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Postcard from the cottage library
In my (unwritten, arbitrary) book, an ideal vacation should have two ingredients: books and naps. Oh, and good food. Everything else is just gravy! Good weather? Sure, terrific! Activities? Museums? Sightseeing? Why, sure! But, really, give me some books and guarantee a nap and I'm happy. (I know, what an exciting traveling companion I must be! Now no one will invite me anywhere...)
This time the books I picked up from the library have been duds (or I'm a dud and can't get into them) but lucky for me, the house here has a good little library of its own, with everything from the Iliad to The Golden Bowl to Jane Eyre to Winnie the Pooh to Paradise Lost to spy and detective novels, etc. I could spend a lot of time just browsing all the quirky titles and imagining who brought them here and when/why.
So I picked out a PD James mystery that takes place by the sea (Unnatural Causes). Maybe I'll have time to move on to a classic. Here's what we look like most evenings. (Notice the bongo drums? Believe me, they make a regular appearance as well... What 11-year-old boy can resist bongo drums?)
Although it's on an entirely different coast, this place reminds me of my great-grandmother's beach cottages I grew up visiting each year (one in Pacific Grove and Capistrano Beach). Modest and cozy and wood-paneled with pine cupboards and a jumble of secondhand furniture and squeaky floors and scenic views. It feels kind of familiar.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Reader Comments (7)
p.s. Don't worry...we're getting out a lot and enjoying MAINE! Book reading just in the evenings, napping when we come back from strenuous activities exhausted. More about that later....
SERIOUSLY. WHAT TIME SHOULD I BE THERE?
That looks absolutely heavenly. I need a vacation like that right now.
That's exactly how "our" little Maine house looked. And I {also} wondered about the lovely eclectic collection. {Seriously, there were SO many books there!} And that is exactly how we spent our mellow evenings. Glad you're having a fabulous time! :)
I'm a P.D. James FANATIC! Love her. I've almost convinced myself I live in England, work for Scotland Yard, and am engaged to be married to Adam Dalgliesh. Finely written mysteries they are.
All I ask for in a vacation is to be able to read and of course the good food. Asking for a nap these days is asking too much I believe. Maybe someday, I'll dare to hope.
Love the photos.
I hope heaven looks just like this.
The photos of the house and the bay reminded me instantly of "Country of the Pointed Firs" by Sarah Orne Jewett (mentor to Willa Cather). If you can somehow get your hands on this book--you are in the right setting! Gorgeous!
5 days until we venture to Boston! YIPPY!
Enjoy your vacation!
Is there room for one more in the library? What a perfect room--and the photo of all your lovelies reading made my heart skip a beat.