Took middle daughter to the bookstore before dinner, but we had to wait until a pretty amazing wind/rainstorm blew through. Gary had us stay outside on the front porch during the worst bits. Our twenty-five year old Oak in the front yard actually twisted in the wind, but wasn't harmed. He had us on the porch to get us as far away as possible from our Oak in the backyard. It's over sixty years old and looms over the back of the house. During storms we gravitate away from it. We're smart that way.
Anyway, I was able to get another used Faulkner at the bookstore I didn't have--this one is Absalom, Absalom! I still get all excited to read my Faulkners at bedtime. For some odd reason, he's such a comfort. I know what to expect even when I'm not expecting it. He draws a line with awful characters, writing in a way to suggest situations rather than spelling them out. I've said this before. Even in the one I'm reading now, The Reivers, one man runs a brothel here in downtown Memphis and at first he seems harmless, but is just plain mean. With few words, but carefully chosen ones, Faulkner gives the reader a perfect depiction of this man's lack of character.
I got a used paperback by Lin Yutang as well. I'm always noting his quotes I find, not realizing he wrote books I could actually buy. This one is The Importance of Living. The subtitle is The Classic Bestseller That Introduced Millions to the Nobel Art of Leaving Things Undone. Isn't that appealing? And it originally was published in 1937, so his way of dealing with the topic of women, for instance, is more old-fashioned than the world accepts these days.
Speaking of women, here's a quote from The Reivers: "Because women are wonderful. They can bear anything because they are wise enough to know that all you have to do with grief and trouble is just go on through them and come out on the other side. I think they can do this because they not only decline to dignify physical pain by taking it seriously, they have no sense of shame at the idea of being knocked out." For some reason, I just love that quote. Just wish I could live up to it.
Take care.
