Reader's Digress - "You May Already Be A Winner!"

As a child it always seemed to me that the hallmark of adulthood was the receipt of mail. Occassionally, my parents would allow me to open letters that were otherwise addressed to "The Occupant". One letter which arrived with suprising regularity was from the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes. Often these letters were large and sported a gleaming gold seal, almost always the envelopes bore the tempting phrase: "You May Already Be A Winner!" I never submitted the forms required by the Reader's Digest folks that would have put my family in the running for the untold millions that we were already so close to winning. I just liked the notion that there was a thick envelope full of promise (and stickers) that I got to open.

So what's the big idea? I guess you might suppose from that little anecdote that I like packaging and I like the promise and potential that those Reader's Digest envelopes implied. I like books for the same reason. Half the pleasure of a good book is the contemplation of it sitting there on your shelf (or the floor, or on top of the TV) unopened. This blog is not, for what it's worth, meant to be a self-conscious exercise in litblogging (gawd knows we don't need anymore) nor is it a catalogue of one woman's attempt to "read her way past menopause." (Ok, ok, I don't think such a blog or book exists, but give it time people, give it time). In short, the aim is to just jot down ideas about books or things related to literary culture. At times I anticipate it may be dismally light on actual content about actual books but that in itself might be more than half the point. I like books, and I like packaging and envelopes and big shiny stickers shaped like stars and hey, no one ever said the Arts were an exact science. Every so often I just like to imagine that I'm an adult, with my own mail, addressed to me. And now, I have a blog. Go figure. You May Already Be A Winner.