I just got Audrey Niffenegger's new book (Her Fearful Symmetry) [update: realized I wrote "Cemetery" instead of "Symmetry"...oops] in the mail last night and started reading it before bed. I was super sleepy so I didn't get more than a few pages in, but already I know it's going to be fantastic. She has such a way with words. And she quotes Beatles lyrics on the first page: She said, “I know what it’s like to be dead. I know what it’s like to be sad.” I couldn’t get the song out of my head, even in my dreams last night. Of course today I’ve been listening to it nonstop.
I think as a holdover from growing up with
9-month winters, fall always makes me a bit sad, so the song is fitting for me
right now. Boots, sweaters, pumpkins, and cider help with the transition,
however. And beautiful (and sad) movies. I just watched The Virgin Suicides
earlier this week. Do you remember the part where the boys learn about the
Lisbon girls through Cecilia’s diary? I love when they come to this
realization: we felt the imprisonment of being a girl, the way it made your
mind active and dreamy and how you ended up knowing what colors went together.
we knew that the girls were really women in disguise, that they understood love
and even death and that our job was merely to create the noise that seemed to
fascinate them. we knew that they knew everything about us and we couldn't
fathom them at all. Also, did you know that Audrey Niffenegger
is a book artist and conservator? I was fascinated by Claire’s art in The Time
Traveler’s Wife. When I did some research into Niffenegger’s background, it
made sense that she was able to paint such a captivating picture of a
paper artist’s work.
Have you read a book lately in which the
author really touches you with her grasp on a character or brilliant use of words?
[Pictured above is a little book I made for
journaling in France. It’s made of two fuchsia envelopes, kraft paper pages (I
deckled the edges), some doodling by me, and a sticker from Red Velvet. Sadly
it hid in a secret pocket of my handbag for the whole trip and I didn’t
remember bringing it until we returned. so I’ll have to find another time to
use it. Also pictured are some supplies laid out from a bookbinding project a couple weeks ago.]
