Monday, November 22, 2010

books are our friends...









(all photos by me)

I love books. Have always loved books. Over the years had amassed a collection of literally thousands of books. At my house, they were everywhere - bookshelves, stairs, chairs, floor, everywhere. When I moved, I had to get rid of a lot of books. A LOT of books. A lot. It was sad. They were my friends. At any time I could go...there's a picture...of an aqua slat-back chair in a garden...and I knew just where the book was that had that picture...or that recipe...or that quote.

A few years back I was inspired (by some blog photo, I'm sure!) to sort my books on shelves by color. People thought it was crazy, how would I ever find anything. But I'm a very visual person, and very quickly I knew books by spine color as well as by title, author, or subject, and had no problem finding anything.

It was a little disconcerting to move to this apartment and set up my new lovely bookshelves...and find that the books I had kept in the move just BARELY filled the shelves. My apartment feels a little...vacant...with so few books.

I'm slowly restocking. And each new book is like a new friend - telling new stories, taking me to new places, teaching me new things, inspiring me in new ways.

So imagine my pleasure in learning of this amazing giveaway by Chronicle Books - list up to $500 worth of Chronicle books you'd like to win...and you're entered to win them! AND, if you're a reader of Dragonfly and comment on this post, you can win, too!



Here's my list of Chronicle books I'd love to win - a mix of photography, decorating, cooking, and fiction:
  • Mick Rock Exposed: The Faces of Rock 'n' Roll by Mick Rock
  • Photobooth Dogs by Cameron Woo
  • Life on the Lower East Side by Rebecca Lepkoff, Peter Dans, and Suzanne Wasserman
  • Taking Aim by Graham Nash
  • Subway Art by Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfan
  • Hot Shots by Kevin Meredith
  • Desert Realty by Ed Freeman
  • To Each His Home by Bilyana Dimitrova
  • Handmade Weddings by Sabrina Moyle, Eunice Moyle, and Shana Faust
  • Indie Craft by Jo Waterhouse
  • French General: Treasured Notions by Kaari Men
  • French General: Handmade SoirĂ©es by Kaari Meng
  • French General: Party Paperie by Kaari Meng
  • French General: Home Sewn by Kaari Meng
  • Porch Parties by Denise Gee
  • Swimming With Strangers by Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum
  • Fairy Parties by Colleen Mullaney
  • All Cakes Considered by Melissa Gray
Make sure you enter, too!

9 comments:

  1. I absolutely ADORE that idea of sorting books out via colour! Even if you just do so for an interesting photo shoot, it would look so effective and glamorous!

    I also adore books :) I have a lot of books I have never even read! I must get round to it :)

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  2. I love that look -books sorted by color. My problem would be I'd need a room for green, a room for blue, a room for red, and two rooms for brown (old vintage books tend to be brown).
    Need a bigger house.

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  3. i love your photos and your list :)

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  4. I had to move off and leave my books one time, it nearly broke my heart; but my favorites and I were finally reunited so it all worked out OK :) This is a wonderful list. Very different--for the most part--from the ones I selected See My List Here but a really delightful list that any booklover would love to own.
    Smiles,
    Teresa

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  5. Wow. Your book photos are lucious! Happy Haul-idays and good luck! :) You can comment on my list here.

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  6. Wow please win! I seriously think I would cry if I won all these books!

    happy_haylee_3(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  7. What a nice list. Good luck to both of us! And thank you
    Chronicle Books.

    jcamp2020 at aol dot com

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  8. great list! good luck to both of us!

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  9. Fabulous choices, especially the indie craft book!
    Lilyhoot at gmail dot com

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