Wednesday, January 12, 2011

"When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes" (Erasmus)

In the past two days, I have purchased more than 350 books. Nope, that's not a typo. Yes, they're full-length books. How much did I spend on this largesse of literary stimulants? About $12.

Oh, did I mention that I finally broke down and BOUGHT A KINDLE? I cannot imagine how I ever lived a happy life without it! I did some figuring and realized that if I bought one, it would actually pay for itself just in terms of the money I would save on thesis-related books (not to mention the books I need in order to stay abreast of developments in my field, and the books I "need" for frivolous enjoyment). So, last week, I ordered "my precious" (my roommate said if she finds me huddled in a corner stroking it and murmuring in a Gollum voice, she's going to be concerned). It arrived yesterday, and life became ten times more glorious than ever before.

I hit the classics in a big way, since most are available for free. My Kindle, which holds up to 3,500 books, now houses such luminaries as Aristophanes (brilliant playwright from the 5th century), Thucydides, Herodotus, Machiavelli, Tacitus, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Le Fanu, Bronte, Sheridan, Wilde, Hugo, Tolstoy, Goethe, and a host of obscure Victorian and Edwardian authors that I adore. My Kindle has probably earned the award of geekiest Kindle ever! I was up until ridiculous hours last night reading on it, and tonight is going the same way. I just can't get over how great the screen is; it really is exactly like reading from a page. My eyes are fine, even after two straight hours of reading on it.

In other recent news, Lantern Hollow Press is gearing up for our "Official" launch on February 1. We're debuting an awesome new website, our inaugural e-zine (entitled The Gallery of Worlds), and we're making some exciting changes to our blog. Tonight, I set up our first ad campaign on Facebook, which was a nerve-wracking experience for me.

Click HERE to read my most recent post to the LHP blog.

2 comments:

Al Combs said...

Hey Stephanie...really enjoyed your post. I laughed and laughed at the image of someone cuddled up on a corner stroking their Kindle calling it "my precious" in the Gollum voice. That was hilarious. You like
Chesterton and McDonald? Or are you just checking them out? Are you also a C.S. Lewis fan? Also love the title of your blog and was wondering how you decided upon it? And Erasmus' quote you used is one of my very favorites. How true, how true.

Stephanie said...

I'm a huge MacDonald fan - I'd say my favorite is The Princess and the Goblin. I haven't read a whole lot of Chesterton, but I do really enjoy his brilliance. I swear I've underlined half of Orthodoxy!

"Passage—immediate passage! the blood burns in my veins! Away, O soul! hoist instantly the anchor!
Cut the hawsers—haul out—shake out every sail!
Have we not stood here like trees in the ground long enough?
Have we not grovell’d here long enough, eating and drinking like mere brutes?
Have we not darken’d and dazed ourselves with books long enough?

Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go, And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

O my brave soul!
O farther, farther sail!
O daring joy, but safe! Are they not all the seas of God?
O farther, farther, farther sail!"

~Walt Whitman, "Passage to India"