I’m currently reading this book.
That’s a big deal to me, since I haven’t been able to concentrate on any reading other than short magazine articles. Books? No. And this is a memoir, not something I usually read. But fiction seems to be a problem at present, so I thought I’d try this and I’m 2/3 of the way through it.
What a relief! The very fact that I’m reading anything of some length is a comfort.
I wanted to buy this when it was in hardcover, but I didn’t. When I was at Three Lives and Co. bookstore in Greenwich Village a month or so ago, I saw it in paperback and I grabbed it. Robert Gottlieb is probably the most famous book editor of the past 50 or so years. He worked at Simon & Shuster, Knopf, and also edited the New Yorker. Well into his eighties, he still edits. This is such a fascinating read. It’s chatty; you can imagine yourself sitting with Gottlieb in his study while he regales you with stories about his career and the authors he worked with. Such a pleasure to read. Since I’m drawn to books about books and bookstores and reading, this is right up my alley.
It’s part of the ongoing battle I’m waging with the need to be informed, to stay in activist mode, balanced with allotting myself only so much time with twitter, etc. Reading, projects, soon, hopefully, the garden, listening to music that makes me happy – all of that helps.
Of course, yesterday’s snow managed to disappear in record time and Don and I were left feeling sad that we didn’t go for it in terms of travel. But hindsight is always 20/20 and we had to make the call right in the middle of a heavy snowfall. It is what it is.
Spotted in my peperomia: two more white flower stalks coming up from the soil. Hurrah!
It’s a gray and rainy day today. Dang, I wish spring would make a spectacular appearance! I know the birds are back, I hear the peepers at night, the daffs are coming out of the ground. The temperatures, however, are on the cold side today. I just have to be patient and know that in a couple of weeks, winter will be long gone and we’ll be well and truly into spring.
Happy Tuesday.
