Member: sparkleneely

I think you're the only other person I've come across who read I Was a 98-Lb. Duckling!
: )
Did you read Mr. Pudgins, too? Younger, but another great favorite.

posted by whangdoodle at 10:08 pm (EST) on Oct 22, 2007

I've noticed that while we only share 29 books there is a lot of variety in what we share. It's nice to meet someone else who's interested in reading are all over the place! Happy Reading!

posted by mint910 at 3:06 pm (EST) on Aug 2, 2006

Nice to "meet" you, too. Yes, it's a great picture of Carson, so I couldn't resist.

Here's one of my favorite passages. Read it out loud some time after a sip of Miss Amelia's whisky (or your drink of choice).

For the liquor of Miss Amalia has a special quality of its own. It is clean and sharp on the tongue, but once down a man it glows inside him for a long time afterward. And that is not all. It is known that if a message is written in lemon juice on a clean sheet of paper there will be no sign of it. But if the paper is held for a moment to the fire then the letters turn brown and the meaning becomes clear. Imagine that the whisky is the fire and that the message is that which is know only in the soul of a man-- then the worth of Miss Amelia's liquor can be understood. A spinner who had thought only of the loom, the dinner pail, the bed, and then the loom again-- this spinner might drink some on a Sunday and come across a marsh lily. And in his palm he might hold this flower, examining the golden dainty cup, and in him might come a sweetness keen as pain. A weaver might look up suddenly and see for the first time the cold, weird radiance of midnight January sky, and a deep fright at his own smallness stop his heart. Such things as these, then, happen when a man has drunk Miss Amelia's liquor. He may suffer, or he may be spent with joy-- but the experience has shown the truth; he has warmed his soul and seen the message hidden there.

posted by nmorgan998 at 1:32 pm (EST) on Jul 16, 2006

Thank you for the encouragement on Welty. I also picked up a small paperback that consists of interviews with her. In my book queue is 'Dirt and Desire: Reconstructing Southern Women's Writing, 1930 - 1990.' I always need to check out the lit. crit. on the more serious stuff I read. I see you're in Oakland. Did you get your MFA from Mills College there? I am only familiar with them because I have submitted poems in the past to their lit journal, '580 Split.'

posted by southwestpoet at 2:32 am (EST) on Jul 16, 2006

I recently discovered Southern fiction, which I came to after reading some critical essays about it in Arkansas Review (a journal I initially explored for its poetry entries). Last month I purchased Eudora Welty's Delta Wedding, which I am anxious to begin reading. You may like the Story South website; it has some good Southern authors.

posted by southwestpoet at 2:03 am (EST) on Jul 16, 2006

We share a lot of books by Carson McCullers, my favorite writer. It's great to see someone else has more than just one.

Cheers.

posted by nmorgan998 at 4:42 pm (EST) on Jul 15, 2006

Ok, now I'm hooked. Thanks a lot!

posted by jonburchard at 2:04 pm (EST) on Jul 7, 2006

Curious where you found your copy of Criswell Predicts...? It's one of my favorite "odd" books (my tag). I found my copy among the discards in my apartment building. John

posted by arkandco at 9:31 pm (EST) on Jun 25, 2006

Happy Birthday Karen! 470 books so far...i think that is just your entryway....

posted by itsolivia at 8:48 pm (EST) on Jun 16, 2006

I hope your collection doesn't slow down this site's servers!

posted by supermod67 at 11:47 am (EST) on Jun 12, 2006

watch out world, you have no idea how large of a collection Karen has.

posted by itsolivia at 3:32 am (EST) on Jun 11, 2006