Tag Archives: bookstore

This Favorite Book Will Surprise You

by Woody

Woody’s debut novel “The Butterfly Tree” is available at Amazon (click here), other online retailers, and orderable at all bookshops.

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“What’s your favorite book?” I was asked the other day, a simple question that is calculus-difficult to answer.

Hemming a moment, I finally replied I would need to think about it. Now I have, long and happily, retreating a lifetime into memory back to my first favorite book that I checked out of the library myself, at age 5, “Where The Wild Things Are,” and then browsing forward through a hundred books that each merit a color in my rainbow of all-time favorites.

Scarlet or violet or gold or…?

“The Old Man and the Sea” or “The Grapes of Wrath” or…?

I decided to reframe the conundrum to: What is my favorite book I own? My answer, without question, will surprise you.

Let me begin by sharing a handful of contenders that share a shelf of honor in my Favorite Books Bookcase. This includes the full collection – three novels, four short story collections, one children’s book – by my all-time favorite writer, with no apologies to John Steinbeck: my daughter, Dallas.

Proving truth in the aphorism to not judge a book by its cover, monetarily the most valuable book I own has a hardback front and back that only a mother – or perhaps great-great-grandmother – could love, for it looks like gaudy red-pink-gold-green-and-white patterned wallpaper from the 19th Century. The spine, however, of rich brown leather with gilt lettering tells a different tale: “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” It is a first edition, second issue (with a few corrections) published in 1885.

Ol’ Huck is not the oldest book on my special shelf. That honor, by a mere year, goes to a poetry collection titled “Red Letter Poems.” It is a handsome illustrated edition with a white leather cover protecting 647 gilt-edged pages, but its true value is in having been passed down on my mother’s side of the family.

And yet the favorite book of poetry I own is small and slim, at just 20 pages, with a cover that looks like it was once left outside through a full winter. No matter, “From Snow To Snow” by Robert Frost is dear to me because a college class studying the four-time Pulitzer Prize winner’s works partially inspired me to become a writer. Further making this 1936 first edition, first printing, all the more dear is the pencil signature inside, dark and clear, albeit a little shaky, in the author’s hand.

Nonetheless, my most-prized Pulitzer honoree’s signature is on the title page of “The Sporting World of Jim Murray” – “Keep swinging! Jim Murray” he penned – that I found in a used bookstore in Twentynine Palms for all of $6.50 according to the penciled price inside the cover. That was in 1982, my rookie year in journalism, and a few years before I would meet my sportswriting hero in person in a press box.

Even more precious, even though it is unsigned, is a 1936 edition of “Roget’s Thesaurus of English Language In Dictionary Form.” The dirty-red, well-worn cloth cover is nothing to look at – until you take a closer look. In the lower right corner, imprinted in small gilt letters, it reads JIM MURRAY and was gifted to him by Roget’s.

Making this Thesaurus more cherished – also: loved, beloved, precious, special – is that Jim’s widow gifted it to me in honor of his and my friendship.

Indeed, being gifts is a theme that makes a handful more books in my Favorite Books Bookcase truly priceless to me – none more so than my surprising answer as my No. 1 fave, which I will reveal in this space next week.

Part 2: The Man Who Loves ‘Ulysses’

by Woody

My new novel “The Butterfly Tree” is available at Amazon (click here), other online retailers, and orderable at all bookshops.

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There was no tinkling bell above the door. Instead, my entrance was greeted by a singsong voice as warm as a Writers’ Tears toddy: Helloooo, and where are you from?”

It was not the last music the proprietor of Sweny’s small bookshop in Dublin, Ireland, would treat me to. Shortly thereafter, he retrieved a handsome guitar and sang—in Gaelic, so I have no idea what the words meant, much like reading James Joyce can sometimes feel; yet nonetheless, again like Joyce’s prose, was lovely to the ear.

Patrick Joseph Murphy, introduced in this space two weeks past, is as Irish as his name suggests; so Irish his family founded iconic Murphy’s Stout Brewery in County Cork, some 150 miles southwest from Dublin, in 1856, its dark nectar becoming the first beer transported around the world on refrigerated ships; so Irish his accent makes you think of leprechauns.

Patrick James Murphy, proprietor of Sweny’s bookshop, in song…

In appearance, however, “P.J.”—as he prefers to go by—brings to mind America and Hollywood and “Back to the Future” movies, specifically the charismatic mad scientist, Dr. Emmett Brown, with longish wild electrified white hair and the enthusiastic verbal energy of a lightning bolt.

Also like Doc Brown, and in a nod to his fourth-great-grandfather Frederick William Sweny, who originated the store as a pharmacy in 1853, P.J. always wears a white lab coat at work. Too, on this day, P.J. wore an easy smile and a bowtie as colorful as a stained-glass window.

His family continued to own and run “F.W. Sweny & Co. Ltd. Dispensing Chemists” through 1926, at which time it remained a pharmacy in other hands until 15 years ago when it was sold to become—“Great Scott!” as Doc Brown would say in exasperation—a dispenser of upscale coffee. Unable to bear that thought, P.J., then in his late 60s, reacquired the store and turned it into a bookshop devoted solely to famed Irish writer James Joyce, who frequented the original Sweny’s and included a lengthy encounter within in his epic novel “Ulysses.”

At well over 700 pages, treading fully through the tome is the literary equivalent of climbing Mount Everest; many who begin the journey do not reach the summit—or final page. P.J. admits he quit in the early going the first time, at age 18, he set out to conquer the voluminous volume. Many years later, he tried again and succeeded, and has kept climbing as untiringly as Sisyphus ever since.

At last count, P.J. has scaled Mount “Ulysses” a staggering 73—yes, seventy-three—times! Adding to this Herculean erudite feat, he has done so in all seven languages (English, Portuguese, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian) he speaks, often reading aloud to groups he hosts at Sweny’s nearly every evening. Not surprisingly, he readily quotes passages from the novel at length from memory.

“I’ve earned an unofficial PhD when it comes to Mr. Joyce, I should think,” Professor P.J. noted. “I’ve read everything he wrote, though of course ‘Ulysses’ is my favorite.”

Later, during our hour-long visit, he cajoled: “After being in Dublin, you must read ‘Ulysses.’ It’s all about Dublin. After you finish it you can come back from California and we can talk about it more.”

With a wink, P.J. added a nudge: “ ‘Ulysses’ is best enjoyed with the book in one hand and a whiskey in the other.”

“That’s a lot of Jameson,” I laughingly replied, then asked for a shorter Joyce recommendation. Thus I purchased a copy of “Dubliners” that, at only 202 pages, was no threat to push my suitcase overweight as would “Ulysses.”

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Essay copyrights Woody Woodburn

Woody’s new novel “The Butterfly Tree” is now available in paperback and eBook at Amazon (click here), other online bookstores, and is orderable at all bookshops.

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Woody writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @woodywoodburn.

Intoxicated by Bookstores and Libraries

by Woody

If you are at all like me, books never cease to allure you, delight you, amaze and even intoxicate you.

I would rather spend time in a bookstore than a museum, and I dearly love museums, which may explain why I especially adore used-books bookstores – and public libraries, too – because they are like bibliophilic museums, only better, because you are allowed to handle the old artifacts on display.

Yes, some of the best bookstores are second-hand museums, and the best of these remind me of Ventura’s long defunct All Pro Sporting Goods that was owned by legendary Bob Tuttle. It was a hole-in-the wall, barely bigger than a walk-in closet, yet like Mary Poppins’ magical carpetbag anything you were looking for could be found within.

Indeed, in the 1970s you might go into All-Pro to buy basketball sneakers and leave also with a new-but-blemished baseball mitt from the bargain bin in the same manner one might today be interested in a newly released novel at Ventura’s beloved Bank of Books and in addition wind up buying a second-hand copy of a classic.

There is something special about old books and the perfume they release – a trace of mustiness and earthiness, with a hint of vanilla mixed in – when you turn the pages, foxed and yellowing and slightly brittle from age. Used-books bookstores smell sweeter than a nursery greenhouse.

However, I also find delight in new books and independent bookstores where the staff can ask you a few questions and then give you a perfect recommendation that, to borrow from Holden Caulfield in “The Catcher in the Rye”, really knocks you out. Furthermore, indie shops often have reading nooks and dog-eared couches that invite you to pleasantly linger a while. Timbre Books in Ventura and The Bookworm in Camarillo are two of my favorite cozy bookshops.

The breathtaking library at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

Too, I love libraries. The most beautiful library I have ever been inside is at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, a cathedral of the printed page where the priceless Book of Kells, dating back to 800 A.D., resides. When Jorge Luis Borges said, “I have always imagined Paradise will be a kind of library,” I think he had this Trinity College library in mind.

I think any library is a slice of Paradise. This includes home libraries, whether they contain thousands of volumes or merely a dozen cherished favorites. Growing up, our home library was actually a small bedroom, but very tall, with two opposing walls featuring white-painted pine bookshelves that rose like mountains from the floor to the 12-foot ceiling.

These Twin Peaks were as beautiful as any mosaic in an art museum. Instead of ceramic tiles, or stones, or sea glass, the medium was book spines. Thin spines and thick tomes; tall spines, short ones; spines in rainbow hues and earth tones. Most of the spines were shelved vertically, but some were stacked horizontally. There were leather spines as pristine as shoes polished for church, others dulled by age and creased from use. There were clothbound spines, paperback spines, spines covered by glossy dust jackets. There were new-looking old spines and old-looking new ones. Some spines had fancy gilt lettering while others had titles and authors printed in inks of every color, in myriad fonts.

Twin Peaks had too many books to read in ten lifetimes, but that was fine. As the poet Robert Browning said, “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or else what’s a heaven for?”

Next week: Two of my friends and the most cherished books in their home slices of heaven.

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Essay copyrights Woody Woodburn

Woody writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @woodywoodburn. His SIGNED books are available at www.WoodyWoodburn.com.

Personalized Signed copies of WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and  “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” are available at WoodyWoodburn.com

 

 

On Page, In Person, In Full Blume

by Woody

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM: @woodywoodburn

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On Page, In person,

She’s In Full Blume

Books are a time machine, it is rightly said, but so too are bookstores.

Indeed, the double-glass doors of “Books & Books” in Key West’s Old Town recently served as a magical portal that transformed my middle-aged wife into a young schoolgirl. Having taken no more than three steps inside the charming shop, my much-better-half stopped in her tracks and, her voice rising in pitch, declared: “I know you! You’re Judy Blume!”

No schoolboy was ever more excited to come face-to-face with LeBron James or Roger Federer.

“Yes, I’m Judy,” the Books & Books’ co-founder replied warmly.

Lisa and Judy Blume … and me.

“I read all your books growing up,” my wife-turned-child gushed as my mind’s eye flashed back to our daughter, as a teen, meeting author Ray Bradbury in Santa Barbara. “I loved them! Your writing was like a friend.”

Blume, whose Young Adult novels include “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” and “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing,” smiled. It was not merely a polite grin, but rather broad and sincere for she surely could feel that my wife’s sentiments were heartfelt.

“I’m sorry,” my wife-turned-child said in her next breath, returning into a more-reserved adult. “You must have people tell you all the time how much your books meant to them.”

Blume, whose works have sold more than 80 million copies in 32 languages since arriving on the literary scene in 1969, relaxed in posture as if now chatting with an old friend. With the radiance of the Key West sun she replied, “I always enjoy hearing such kind compliments. Thank you.”

Meeting a hero – or, in this case, shero – from childhood can be dicey. The risk is that in real life the person will topple off her pedestal. Blume, however, proved to be a rarity by figuratively standing even taller. For the ensuing ten minutes she visited with my wife, answered questions and even asked some of her own.

During their conversation, Blume learned that our daughter actually spent an afternoon at her nearby home while attended the Key West Writing Workshop six years ago. Asking for an update and learning that Dallas’ debut YA novel – “The Best Week That Never Happened” – will be published this coming spring, Blume on her own accord wrote down the title and publisher so as to carry it in Books & Books. No small kindness, that.

Googling Blume afterwards, I discovered that my wife – and daughter, too, for she likewise once devoured Blume’s books – chose a gifted writer to admire. As evidence, among Blume’s numerous honors is being recognized as a Living Legend by the Library of Congress.

Equally estimable, if not more so, Blume has been a courageous writer. Indeed, she was a groundbreaker who broached controversial – and important – topics that previously had been largely sidestepped in YA literature. These included teen sex, birth control, menstruation, racism, divorce and death.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever find myself in a bookstore half as magical, with a proprietor a fraction as affable, as Connie Halpern and “Mrs. Fig’s Bookworm” in Camarillo, but Blume and Books & Books is very nearly a matching East Coast bookend.

Whenever I visit an independent bookstore I make a point to leave with a book as a show of support. This time, my wife and I left with an armful. Two of them – one recommended to me by Blume – makes my annual list of best books I’ve read in 2019, which I’ll reveal in this space next week.

In the meantime, I think it’s time I finally read a Judy Blume YA novel.

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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @woodywoodburn. His books are available at www.WoodyWoodburn.com.

Check out my memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and my essay collection “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” …

 

 

Part II: Bookworm’s Typewriter

by Woody

Is your Club or Group looking for an inspiring guest speaker or do you want to host a book signing? . . . Contact Woody today!

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1StrawberriesCoverWooden-&-Me-cover-mock-upFor a Personalized Autographed copy of “STRAWBERRIES IN WINTERTIME” or “WOODEN & ME” mail a check for $25 to:

Woody Woodburn

400 Roosevelt Court

Ventura, CA 93003

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Part II: Notes From a Bookstore’s Typewriter

The vintage Remington typewriter on display in Mrs. Figs’ Bookworm, an enchanted independent bookstore in Camarillo, could not be more irresistible were it to have a “Do Not Touch” sign on it.

Instead, a note invites patrons to sit down and type. As further encouragement, a sheet of paper always awaits in the carriage. Hundreds of people, many of them youngster who have never before used such a relic, have accepted the invitation.

Typing my own message on Mrs. Figs’ typewriter.

Some typists take their messages with them as keepsakes, but most tuck their “Notes from a Public Typewriter” – that being the title of the book that inspired this special nook – into a memento jar.

Connie Halpern – dear “Mrs. Figs” herself – recently allowed me to open the stuffed jar and read its contents. Some of the notes are silly, others heartfelt. Many are like short fortune-cookie adages, others much longer. Some have the typist’s name, but most are anonymous. More than a few have endearing typos and misstrikes.

Here is a sampling . . .

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“me and my sister rachel are in a book store and i found this awesome typewriter and i am sooo fascinated with how this works and i love it.”

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“hello. Typing on a typewriter is fun.”

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“hello my name is eli and I am awesome. This typewriter is cool.”

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“Hello world i am here”

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“Ben the Incredible was here.”

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“Sometimes you see a friend . . . just see their face, and your entire world brightens.”

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“Some days feel like they may be an ‘upside down’ day, but then life happens and the day turns out to be just beautiful and ‘upright!’ Thank. You. Life.”

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The one and only Mrs. Figs — Connie Halpern.

“i LOVE u”

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“ ‘I love you.’ Language is a beautiful thing, isn’t it?”

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“I LOVE THIS TYPEWRITER”

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“Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type Why do people still have typewriters?”

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“this is an old piece of technology. this thing does not always make the letter appear you must press hard.”

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“memories of the past this typewriter brings each finger presses a key to create the words my fingers are tired.”

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“The most valued gifts to someone are: Your time, your attention, and your respect : ) ”

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“KNOCK ME OVER WITH A FEATHER

“I am a disabled veteran who went to In-N-Out Burger on Independence Day to avoid the fireworks because the sound and sight and shockwaves put me in a bad place emotionally. And, while there, wearing a hat which identified myself as a veteran, I had two teens approach me. I had never met them before. They both said ‘Thank you for doing all you have done’.

“Then each of the two young men shook my hand. It was a very good feeling, being recognized even in the high-paced and crowded place that is In-N-Out. Thank you to those two young lads who made my Independence Day”

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“I love reading. I love books. I love Mrs. Figs!”

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“hi im a geek I love harry potter.”

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“Do you REALLY want people to treat you the way you treat them?”

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“Sometimes we don’t think things are working out, but they are.”

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“Don’t forget to sing. Please.”

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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com.

Wooden & Me Kickstarter Front PhotoCheck out my memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and my essay collection “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” …