Sharing a Book
August 26, 2012

My father used to tell the story of the time when one of his close buddies in AA called him up at 3:00 am one Saturday morning. Jerry had just gotten out of the hospital that day and needed desperately to talk to someone in the program. He called Dad: “How about a game of golf?” My mother, recognizing instantly that it was not golf Jerry needed, told Dad to go for it, so Jerry arrived at the house shortly thereafter. They took off for a golf course in Valencia, a southern California town less than a half-hour drive away from my parents’ home.

Not surprisingly, the course was not yet open. So Jerry asked Dad if he would mind driving to Bakersfield, a town about another two hours inland, and they could play golf there. They did. The problem came when they couldn’t find the course and couldn’t find anyone to ask where it was in relation to where they were. After driving in ever widening circles for a while they came across a police station. “George, you go in and ask them,” said Jerry.

So Dad did. What he hadn’t realized was that his golf shoes—the ones with steel spikes designed to dig into the grass course—were not suitable for linoleum floors. So as he pulled open the double doors, his feet gave way and he fell in a heap on his back. The sergeant manning the front desk watched my father struggle to his feet and step, this time very carefully, over to the desk. “Can I help you, sir?” Having gotten his directions, Dad turned to go out and … again fell. This time, the sergeant leaned over the desk and said, “Sir, you don’t look like you are drunk so this time I am going to let you go . . .”

Jerry and I had met several times during Dad’s prolonged illness, but it wasn’t until a couple of weeks after his death that I got his phone number and called Jerry. I explained that Dad had given me his books a couple of years before and that while I had given some away I had kept his most precious: the legal thriller, memoirs, and biographies he loved, some WWII and Civil War novels and nonfiction, and a few odds and ends, one of which was The Grasshopper Trap. It was while I was looking over my shelves that I came across this again and wondered if Jerry—to whom this adventure and memory was so important—would like the book. He did. In fact, he choked up when I asked him. So did I. At first there was some regret at having offered it up, but when I put the book in the mail last week I felt more joy than sadness sweep over me. This was a book imbued with meaning between three people: Dad who had bought the book and read it several times, me to whom it had been given, and Jerry to whom the subject—golf games, one early morning one in particular—represented far more than chasing a small white ball over grass.

People often talk of sharing books, of giving books, or of lending books. These transactions are often imbued with meaning between the lender and the recipient. So it is with Dad, Jerry, and me. The intimate connections of AA, of family both traditional and program, of father and daughter book lovers, of the willingness to be there when needed, and of the love that binds the three of us—even with one gone—is deeply embedded in the pages of that book regardless of whose library it currently graces.

Upcoming Book Festivals and Fairs:
There’s only one this week but it is one that claims to be the biggest in the U.S. Congratulations to Georgia on winning the top spot and for promoting reading in the way it does!

Location: Decatur, Georgia
Site: Various venues
Festival: Decatur Book Festival
Date: August 31 - September 2
A multi-day event that features multiple stages packed with more than 450 authors and illustrators, live music, poetry readings, panel discussions, signings and cooking demonstrations. Children will be entertained with their own authors and illustrators, a parade and field trips and games/activities, and teens have their own activities. Live music and poetry, cooking demonstrations, awards, Book the Brick, the Little Free Libraries Silent Auction, the Rare and Collectible Book Fair, and the Writers’ Conference are all part of it too.  Plus, the downtown square is filled with food vendors, a wine garden and plenty of other culinary establishments. This is an amazing festival. Attend if you can!

What I am Reading This Week:

• Mastering the Art of French Cooking along with the I Hate to Cook Book represent the extremes, shall we say, of my cooking life. Yes, I learned to make some dishes from Julia but there were also a couple of times when I thought Peg Bracken had the right take on cooking, that is, as little as possible. Rereading both of these books this week—a kind of comfort reading—made me feel better about some of the current craziness. Like, I have been through this before. And things will be okay.
• Started two more books: The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri and Dastgah: Diary of a Head Trip. I’m not far enough into either one to say how much (or how little) I will like them but I know I will keep going for now.

The Pub House:
Creative  Homeowner is a niche publisher, that is, it publishes nonfiction books that deal with DIY home projects, including repair/improvement, decorating, kitchen/bath, outdoor projects, gardening/landscaping, environmental, cooking, home plans, craft books, and outdoor sports. Most of these are not geared to professionals and the result is that they are well crafted and clear. Among the newest ones are Bathrooms: The Smart Approach to Design, a guide to budgeting and hiring contractors; designing and working with space; selecting cabinetry, hardware, fixtures, and finishing materials. Landscaping Solutions for Small Spaces offers both “hardscaping” and landscaping ideas, including detailed plans, plant recommendations, site problems and solutions, and a building-techniques section to move from plan to reality. Easy Closets shows homeowners how to get the most out of their current closets with closet-component systems readily available at home centers and hardware stores with ideas for organization, lighting, organization, ventilation, and moth prevention.

Imaging Books & Reading:
Camping is a delightful way to spend a summer vacation. Back in 201o, it got even better one morning for a young woman who was spending several days in the woods with friends and “it was morning. We were sitting around the fire pit. Everyone. Was. Reading. It made my heart sing. And then I stealthily got up and captured the moment.”

Of Interest:
“Printed books existed nearly 600 years before Gutenberg’s Bible” is the title of this wonderful, albeit brief, history of printed books, which began in Asia. The links that enrich the story are particularly interesting but the article is fascinating in itself.

Until next week, read well, read often and read on!

Lauren