Things I Learned This Weekend

A new escalator not moving looks the same as an old escalator not moving.
About four months ago, Metro closed one of the entrances to our metro to replace the escalators. They were unveiled on Thurdsay morning and by Thursday evening when I got home one was already not moving. I had predicted it would last until at least Friday, and Karey was generous and gave it a week. It turns out we both have more faith than we thought in our embarrassing metro system.

Sitting at home reading and watching a Carolina tournament game is a good way to end a crazy week.
I watched the game from home on the couch with my PJs and my book. It was a good start to a weekend that would end not good.

Reading even a slightly scary book makes sleeping slightly difficult.
Last week I read "Night Film" and as a result had some trouble sleeping. I just can't handle even a little mystery. Luckily, a trash can in front of the door helps keep out even the mightiest supernatural threat. Or so I tell myself. It was a pretty good book though.

Everything really is better in miniature.
Even mid-century modern furniture, which isn't my style but I do appreciate the aesthetics of, especially when tiny! I broke down and bought this furniture for $2.50 at one of my thrift stores. It's been there my last few trips and when the whole store was 50% off last week, I took it as a sign. It's from the 80s so it has a record player, big speakers, and giant headphones. We had a similar setup at home.

Carrying flat pieces of wood is only marginally safer than carrying a dowel.
A few weeks ago I carried a dowel and almost killed myself/others. This week I carried a few pieces of balsa wood, which was still kind of dicey.

Duke students don't say thank you.
This unopened box of thank you notes was at my thrift store for 50 cents. I assume it's because Dukies never say thanks. Or maybe they just don't write. Remember the sad memo block I found?

It's really important to realize the effect your purse strap is having on the buttons on your shirt whilst shopping at a thrift store attached to a church.
Can you read behind the lines on that one? Yeah, I think I inadvertently flashed the elderly workers at my fave religious thrift store. But it's Episcopalian, and they're super liberal, so it's probably ok.

Spring is trying to arrive.
These little buds were just trying to bust through that stubborn winter ground. After today's snow, they've probably retreated and are considering never busting through again.

Dremel-brand bits fit my generic-brand Dremel and routing is fun.
I basically want to rout all the wood in my apartment. But I won't. For now.

A new lamp can really brighten things up.
See what I did there? The cheap medusa lamp I've had since the summer after college was sort of burning itself. I bought this pretty thing from Target and had to do some rearranging. It was also a good spark to get some organizing done.

Organizing can lead to found and lost things.
I had to move my bookcases in order to accommodate the lamp where I wanted it. This meant I was able to retrieve two of my Breakfast at Tiffany's posters that fell several weeks ago. In the process, however, the wrap and purse for my Holly Barbie fell behind the bookcase. But doesn't it all look so pretty and clean? And now another found lost thing...

It's easier to save money when you remember you're saving it.
Short story: I found $60 in my saving place in my room.
Long story: About 4 years I lost my college class ring. I was devastated. Even more so when I learned Carolina had started offering only one "official" class ring, which I didn't like. Then last summer I saw that they were offering some additional options, including my original one! My first instinct was to buy it immediately and put it on my credit card. Instead I took out some cash every paycheck and kept it in my secret saving place in my room. By the end of the summer I had enough saved and ordered (and received) my ring. I must have decided to keep saving for something else, but then must have forgot after one withdrawal. Oops. On the upside I found $60!

Pantone's color of the year -- radiant orchard -- really is quite radiant. AKA bright.
I'll write about this later this week, but I'm working on a DIY project for my favorite new website, Darby Smart. I got comped some supplies to make it and one was a pot of Pantone paint. It really is a lovely, and bright, color.
 

 
Having friends turn 30 is way better than turning 30 yourself.
I was the first of my close group of friends to turn 30. Now the others are starting to fall over that hill, too. Finally. This was the first of at least four 30th birthday cards I'll have to make this year.

I hate basketball.
Sunday evening wasn't good and I don't really want to talk about it. Except to say that it kind of sucks caring about something sometimes. And sometimes I want to go back to when I didn't care about sports. It'd be easier.

Things I Learned This Weekend

Sometimes you just need a Friday to yourself.
I woke up Friday morning very late, with a headache, as it poured outside. So I made the executive decision to work from home. It cleared up as the day went on and I took a long lunch to just be out and run some errands. It was perfect.

Having a craft store accessible by metro is going to change my life.
A variety store re-opened in Bethesda about a block from where one of my close friends lives. I checked it out for us on Friday and OH MY WORD it's got a huge craft section. I didn't have my full list of ongoing craft needs but I did buy fabric, bobbins, embroidery floss, and other things. I'm probably going to be here once a week.

A clean home is a happy home. Unfortunately.
I hate cleaning. Hate hate hate it. But sometimes you just have to. So I picked up a bunch of things on Friday night, made a mess again on Saturday, and then re-cleaned with broom and vacuum and swiffer and spray all over again on Sunday. It sucks but it is nice to come home to.

My first writer's conference was awesome.
On Saturday I attended my first writer's conference. It was held at a Johns Hopkins building in Dupont Circle and was created by Barrelhouse literary magazine. It was an all-day conference with a keynote speaker and three breakout sessions. I learned so much and got a lot of inspiration for my own work. It was very reasonably priced and so close to home that I couldn't not go, and I'm glad that was the case.

Working out and crafting are great ways to end a busy Saturday.
I was very tired on Saturday after a 9-5 day of conferencing, but I still made myself exercise and do things. After a brief nap, of course.

There's just no good way to spray paint indoors.
In this week's installment of Bonnie Attempts Spray Painting In Her Apartment, this is what I tried:

I saw on Pinterest where someone created a sort of spray tent using a cheap hanging garment bag. I attempted the same thing only I didn't want to pay for a bigger one so I got this smaller one. Which, as you imagine, didn't quite work since there wasn't exactly a lot of room to spray. I also didn't take into account how I would hang it. Thank goodness for (UNC) duck tape and bungee cords. On the upside, I haven't been able to spray paint in awhile but I got to use my sprayer and tarp and mask. Yay!

D.C. is confusing, maps suck, and spray paint might hurt your brain.
I was meeting Brandie for brunch and a movie on Sunday and got so turned around and kept going in the wrong direction in roundabout ways. She blamed my spray painting from the previous night. I blamed maps and D.C. and the fact that I move so much faster than the little blue dot on my map app.

All restaurants should be housed in former fire stations.
Whilst hunting for brunch options, I came across Sixth Engine, a restaurant near Chinatown that is housed in a former fire station. 

It had such cool ambiance and decor, not to mention delicious mimosas and chocolate chip flapjacks. (And they were flapjacks, not pancakes, as the waitress corrected Brandie.)

Ryan Gosling is attractive even with tattoos, bad hair, and bad clothes.
But it can't make up for the depressing, heavy handed, and long winded "A Place Beyond the Pines." B and I had to see it, of course, as we do all Ryan's movies, but this was not a good one.

Don't get angry at Barnes and Noble when you can't find the book you're looking for. When it hasn't been released yet.
I have a B&N gift card that I keep forgetting about and thought on Sunday I'd use it to buy the new Audrey book written by her second son. Well, after fruitlessly searching the store for it and about to haughtily ask for it and mention that Amazon had it in stock, I realized it wasn't out yet. Oops. At least I realized it before huffing and puffing.

When you find yourself hand painting the horns on two ram figures Carolina blue, step away from the crafting.
They look adorable though and are going to make awesome bookends eventually. I have no regrets.  

Things I Learned This Weekend

A really bad Friday can be made so much better after a drink with friends.
And maybe a little crying. And some food. And a free shot from the bartender. But mostly after the friends.

Sometimes there is just nothing quite like lying on the couch all day and reading.
Which is what I did on Saturday. All day.

Grace Coddington really is extraordinary.
I spent the day reading her memoir that I got for Christmas. It was witty, funny, and full of information about the fashion and magazine industry and her role in it. 

A butcher block from the father makes a great, but very heavy, cheeseboard.
Thanks, Daddy. Doesn't it look good? That's after 5 coats of the oil and then I got bored.

George Mason University is really far.
So that's good to know.

Wedding showcases are fun.
And full of information. And people. Mainly women. Karey and I went with Brandie and her mom to a wedding showcase event with tons of vendors at Mason. Brandie got lots of information and we all got to taste a bunch of cake. Win win. Oh, and Brandie tried on a crown. So win win win.

Identifying stickers really help minimize the number of times you have to say "I'm just a bridesmaid."
Thank goodness.

If you're sitting in seats for a basketball court, you really have the fight urge to cheer.
We sat in the seats to watch a wedding fashion show. Thankfully, there were several opportunities to cheer: for the cute kids hamming it up and the guys dancing to that sexy and you know it song.

There's something beautiful about eating nachos while watching a fashion show.
One of my favorite things ever are nachos with processed cheese. Seriously, I just love them. The second worst part about Nationals games -- the first worst part being the baseball part of course -- is that their nachos are made with fresh cheese, no processed. Absurd! So I was thrilled that they had concession stands open where I could get this very large tray of processed goodness.

Losing to George Mason in the 2006 NCAA tournament still hurts.
And it hurts more when you have it constantly rubbed in your face everywhere you go in their arena.

The inauguration brings out the really big flags.
Like this one at Union Station.

Every day should include a Lifetime movie.
Like "The Surrogate Trap." Which was the perfect combination of crazy, dramatic music, and Canadians. Though, on second thought, most of my days already include Lifetime movies.

Being on the mall for the Inauguration is awesome, but so is sitting at home in my pajamas, on the couch, eating cinnamon rolls.
It was just so warm. So, so warm.

Frozen toes, popcorn in hair, and cider on coat: Meeting John and Sherry of Young House Love

As all should know by now, my favorite blog is Young House Love, written by husband and wife super DIY duo John and Sherry.

I've been reading their blog for several years and sometimes forget that I don't actually know them. (If you read a lot of blogs, you'll understand. If you don't read a lot, you'll find this strange. It's not.) When shopping, I constantly say, "Sherry would love this!" Or, when talking to friends with kids, will say something like, "Clara has that same toy." Thankfully, I have many friends that read the blog too and understand. (Everyone else just thinks I have friends named John, Sherry, Clara, and Burger.)

They released a book at the beginning of the month with a plethora of DIY home ideas. To say it's fantastic is an under statement. The book is all-new content, with ideas they managed to think of, write about, and put together, all while raising their daughter and dog and blogging about 10 times a week. Just reading their stuff exhausts and then energizes me. Last month, when they announced a book tour stop in D.C., I had to have been one of the first to RSVP.

The night finally came last night. The signing started at 6:30 and Lauren and I were in line at 6:11. It was held at the Flor store in Georgetown, which neither of us had been to and both of us were expecting to be a lot bigger space, one where we'd be warm and snug indoors instead of cold and frigid outdoors. However, it was totally worth the cold and the wait. We started across from the store, but had to go down a block, over a bit, then up a block before making it to the actual store.

Though it was a long line, it was nice to see just how many fans they have. Flor had arranged for a food truck to serve free cookies and hot cider, both of which were delicious and helped warm us up a bit. 

While we waited we submitted raffle tickets to win this J&S-designed Flor beauty.

As we got in sight of the door, they also had warm popcorn, and once inside, wine, too. As we thawed out, got more excited to meet them, and juggled books and bags, I realized I had cider on my coat and yet another piece of popcorn in my hair. A perfect blog idol-meeting look. (But it did produce Lauren's idea for the post title.)

Now, as I've mentioned before, I get super nervous when meeting or even thinking about meeting famous people. I'm just so awkward and am always worried about blurting out random things. (Especially after wine, remember Drunk Bonnie?) Luckily it was just a small glass of wine and I had 2 hours to think about what I would say. And two minutes to clean up cider and clean out popcorn. (My feet were too cold to change out of my nerdy converses and into cute shoes. I hope they didn't notice.)

As we got closer we could see them interacting with people and hear them talking. (Especially Sherry, she sounds just like she does in their videos with a voice that carries.) They were both just so sweet and genuine, exactly as they portray themselves online. If someone had a camera but didn't ask for a picture, they'd say "You need a picture!" They thanked people for waiting so long in the cold and commiserated with those house hunting or house fixing. They just seemed so grateful and happy for each person that was there, even though they'd been at it for 2 hours and apparently would keep going for about 2 hours more.

Because I've been reading their blog longer, Lauren said I had to start the talking. Which basically amounted to "hi," "this is for mom who's renovating her kitchen," "this is for me," and "you're really good at this" or something along those lines.

I didn't blurt out anything creepy like "The 4th step on your porch stairs looks loose." or "I don't like kids but I just love Clara." (I don't actually know if the step is loose I just feel like I know their house so much that I could have said something way too specific. I do, however, love Clara despite my general wariness of kids and Mom said I should have really said that.) They were just very sweet and friendly and seemed like any two people you'd meet on the street whose house floor plan you know.

It was a fun night and I'm so glad that we were able to meet them. Now if only Mom and Gloria, the other two big YHL fans in my life, could have been there. Perhaps for the next book?

Things I Learned This Weekend

Introducing a friend to the wonders of Old Town's La Tasca is a great start to the weekend.
As does the sangria, too, of course. Brandie, who now works in Alexandria, met me for a happy hour on Friday and I got to introduce her to my favorite HH locale.

No, seriously, I love a Saturday by the pool.
Have I mentioned this enough this summer? My 4 hours there on Saturday spent caught up in a great book (see below) and the funky tan line of my bathing suit ties prove it.

Band of Horses and My Morning Jacket put on a damn good show.
I went to Merriweather Post Pavilion on Saturday with some friends, old and new, to see this concert. While I only have 2 songs by BOH and 1 song by MMJ, it was a great show and I will be expanding my catalog of their music soon.

A hot dog and a glass of wine can cost as much as the GDP of a small country.
Plus french fries, a margarita, and another glass of wine. But they all were good.

Two great bands, especially when they're playing "Rock the Casbah," make my ears ringing for hours worth it.
Next time, I might have to wear ear plugs. It's just so loud!

My hair is a better dancer than I am.
On the way home, Shana and I wanted pictures of us dancing. While she's cute in all hers, mine are just all hair.

The book "Gone Girl" is completely worth the hype.
And a great way to spend a Saturday by the pool in the sun and a Sunday on the couch while it rains.

Things I Learned This (Olympic) Weekend

The Olympics never fail to make me happy. 
Even with a less-than-stellar Opening Ceremony and inane announcer commentary, they still make me very happy. All day I looked forward to it and all week the roommate and I planned to snack on international fare and watch it in its entirety. Which we did. (Along with Brandie, who was allowed to come even though she didn't realize they started that night.) This was our spread, with something to represent each of the rings: 

• Africa: Moroccan hummus and African hot sauce 
• The Americas: Southern Caviar 
• Asia: Dry-roasted Edamame and a spicy snack mix 
• Europe: Sangria 
• Oceania: Chocolate cookies from Australia 
• Host city: Cookies and napkins with the Queen on them 

Sitting by the pool in the rain is lovely.
I hung out with my friend Shana on Saturday, starting with a couple hours at her rooftop pool. It started to rain but instead of racing for cover we waited it out, appreciating the cool water on such a hot day. 

Handball might be my new favorite sport.
After the pool we went to a bar for a drink and apps and to watch some more of the Olympics. They were showing a handball game and somehow this is a sport that I've never seen. 

The boats used in rowing are called "sculls," not toothpicks.
After the bar and before dinner, we watched more Olympics, including what we like to call the toothpick boat races. 

There's no such thing as watching too much Olympics.
After a restaurant week dinner, we went back to her place to watch, you guessed it, more Olympics. We caught USA in beach volleyball, but missed the Lochte/Phelps match but that's ok because I love Phelps too much to watch him lose. 

"Gone with the Wind" is an amazing and intense book.
After two weeks of reading the 1,000 page tome, I finally finished on Sunday morning. And all I can say is, "Wow."

I read so much faster when reading by the pool. 
On Sunday I spent a few hours lying out and reading at my pool. I don't know if it's the fresh air or just being away from technological distractions, but I get so much more read when I'm outside.

The Olympics make Sunday nights more tolerable.
I know, shocking, but I watched more Olympics on Sunday. Water polo, synchronized diving, swimming, and gymnastics.

Kind of Famous

I use the website Goodreads to track the books I read. Right now I've added almost 300 books read over the last six years.

It's perfect because I can have multiple shelves and categories, as well as "friends." My book club all signed up for it so we can track what each other's reading, and I've connected it with other friends, too.

Recently I read the utterly amazing and un-put-downable "Duke Sucks," a must-read for any Tar Heel fan and/or Duke hater.

I rate all read books with 1 to 5 stars, and occasionally I'll add a written review. In the case of this book, this is what I wrote:

Last week I logged on to the site and saw that a former co-worker had added me as a friend. No problem. Then when I got on Facebook later that night, he had sent me a message:

This is pretty ridiculous...but I heard the author of Duke Sucks interviewed on the morning sports talk show I listen to. At the end of the segment, one of the hosts casually mentioned a comment by Bonnie on Goodreads that it was the best book ever. I thought, "Maybe that's the Bonnie I know." Just remembered to look it up, and sure enough...

Yes, my three-word book review of a book with the title "sucks" in it was quoted on a radio show. I'M SO FAMOUS NOW.

However, a little perturbed at the fact that I have nearly 300 books listed and that's the book and the review that gets me acknowledged! I've written reviews that were far more eloquent, or that at the very least contained complete sentences, like this one of my favorite book of 2011 and the National Book Award Winner, "Just Kids":

Oh well, that's life, specifically, that's my life. And some days I can't believe just how small this world is. Or at least, how incredibly over-connected I am to it.

Writer Girl

One summer day in Chapel Hill, the month after college graduation, I was on campus (force of habit) browsing in the Bull's Head bookshop. The following book cover and author name caught my eye and I bought it: 

Dessen is a Chapel Hill resident, UNC alum, former UNC professor, and a young adult author. Though I'd read her first book, "Someone Like You," some time around freshman year, and seen the movie "How to Deal," I didn't know she had other books, or was a fellow Tar Heel, until "Just Listen."

I read the book in one night, staying up until 3 or 4 in the morning to finish. Though the book is about a girl in high school, and I was a 22-year-old college grad about to move across the pond, something in her story grabbed me. And I hated high school, so it certainly wasn't nostalgia. It was her words, her characters, her story.

Over the course of a year I read all her other books. In the years since, as she has released three more, I bought each on their release date and finished each in a matter of days. So, despite my fear of meeting famous people, when I saw that Dessen was going to be at the Bethesda Library last Thursday, I had to attend. 

She read from her latest book, "What Happened to Goodbye," took questions, and then signed books. Not surprisingly, the room was dominated by teenage girls. And their mothers. But there were a few people my age, so I wasn't completely out of place. One mother even asked Dessen about her intended audience, and why she thought her books appealed to more than just teens. She said that everyone went through adolescence, that it's something we all share, and tend to have passionate feelings about. And she's never met anyone who didn't have some thoughts, also usually quite passionate, about high school. I would add that her books represent a range of human emotions and experiences that just about anyone can identify with. Yes, they are presented through the lens of teenagers, but that doesn't make them less true or powerful.

Even though I was super nervous, I am very glad to have gone. She clearly loves what she does and has worked incredibly hard to get where she is. And the fact that she is a Carolina girl just makes it all the more inspiring to me.

As she spoke about her struggles to figure out her life, to write and get published, to go from waitress to professor to writer to mother, she said something that really stood out to me:

"I think you just end up where you're supposed to be, that's what I believe."

Similarly, I believe that everything happens for a reason, so I wholeheartedly agree with this. (Even though it's incredibly difficult to remember and understand in practice.) 

It was just a fun night and I look forward to spending a few weeks re-reading some of her earlier books.

On the edge

Confession: I write in my books.

I can't help it. I just love words and sentences and the well-written occurrences of each that demand recognition.

But I'm not the only one. I recently came across this New Yorker article from the summer on the margin notes of various famous authors, called marginalia.

"Anne Garner's specialty is marginalia, and she had place-marked some of her favorites... In the soft lamplight, the open pages of the books she had chosen glowed like a physical and visible representation of the sublime."

Twain, Nabokov, Plath, Hughes, Kerouac. All utilized their. margins.

As a marginalia scribbler, Mark Twain was perhaps the most entertaining and voluminous of all, with comments that bloomed from space breaks and chapter headings and end pages, sometimes turning corners and continuing upside down.

Though, now thinking about it, I'm actually more of an underliner, starrer, and exclamation-point-marker than note writer. At least since leaving college. (With the exception of some political books where I have written "grrr" or "NO!" beside stances or incidents that anger me.)

 I can't decided if it would be supremely flattering to be so famous of an author that someone is interested in my loopy margin thoughts. Or supremely terrifying that fifty years from now someone could be trying to interpret "YES! or !!!! or :-)" in my margins. Maybe I need to be a bit more purposeful with my notes in the future.

New Yorker article: Marginalia
Photos: mine

For whom the bell tolls

Today I read an article in the New York Times about a sidewalk bookseller, Charles Mysak, in New York City: In Bookstore's Demise, No Joy for Sidewalk Seller.

A four-story Barnes & Noble is closing in the same area as Mysak and the article explores his determination to maintain his sidewalk business, despite lackluster sales for both him and booksellers in general. There's something beautiful and heartbreaking when someone or something is feverishly trying to hold on to a tradition, practice, or lifestyle when changes are whirling around them. It can be bad, of course, but sometimes, it's just good.

As mentioned many times before, I love love books, especially used books. This man's story has been in my head all day. Checking my email accounts. Watching a movie in HD. Downloading new songs on my iPhone. Turning it all off to curl up with one of my latest used books. He has a passion for knowledge and a devotion to the written word in an age where faster, smaller, shinier is deemed better more often than not. Says Mysak:

"It is apparent that we have a real serious issue, that the life of the mind has been in decline for some time now. ... Ignorance and indolence is the primary problem. If you take care of the mind, everything else follows."

I want to go find his stand and buy out his stock and give books to random people on the street. If they'd rather read it on their iWhatevers, they can pass it along to someone else. Until it finds someone who wants it as it is, who wishes things could be just a tad more simple. Not better, not worse, just simpler.

Oh no

Since writing about book covers a few months ago, they've been catching my eye more often in bookstores. I was in Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago and noticed these:

Look familiar?

And in case it isn't obvious enough, there's this bright shining "endorsement" on "Wuthering Heights":

But of course it would be their favorite book. A dark and creepy story about obsessive love is right up their alley.

There will be a post about it one day, but just know, I HATE Twilight. HATE it. I was hanging on to the tailpipe of the bandwagon a few years ago and read all four. Not because I enjoyed them, but because I kept hoping they would get better. Not the case.

If this is how we have to get teens and tweens to read the classics then, well, ok. But I'm still not happy about.

Judging a book by its cover

Thomas Jefferson once said that he "can not live without books." Nor can I. And despite the convenience and technical benefits of the various e-readers out there, I remain a fan of the real thing. I can't imagine curling up on a rainy day with a Kindle. I don't think it's a good idea to take a Nook into a bubble bath. They don't have that new, or old, book smell. (I will, however, be filching my mom's e-book on my mini-vacation next week to read The Lost Symbol. Don't judge; it takes places in D.C.)

I recently read an article on CNN—Book jackets: An endangered art—on how e-readers threaten the beauty and lessen the importance of cover art.

My favorite part of the article:

The existence of a gorgeous jacket amplifies the truth that a book is not, or at least should not be, disposable. It is a part of your life that is there for the long run. You might not read a book a second time, but its jacket wrapped around it, sitting in your home, is a reminder of certain things: what you were going through as you first held it, who in the world was important to you, how the words on those pages made you feel.

That last line—what you were going through as you first held it, who in the world was important to you, how the words on those pages made you feel—is a post for another day. (And actually relates to my statement in the beginning re: Dan Brown books.)

I have no problem, and feel not the least bit guilty, in admitting that I judge a book by its cover. I am a voracious reader and if I'm going to invest the time and money into a book, I rely on cues to help me decide if it's worth it. Cues such as:

• Cover art (Is it a pretty color? Has it been done before? How relevant will it be to the story?)
• Size, location, and content of author photo (Pretentious smile or background? It's their first book but it takes up the entire page?)
• Reviews (How many and from what sources?)
• Blurb length, relevance, and location (Is it on the back of a paperback, where it should be, or do they move it inside to make room for laudatory reviews?)
• Awards (Which award? Did they win or were they a finalist? Have I heard of it before?)
  

I am a terribly visual person, so I think cover art might be the most important cue of all. (Aside from the actual words in the book itself, of course. I love words most of all.) But the cover does set the stage for the adventure on which you are about to embark. There's just something about the rush of holding an about-to-be-read book in your hands, the gleaming cover staring up at you, hinting at what's to come as you prepare to dive in.

Below are a few of the covers that first popped to mind as I read the article. Covers that I think of every time I think of the book. Covers that are the reason I bought the book in the first place. Covers that I saw on the other side of the bookstore and raced to get to. Covers that may not represent the "classics" but represent something to me.