What a treasure trove of books can be found in 'W'! What, where, who, and why are some words found in book titles and I've got quite a number of those. And then there's the books that a writer might want. Since I consider myself to be a writer of sorts I have tons of books about writing and the business of writing. It's as though I think that writing books are going to make me successful at writing. A book about writing doesn't write a book. But it's nice to have books about writing. I've got some excellent ones, including the top shelf of my office bookcase which I've pictured below. And I didn't ever capture the entire shelf. There are writing books in nearly every room of my house. That's a lot of books just in that genre.
Then there are a lot of other books that I can fit in the 'W' category. Here are some of them...
This beautiful set was published by Encyclopedia Britannica. The three large volumes contain not just words, but also a wealth of other information that is helpful to any researcher. The set makes a handsome addition to our home library. There are several other Webster dictionaries in our house, but this is by far the finest of them all.
This is officially The New Webster's Comprehensive Desk Reference Set published by Lexicon Publications. I've included this set because it's kind of weird. It's a novelty of sorts. A cute, attractive set that looks nice on a desk and provides a lot of information at one's fingertips, but not too much that is in depth. This set is good for quick simple look-ups of words or other information when you don't need to know a whole lot about the subject. I'm not sure where this came from, but I'm pretty sure it was a special "gift" incentive from some book club or other mail order business. I have this sitting out in my garage for now.
Wilderness at Dawn: The Settling of the North American Continent by Ted Morgan
The Wild West: Companion Book to the Acclaimed Mini-Series Time-Life/Warner Books
This attractive volume is in perfect condition so I guess no one has really looked at it much. I don't recall the television show that this book is based on, but the book looks like it contains a lot of interesting information as well as a plethora of illustrations. Nice book to own, but probably a nice book to read through as well. Maybe someday...
Wicked River: The Mississippi When It Last Ran Wild by Lee Sandlin
This is a book I believe I purchased through The History Book Club. From all appearances, this book has barely been opened let alone read. I will have to remedy that someday soon as this sounds like the kind of book that I'd enjoy greatly. What's not to like when it comes to stories about history along the Great River of Mid-America.
Another History Book Club purchase about a subject that interests me a great deal. I know I keep saying this, but someday I've got to crack this one open and read it. I have a feeling that I'll enjoy it judging from the reviews I've read.
The Complete Book of Games by Wood/Goddard
My mother purchased this one in 1964 at a large discount store when we lived in Northwestern Indiana. We were Christmas shopping and I ran across this book as well as a similar volume about the interpretation of dreams. I wanted them both so I convinced my mother to buy them as Christmas gifts for my sister and I. My idea was for her to give me the game book and my sister the dream book and that's what she did. I don't know if my sister was as excited about the idea, but we both reaped the fun benefits of the game book over the next few years and I often read through her dream book. Don't know whatever became of that dream book, but the game book sits here on my shelf.
The Way, the Truth, and the Life by Ralph Coleman
This is one of my most treasured books. My father gave this beautiful collection of Christian artwork by artist Ralph P Coleman to me for Christmas in 1958. That was a great year for me in regard to books. It was right before my 8th birthday and my parents bought me several books that Christmas. They also bought a bookcase for me. I guess that was when my passion for collecting books began. This art book remains in very good condition considering its age and how often I have looked through it over the years. It's a wonderful book.
Are there any books you've kept since childhood? Do you have a lot of books about writing or some other pursuit? Why do you think some people like history while others think it's an absolute bore?
For my "writing career", I buy a book a year on writing and read it. There was an initial binge of books, but I changed to the one-a-year rule so I would spend more time writing than reading. (https://www.erinpenn.com/blog/)
ReplyDeleteJamie (jannghi.blogspot.com):
ReplyDeleteI look for writing kits as well as books.
I think a lot depends on the kind of history teacher someone has, and how s/he's taught history. It's so much more than memorizing a bunch of names, dates, and events. History is a living, breathing conversation with real people in the past.
ReplyDeleteOne of my many books in storage is Olga Litowinsky's Writing and Publishing Books for Children in the 1990s, which I bought at a school book fair in 1993. She published an updated version in 2001, It's a Bunny Eat Bunny World, which I have yet to read. A lot of her advice is good, but inevitably dated. Just to start, she's writing about a world where writers still submitted entire manuscripts to an editor's slush pile instead of querying agents or pursuing indie avenues. She also presumes her readers will be writing contemporary, and at one point says kids don't really like reading historical fiction, and editors don't like taking it on, unless it's tied into a landmark anniversary year. She also gave the terrible advice of naming your characters after your friends' kids, or only using current Top 100 names. That's a great way to quickly date a book and not use your imagination!
thecontemplativecat here. Webster Dictionaries really have had a journey through time.
ReplyDeleteWicked River sounds really good!
ReplyDelete