KEEP OR THROW?

RHYS BOWEN: I’ve been doing a lot of weeding out at home recently. After my husband’s passing earlier this year I’ve been doing remodeling and rearranging. My daughter Anne is moving in with me so she is getting her own suite downstairs. That means John’s office becomes my media room, my media room becomes the guest room etc. it also means getting rid of an awful lot of furniture and books. I have shelf after shelf of my own books. Another book case of reference books. Two of antiquarian or valuable books. John had two book cases of his reference volumes. There were three in the family room. And this after we did some serious weeding years ago.

So the question is what do I keep? We have gorgeous coffee table books. Lots of important reference works.  It how valuable are they to me now? A pictorial volume on  Tuscany isn’t exactly necessary now I can watch a YouTube video any time I choose. Another coffee table book is Great Wines of France. And I’m still drinking Californian plonk. Antique dolls? The British Raj? The fact is that many reference books are obsolete. I can find the info quick online. 

When it comes to novels will I really read this book again? And if I do, I can read it on Kindle. My complete Agatha Christie collection is not going anywhere. But otherwise only books signed by friends and fellow authors are special enough to keep. 

So, dear Reds, which books do you hang onto? Can you easily let the others go?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I am having a very similar dilemma. Some days I feel like shouting: ALL OF THESE HAVE TO GO!  Then I think...well, except for this one. And this one. And the Agatha Christie collection, exactly. And  my own  books, in every shape and language. And signed books. But...really? What if I just tear out the signature page and keep the signature page? And donate the book? Hmmm…?

Lisa Gardner has my favorite take on this. She says books are meant to be read, not sit one a shelf. So she says she is delighted to donate books–she feels as if she is saying, “Go books! Do your job!” And I truly love that.

LUCY BURDETTE: We had a big purge this summer too, though not a dramatic renovation like Rhys’s. I know I have a book “problem”--it’s so much easier to identify which of John’s books should go.:) I tried very hard to look at each book and ask if I would really read it a second time, or if I’d need it for a research reason, or if I had an emotional attachment, like it was written by one of my dear friends, signed by the author etc. If my answers were no, it went to the Friends of the Library to be sold for another reader to enjoy.

But I have another problem–I keep buying more books. So you would never know I’d purged anything!

HALLIE EPHRON: I’ve had what Rhys is experiencing… after my sweet Jerry’s death I sold most his collection (quite a few classic illustrated children’s books) which turned out to have a nice amount of value and hopefully went on to strut their covers on eBay or Amazon and make some money for the secondhand bookseller.

Three years later (like Rhys!) my daughter and her family have moved in with me… and I’ve liquidated my office and all the books in it to make way for her taking over. I now have a cozy work space in my bedroom, with about 10 linear feet of shelf space for books. So deciding which to keep was quite an exercise. But at least it’s easy these days to find texts online. 

Keepers? Eclectic Here’s a sampling… A set of Harry Potters. THREE BAGS FULL. THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE. THE EYRE AFFAIR. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. DEFENDING JACOB. DOG ON IT. GONE GIRL. BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE. PRESUMED INNOCENT… And about a dozen more and that’s it. 

So far I haven’t missed the missing ones.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I did a similar thing with Ross’s collection of histories, warfare, etc. after he died, Hallie. A new branch of the local community college was opening, and they were asking for book donations to help expand their limited acquisition budget. I catalogued what I wanted to get rid of, and after looking the list over, they happily accepted about ⅔ of the collection. The rest I gave to Victoria to sell online.

Now, my OWN books are a thornier problem! I’m dealing with that by ignoring it entirely, and focusing on what children’s/middle grade/YA books I can pass forward (I like Lisa Gardner’s take) to other readers. Three bedrooms, three bookcases in each one, PLUS the stuff stored in the attic… I figure I can be happily and productively weeding for a while.

JENN McKINLAY: My parents were keepers so I grew up with an aversion to “stuff.” Sorry, Pop, you are not going to find a use for that six inch piece of wood that you’ve kept for twenty years. They weren’t hoarders or anything, there was just so much stuff acquired from their families that they just couldn’t part with because it belonged to someone they loved. I do not have that sentimentality. I keep nothing. One copy of each book I’ve written and unless it’s a book signed to me by a friend, it goes to the Friends of the Library as soon as I’ve read it. I don’t collect things and my favorite hobby is sending stuff to thrift stores or the dumpster, depending on the state said item is in. 

RHYS: but Jenn what do you do with 25 copies of each of your books?  Any suggestions anyone? And who else has done a successful book purge?

JENN: I send them to my assistant to giveaway in promotions!

How about you, Readers? Any suggestions for authors drowning in copies of their own books?

Tick Tock Tick Tock

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: What a blustery and rainy weekend we had–and just like that, whoosh, it’s autumn.

Look at these sparrows, who so politely lined up on the window sill under the eaves of our garage to get out of the deluge of  rain. I love the special sparrow spacing, it's quite mathematical!

The leaves are wildly turning, and the sedum are darkening red, and the weary tomatoes have given up the ghost for the year. As I have whined in this space, worst tomato year ever.

Jonathan has gone to  the basement to turn off the irrigation system. The pool guy is coming to close the pool. Our window air conditioners are looking forlorn and out of place.  My little summer dresses suddenly are  gaspingly out of season and upstairs they go,  into the third floor storage.

I got new sweatshirts and a new sweater with a duck on it that I love but you will never see me wear it in public. And I am trying to figure out what I did with all my coats. I put them somewhere…

How about you, Reds and readers? What changes do you see where you live? And how do you know fall is here? What do you to prepare welcome it?

And ohh, when do we change the clocks?

(And did you say rabbit, rabbit today?)

THE SECOND TIME AROUND

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: In the dearth of summer TV, Jonathan and I were  looking for something engaging entertaining and relatable and fun, possibly a little bit life-changing. I saw that Lucy and her husband were watching West Wing, and that seemed like a good idea. So we started at the very beginning, season one episode one and Reds and readers, we are hooked.

We watched it before, when it was on the air the first time in the early 2000s, and I remember loving it, and thinking it was wonderful and groundbreaking and intelligent and powerful, but I have to say, watching it again, it is all of those things and even more.

The writing is astonishing! It is still timely, how can that be? Sometimes hilariously so, one episode recently talked about wacky people coming to the White House, and one of them wanted to convince the president that we should use the map of the world that’s actually accurate. That shows geography in the real size, which makes the United States very small and Africa very big. The way it really looks. (Thank you to Equal Earth and Correct the Map)

The Mercator type maps, the one we are so used to, also  puts the Arctic circle at the top of the globe. Who’s to say that’s right side up?

Anyway, it was incredibly thought-provoking, and what do you know, just recently, a week or so ago, that was one of their proposals before the UN. (Only the United States voted against it.)

There are episodes about patriotism, and extremism. About racism and healthcare and women’s rights and inside politics. About Air Force One, and ballrooms, and dealing with the press.Truly. And I just love the character Donna.

It’s amazing. Reds and readers, do you watch West Wing, have you, would you, do you?

The last episode we watched made us both cry. When was the last time TV did that?  Putting it this way –when was the last time the television rerun made you cry?  Have you gone back and watched anything on TV that’s different-better-worse the second time around? 

LUCY BURDETTE: So glad you are enjoying it the second time around Hank! We feel a little ridiculous watching something so old, but it’s very good writing and television! We are also re-watching Nashville in honor of the death of Hayden Panatiere. It’s so sad how her life mirrored the show. But this is another excellent series. Unfortunately, it just left Netflix, but you can purchase it through Amazon prime or Apple TV. Since we are hopelessly hooked, we are doing that now! 

HALLIE EPHRON: I watched West Wing regularly waaaaay back when. Seems like the one (oops two things) thing I remember is Allison Janney. And Martin Sheen. At the time I thought it was a bit preachy… but then so was Star Trek which I can rewatch endlessly, and a little preachiness is refreshing right now.

I’m going to queue it up on my tv. Between new episodes of Great British Baking Show which restarts in a few days. Weirdly that’s another show with old episodes I can rewatch and be just as surprised at the outcomes as I was the first time around.

JENN McKINLAY: The most recent show that Hub and I rewatched was The Office. If you’ve ever worked with a small group of people, it absolutely holds up. I’m afraid to rewatch West Wing because I’ll get depressed, you know, because there’s no East Wing anymore, so is it truly a West Wing? *Jenn wanders off muttering under her breath*

HANK says: That's what I worried about, too, Jenn. But it's more inspirational than depressing. Really!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I never watched West Wing the first time around, so if I dig into it, it’ll be a premiere for me. But I have been doing a rewatch of sorts. You may remember I was working my way through the ITV Poirot series, and I naturally segued to the ITV Marple series. I’ve now seen all the Geraldine McEwan/Julia McKenzie episodes (including several that I KNOW weren’t Marple mysteries - what’s up with that?) 

I decided I had to give the Joan Hickson version of Miss Marple a try, and am working my way through those episodes with great pleasure. What’s next? You guessed it - the Margaret Rutherford Miss Marple movies. So I’m seeing the same stories, but with different casts and production values.

RHYS BOWEN: I can never understand why they have to keep rehashing Miss Marple. To my mind Joan Hickson was perfect. Exactly as I imaged her. Others were too twittery and lacked her natural breeding and grace

And Hallie, I’ll also be starting the British baking show as soon as I get home. 

Right now it’s family dinners and lots of entertaining in Cornwall.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: We loved THE WEST WING, back in the day. The writing and acting were amazing, but I've been afraid to rewatch because I thought it would be depressing. But if you say it's more inspirational, Hank, maybe we will give it a try. It would be good to remember how things were supposed to work.

Meanwhile, we are halfway through season 6 (of 7) of ELEMENTARY, which we did not see first time around. I'd say the first four seasons are terrific. I'm flagging a bit in season 4 and now 5, but kind of hate to give up.

HANK:  How about you, reds and readers? Have you watched re-runs of anything recently? Have you been tempted?

Is it different from re-reading a book?

And what do you think of the map of the actual world?