Book 1 I am passing on from my ‘hoarder’s bookshelf’ is Dreaming of HitIer by Daphne Merkin.
I found Daphne Merkin’s book on a bookshelf in Barnes & Noble, New York City. The provocative title was enough for me. Anyone who had the chutzpah to write about her breast reduction, fascination with being spanked, and why she was not a lesbian was going to interest me.
Revelations aside, Merkin can also write, and all the essays in this eclectic collection are funny and thought provoking.
Merkin still writes features for The New York Times, and more recently wrote about her own personal struggle with depression.
In my writing groups, ‘Dreaming of Hitler’ is the book I recommend to writers who are stuck, scared of saying what they really want to say for fear of shocking or offending their readers. Merkin has given us all permission to lift our petticoats on our own judgment and say it anyway.
I’m starting a campaign through this blog to pass along all the books I’ve read.
Seth Godin says: “a book is a souvenir and a container and a motivator and an easily leveraged tool. Hoarding books makes them worth less, not more. An effective manager hands books to her team. Not so they can be reminded of high school, but so that next week she can say to them, “Are we there yet?”
It is in this spirit that I am emptying my bookshelves of all the novels, self-help books and biographies that have been instrumental in teaching me something of value. And the point is because I have gained that value, I can pass the book along. I don’t need to see it on my bookshelf gathering dust to be reminded of this value.
Each day I will post on this blog an entry about one of the books I am passing along, a bit like an extended review. I hope to include some tidbits about each book for you. There will be a link to my bookstore where you can purchase the book. Please pass this blog link along to your friends. I truly believe books are meant to be shared and recycled, and want to also make room for the books I’m going to buy in this next phase of my life, not to mention the ones I’m going to write and publish!
When you have finished reading books from my store, please make sure you pass them along again.
Share their value.
This was originally intended to be my painting blog, but now it's also about writing, what we ache for, and everything else important.
"Your paintings are like auragraphs. You pick up the information from the person and express it through art. However, they are on an altogether deeper level - not dealing with the outer projection of ourselves, not even with the spirit, but on a soul level. They are soul reflections".
Mary Clair Kelly, Cruse Counsellor
