Things that made me happy meme - Day Four

[pjthompson]

Things that made me happy: getting books in the mail


I love getting books under any circumstance, but when I get them in the mail it feels like I'm getting a present! Sometimes literally, but even if I've bought them myself.

Yesterday afternoon I got the last two books in my Christmas gift certificate orgy. People know I like getting book certificates so they tend to give them to me. Which makes me very happy. I got $80 worth this year between Barnes and Noble and Amazon, and the book glut commenced. I tend to spend every last penny, plus some of my own money. Which means I often buy used books as well as expensive or more esoteric books I might not necessarily buy otherwise. I think I did really well for myself this year.

(Ha! Jimmy Durante singing "Make Someone Happy" just followed Coldplay on iTunes.)



1. Meeting the Other Crowd by Eddie Lenihan and Carolyn Eve Green - Kind of latter day Lady Gregorys, then went about collecting stories of the Fair Folk in Ireland. Mr. Lenihan is a storyteller in the old tradition.

2. The Secret Lives Of Elves & Faeries: From the Private Journal Of The Reverend Robert Kirk by John Matthews - An illustrated novel based on the famous fairylore classic.

3. The Greeks and the Irrational by E. R. Dodds - A classic of mythology.

4. Life As Carola by Joan M. Grant - A novel supposedly based on one of her "remembered past lives" as an itinerant player in the middle ages. I tried reading this when I was quite young and although I never finished it, I never quite forgot it either. I thought I'd try it again to see if I can get through it now.

5. The House of the Stag by Kage Baker - Always a favorite.

6. Mysterium Coniunctionis (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.14) - Min's study of alchemy should really advance with these next two. :-)

7. A Commentary on the Mutus Liber by Adam McLean

8. The Complete Metalsmith by Tim McCreight - An indispensable classic.

9. Semiprecious Salvage: Creating Found-Art Jewelry by Stephanie Lee - I'm not as fond of her finished pieces as I am by the techniques she shows, but it's very creative stuff.

Comments

[julia-reynolds.livejournal.com]

I'm so jealous. I wish I would get more Amazon certs and fewer weird ugly shirts for Christmas.

[pjthompson]

Advertise. "I sure love getting book certs!" Make a consistency bigger deal of the book certs than the other stuff. Maybe somebody will get the idea. ;-)

[helios137.livejournal.com]

Such interesting books. I actually have McLean's "A Commentary on the Mutus Liber." I have studied Jung a little bit (he and I share the same birthday) and wrote a short essay online on his gnostic "Seven Sermons to the Dead." I have a pretty decent mythological/esoteric collection as well. And since we share so many common interests, I think you may find the three following books of particular interest: "Jung and Tarot: An Archetypal Journey" by Sallie Nichols, "Jung and the Lost Gospels" by Stephan Hoeller and "Jung and the Alchemical Imagination" by Jeffrey Raff. My favoirte is the Jung and the Tarot book. The tarot is, of course, subject to personal intepretation, but I have found Ms. Nichol's book to be packed with insightful revelations.

Are you familiar with Joesph Campbell's books on mythology? I got hooked in the 1980s when he was interviewed by Bill Moyers on the PBS series "The Power of Myth." I'd consider Campbell to be quite Jungian in perspective.

[pjthompson]

I've studied Jung in my haphazard way for years. He makes the most sense to me of anyone else out there. James Hillman, too--but then, he's a Jungian. Have you read Hillman's The Soul's Code. I highly recommend it.

But your reference make me realize there's still so much of Jung to read! The tarot one does sound intriguing. I seem to be a collector of tarot decks though I'm not quite sure how that happened. I just wound up with several. They're such inherently beautiful things. I've studied that haphazardly, too. :-)

Are you familiar with Joesph Campbell's books on mythology?

He's something of the ultimate source. Like you, I got hooked in the 80's by his Moyers interviews. Transformative, eye-opening. I still find myself mesmerized whenever I happen upon them. Kind of like the film, My Dinner With Andre: I've seen it countless times, yet each time I watch I think they've added something new.

[helios137.livejournal.com]

I've been collecting tarot card decks for many years as well. Not for divination so much as fo their rich symbolism and art. If you ever see Stuart Kaplan's three volume Encyclopidia of Tarot in the used bookstores that you frequent, then take a look at them. The three volumes contain literally tens of thousands of tarot cards in black and white and in color. The books are rather expensive to buy new. Thanks for the recommendation of the Hillman book and the film "My Dinner with Andre." I have heard of the film, but never saw it.

"Power of Myth" has become somewhat of a bible for me. I read passages from it and meditate on them. Its one of those books that I always keep extra copies around to give to like-minded spirits. If you ever come across the DVD "Sukhavati: Place of Bliss - A Mythic Journey with Joseph Campbell" (1998). then consider picking it up. Its a blend of lectures of Campbell put to very beautiful mythic images. Again, something I caught on PBS one rainy Sunday. Its no longer being published, but you may find it used somewhere. Here's a NY Times review of it: http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/192925/Sukhavati-Place-of-Bliss-A-Mythic-Journey-with-Joseph-Campbell/overview?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

[pjthompson]

Thanks for the recommendation of the Hillman book and the film "My Dinner with Andre." I have heard of the film, but never saw it.

My Dinner with Andre captures exquisitely well (I think) the experience of having one of those intense conversations where the universe seems to expand around you. It's an amazing piece of work: two men sitting in a room talking and yet the universe is their dinner companion.

"Sukhavati: Place of Bliss - A Mythic Journey with Joseph Campbell" (1998)

I'm not sure if I saw this one, but I did see another interview he did with Moyers just before he died. He knew at that point that he was dying, thought I don't believe it was mentioned in the interview (Moyers mentioned it afterwards). It was just the most remarkable thing. Quite stirring.

[handworn.livejournal.com]

A nice crop of books, there. Have you done any metalsmithing yourself?

We just got a 50 GC for B&N, and I so rarely get books new that I'm wondering what we'll use it for. Wait 'til barbara_hambly's next come out, probably. Though The Statistical Abstract of the United States calls, too-- Michael Smerconish just made me aware that it's full of the kind of trivia facts I treasure. ;-)

Jimmy Durante singing "Make Someone Happy" just followed Coldplay on iTunes.

What a revoltin' development!

[pjthompson]

A nice crop of books, there. Have you done any metalsmithing yourself?

Thanks. Back in the day (10-12 years ago now) I used to do some low-level metalsmithing, which is how I became acquainted with the McCreight book in the first place. I'm slowly getting back into stuff like that. It's good for my peace of mind.

And I never have any trouble getting rid of GC's. You might check into B&N's used books if you can't bring yourself to buy new.

[kmkibble75.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a really good haul... Good bookshelf fillers, at least, should you not have time to get to them soon.

[pjthompson]

lol--well, yeah. My TBR bookshelves are a scandal in their immensity of unread TBRs.