Trying to read (but unable to stomach) a book called Ella Mental and the Good Sense Guide convinced me that I ought to pay more attention to my own bits of hard-won wisdom. Here are three wise-bits that I learned through my own experience.
Borders is soon to close down. There are fewer than ten days left to their going-out-of-business sale. I’m not sad about this per se. It never was one of my favorite bookstores. However, it is the closest one. Losing it will make life just a little less convenient, and that’s too bad.
I have been taking advantage of the discounted prices, though. I don’t like to pay full price for books. I never have. Until recently, I usually acquired my books at library book sales and tag sales, or off the bargain rack at the bookstore. Basically, if I could get them cheap, I’d buy them, but if they were expensive, I’d pass.
Ultimately, I ended up with a massive collection of crappy books. I still spent a lot of money, but most of the books weren’t worth reading, let alone keeping, hence the GLP (Great Library Purge). I don’t want to do that to myself again, so I’ve had to modify my buying strategy. These days I’m willing to pay full price for a book, but only if I’m almost certain that I’m going to like it.
Modern literature is, IMHO, too expensive. I don’t dare try new authors because I don’t know what I’m getting. How can I shell out $10-$20 for something that might be tripe? The beauty of the Borders sale is that I can try some new books (new as in “not having been rejected by someone else already”) without feeling guilty about the price. It’s nice.
The last time I was there, I browsed the literature section. If a title sounded interesting, I read the description on the jacket. If the jacket description also sounded interesting, I read the first page. Most of those first pages were weak. I was particularly surprised by the lackluster first sentences. I mean, it’s not absolutely necessary to start your novel with a kick-ass first sentence, but it sure doesn’t hurt. You’d think, given the stakes, that authors would put a little extra pep into the first few words. As we are so often told, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Those pathetic first sentences made me think about some of my favorite books—how do they start? I looked through them and found many good starters. Here are some of the best. Continue reading
In Death in the Air, Poirot says,
You have a great advantage as a writer . . . . You can relieve your feelings by the expedient of the printed word. You have the power of the pen over your enemies.
This makes me wonder if Christie ever vented her anger at someone by writing them into a story and killing them or, worse yet, making them the murderer!
People may call Irene a Tropical Storm, but she’ll always be a Hurricane to me. Continue reading
In honor of Hurricane Irene’s arrival, I offer you an extra Weekly Poirot quote.
I suspect that if Poirot knew a hurricane was coming, he would lock himself up in the house and not come out until it was over. He did not like damp weather at all.
Poirot lifted first one, then the other foot from the ground with a catlike motion. “It is the dampness of the feet I fear. Would it, think you, be possible to lay the hands on a pair of galoshes?”
from Peril at End House
Sorry, Poirot, but if you need any hurricane supplies, you’re probably out of luck. I hear that batteries are scarce. No doubt most of the bread is gone. And it could be that the stores are fresh out of galoshes (it’s not like they typically stock a lot of them!).
On a side note, this is the second reference I’ve seen to galoshes recently. I think perhaps I need to buy a pair for myself. Then I will have many opportunities to say the word “galoshes.” It’s a great word, don’t you think?
Said Poirot,
[Stupidity] is the sin that is never forgiven and always punished.
from Cards on the Table
Said M. Poirot,
They fear me, Hastings; the criminals of your England they fear me! When the cat is there, the little mice, they come no more to the cheese!
from “The Veiled Lady”
How I wish that were true! We have three cats, but still the mice come hunting for the cheese.
People are often surprised to hear that I like Agatha Christie. I don’t know whether it’s because they themselves don’t like her writing or whether they think that I, language aficionada that I am, ought to have more cultivated reading tastes. But judging from their reactions, I guess her writing must be an acquired taste. Continue reading
It’s a sad state of affairs. I am sitting here feeling annoyed that I don’t have enough time to do what I really want to do, but I’m using up precious little bits of time thinking those negative thoughts! I don’t know what, exactly, I can get done with the slivers of time that are available, but certainly I can manage something better than feeling sorry for myself!
© 2007-2026 Author of Blue-Footed Musings All Rights Reserved
