Consolation Shopping
Feb142008
I took Krissie and Lani to the airport today and then came home. I felt bereft as soon as they rolled their suitcases into the terminal so I went to the bookstore. The idea was to get a book on horror writing to see if there was anything in it I could use for AKMG. I walked out with:
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The January/February Cloth Paper Scissors. Because Pokey Bolton’s magazines are fabulous.
A 5″x7″ notebook with a translucent black and white cover and yellow pages with a black elastic band to keep it closed in my bag.
The 3″ x 4″ version of the same notebook for shopping lists. Unfortunatelyl, the pages in it are white.
A fabulous magnetic close journal with a shiny cover, the Paper Blanks Golden Fuschsia Ultrawrap. It even has a pocket in the back to stash stuff. If Krissie had been there, she’d have ripped it out of my hands.
Two greeting cards.
A postcard that says “Oh, my god, my mother was right about everything” to send to my mother. Or my daughter. I haven’t decided.
A completely useless pen with a pretty bead on the top of it.
Samantha Graves’ Sight Unseen.
Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Mintues a Day. I can dream, can’t I?
How To Become A Famous Writer Before You’re Dead. I can always use some tips.
Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing which I’m pretty sure is an essay he wrote a long time ago. It’s possibly the most inflated book I’ve ever read–lots of illustrations and about one sentence per page, you can read the whole thing in ten minutes if you’re a slow reader–but since everything he says he not only right but extremely helpful, I’d say it’s good value. I particularly like Rule 2: Avoid Prologues. But I’m good with all ten of them. The man just knows how to write.
And a book on horror writing: On Writing Horror.
I’m feeling much better now.
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38 Comments to 'Consolation Shopping'
On February 14, 2008 at 7:04 pm Erica - Aussie CB said...
I’m beginning to wonder if all writers have a thing for new notebooks?
At any rate, I’m glad I’m not the only one! *g*
On February 14, 2008 at 7:36 pm jackie said...
Possibly, Erica. I have tons and I NEVER write anything by hand unless forced to. I use audio recorders and cameras for notes.
I am lefthanded and find most notebooks uncomfortable. And I still am drawn to look them over in great detail. And bring them home. sigh.
The Postcard – you should have gotten one for each. Especially since they both know already.
On February 14, 2008 at 7:37 pm RfP said...
Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Mintues a Day.
It’s probably things you already know–but most of us need to hear them again on a regular basis.
fabulous magnetic close journal
But will you write in it, or just stroke its cover dotingly? My precioussss…
On February 14, 2008 at 8:21 pm Courtney De said...
I have many, many, MANY notebooks/journals that are VERY pretty, and while I almost never write in them, they make me happy. All made excellent consolation prizes. Along with the books, magazines…and chocolate.
On February 14, 2008 at 8:50 pm robena grant said...
Yellow pages are wonderful. When I worked at Braille Institute they told us yellow paper with black text was the easiest to read. I like to print my first draft on yellow paper for an easier read … plus it’s cheerful.
Nothing like books to make you feel better.
On February 14, 2008 at 8:59 pm talpianna said...
Fellow notebook addict here! New notebooks were always the best part of starting school, along with exotic pens and maybe a box of 128 Crayolas.
I just bought this–but I THINK it’s going to be a present for someone else:
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/moredetails.aspx?showBleed=false&ProductNo=215440465&colorNo=0&pr=F
On February 14, 2008 at 9:08 pm El said...
By the by, I just reread Faking It.
Every time I go near that book I feel compelled to go find and solve some DoubleCrostics.
Gee, I wonder why that is?
On February 14, 2008 at 10:31 pm bob said...
Should have bought:
“Everything I needed to learn from writing, I learned from Bob.”
On February 14, 2008 at 11:03 pm Yvonne Lindsay said...
Ahahaha! Bob, very cool.
Jenny, wow, what an awesome comfort shop. Not quite as good as having your great friends with you but almost. Love the sound of the journal and the notebooks.
Oh, and the postcard…you should have bought two, one to send to your mom and one to send to your daughter. Choosing is so not on.
On February 14, 2008 at 11:04 pm Yvonne Lindsay said...
P.S. Repeat after me there is no such thing as a useless pen
Useless men maybe..?
On February 15, 2008 at 7:42 am CathyS. said...
So with you on the shopping therapy. Indulge in it myself every time my bank gets bought (the bank I work for that is) and every time I send an exchange student home or my daughter back to school or off to Africa. (yikes!)
I TRY to keep the journal/blank notebook consumption down so as to have more money for books with actual WORDS in them, but still end up buying at least a few every year…and they sit there looking pretty. I do buy a slew of the cheap ones from my local office supply store every year and they DO get used. Mostly for work: scribbles of computer code, design ideas, meeting notes and phone numbers, etc. on undated pages, but useful for all that. Can’t tell you how many times I have gone back through them to reference something months later.
OMG talpianna! It took me a minute to realize that’s a blackfooted ferret – love it! (I’m a little slow yet, as my morning caffeine is currently brewing.)
On February 15, 2008 at 8:29 am sheagal said...
Ditto on the notebooks. I use very practical black notebooks for work. I buy them by the stack. The pretty, frivolous ones are ostensibly for journals. But mostly I use the binders to decorate my bookshelves.
My latest treat was the Amazon Kindle. My very first purchase was the Jennifer Crusie Bundle. It comes with four books, including Charlie All Night – one of my favorites. I bought the bundle before the Kindle even arrived. So, essentially, my Kindle arrived in the mail with four great books already on it. How cool is that? I like to think that buying four Crusie books for one low price has helped my Kindle already pay for itself.
On February 15, 2008 at 9:41 am Mary said...
bob said:
Should have bought:
“Everything I needed to learn from writing, I learned from Bob.”
Did Jenny even visit the fiction section?
Sorry. Couldn’t resist.
I love Bob’s writing. He’s not only a GAM, but a GAW. I’ve recommended Lost Girls many times.
On February 15, 2008 at 10:12 am McB said...
Yep, like it isn’t hard enough to get through a bookstore without dropping a bundle, they have to stock all that … oooh, shiny … other stuff too. I got this great striped tote bag just before the Dayton trip. And, yes, cool pens with pretty beads, book thongs (I’m addicted), journals, booklights, etc. But then spending my paycheck on yarn and bookstores – oh, a yarn and bookstore, that’s what the world needs!
On February 15, 2008 at 10:48 am evesie said...
you picked out good writing books. 10 Rules of Writing was originally published in Esquire if I’m correct (or possibly Time, as an essay accompanied by illustrations). I like the book but not the way it’s bound – makes it very difficult to turn the pages fully.
How to Become a Famous Writer before You’re Dead had it’s moments. A lot had to do with interviews but I loved the author’s dedication story to the young woman she never got to mentor. Made me really wish that tone would’ve remained throughout the book.
I also really like, “Robert’s Rules of Writing” and of course, the classic, “Writing Down the Bones”.
On February 15, 2008 at 11:18 am me said...
McB: what, you don’t already go to a bookstore to get a good yarn?
On February 15, 2008 at 11:58 am colognegrrl said...
Talpianna – thanks for that link. Too bad it would probably cost more for postage and customs than the notebook itself to have it shipped to Germany. (And like most of the others, I’d probably never use it because I do all my writing with a computer.)
But it’s great to see the black-footed ferret become kind of a writer’s symbol for anti-plagiarism. And for a moment I thought it had borrowed Agnes’ glasses until I remembered the SB homepage.
On February 15, 2008 at 12:22 pm Slave Driver said...
The last time I was at B&N I almost bought a Dog Sweater knitting kit. There it was, all shiny & new, at the impulse rack by the checkout. I already have a pattern that fits my Pom, but the tops of the needles had elegantly dresses poodle figures, boy in top hat and tails, girl in evening dress. I was clutching it to my chest, determined to jump the shark, until my 14 year old daughter pointed out “If you buy that, Dad will give you crap about it for the rest of your natural life.”
I went home and made a pair of slippers from an old book I keep around.
Cooler heads prevailed, but I keep thinking about it…
On February 15, 2008 at 12:48 pm Diane (TT) said...
Slave Driver – maybe you can induce your daughter to GIVE you the dog sweater knitting kit for Mother’s Day. Then you have it, she has a gift idea – and IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT! Everyone gets a laugh, too.
It must be time for me to go home/ back to bed. I recognized the ferret but totally failed to make the connection. I wonder if I can keep from doing any damage for the next several hours…
On February 15, 2008 at 1:25 pm Slave Driver said...
Diane, thank you for the suggestion. In another family it might work, however in Slave Driver Land there is no statute of limitations on handing out crap. The Kid would get crap for gifting it to me and then she would give me crap for being on the receiving end of the crap dosing. The Husband still gets crap for passing out naked and drunk on the bathroom floor, and THAT precious memory happened 25 years ago. I have no doubt that knitting needles topped with poodles would have legs. Plus I do have ask myself, “How many sweaters does a Pomeranian not owned by Paris Hilton really need?” She has 3. I justify their existence by pointing out that to tunnel her way to Potty Land in the back yard she currently have to trudge through yard high drifts, (no small feat with five inch legs!) J and the sweaters keep her from carrying in huge snow clumps in her fur. Practical, yes. More then 3? I might as well move to Milan and put her on the catwalk. Let the eye rolling begin!
On February 15, 2008 at 1:57 pm LtL said...
Pom on the catwalk. Heehee.
Of course the beauty part of owning a lot of lovely, unused blank books is that you are then entitled–nay, required–to purchase and display lovely boxes in which to organize the notebooks. Of course, out of sight, out of mind, whereas MacJournal is always right there on my dock.
Charlie All Night. Love that book.
Now I have to go find out what a Kindle is, ’cause I’m a B&N.com kind of gal.
On February 15, 2008 at 3:52 pm evesie said...
LtL when you find out what a Kindle is, please post here. I’m too lazy to look
…nay, scared because internet shopping is limitless and I have itchy fingers.
On February 15, 2008 at 5:28 pm LtL said...
Oh, Evesie, the Kindle is a real cutie. It’s a wireless reader with “instant access” to newspapers and all things literary.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FI73MA/ref=amb_link_6341972_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=08NE2J4NS353D8V3DJ31&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=363878901&pf_rd_i=507846
On February 15, 2008 at 5:28 pm LtL said...
The good news is, it’s out of stock.
On February 15, 2008 at 6:52 pm Susan D said...
How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead. Intriguing title, when you consider the alternative time frame.
On February 15, 2008 at 8:23 pm evesie said...
oh, thanks a lot. I thought it was something else. I guess it’s kind of like Sony’s Reader, except it holds 200 books and not 160 but does not have the external memory card option. Plus it’s 100 bucks more expensive.
If anyone wants to check out Sony’s, it’s at:
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=16184&XID=O:sony%20book%20reader:corp_read_gglsrch
On February 15, 2008 at 8:24 pm evesie said...
And Susan D – lol, very witty and perceptive!
On February 15, 2008 at 9:34 pm talpianna said...
The black-footed ferret is wearing a necklace on which appear the initials “WWND?” It is also available on various garments, mugs, mouse pads, and a tote bag.
On February 15, 2008 at 11:50 pm Micki said...
(-: I want to hear Jenny’s review on “How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead.” Particularly, the hints she liked.
Was this an airport bookstore? Boy, merchandising at the airport has just leapt and bounded over the past two decades, hasn’t it? I always have to leave room in my carry-on for last minute shopping.
On February 16, 2008 at 1:50 am Hels said...
My idea of heaven is a bookstore/stationery store. Lurrrrrv me books. Lurrvvvvvv me stationery. Can so understand the consolation shopping Jenny. Was having a bad day the other week and between pilates and a physio appointment, I killed an hour in Officeworks (big stationery shop in Australia). Came away with folders, notebooks, pens, storage containers — what else — oh yes, some things on sale for kids’ birthday presents.
There had been more but I left them at the counter. D*mn bossy boots rational side telling me the budget couldn’t afford more…
On February 16, 2008 at 11:17 am McB said...
me on February 15th, 2008 at 11:18 am
McB: what, you don’t already go to a bookstore to get a good yarn?
Oh. Ha.
On February 16, 2008 at 5:48 pm colognegrrl said...
WWND????
Oh, I can practically see it – when C. E. passes away and goes to romance heaven only to find a black-footed archangel tell her she cannot come in and she’ll never be able to approach the throne and sit at Nora’s feet.
On February 16, 2008 at 9:29 pm LtL said...
Colognegrrl–Is Nora going to die before CE, then? What have you heard, exactly?
On February 16, 2008 at 10:34 pm talpianna said...
What makes either of you think that CE is going to romance heaven? She’s going to wind up in writer hell, surrounded by printer’s devils who will pounce on every “borrowed” word and correct her grammar incessantly…
On February 16, 2008 at 10:35 pm talpianna said...
And Nora, of course, is The Immortal Goddess of Romance–she doesn’t have to die to go to heaven.
On February 17, 2008 at 3:23 am colognegrrl said...
Nora is not going to die. She’s defying earthly concepts like that. A little bit like normal life or poverty.
And I thought that everybody was going to heaven first just to find out what it’s going to be. At least that’s what I’m hoping for.
On February 18, 2008 at 5:05 am CrankyOtter said...
The thing with the Kindle is that the screen is “eInk” which is easy on the eyes and has no glare. It just sets the screen to the text and then stays that way until you change it. No flickers or refreshing. It’s very cool technology. And I’m not just saying that because I used to go jogging and make chocolate truffles with an eInk manger and want them to go big, although it’s true too.
On February 18, 2008 at 10:03 am JanLo said...
My husband won’t allow me to go into Borders or Office Max unattended. I have a mountain of pens and notebooks all with a page or two of notes, to do lists, novel ideas, etc. Should gather the pages all together in one large notebook….hmmmmm, sounds like a trip to the store…