Filed under: Books, Library | Tags: Books, camping, Fayette County, Library
I am from a book-worm family. My father spent his early years getting into trouble because his mother wouldn’t teach him to read. In her defense, the theory in the 40’s (yes, my dad is that old) was that only teachers were qualified to teach anything, and parents would screw it up. So, she didn’t teach him to read. She did send him to school a year early to get him out of her hair. You know, because he did things like vacuum the water out of the toilet, and set the stove on fire.
When he did learn how to read, he never stopped. When I was little, he would read poetry to me at night. When I learned how to read, I practiced by reading poetry to him.
Shortly after that, I began reading the newspaper in the morning. He’s regretted teaching me how to read ever since.
I was an English major in college because I had room for an extra major. I wanted to take classes where I would read novels. English classes fit that bill. I am one third of a librarian as of today.
You might say that books are an integral part of my life.
So it astonished me to hear this story from Bear’s parents:
They went camping near Confluence, Fayette County last summer. We’re all going camping there this weekend, actually. There’s a pretty lake, nice campgrounds, fun stuff. His aunt and uncle were there, as well, and his uncle ran out of reading material. They decided to head into town to get some supplies and see if he could find a bookstore of some sort.
They didn’t see any, so they stopped in another store and asked where they might find some books.
The girl working at the counter said, mystified, “Books? Why would you want books?”
The closest they found was a shelf of Jesus books at the local grocery store. Bear’s uncle had to do without books for the rest of the trip.
I was astonished to hear this. I discussed it with Dan, who didn’t believe it was possible either. So, we did a google map search looking for the nearest libraries to Confluence. These people are poor, because it’s Fayette County, so free books would be best.
Confluence has the arrow. The nearest bookstores are in Uniontown, Connellsville and Somerset.
41 minutes to Uniontown!
31 minutes to Somerset!
Let’s look for bookstores, now.
My commentary about the names might be hard to read. I said “Really?” to Accident, I laughed at Normalville, and I questioned Elk Lick and Upper Turkeyfoot.
Really? Upper Turkeyfoot? Wouldn’t that be Turkey Ankle? Is there a Lower Turkeyfoot? What is a turkeyfoot? Why are you naming things after them? WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PART OF THE STATE.
I know, I know, I’m being judgmental. I grew up just past the Philly suburbs in a populated area. I moved to Pittsburgh. I work in a library system that has over 5 million volumes, and I have the entire Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh at my fingertips. I am from a different world, you might say, than the folks of Fayette County.
BUT MY GOD. These people have to drive at least a half hour to get to a library or a bookstore. No wonder that girl was mystified as to why someone would want to read.
We’re leaving to go there this afternoon. If I don’t return, it’s because I was captured and punished for my insolence of bringing reading material to the Anti-Book Bubble. Flagellation ensued.
Or the bugs ate me. One or the other.
Filed under: Books | Tags: Books, Gone With The Wind, Margaret Mitchell, Rhett Butler's People
Something you might need to understand about me is my weakness for historical fiction. Blame my father. It’s all his fault.
Specifically, I have a weakness for Gone with the Wind. THAT particular weakness is my mother’s. My dad likes history, my mom likes GWTW. So, blame my parents! That works! This is something I’ll be able to complain about BOTH of them in therapy. I know, I know, I should be ashamed of myself. It degrades black people, talks up slavery like it’s good, and forgives the assholes who kept slaves in the first place. It is a blatant antebellum-sympathetic, nauseating movie/book.
But I love it. I can’t help it. Many of the greatest lines in the history of movies and books come from GWTW: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” is the best eff-you ever. When Mammy yells at Scarlett for going down to take her sister’s beau, and she says, “You know what trouble I’s talkin’ ’bout. Mr. Ashley be comin’ to Atlanta when he get’s his leave, and you sattin’ there waitin’ for him, just like a spider,” the way she says “JUST LIKE A SPIDER” gets me every time. When Prissy came back without a doctor during the Burning of Atlanta, and Miss Mellie was in labor, and Prissy screams in her squeal, “But Miss Scarlett! I ain’t never birthed no babies before!” Love it!. And how can you forget, “Oh, Ashley, ASHLEY!” And my all time favorite, with the sweeping sunset, and Scarlett’s silhouette holding a carrot, saying, “With God as my witness, I’ll never go hungry again!”
What can I say? I have a weakness. I love the movie. I watch it at least once a year, and I have the whole thing memorized. I’ve read the book more times than I can count. But again, it’s my mom’s fault. She got me hooked from an early age. She’s read the book around 11 times now. She made me watch the movie with her!
We’ll never know if Margaret Mitchell was truly a literary talent, or if GWTW was just a fluke, as she died not long after it was published and never wrote anything else. It was turned into a fantastic movie, shot entirely on set in 1939 (impressive, considering how many things burned and how many outdoor scenes there were.)
I made Bear watch the movie with me last year. I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me.
With all this in mind, I found a rewriting of the story, from Rhett Butler’s perspective, Rhett Butler’s People, by Donald McCaig. I’m sure it will be atrocious. Most modern retellings of stories are, especially if they’re mass-marketed. Unless they take a decidedly unique turn for a broad, classic genre, and are written by a truly talented author (Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian is a fantastic adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. But this is not comparable because Dracula inspired a wealth of vampire stuff, so it’s more of a new spin on a well-loved motif rather than a true retelling. Also, it was fantastic. Kostova is a fantastic author. Highly recommended). The sequel to Gone With The Wind, Scarlett, by Alexandra Ripley, was awful. Rhett and Scarlett got together at the end! Totally defeats the purpose of the book! IT’S A TRAGEDY, LIKE THE ENTIRE ANTEBELLUM AND DEATH OF THE DEEP SOUTH WAS. They couldn’t be together, just like the South couldn’t win! They also went to Ireland? It was weird. I didn’t approve.
However, despite knowing it will be atrocious (who thought of that name? What does that even mean?), I got it from the library anyways, for a few reasons.
1. It was free. From the library. No sweat off my bank account.
2. I have to read all things related to Gone With The Wind, due to the obsession.
3. I AM DONE WITH SCHOOL WORK SO I MIGHT AS WELL DESTROY MY BRAIN CELLS WITH ATROCIOUS POPULAR LITERATURE!
4. I think it will be entertaining, in terms of its atrociousness.
I might be proven wrong. I will keep you updated.
