-books, and I have hundreds of books on the shelves in my new spare room:
I cheerfully thought, well, I’ll take this opportunity to read my new copy of Lucy By The Sea, and why not reread the whole series while I’m at it? Maybe I’ll reread all of Jane Austen, in order of publication? I haven’t read my favourite Diary of a Provincial Lady for a while! Maybe I’ll read that. I was feeling very pleased with this idea, and my husband had just finished moving some furniture around in the downstairs gaming area, so I was able to access the cupboard on the TV stand. I had put a large ziploc bag full of my bookmarks in that cupboard before moving; when I opened it I made the sad discovery that the other things that were in that cupboard were still there, but my bookmarks were gone. A search of the house and all other pieces of furniture, including the garbage, was undertaken, all for naught. Everything is unpacked and the bookmarks are not here.
At this point, you’re probably thinking who cares about bookmarks? But while I have become unsentimental about many things, my bookmarks were not among them. I had handmade bookmarks from a friend’s daughter, and I would swap them out seasonally and thematically – I just got teary eyed again, thinking what am I going to do for Tiny Secret Festive Season when I don’t have my Christmas bookmarks – I had bookmarks created by and gifted to me by my yoga students as a memory of them, I had bookmarks from my days as the Book Fair Lady, and, saddest of all, I had bookmarks made by my children with markers and drawings on them. To say that I was upset by the loss of this bag is a vast understatement. I cried for hours. I cried so hard my stomach started to feel nauseous. I cried so much that my whole body ached and I felt like I had a terrible hangover.
Well. There’s no solution to this problem, except trying to practice non-attachment. Things are just things, but this is a sad thing, and in the meantime, let’s cheer ourselves up by talking about the books that got me through the week before the move up until yesterday. Let’s put the R in REM Y REM, am I right?
Moving Reading
The Sun and Her Flowers. There are some really beautiful and uplifting poems in this collection, but I think I would have liked this much more had I read it as a younger woman. Much of it deals with healing from bad relationships, and becoming stronger. It’s not my stage of life but still, I enjoy this very talented young poet.
The Story of Us. This is a sweet and very big hearted book about a Filipino woman coming to Canada as a nanny, but eventually caring for an elderly trans woman who is an Alzheimer’s patient. It’s all about family – biological and chosen – and understanding one another. The author is Canadian, which I love, and the novel’s pony of view is from that of the caregiver’s unborn child, which is very original. Some of the dialogue and prose is a bit stilted and is clearly written to make a statement and to promote the author’s agenda, which leaves me mixed. On the one hand, it is cool in that I completely support her agenda and love that books are written in a normalizing way about queer and transgender people, but from a literary standpoint, it is not my favourite. Despite that I enjoyed this very much, and found the characters to be so warm and lovely and engaging, and the relationship that developed through caregiver and patient to be incredibly heartwarming.
Romantic Comedy. Before I tell you how I loved this delightful, fun, and witty romance, a confession. I almost didn’t read this. There has been a lot of buzz around it, but I saw the author’s name and thought no thank you. In case you hadn’t noticed, at least 95% of the books I read are by female authors; it’s not that I NEVER read a male author or NEVER enjoy a male author, but it’s rare and infrequent. What can I say, I like the ladies. This is particularly true for fiction. But then I was in the library and I saw it on the New and Notable shelf; I flipped it over and saw the author’s picture – she’s a woman! Joke’s on me. Anyway, you know how you will sometimes see gorgeous movie or music star women with kind of shlubby guys (i.e., Johansson and Jost) but you do not ever see the gender flip of that? That is what this book is about. A SNL-style writer helps a male pop star with his sketches for the show, and inadvertently insults him by insinuating he would only hook up with models fifteen years his junior. They reconnect via email during the summer of 2020, and I am here for it. It’s really funny and sweet, and has some great messaging in it; the writing is top-notch and it’s just such a great romance novel! It turns out I am also here for a good pandemic side-story if it’s done well. The details about starting a relationship during the early stages of the pandemic, and what life was like (DOOMSCROLLING 4EVER) were spot on.
The Myth of Normal. Four years ago I read When The Body Says No by this author, and it was just fascinating to me, the connection between the mind and the body, the idea that mental and emotional trauma could manifest as physical illness. This book is much more of the same, delving into chronic illness as well as addiction, and the intergenerational causes of such things. It skates a very tricky line; it’s hard to write about how stress, personality traits, and traumatic or semi-traumatic experiences can lead to chronic illness without making it sound victim blaming, but the author (mostly) manages to do that. He writes with a lot of compassion about how our personalities can be shaped by adverse experiences and societal pressures, which can lead to illness or pain. It’s a fascinating book BUT warning, for anyone going through, say, a STRESSFUL PERIOD LIKE MOVING, it can be a wee bit triggering. Or, you know, if your husband has been in an incredibly stressful job for five and a half years and has multiple health issues. Also? If you are a parent, I would highly recommend skipping the chapters on parenting and how it shapes our children UNLESS you want to be haunted by the time you were so exhausted you left the baby to cry it out for a while to see if they’d fall asleep and then they DID, which apparently means the baby gave up and will be searching their whole life for someone to soothe and comfort them. Also, if you didn’t feed them on demand. Or didn’t breastfeed until they weaned themselves. Sure, societal pressures could be at play but probably you have destroyed their sense of autonomy and self-worth forever. Pardon me while I go do some breathing exercises. I kid, I kid. If you are interested in this subject, this is a very comprehensive, compassionate, and fascinating book just, maybe read with a grain of salt? Or a shaker full?
The Urgent Life. I heard this author on a podcast and I was so taken by her that I had to read her book. Um. Well? I had to check several times to see if this was actually the same person, because the book was not at all what I thought it was. I’m not saying it’s not good – it’s well-written and very interesting – but it wasn’t at all what I thought it would be about. It is a memoir about her husband dying, which I knew happened, but what I didn’t know is that they had been separated for four years at that point, they had lost a baby, and her father, a hard-core patriarch, moved in with them – while married – into their tiny New York apartment not once, but twice. Everyone in this book sounds pretty unlikeable, except for the (spoiler alert) new girlfriend who, at the end of the book, gets totally shafted. So, I don’t know what else to say. If you’re reading this, go in with different expectations than I did, I guess?
Love and Trouble. I thought I would love this. A book of essays by a forty-something woman looking back on her youth? Sign me up! But the execution and theme were so dull and repetitive, and her stories of her hyper-sexualized, wayward youth and mountains of poor decisions did not make for good reading. A couple of the essays I thought were okay, but that’s about it.
You Think It, I’ll Say It. After a slumpish couple of books, I was so happy to read this gem! You know I love a short story, and these are really great – complicated, unreliable narrators, variety of stories and settings. I’m so glad I started reading this talented author! This was so good!
Violeta. This book is the history of Chile from 1920-2020, as told by one woman. She was born in the Spanish flu epidemic of 1920, and died in the early days of the COVID pandemic of 2020. This is a translation, which might explain the awkward and stilted dialogue. It’s a very long book that drags a lot, but I’m still glad I read it as I knew very little about Chile, and I like seeing history through a human lens. Still. Long. Draggy. Be warned! This is the only book ever that I had expire on my Kobo, and I had to wait for it to come available again to finish it, which I somewhat toyed with NOT doing. It could be the move, but it was a hard one for me to get through.
Glow In The F*cking Dark. You know how I feel about the asterisk in f*cking. YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT! Just SAY it or don’t, but don’t ADD THE ASTERISK! So, you know there must be a reason I overstepped my deep, deep dislike for the fuck asterisk – it’s similar to my dislike of male authors, it has to be a really good reason that I’ll read a male author, like maybe he’s David Sedaris or something – and that reason is twofold. One, I really enjoyed this woman’s first book Buy Yourself The F*cking Lilies (I KNOW), and two, I heard her speak on a podcast and discovered that her working title was simply Glow In The Dark, no F*cking involved, but her agent insisted, to the author’s dismay, that it was her “brand.” I get this. Anyway, all that said, I really did enjoy this book that is a sequel to her re-parenting Lilies book; similarly it’s a memoir mixed with self-help, and it’s very lovely and uplifting with a lot of practical advice. I also love that her epigraph was a quote from Rumi that I love: “We are stars wrapped in skin. The light you are seeking has always been within.” I love that, and that’s the theme of the book – you are a star – A FUCKING STAR, I SAID IT, NO ASTERISK – and as such, you should glow and light the way for others.
There, I’m all caught up! My boys keep telling me my bookmarks will turn up, and I want to believe this, but how is it possible when we have unpacked everything and searched everywhere? On that note, it’s time for me to put the M and Y into REM Y REM, and to wish you all a wonderful long weekend (it is the long weekend, isn’t it? Time has lost its meaning even more than before.) xo
Oh Nicole. Your spare room lined with bookshelves is beautiful! You just need a ladder like Belle in Beauty and the Beast. I totally understand your attachment to your bookmarks. They bring back so many memories! Maybe they’ll turn up somewhere unexpectedly? Have you read Eligible by Curtis Settenfeld. It’s part of a series reimagining Austen classics.
I DO need a ladder! Belle is my favourite of all the Disney women!
I only just started reading Curtis Settenfeld so I’m so happy that there is so much to explore! I’ll put that one on my list for sure.
I rushed to the comments to recommend Eligible as well! It was the first book I read by her and I really enjoyed it. It’s not super deep, but it’s really fun. I loved Romantic Comedy as well (though I would argue Colin Jost is not really schlubby but more of a Chad?? Haha).
(I’m jk, he seems like a very nice person by all accounts, but so very preppy and WASP-y.)
Hahahaha YES, more of a Chad indeed! He seems fun, honestly.
WHAT THE WHAT YOU CAN’T GET A NEW LIBRARY CARD FOR A FEW MONTHS??????????????????? Ick.
In the meantime thank goodness for Libby and your old library card!
I’m sending good vibes that your bookmarks will turn up. I mean, they have to be somewhere in the new house right?
Birchy, I know. I KNOWWWWWWWWW.
I’m hoping, after reading all these comments about similarly lost items, that the bookmarks will turn up.
That is a bizarrely long wait for a library card! Sheesh! Seems like they should be able to use a utility bill or something! This would be a big deal for me because we check out so many books for our kids. I exclusively read ebooks and use mine and my husband’s holds on Libby so I’d have plenty of books from my previous library card, but still – this should not be so hard!!
Sittenfeld is a delight! And now she lives in Minneapolis so we can claim her as our own. I’m nearly a completist of her works. I haven’t read her short story collection so will have to check that out!
I hope your bookmarks show up! When we moved into our house in 2019, we lost our diaper sprayer (connects to the toilet so you can spray poopie diapers). We looked EVERYWHERE for that dang thing. I eventually gave up and bought a new one and then I found the old diaper spraying in a garbage can that we apparently threw a random assortment of things into during our final pass through the house. I hope your bag ‘o bookmarks show up somewhere in the weeks to come!
I absolutely DO NOT need to read that myth of normal book. The chapter on parenting seems, um, downright damaging? Like who will benefit from reading about decision that you put a lot of thought into and can’t reverse! We did CIO sleep training – not fun but it was the only way to get some sleep and I have no regrets and Will was forced to wean when I got the stomach flu (for the 2nd time while breastfeeding) and did not have it in me to slam gatorade to get my supply up. Neither decision appears to have damaged my children as far as I can tell. And if it did, then oh well. We are imperfect human beings who are doing the best we can with the information we have. Also, the person who wrote that book is male so I really take his thoughts on sleep training and breast feeding with the teeniest tininest almost not visible with the human eye grain of salt. I clearly have a lot of thoughts about this, but I get very ragey about parenting “advice!” Did you know I had SO MANY STRONG FEELINGS? 😉 I love that parents have people like Emilly Oster who is an economist who uses data to help parents make decisions. So for example, the data shows that breast feeding doesn’t really have that tremendous of an impact on health/wellness outcomes, etc. She pursued this area of economics because she was tired of encountering advice that did not appear to be back on data analysis.
*steps off soap box*
SEE THIS IS THE THING, LISA!!! My kids were babies 19 and 18 years ago, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO ABOUT IT NOW? I hate that way of feeling “it’s all the parents’ fault” for everything that happens. My girlfriend read a different book by this author and felt convinced that she “gave” her son ADHD. We should NOT have to feel shitty all the time, we are all just doing our best. Good grief. My other peeve is when people don’t have kids but offer “helpful” advice on raising them, or people who have younger kids who give unsolicited advice on teenagers, that sort of thing. Just…no.
All these stories about finding lost items is giving me hope!
Emily Oster is the bomb dot com and provides the ONLY parenting advice I will actually take to heart.
I covet that bookshelf and hope your bookmarks turn up. What a strangely long wait for a library card.
It IS a long wait, it seems weird to me that I have to get official government documentation to get a library card. Is library identity theft a thing? MAYBE?
I feel your pain about the bookmarks. I have some cherished ones that I won’t even use because I’m worried I’ll lose them. That being said, I think there’s still hope in finding them.
When we moved two houses ago, I had one very special box of books (yearbooks and other special books). Somehow, it got misplaced during the move, and we could not find it anywhere. We scoured the house for this literal big box of books (which seems like a ridiculous thing to misplace!) for days, and no dice. I ended up assuming that it had been inadvertently put in the donation pile of boxes, but would attempt to search every year or so.
Cue 7 years later, during another move and what do we find in the furthest corner of the storage room? The storage room that we searched multiple times over a seven year period? My box of books! I cried happy tears.
I’m hopeful that it will not take 7 years for you to find your bookmarks.
Oh my goodness, what a happy thing to have happen! I hope they turn up (although, yes, sooner than 7 years would be good!)
Oh, my goodness, to have to wait so long for a library card is torture! That’s very annoying. And your bookmarks! I absolutely understand why that felt like a crushing blow. I would put money on the bag turning up somewhere and just hope it will be soon. Your bookshelves are gorgeous, and I want to know what the set is with the rainbow covers, on the shelf just above the bed, second from the right? So pretty!
Thanks so much, I hope they turn up as well. The set is just a Reader’s Digest children’s classic set, and it was my husband and sister-in-law’s, from their childhood.
No library card for several months? THEN no bookmarks? I’m sobbing for you. Thank the Lord for Libby. But I’d be doing more than just blinking back tears.
I love your wall o’ books.
Seriously, you should work as a book reviewer. I don’t usually enjoy reading book reviews, but yours are excellent at summarizing exactly what I need to know. I wish I had that ability.
You know what not finding bookmarks yet means? Buying some new ones in the meantime…
Oh, thank you Kari! What a kind thing to say – I love reading and I love writing these reviews, so it is so nice of you to say that!
Nicole, I am seriously envious (in a good way) of those bookshelves!
That library rule is totally ridiculous – a driver’s license and a utility bill should be all that is needed – you’d think.
Not your bookmarks!! I’m sure they are somewhere in the house and that you will find them soon. If not, I will be more than happy to start sending fun bookmarks your way.
See, that’s the thing – my driver’s license has my old address on it, and I’m not on the utility bill. So…I have to wait until I get a new driver’s license and as it’s a new province, it takes time. Bummer!
You’re so sweet! xoxoxo
Those bookshelves are a dream, Nicole! What lucky guests they will be that get to sleep there <3
I'm so sorry about the bookmarks. I've had similar things happen and it really stinks. Hoping so much you find them soon. I agree with Gigi, I'd gladly send along some new bookmarks for your collection <3 (My favourite bookmark technique is using postcards from places I've visited to mark my place.)
That library wait. Just no. Also. Why??? It's a library in Canada, you're Canadian – it's not like you're asking for classified documents from CSIS. You want to borrow some books!!!
And The Myth of Normal book is a hard pass from me. I already feel like I've ruined my kids and think these sorts of authors can do serious damage (particularly to mothers). There is so much guilt and pressure these days and, for the most part, we really are all trying our absolute hardest to love and provide safe/happy environments for our kids, manage the rest of our relationships/responsibilities, and raise loving, empathetic young adults who will one day BE THE FUTURE. It's a lot of pressure and there is no one right way…but then it feels like there must be a "right" way based on what some parenting experts say…and oh my goodness I just want to bury my head in the sand when I read things like this because motherhood feels hopeless. I'm with Lisa on her soap box. PS. Both of my kids were born via C-section and I wasn't able to breastfeed either of them which at the time made me feel like a complete and utter failure. I HAVE THOUGHTS ON THIS. I wanted to walk around to the mom-and-tot group and scream "I have insufficient glandular tissue [for real, this is my diagnosis] but I am still a good mother even if I have to give my baby formula."
Sorry bout' that; didn't expect to get so riled up 🙂
Fellow IGT mom here! *high five*
I figure most people turn out mostly ok regardless of parenting style, and if not there’s always therapy. 🤪
Strong agree!
The library thing is annoying – my driver’s license is still with my AB address, and it takes time to get it switched over, and meanwhile…I guess I’m just in library limbo? Thank goodness for my Calgary account for e-books anyway.
Do NOT read The Myth of Normal, although much of it is pretty interesting the parts about parenting are just so unsettling and triggering. And I say this as someone who now has ADULT CHILDREN so what could I possibly do now about abbreviated breastfeeding, etc.! There is so much pressure on moms and you know what, our kids are going to be just fine! Better than fine! You’re a really good mom, Elisabeth, you really are!
Hm, the first time I tried to post this comment I got an error message — apologies if it winds up being a duplicate.
I hope your bookmarks turn up! When we moved back from Scotland to the US I thought our box of favorite Christmas ornaments was lost forever. It surfaced months later, buried inside another box with a boring label, like “Extra Craft Supplies.” Fingers crossed for a similar outcome!
I am excited for you to read more Curtis Sittenfeld. She’s on my short list of Authors To Pre-Order Every Time They Write A New Book.
Jamie, I am reading Prep right now! I’m enjoying it so much!
To circumnavigate the 21-day limit on library books on a Kindle, you can put your Kindle on airplane mode and the book will stay on your Kindle until you take it off airplane mode. You can’t download any new books while you’re on airplane mode, though. Is airplane mode an option for your device? l’ve only had to use this trick once or twice for really long books (A Woman of Substance, I’m talking about you).
I can’t even with the library card wait. I guess it IS a good way to get you to read books on your shelves, but it would make me feel so naked without a good supply of library books!
I tried something similar on my Kobo – I disconnected the wifi, but somehow the book automatically returned! So I don’t know, maybe I did that wrong.
I’ve tried this trick on my Kobo too and it didn’t work; might be something that only works with Kindle/in the US?
Elisabeth, I’m glad to know this, because my immediate thought was that I did something wrong! But maybe it just doesn’t work for a Kobo.
I’m sad about the bookmarks for you. Is it possible the ziploc bag is stuck inside something else or you put it in a different place last minute? It took me forever to find my corkscrew when we moved here! It turned up in a box of stuff I threw together last minute.
I’ve read all of Sittenfeld’s books and loved them.
Ok, I’m mad for you about the wait on a library card! What if you’re a kid without an ID? It doesn’t seem right to make you wait.
I wasn’t there for the final pack so it’s possible – but since everything else that was in that cupboard is still in that cupboard (they just wrapped the furniture and moved it) I am not super hopeful.
Maybe it is different with kids, or they have to get a parent to sign, I’m not sure!
Oh I hope your bookmarks turn up! I do not have a bookmark collection; any old things will do for me – currently in various books, I’m using for bookmarks: a kleenex, a sample of shades that I got from the window treatment store, receipts, and a good old folded down corner. My Husband, though has a bookmark collection – he keeps them on a clipboard by his favorite reading chair.
Last time we moved, the Husband couldn’t find a box of his winter clothes. We looked and looked and I even wrote the moving company to make sure it hadn’t been left behind. Then a few weeks later, we found the clothes. They were in a box in the basement. A box that looked nowhere like the box he had thought he used – think plastic bin vs. cardboard box.
I just read Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez and I thought it was very very good.
I also read Claire Dederer’s collection of essays, Poser, and thought it was well written, but a little… I don’t know… full of privilege.
I hope you get your library card soon – or in the mean time find some good reads. Do they have little Free Libraries there? I have a friend who only reads books from Little Free Libraries
I had wanted to read Poser because of the yoga theme – but after reading this collection, I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m interested!
This is very hopeful, maybe the bookmarks will appear.
There are LFL here, I think, but I haven’t found one – yet!
I am so distressed by the loss of the bookmarks, I am not allowing the information to fully sink in. I too will for now be on the “they will turn up” team, however slim the odds.
Oh, and I see we are sharing stories of hope. When we moved, we lost the snowpants, and my cute hot pink polka-dot rainboots. They COULD NOT BE GONE, but they WERE. We later found them in a weird closet, put into a weird bin. Naturally it was Paul’s fault, but whatever: we FOUND them.
Right now I am holding out hope for my large stash of small notebooks. Where could they be??? They can’t have just WALKED AWAY. But there are only so many places I could/would have moved them.
See this is the thing. We have unpacked everything. Unless they are in with the tools from the garage – which seems highly unlikely – well, I don’t know what. I hope they are SOMEWHERE here!
Also-also, I would try checking with a different library worker the next time you go in. Obviously I have zero information/experience with how your new library works, so I could be completely wrong, but a couple-months waiting time seems unreasonable and unlikely. At the library where I work, we will take any proof of residency, and a common one people use is the closing paperwork for the house. Sometimes a library worker is new, or a little dim; this comes to mind because I am new/dim at my job, and we have just hired two people who are even newer and dimmer.
Oh, maybe I’ll try back – the issue was that I don’t have any ID with my new address, and I won’t have that until I get my driver’s license switched, which takes time. I’ll see if I can talk to someone else when I have, like, mail delivered to me with my new address. Thanks Swistle!
NO LIBRARY CARD?! WHAT? I will say August is a wonderful publication month– maybe just buy the heck ever you want to read this month. Also, I also prefer books by women, and I just found out Riley Sager is a DUDE. **whomp whomp**
WHOMP WHOMP!
I like your bookshelves filled with books. We have something similar going on in a guest bedroom and just seeing my friends, my books, all together makes me happy. I bet when you get your new library card you’ll have a doozy of a celebration. Think of it that way, a party to plan!
Ally, that is a great plan! I’ll be very excited when that happens. I agree with you – something about having beloved guests and books in the same room is pretty special.
I wish and hope with my whole heart that you find your bookmarks! I suppose that’s one of the downsides to prizing so few things: the things you do attach meaning to are that much more painfully lost.
A makeup YouTuber I like shared the devastating story of someone stealing all her Christmas ornaments from their apartment storage unit. Such a bizarre thing to steal. But her ornaments were your bookmarks. Chosen purposefully or collected from their travels or from childhood etc. What a blow!
Oh my god, that is just awful. If my Christmas ornaments were stolen I would be similarly devastated! Some things just have so much emotional significance!
I can’t believe you have to wait so long to get your library card! That’s one of the first things I always want to do when I’m in a new city. It’s my lifeline! Hopefully these few months pass quickly for you!
I’m so sorry to hear about the bookmarks. I do hope they turn up for you! In fact, I am going to visualize you finding all of your bookmarks in a weird spot you never thought to look!! I am confident you will find them.
I’m glad you loved Romantic Comedy as much as I did! It was such a fun book!
Ooooh thanks Stephany, I can use all the visualization and help I can get! The library card is a bummer but I will get through somehow!
Nicole, your spare room is a reader’s DREAM. And even though the library card delay is ridiculous (RIDICULOUS), it is kind of nice to have an “excuse” to reread old favorites or find new things to enjoy on your own shelves.
I am sorry to hear about the bookmarks, though. That’s really sad. But I am joining with everyone else in the belief that they have simply been misplaced in a location that is so improbable you won’t find them for awhile. And also my heart just aches for you, having to deal with One More Thing after so many months of stress and emotional turmoil. Ugh.
Thanks so much Suzanne! And yes, it’s a good excuse to re-read my faves; the time will pass quickly!
Love the bookshelves filled with all these books. And congratulate you on the move AND to be able to read while you are in process of moving. I could not have done that!
It was the only way to maintain my sanity! Lol! Also I don’t have small children, so that helps.
Oh no. My heart is breaking for you and the quest for the lost bookmarks. I so hope they are found. Can you call the mover and ask if they recall the TV cabinet opening, etc?
I have to agree that reading about how we as parents have messed up our kids is down right unsettling and can serve no purpose.
Bummer about the library card too. That seems a little over the top. So many libraries are relaxing on late fees, why can they not relax a little on book borrowing to anew resident . . . who happens to be a devoted reader and would avoid damaging or misplacing books at all cost?
You are a marvel- to be as settled as you are ALREADY . . . AND to have read so many books in the process? Wow.
I chuckled at you flipping over the book and discovering the author is a woman.
“Unsettling and serves no purpose” – YOU SAID IT! That is exactly it. Like, what are we supposed to do NOW about something that happened 18 years ago??
I had the same thought process when I came upon Romantic Comedy. I actually thought “that books looks good; too bad its written by a man.” (Blushing here from my ignorance!) Now, it’s on my to-read list and I’m really looking forward to it!
I’ll join others in saying that I’m so sad that your precious bookmarks are lost. And, hoping they turn up in some weird unexpected place.
Perhaps you should go out and buy yourself one new bookmark to celebrate your new home and the beginning of a new collection! I bet that your kids would probably even make you some if you asked :-).
Have a great weekend. xx.
Solidarity Chrisoula! I think you’ll like it – it is very enjoyable.
Maybe I will go search out a new bookmark 🙂 my younger son is really into manga, maybe I can get some manga decorated bookmarks made by him!
I’m so sorry to hear about your bookmarks. It’s awful to lose anything that’s so special, and I really do hope you find them. And I agree with everyone else – that’s a ridiculous wait for a library card! But thank goodness for Libby. I love Libby so much! In my town, a lot of people come just for the summer, and our library gives out cards to them. It’s rather cool!
Well, now I’m SUPER frustrated because, of course, Kelowna is a huge touristy town – why don’t they give out library cards without proof of residency? Your town seems much better!
I want to immediately send you a batch of bookmarks! Email me your address. Moving is hard. When we moved 6 years ago, I was exhausted for months. I realized that even after unpacking, having everything be new was completely exhausting. Heck, I didn’t even know which light switches worked which lamps for awhile!
As for books, I had the Claire Dederer on my list and may remove it. Mores the pity as I loved her other book, Poser.
Isabel Allende was one of my favorite authors in college but I don’t love her latest works. Have you read House of Spirits? It’s her absolute best.
Oh my goodness, you are SO sweet, Laura! That is such a kind offer, now I’m blinking again.
I wanted to read Poser but I was so turned off by this book that I took it off the list…but maybe I should reinstate it. I have not read House of Spirits, but will put it on my list!
Gosh, I hope your bookmarks show up soon, Nicole… I can see why you’d think of them as irreplaceable. IMO, the worst part about losing something like that is somewhere in your mind you *constantly* looking for it.
I’m glad you’re liking Sittenfeld! I remember enjoying Sisterland a great deal. Recently when Milan Kundera died, so many Indian friends disclosed that they’d assumed he was an Indian dude before they read him (“Milan” is a fairly common name in India.)
I hope they show up too!
I am reading another one by Sittenfeld right now – Prep – but I’ll put Sisterland on the list too!
Oh Nicole I’m so sorry about your bookmarks. I do believe at some point they will turn up. I know how you treasured of them. I also LOVE your book reviews. I get excited each time you post what you’ve read & go right to my library to request most of them.
Also really with about 2 months for a library card?! That makes no sense whatsoever. I cannot believe there isn’t a solution. Thank goodness for ebooks.
Thanks Pat – they need proof of residency, which I don’t have because I still have an AB driver’s license. I have to get it switched over but it’s a big giant deal, blah blah blah, well, I’ll be excited when I finally DO get a library card!
Oh I really hope the bookmarks turn up too! Maybe someone packed them somewhere ‘safer’ when the cupboard was being moved? They don’t sound like something anyone could easily mistake for trash. Fingers are decidedly crossed here!
The draconian library-joining rules would really have bothered me too. They defy reason! Like your old driver’s license suddenly wasn’t good enough proof of who you are, and any/all the other bits of paperwork pertaining to your move wouldn’t have sufficed to show a genuine change of address?! Aside from the fact that they could always just limit you to say three books per borrow until your new ID arrives? Guess it must be down to all those crazy library bandits out there, making their fortunes flogging misbegotten library books, and spoiling things for the rest of us! Do you have a friendly neighbour who might let you borrow books on their card in the meantime? (I’m so cross, I’m actually sitting here trying to think of possible workarounds, just to stick it to the Man!)
Your spare room library looks beautiful. X
Hahaha I love that you’re trying to stick it to the man, Big Library! Lol!
Thanks for the crossed fingers and good thoughts – I’ll keep you updated!
Okay, at first I thought – “What??? Curtis Sittenfeld is a MAN?” ha ha, no she’s not! I read You Think It, I’ll Say It and really enjoyed it, which is why I’m considering reading Romantic Comedy. I’m not usually a fan of the romance genre, but I trust this one to be good.
I feel SO BAD for you about the missing bookmarks. I totally get it- that would be heartbreaking. But I just keep thinking they HAVE to show up. I mean… what could have happened to them? They have to be there, somewhere. Well, I’m sure you’ll keep us posted. We all have our fingers crossed!
I like romance so I’m probably not the best judge for you here, but I did really love Romantic Comedy!
I know what you mean – like, HOW could they be gone? So maybe they’ll turn up happily. I hope so!
Oh the bookmarks just have to show up! My daughter lost the atiffany necklace I gave her for her 13th birthday and we thought it was gone in the move. Lo and behold she was cleaning some things in her closet – a place that was triple searched – and it was found!! I am sad for you about the library situation but this might be a good time to scout out the second hand bookstores in your area – and repost back!
Gosh, I sure hope you’re right, Anna! It feels like I have looked EVERYWHERE (except for the boxes with the garage stuff so I guess I haven’t looked everywhere…)
I’ll get the library card eventually – you know the agony of getting new paperwork, driver’s license, etc. between provinces, such a pain – and in the meantime I still have CPL on my Kobo!
A spare room with a full wall shelf with books. Girl, you have your own library! Start issuing cards! 🙂 I am really sorry about your bookmarks and I still hope they’ll show up somewhere.It’s weird the things we sometimes get attached to… but if they made you happy!
Lol, maybe I should! I am not very generous with loaning out books though, because I’ve had some that have never been returned! I also hope the bookmarks turn up.
I know you’re dealing with fires right now and I hope SO much that you are safe. <3 When you get through this, I hope things settle down a bit. Moving is so… disruptive. Challenging. Frustrating. Hang in there.
Thanks Anne!
I am behind on my blog reading as usual, but just had to chime in with everyone who is hoping you find your bookmarks! I recently found several things I thought had been lost forever. They were not sentimentally or monetarily valuable, but I am the type of person that doesn’t misplace things often, and when I can’t find something it really bugs me. Anyway, they were in our tv/media cabinet drawers. I finally thought to completely remove all the drawers and they had fallen behind and underneath the drawers. One was under the drawer it had been in and one had fallen all the way down behind the bottom drawer. So not sure if that is an option for your cupboard specifically, if they could have gotten jostled behind some part of the furniture itself during the move, or if it is just more generally a positive story of lost items turning up eventually. In the meantime, I would probably buy myself some new ones and repurpose some other artwork of my children’s into some as well (assuming you have another piece of their artwork you could photocopy or cut into smaller bookmark sized pieces). But I would be so sad over the loss nonetheless and I really hope they turn up soon.
This is such a great story of hope, Kim! I won’t give up hope yet, thank you so much! And I know what you mean, I don’t misplace things often either so losing something makes me crazy!