A matter of priorities

Fridays my daughter Jamie doesn’t have class at the university. She often still goes down to work/study in the library. But when she doesn’t… it’s “girls’ day” and she’s all mine!

Last Friday our plans for the day included lunch out together and shopping for a new jacket and shoes for her. Oh, and yes… several boxes of freezer paper. I can do without the clothes, but not without the sewing supplies.

After an enjoyable lunch and a lot of catching up after a hectic week, we decided to stop by our favorite bookstore and do some “browsing” for half an hour. Books abound in our house, and there are always several lying around still waiting to be read. So we promised we wouldn’t purchase anything. Just lookin’. After all, there were still shoes to buy. She went her way, I went mine. When we met up half an hour later, she was carrying two books in her hands and giving me her pleading puppy dog look: “Oh, please, oh please, may I buy just one?” Guiltily I looked down at the two I also was holding in my hands. So I gave in and said yes, just one. And then: “But they’re like babies! How can you choose between your babies?” I had to admit I was faced with the same dilemma. And then quite fittingly, we came to a Solomonic solution. I asked her: “What’s more important? Books or shoes?” We both agreed that was a no-brainer and walked out of the store with four new books. Ah… what a delight!

The one book I purchased (and am reading right now) was Gioconda Belli’s El Pergamino de la Seduccion: Una Novela (Spanish Edition) ; (translated, it would be The Seduction Parchment). Too bad it hasn’t been translated yet… I’m really enjoying it. If you have never read Belli, you’re missing out on a fantastic author. One of her most famous books has been translated into many languages, and even though written  many years ago (during the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua), it continues to be a favorite of mine and of many others. Just check out the five-star reviews it’s been given by clicking on the link: The Inhabited Woman (THE AMERICAS).

The other book I purchased was Isabel Allende’s  Ines of My Soul: A Novel. Haven’t started to read it yet and have to admit I have a love-hate relationship with Allende. I find that she will write a really great book and then the next one is mediocre. And yet she is touted as “the female García Márquez.” I don’t agree. Yet the books she has written that I do enjoy have truly been exceptional. Among my favorite: Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, The Infinite Plan: A Novel, and Daughter of Fortune: A Novel (P.S.) (the sequel, Portrait in Sepia, pales in comparison…). And yes, my all-time favorite and her very first novel: The House of the Spirits.

If you’re still wondering… no, we didn’t purchase the shoes (next month!), but Jamie did get her jacket. And we also purchased two packages of CD sleeves. Because in addition to books we are also addicted to movies and our collection has started to get quite out of hand. Housed in a bookshelf with 5 shelves, we were starting to run out of space (for both DVDs and books!). So I’ve started to try to classify and organize over 300 movies! This is what part of it looks like right now (DVDs all over the place!):

And here I’ve reduced about 100 DVDs to one little basket. All those cases will be taken to be recycled and I will have gained a whole bookshelf! Now if I can only figure out a good way to “house” these…