Treasures from My Shelves: The Bluejackets Manual

I remember telling you that occasionally I'd share a treasure from my shelves, and it's definitely time to do it again. Today, it's my grandfather's copy of The Bluejackets Manual that he was given upon entering basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. There's even a website devoted to these "bibles" for Navy personnel.

One of the first things I did when I brought this book home to Phoenix was to lie it spine down on a table and let go... wondering where the book would fall open. Now I'll show you some of the pages that must have concerned my grandfather the most.

It doesn't look like much, just sitting there on my desk, does it?

My grandfather's handwriting inside the cover.

As you can see, it's the 1943 edition.

My grandfather wanted to know when to salute fast.

He also wanted to know how to pass inspection for his hammock and other gear.

This is the page the book fell open to first. I imagine that it would be important to be able to read signal flags.

From how the book responded, my grandfather also needed to know about these tools.

A tip-in inside the back cover. Rather ironic that a mask is also our best friend in 2020, eh?

 

My grandfather's copy of The Bluejackets Manual is a window into a portion of his life that, once he returned home from fighting in the South Pacific during World War II, he wanted to forget. There is so much information in this book that I find something new every time I open it. It will always be one of the treasures on my shelves.

A Treasure from My Shelves: Town Tours in Britain

We readers know that books are treasures, but most of us will admit that some volumes are more precious than others, and that's the sort of book I want to share with you today. But first, the background.

For all of our trips to the UK but one, Denis and I have flown into the Manchester Airport. Denis was born and raised in the Manchester area. Family lives there. And... if your trip includes driving up to Scotland, the Manchester Airport makes a lot more sense than one of the ones in London. 

On one of our visits, we spent the entire day with our niece Karen, who'd come to stay with us in Arizona more than once. (One of these days, I hope she can come again.) She geared the entire day to us, and in particular to me. I well remember our stroll through Hebden Bridge's High Street, and I think she'd be surprised to know that I remember many of the shops we visited throughout the day. Now... on the first couple of visits to the UK, I was in a fever to Buy Stuff. It couldn't be just any stuff, and I didn't go wild to the point where I was mailing box after box back to Phoenix (or any boxes for that matter), but I just wanted to find special items that meant a lot to me that wouldn't break the bank. You understand, right?

Well, when we spent that lovely, lovely day with Karen, I'd already reached my limit for extras going into the suitcases. I might have been able to shoehorn an earring or two in the luggage, but that was about it. That's when I found a book that I fell instantly in love with. But it was a big three-ring binder of a book, and there's no way I could have fit it into either suitcase without leaving our underwear or some other essential behind. It was with great regret that I didn't buy it.

I'd successfully managed to put the book out of my mind when-- lo and behold-- I received a gift package from Karen, and there it was! She'd gone back and bought it for me, bless her. 

I have spent so much time immersed in the pages of this book, and several of the pages even went with me on subsequent trips to the UK where they came in so handy. Town Tours in Britain is one of the greatest treasures on my bookshelves, and I will never willingly part with it. Precious memories of people and places are what need to be added to a book to turn it into a treasure. Would you agree?  

Now let me show you the book.

 

Here's the front of the book. One of the things that drew me to it was the cover. You may not know this about me, but I love maps. Real maps. Denis can have his GPS.

Here it is opened to the title page. Now you can see that it is, indeed, a three-ring binder.

Here are two leaflets from the book. They are easy to take out of the binder so you can use them when you're out and about in those locations. In case you're wondering, yes, I did leave the file sizes large so you can take a closer look!

Here's the leaflet for Cambridge, where Denis and I spent the day exploring. The front of the leaflet is a walking map... did I tell you that I love maps?

The reverse side of the leaflet tells you about the area, some of the places you can visit and some of the things you can see.

 

I hope you enjoyed this look at one of the treasures on my bookshelves. I may just have to do this again! Would you like that?

An Edgy Question

I received a "survival" package from The Poisoned Pen Bookstore last week. Was it necessary? No. You'll have photographic proof soon that it wasn't. I was just in the mood for something brand-new to read.

Nancy E. Turner's Light Changes Everything, Russ Thomas's Firewatching, and Peter Swanson's Eight Perfect Murders, all autographed and individually wrapped, were a delight to take out of the box. Don't be surprised if you see a couple of them on future giveaways.

It wasn't until I curled up with Eight Perfect Murders that the question I'm about to ask you popped into my head. The hardcover edition of Swanson's mystery is deckle-edged, something you don't see very often, and it made me think. I really prefer deckle-edged books to the usual smooth-edged pages of books. I've never gotten a paper cut from a deckle-edged book, but I have many times on smooth-edged pages.

Deckle-edged pages on books date back a long way to the time when the pages of books weren't cut-- the purchaser had to cut the pages apart him/herself. (There was more than one reason to own a letter opener.) I was reading a Victorian novel a long, long time ago when the main character was in the library of a rich person she had her doubts about, and when left alone, she pulled a richly embossed, leatherbound book from one of the shelves only to discover that none of the pages were cut. The book couldn't be read in its current state. All the books she looked at were the same. The library was just for show. Her doubts about the person were confirmed.

Now my question to you is: do you have a preference for the type of edge on the page? Deckle-edge? Smooth? To be honest, it doesn't really matter to me. If I want to read a book, I'm not going to refuse just because the pages are not deckle-edged. But in my heart-of-hearts, I'd prefer my hardcover books to be deckle-edged. What about you?

My Favorite Time Travel Novels

I'm still having fun sharing my lists, so here's another one. I have a few more in the pipeline, and not all of them concern books so you have that to ponder while you're taking a look at my favorite time travel novels.

Once again, I suppose this list proves that I don't always need to have both feet firmly planted on the ground when I read. Once in a while, I do like to ponder "what if..." and I think that's how I use time travel novels. They give me a chance to imagine what life was like in other eras while still keeping me tethered to the life I have now.

As in my other lists, the books are in no particular order other than the one in which they popped into my mind. Let's take a look to see if any of these are familiar to you! (Click on the caption below each cover to be taken to Amazon to read more about it.)

Originally Bid Time Return, the book is much better than the movie.

The best time travel novel about being black and a slave.

A young woman experiences life as her grandmother.

The book that started a fascination with Scotland.

The Plague? Count me in!

What would you do if you could live your life over again?

What if you had the power to change the course of history?

The book that started my love of time travel.

Three short stories by the Master of Time Travel.

Most of the books on this list have been favorites for decades. My reading in this particular sub-genre has really slackened off in recent years, although I have read and enjoyed the first book in Jodi Taylor's The Chronicles of St. Mary's series, Just One Damned Thing After Another. Speaking of which, I need to move on to the second book now, and... I recently purchased Melodie Winawer's The Scribe of Siena, so there's another time travel novel that I need to read.  When will it ever end?

So... what did you think of my list? Is time travel anything you've ever read and enjoyed? If so, is my list missing any of your favorites? Which ones? You know I'm always on the lookout for books to read! Please share!

My Favorite Sci-Fi/Dystopian Novels

I had so much fun sharing my top ten list of non-fiction books that I thought I'd throw out another one to see what would happen. I also want to say a big Thank You! to everyone who shared their own personal lists. I added several titles to my Need-to-Read list, and that's always a good thing!

This time, I'm going to share my ten favorite Sci-Fi and/or dystopian novels. I've had a penchant for well-written "end of the world" tales since I was a teenager, although I'm not quite sure why. Probably because they're the ultimate in survival tales. No matter what gets thrown at us humans, we're determined to live. Half the list I've loved for decades which means they struck a very deep chord within me. 

Without further adieu, I'm going to share the titles with you. The only order they're in is the order in which they popped into my mind. If you click on the caption beneath the book cover, you'll be taken to Amazon to read more about it.

An 8.4 earthquake hits the New Madrid fault line.

Nuclear holocaust ravages the U.S.

 

A father & son try to survive during the post-apocalypse.

What if JFK were cloned shortly after his assassination?

An asteroid knocks the moon closer to Earth.

What's the point in solving murders if we're all going to die soon anyway?

Water is power, and the western U.S. is fighting over what little they have left.

The best purely Sci-Fi book I've ever read.

Which book would you memorize?

The Lottery is chilling-- and the best short story I've ever read.

It's going to be interesting to find out how many of you mystery lovers will have anything to do with Science Fiction and/or dystopian novels. The way I look at it, many of the books in this list I've compiled have had something go wrong, and it's up to the characters to come up with deductions and solutions. Yup, just an offshoot of my passion for solving mysteries!

Now my burning questions are: how many of you read Sci-Fi or dystopian novels? Have you read any of the books on my list? Which ones did you like? Did I leave any of your favorites off my list? Please share-- you know how I love to add to my Need-to-Read list!

My Favorite Non-Fiction Books

I think I've been a list maker as long as I've known how to write. (Or longer as the case may be since I do remember writing in a language known only to me there for a while.) I do have proof of one of my first lists in case you're interested.

Some of my friends on Facebook have taken art and book breaks from the political miasma that is determined to conquer us, and that made me think of my own favorites. I started making lists while sitting in the pool, and I thought I might share some of them with you, starting with my favorite non-fiction books. 

There are ten books on this list, and some of them have been on it for decades. They are listed in no particular order (other than the order in which they popped into my mind), and if you click on the caption beneath the cover, you'll be taken to information about that book on Amazon. Here we go!

History of the Dust Bowl

Filling in the blanks on U.S. naval history.

I now admire Bligh, but I still don't like him.

Now I know why TR is on Mt. Rushmore.

This book still makes me angry.

This is about so much more than horse racing.

A land of horrors...and of unmatched beauty.

The nurses of World War I by the master chronicler.

Fascinating & often hilarious history of Seattle.

True crime that made my blood run cold.

What do you think of my list? Were you tempted to add any of them to your own lists? Which ones? More importantly... if you also read non-fiction, what are some of your favorite books? Please share-- you know I'm always on the lookout for new reading material!