Inscripted

Blasts from my reading past:

First of all, I apparently thought "stage fright" was an adjective. Secondly, that was so not true--I was totally shy, but really wanted to be a star in spite of this. So I guess I was trying to brainwash myself.

So ambitious/modest! George Bush, Sr. was on the cover of this book, so, no, they are not eighty years old, despite looking that way. I guess paperbacks don't age well.

I was very careful about keeping my books in pristine condition, and demanded this of those who borrowed from me. (I may or may not have just had an unfortunate discovery of one of my precious BSC books littered with food stains, after my best friend let her sister read it.)

A slightly creepy inscription from one of my parents' friends. (But it was Where the Sidewalk Ends, so a great book choice.)

A super-cool collection, with different illustrators and styles for each story. I also had a chocolate cake with gummi bears on it that year. No idea, then, what has me crying in the photos from that day.

So much better than another My Little Pony.

A Christmas present from my fifth-grade teacher. I still love this book. . . .

I've been at my parents' house for the past week, and decided to go through my old room and see what stuff I could give away. The accumulation of stuff (I won't say "junk" because it offends my dad--who asked me, "Do you want to bring any of this twine back with you? I could roll some up for you.") in a big suburban house (and in my bedroom alone) is really just astounding, and it has me wanting to never give or receive any thing as a gift ever again, except for really practical things (like super-cute stationery on recycled paper), edible things (in reusable packaging that you can then pass on to your next friend, rather than throw them out or just let them pile up in your cupboards), or BOOKS!

I really think books are the perfect gift, and the one that keeps on giving. In looking at some of the inscriptions in my childhood books (made both by myself and by others), I was struck with a really fun idea for a new tradition: writing in your name and when you read the book, and then passing it on to your friend, who will do the same, and then pass it on to the next person. . . . Then it would be like when you used to look in the inside front covers of your textbooks at the beginning of the school year and see all the names and dates of the students had used them before you, and feel like you were part of this legacy. Or maybe it was just nerds like me who thought that. . . .

Anyway, this past Christmas a friend of mine had a great idea for our yearly Secret Santa exchange that I thought was just great--we were each to send one of our books that we had read and loved in the previous year to the person whose name we had drawn. So maybe next year I'll suggest that we add my little inscription idea to this new tradition.

- L'Editrice