Ecstatic About Books

Two of my bookshelves.

I have to confess, I am ecstatic, passionate, giddy about books. Between the books on my bookshelves and the ones on my two Kindles, I have more books than I can read in two lifetimes. So in reality, I guess that I am obsessed with books.

Well, as I've pointed out before, I have my mother to blame for my obsession, passion, love of books. At a very early age she read not only the standard fairy tales to me, but the wonderful stories by O'Henry and Terhune. When I could read on my own I took off like a racehorse and never looked back.

In two of my August posts, "Crazy About Books" and "In Love with Books," I gave a guided tour of three of my bookshelves.  Well, this post is a guided tour of my last two bookshelves. All my other books live in boxes under the bed in the guestroom, in boxes and stacks in the guestroom closet, on my Kindles, or in the Cloud. More books than I care to count, but still never enough.  There are just so many great books out there, that I keep buying more.

You can imagine my husband's relief when I started buying more eBooks than paper books. At least the next time we move there won't be additional boxes of books to lug around. I think with our last move, from the Texas Hill Country to the Florida Gulf Coast, I had approximately twenty-seven very heavy boxes of books. But all those zillions of eBooks can be carried around in my purse. I have to say that's awesome!

So here's the guided tour of the bookshelves in the photo above. Obviously there are too many books to list them all, so I'll only list a few of them. The top shelves have "treasures" collected through the years, but the other shelves are packed with books and magazines.

Left bookshelf from top to bottom:

Clouds and Eclipses (The Collected Short Stories) by Gore Vidal
New Stories from the South (2007 - The Year's Best) ed. by Edward P. Jones
New Stories from the South (2008 - The Year's Best) ed. by Z. Z. Packer
Like unto Like by Sherwood Bonner
Mothers & Daughters (An Anthology) ed. by Alberto Manguel
American Avenue, Rhythm & Reason (A Collection) by William Steding
The Quiet American by Graham Greene
The Best American Short Stories (2006) ed. by Ann Patchett
The Best American Short Stories (2009) ed. by Alice Sebold
Half in Love (Stories) by Maile Meloy
Best American Voices (2003) guest editor, Joyce Carol Oates
Best American Voices (2004) guest editor, John Casey
Best New American Voices (2006) ed. by Jane Smiley
Best New American Voices (2007) ed. by Sue Miller
Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty by Eudora Welty
The Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald Selected by Malcolm Cowley
Girl with a Pearl Earring (A Novel) by Tracy Chevalier
The Lady and the Unicorn (A Novel) by Tracy Chevalier
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The Forest Lover (A Novel) by Susan Vreeland

Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer
The Day the Cowboys Quit by Elmer Kelton
The Time It Never Rained by Elmer Kelton
Sandhills Boy (The Winding Trail of a Texas Writer) by Elmer Kelton
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Shane by Jack Schaefer
Education of a Wandering Man (A Memoir) by Louis L'Amour
Louis L'Amour's wonderful books (54 of them on this shelf, too many to list)
The Great Trek by Zane Grey
Shower of Gold by Zane Grey
The Everglades: River of Grass by Marjorie Stoneman Douglas
The White Witch of Rosehall by Herbert G. de Lissor

Southwest Art (Magazine) (two stacks, several years)

Art of the West (Magazine) (one stack, several years)
Southwest Art (Magazine) (one stack, several years)

Right bookshelf from top to bottom:

The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Revised Ed.) ed. by Hardin Craig
Masters of Modern Drama ed. by Haskell M. Block & Robert G. Shedd
A Field Guide to Central Australia by Penny van Oosterzee
Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways by National Geographic
Guide to the National Parks of the United States by National Geographic
A Field Guide to the Birds East of the Rockies by Roger Tory Peterson
Seashells of North America (A Guide to Field Identification) by R. Tucker Abbott

House Plants (How to choose, grow, display) by Sunset
Introduction to Basic Gardening by Sunset
The House Book by Terence Conran
Illustrated Guide to Gardening by Reader's Digest
Best Loved Garden Plants by David Myers, Lance Hattatt & Lindsay Bousfield
Will Write for Shoes: How to Write a Chick Lit Novel by Cathy Yardley
How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author by Janet Evanovich with Ina Yalof
Walking on Alligators: A Book of Meditations for Writers by Susan Shaughnessy
Handbook of Short Story Writing by The Writer's Digest
Handbook of Short Story Writing - Volume II by The Writer's Digest
Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434 by Lew Hunter
Character Naming Sourcebook by The Writer's Digest

Art Books (48 of them, which I'll save for another blog post about art and art books)

American Art Review (Magazine) (one stack, several years)
Birds & Blooms (Magazine) (one year)
Hallowed Ground (The Civil War Preservation Trust Magazine) (one year)
American Art Collector (Magazine) (one year)
Country Lifestyle (Magazine) (one year)
Plus an assortment of other art magazines.

I hope you've enjoyed the guided tour of my bookshelves. Please check back for other blog posts, because I'm always talking about books.

It's All About The Bling

Pink cowboy boots with bling.

When it comes right down to it, it is all about the bling - the glitz, glitter, sparkle - that makes the world turn. We dream about riches. We admire and want to emulate the richest of the rich. Or do we?

Certainly we're drawn to things that glitter - like diamonds, gold and pink cowboy boots with bling.

Last Friday when I went to the Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival, I saw these awesome sparkly, glittery cowboy boots. They weren't in my size or they might have come home with me. It's not like I need to add any more bling in my life. At my age, not too terribly old, but certainly not young, I wouldn't have any need for boots with bling. It's just that, well, heck, those boots were really cool.





More cowboy boots with bling.

The vendor, Blingy Boutique, had blingy boots in other colors too, but there was something about the pink blingy ones that really caught my eye. If I was younger, much younger, I would have been determined to get those boots.

You see, I used to country dance, Two-Step and Cotton-Eye-Joe, at least a couple nights a week. I was in my 20s then and dancing was something I just had to do. I can't think of a more fun way to exercise. Not to mention, those Whiskey Sours tasted pretty darn good.

Now I just listen to country music on the radio and remember what fun I had dancing through the night all those many years ago.





Blingy Boutique, a vendor at the Sand Sculpture Festival.

Now back to the bling, glitz, glitter, sparkle thing. I love diamonds, rubies and gold, so I haven't outgrown all that bling, not yet anyway. I still stop and admire those sparkly, glittery, blingy shoes, clothes and jewelry that adorn magazines and store windows at the mall. Sometimes, just sometimes mind you, I even dream about all that bling.

For now, I'll just settle for writing this blog post about bling. Bling is awesome and we all want some of it every now and then.




That said, I managed to find some cool books, both fiction and non-fiction, that are all about the bling, glitz, glitter and sparkle that we love. So here are those books, in no particular order. No, I haven't read any of these, but they all sounded like books I'd probably enjoy. Another plus, all of these are available in eBook format.

Fiction with Bling, Glitz, Glitter, Sparkle:

Dallas Glitz by D. G. Green
All That Glitters by Heather Ames
Fool's Bling by Nadine Blyseth
All That Glitters by Marguerite Herron
A Key To All That Glitters by Kathleen Rowland
All That Glitters by Anna Grace
Baby Bling by Elle James
Glitz by Elmore Leonard
Beneath the Glitter by Elle & Blair Fowler
The Glitter Dome by Joseph Wambaugh
Bling, Bling by David DeLee
All That Glitters Is Not Gold (A St. Simons Love Story) by Carol Ashmore
Not All Stars Sparkle by Carys Jones
All That Glitters (Inside Girl) by J. Minter (YA)
Glitter by Kate Maryon (YA)
All That Glitters by Elizabeth McCoy

Non-Fiction with Bling, Glitz, Glitter, Sparkle:

The Big-Ass Book of Bling by Mark Montano
Sparkle by Mara Altman
Glitz, Glamour, Style (A Fashionista's Journey) by Jacquie A. Bennett
The Glitter and Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan
Letting Go of the Glitz by Julia Stephenson
Create Your Own Bling by Ilene Branowitz
Sparkle: The Girl's Guide to Living a Deliciously Dazzling...Kick-Ass Life by Cara Alwill Leyba

I don't know about you, but I'm going to take a nap and dream about bling.

The Graffiti Bridge in Pensacola

The Graffiti Bridge (photos taken today, 10/2/12)

The Graffiti Bridge, aka the 17th Avenue Railroad Trestle, is one of my favorite Pensacola landmarks. I always enjoy visiting the bridge to see the latest graffiti. This is a work of pop art that changes day to day, night to night.

There is a great deal of controversy over this bridge. Some locals are horrified over the concept of graffiti in general and even more so in having it grace a railroad bridge in their city.





Periodically they create an uproar over the graffiti and then go out as a group to cover all the graffiti under a fresh coat of  white paint.

No sooner is the bridge painted and the local and visiting "artists" repaint it with colorful graffiti. Then another group comes along and paints out all the graffiti with a coat of purple paint, or green paint, or as seen in today's photos, striped pink and yellow paint. Then the graffiti is started all over again.






I love the changing nature of the graffiti on this bridge. Sometimes there are small murals, other times profound statements, other times someone is declaring their love for someone else.


People come from far and wide, me included, to see and photograph Pensacola's Graffiti Bridge.

A search on the Internet will turn up link after link with photos taken through the years. The oldest photo I found online is one taken in 1935. You can see that photo in the link below.

The Graffiti Bridge - 1935 Photo

Other Internet images of the Graffiti Bridge:

Images for Pensacola Graffiti Bridge







For anyone wanting to see the Graffiti Bridge, it's located on 17th Avenue, along Bayou Texar, near Bayfront Parkway in SE Pensacola. You can pinpoint the location with Google Map.

When I first moved to Florida over thirty years ago, I fell in love with the Graffiti Bridge. I've taken quite a number of photos of it through the years. The photos in this post are all ones I took today.

I've always had a special fascination, interest, in graffiti. Maybe it goes back to growing up in southern California where graffiti art covers a wide range, from tagging to beautiful murals and everything in between.

Through the years I've taken photographs of graffiti in major cities across the country. I think my favorite cities for graffiti are Los Angeles, San Francisco and New Orleans. Yes, I'm one of those people who even admires graffiti on railroad boxcars.


I have to admit that I've never painted graffiti anywhere in my lifetime. However, it is one of the item's on my Bucket List. Maybe someday my "art" will appear on the Graffiti Bridge?

For those of you who know I love to put together lists of interesting books, please check below for some graffiti fiction and non-fiction. I haven't read any of these books, but if you have a fascination for graffiti you might find these books of interest. (Books listed in no particular order. All are available in eBook format.)

Graffiti Fiction:

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
Graffiti Girl by Kelly Parra
The Graffiti Sculptor by Latham Shinder
Graffiti Grandma by Jo Barney
Hollywood Graffiti by Arelo Sederberg
Night Artist by Geoff Sutton
The Graffiti Genius by D. S. Carrell
The Walls by Jay Fox
Tagger by Mary A. Monroe (YA)
Graffiti Heaven by Marita A. Hansen (YA)
Tag by Michael Coleman (YA)

Graffiti Non-Fiction:

The Golden Age of Graffiti by Nigel Rees
Graffiti by Lou Savelli, Robert Cekada & Anthony Mottola
Street Scene - How to Draw Graffiti Style by John Lee
Graff2: Next Level Graffiti Techniques by Scape Martinez
The Mammoth Book of Street Art by JAKe
Graffiti Art Styles by Lisa Gottlieb
Seven Year With Bansky by Robert Clarke
Bansky: The Man Behind the Wall by Will Ellsworth-Jones

I have to add a disclaimer here. Although I have a fondness for graffiti, there is a time and a place where it can be admired. On the other hand, I don't agree with tagging people's houses, cars, walls, fences, signs, where it becomes an eyesore instead of art.

As always, please feel free to add comments below.

A Sandcastle on Navarre Beach

A Sandcastle on Navarre Beach.

I have always been in love with sandcastles. Growing up in southern California, my family went to the beach most every weekend all summer long. Laguna Beach was my favorite, because of the rocky shoreline that revealed starfish, sea urchins and other sea creatures when the tide was out. I also loved Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, because of all that sand which was great for building sandcastles.

At an early age my parents taught me how to build a sandcastle using my hands to form the walls, then digging the moat and forming the outer walls. Fingers worked just fine to create windows and doors. No, we didn't have plastic forms to build sandcastles back then, just our hands and a lot of imagination. When the castle was complete, my dad showed me how to drip sand onto the structure to create the roof, spires and other decorative elements. Then it was all topped off with an assortment of seashells and colorful sea glass.

These days people use plastic forms and a variety of plastic shovels and rakes to build a sandcastle. It's still a fun thing to do, but not quite as unique and artistic as the ones I built as a child.

Yesterday my husband and I attended the Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival. I expected to see an assortment of sandcastles, but such was not the case. Instead, there were the following sand creatures: a crocodile, a sea turtle, a gorilla head, horse heads, a snake, Humpty Dumpty, a giant eye and a giant face. Oh, there was also a race car, but only one sandcastle. Go figure. You can see the lone sandcastle in the photo above.

I'd love a beach festival of just sandcastles, but maybe sandcastles aren't popular these days? Oh well, I guess I'll have to go down to the beach and build my very own sandcastle, just to see if I still know how to do it the old fashioned way. On the other hand, when Hurricane Isaac battered the Gulf Coast several weeks back, I walked along the beach collecting plastic forms, rakes and shovels for building sandcastles. I wondered how all those brightly colored plastic forms ended up abandoned and half buried in the sand. Anyway, I now have enough plastic tools to build a modern day sandcastle.

I'm sorry to say that I don't have any photos of those sandcastles I built all those many years ago, when I was just a kid. Well, at least I have the memories. One of the things I remember from those long ago days, was watching the rising tide wash away the sandcastle at the end of the day. There was something special about creating a momentary work of art, a sandcastle here for a few hours and then gone.

For those who might be interested in the Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival which continues through Sunday, here's the link with all the info.

Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival

If you want to see more photos of the sand sculptures I mentioned above, and some enticing photos of Navarre Beach, check out the two blog posts I did yesterday.

For those of you who know I love to make lists of great books to read, well, here's a list of sandcastle fiction. (Listed in no particular order.)

Sandcastle Fiction:

Sandcastles by Luanne Rice*
Sandcastle and Other Stories by Justin Bog**
Sand Castles by Antoinette Stockinberg**
The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
Sandcastles by April Hill
The Sand Castle by Rita Mae Brown
Sandcastles of Love by Sydell I. Voeller
Castles on the Sand by E. M. Tippetts
Sandcastles by H. H. Campbell
Sand Castles and Seashores by S. C. Harvey

All of the above books are available in eBook format.

*A book I've read and very much enjoyed by one of my favorite authors, Luanne Rice. I actually have a hardback copy of this keeper book.

**To-Be-Read Books on my Kindles (Two, my old Kindle Keyboard and new Kindle Fire).

Note: My book list above would have been longer, but there aren't that many sandcastle books. So maybe I need to write one? Just sayin'...

Please feel free to comment below and add any sandcastle books that I might have missed.

Before I forget, I came across a how-to book about building sandcastles. So in case anyone is interested, here it is:

Sandcastles Made Simple by Lucinda Wierenga

Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival

Sand sculptures at the festival.

The Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival started today and runs through the weekend. Ten professional sand sculpture artists are in town for the event. Also, twenty amateur sand sculpture artists are competing for prizes.

Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival

My husband and I went to Navarre Beach this afternoon for the first day of the Sand Sculpture Festival. What an awesome day of bright sun, turquoise Gulf waters and lots and lots of sand.

Following are some photos of today's sand sculptures.

A close-up of the sand gator. 

I think my favorite was the sand gator. But the sea turtle and the gorilla are close seconds.

I wanted to jump right in and start on my own sand sculpture. But that wasn't an option today.

My mind was instantly scrolling through all those sandcastles built in years gone past. Of course, my favorite was the time my husband and I sculpted a sand mermaid. Then our daughter, niece and nephew decorated the mermaid with dried sea-grass and seashells. Oh, those were the days!



The sand gorilla.

The ten professional sand sculpture artists were busy working on their entries for the festival.  So I took some photos of their unfinished works.

A sand sculpture artist at work.



An unfinished sand sculpture.

 

 

The unifinished sand sculptures were so intriguing that I may just have to head back to Navarre Beach on Sunday afternoon to see the finished products.

 

 

 

A shaved-ice stand.

 

 

 

 

 

No beach festival is complete without craft, souvineer and food vendors. Everything from a lemonade stand to a shaved-ice stand to t-shirts to clothes with bling. This festival has it all.

 

 

Blingy Boutique - boots, clothes & jewelry with bling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't forget to take a look at my earlier post today, "Greetings from Navarre Beach, Florida," for an assortment of enticing beach photos.

  

For those looking for another list of great books, check out tomorrow's post about sandcastles.

 

Greetings From Navarre Beach, Florida

A bright, sunny day on Navarre Beach. Photo from pier.

This was an awesome day at Navarre Beach. Bright sun, puffy white clouds, tranquil turquoise Gulf waters and sugar-white sand.  The Florida Gulf Coast doesn't get much better than this.

Here's a quick photo tour of Navarre Beach.

I took a long stroll down the Navarre Beach Pier. What a perfect place for great photos.

Navarre Beach Pier

Walking on the pier is only $1 and fishing is $4 to $7 depending on age, with kids 5 and under free.

For those who love to fish, the pier is a great place to catch pompano, flounder, cobia and mackerel. If you're like me, the pier is just a great place to gaze at all that beautiful water, sand and cerulean blue skies.


Beach Bar/Restaurant at the Navarre Beach Pier

Navarre Beach Vacation Guide

Navarre Beach - Beaches to Rivers


I took a bunch of photos today which I hope you'll enjoy.

The Beach Bar at the Navarre Beach Pier was packed with a Friday lunch crowd.


View from the Navarre Beach Pier.

Only a handful of people were walking or fishing on the pier. One little boy, about five years old, reeled in a small sand shark. After his dad took his picture with the shark, it went back into the water.


The pier is a favorite spot for retirees, who come equipped with a fishing wagon, complete with fishing gear, an ice-chest and sun umbrella.


The youngest person on the pier today was a seventeen month old toddler in a pink bikini. She was determined to walk the pier on her very own two feet, shod in pink Crocs.



Retirees fishing on the pier.

To the west of the pier are high-rise condos and beyond that a long line of beach houses. To the east of the pier the beach is just a spit of pristine sand and sand-dunes.

 I remember this beach from way-back-when, minus the high-rise condos and only a handful of beach houses.

Navarre Beach has changed through the years, but it's still as awesome as ever.

A sea of umbrellas west of the pier.

To the west of the pier was a sea of umbrellas. To the east only a handful of beach-goers.

The beach east of the pier.

Be sure to check out my next post about the Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival which started today and runs through Sunday. I took a bunch of photos of the sand sculptures that you won't want to miss.