The Daylight Gate

The Daylight Gate  by Jeanette Winterson
2012
Weight: 11.2 oz
method of disposal: Leaving at Joe's in EAV

This is a weird one for me.  This is Jeanette Winterson's latest novel.  I try not to purchase too many books while I am doing this project.  It defeats the point, but I LOVE Winterson.  Her books come out in the UK at least a full year before they come out here.  You cannot get them on an e-reader in the US until the book is actually sold here, none of the libraries have it, and I cannot borrow it from a friend.  I cannot wait either and, now, I have a connection in England.

I begged Harriet to send me this book for months and, finally, she brought it with her when she visited the States, along with a non-fiction book about the Lancashire witches.  I was already at the pinnacle of excitement and was thrown over the edge when I found out the book is based out of the location where Harriet lives.  Holler.  This was particularly exciting because I knew I would visit Harriet and thus the book could become more real to me.  It also made me feel like I was somehow reading into Harriet's history in some weird, distant way.

So, here is the wrap up.  This book was incredibly exciting and important because:

• I read all of Winterson's books the second I can get my hands on them.
• It was a gift from Harriet and came with an accompanying non-fiction text.
• It took place somewhere I will stomp around one day

This book was fucking strange, and not really in a good way.  After reading the first few pages, while hanging out in a cabin with Harriet and Heather, I started to feel a little naughty, like I should hide.  Castration, incest, sexual assault, you name it---it was in this book.  Harriet and her mother went out to get the book, and I began to worry that one of them might decide to read it and that they would then think there was something seriously wrong with me.  There was next to no character development, and it was just one brutality after another.  There was next to no description of the land either.  It almost felt like she read the same nonfiction book and then quickly wrote a book afterwards and, perhaps, she was in a dark place.  Or, I realized it was put out by a publisher of horror stories so maybe that was why?  It is my least favorite Winterson book.

Around Valentines Day, I sent out cards to all my friends and, apparently, told some about the book, as well as my life.  Later, after I had finished The Daylight Gate, I got this text from Marisa: Your card was amazing!  Only you could include the words love, rape, incest, and awkward all in the same brilliant card.  Happy V day gorgeous."  I guess I do not need to worry about what people will think if they see me reading this book.  I, happily, put enough strangeness and confession into the world without any help.

I am sad to see this gift from Harriet go, but I know I will not read it again.  It served its purpose and then some.  It delighted me before it horrified me.  It created some laughs and unusual conversations.  It was there when I wanted it. 
 

Stop playing Angry Birds and blog! ;)

Dracula  by Bram Stoker

1981

Weight: 7 oz

Method of Disposal: Donating or giving away

I have not written in a long time, but I still have a ton of books that have to go.  Looking at my shelves is daunting.  I do not want to see them disappear.  Every time I see one I want to write about I think about losing it, and I redirect my attention to something else.  Despite these fancies and second thoughts, I know I need to go forward with the project.

It is rare that I buy a mass market paperback, made to be destroyed; they rub me the wrong way.  And, while it is elitist, I cannot help but question the value of a story if printed in that format.  Classics, of course, do not apply.  The incredible page-turner, Dracula, is the perfect example.  This little paperback has been in my life for some time and is still in good shape.  I first read Dracula during one of my high school summer vacations (could I have those back please?), and I loved it.  I could not put it down.  I do not often enjoy horror novels, but this is absolutely one of the best ever written.  No matter how many Dracula movies you have seen you need to read the book.  There is something about the process of reading that adds to the suspense.

It is told through correspondences, journals, and diaries.  Don’t we all have a little voyeur in us?  I love reading books written this way.  Let me know if you are ready to give it a go.  This little book could be yours.

Patchouli, Poe, and Mass Market Paperbacks

18 Best Stories by Edgar Allen Poe edited by Vincent Price and Chandler Brossard
1983
The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings by Edgar Allen Poe
1986
Weight:
Method of Disposal: Giving to Heather



These books were given away because of a special request for Edgar Allen Poe. I thought I had a lot more to offer, but I could only find two mass market paperbacks from the 80’s. Oh well, the stories are there, right? Heather liked Poe when she was younger and is interested in revisiting it and possibly passing it on to her daughter.

Who didn’t like Edgar Allen Poe as a teenager? Seriously? I loved him. I remember reading his stories out loud to my mom while she drove here and there. I remember learning about the man in multiple English classes. The usual suspects were lined up for our education. The Black Cat. The Tell-Tale Heart. Fall of the House of Usher. We were given a vague, intentionally intriguing biography. Did he really die drunk in a gutter?

These books contain more than the creeping words of Edgar Allen Poe. One retains the smell of the patchouli incense I lit all the time as a teenager. It has a fold at the Masque of the Red Death, and there is a map drawn on the inside cover. I think it leads to a nature preserve, but I am not sure. I don’t really recognize it. The other book has the name of a tenant who lived with us temporarily when we needed a little extra money and rented out a room in our house. I guess she left it behind, and I carried it with me.

I guess it is obvious by now, but I love books. I love how they hold so many stories, intentionally or unintentionally. I wonder how much these cheaply made, dinky, little mass market books will last. They are books that were built to be destroyed, to be stripped if they didn’t sell. And here they are, 25 years later. Being passed down again, possibly for the 3rd or 4th time.