luxury/escapism.

  R29 recently posted an interview with Meaghan Murphy of Book/Shop Oakland (one of my favs) and two of her responses really resonated with me and my feelings towards printed literature and reading in general. You can read the full interview here.

What are your thoughts on the argument that print is dead? "Print will never die, in my opinion. The books I collect don’t get turned into e-books, and, even if they did, I would never use a device to read them. There is a certain intimacy in the bends of the spine and the penciled notes I might jot in the columns of my books. I also wouldn’t be able to part with the stacks of books I have on every available surface in my home. Perhaps this is due to my inclination to collect things, but I find it so pleasing being able to pick a recipe out of an old book of Elizabeth David’s or select a book to send home with a dinner guest.   "I recently read an article about a new app that will allow you to read a novel in 80 minutes and, I'm sorry to say, I just don’t understand the appeal to this. Reading is about the luxury of slowing down for an hour and transporting yourself to another place and time. It is the best kind of escapism. I really have no interest in, or understanding of, anyone who sees reading as nothing more than a chore."     What is your philosophy when it comes to literature? "The best kind of literature never stops revealing its secrets to you. Each time you open it, it will speak something different. My favorite books are the ones I read once a year or once every few years — not because of the pleasure in it, but because there is still more to learn."

well said. photography by ashley batz.

rockets.

  About a month ago I finished reading "Three things you need to know about rockets," a memoir by Jessica Fox, and for the first time in a while I tore through the book and dogeared close to every other page. These are a couple of my favorite quotes/passages.. but the entire story is definitely worth the read.   "The artist's life cannot be otherwise than full of conflicts, for two forces are at war within him; on the one hand, the common human longing for happiness, satisfaction and security in life and on the other, a ruthless passion for creation which may go so far as to override every personal desire... There are hardly any exceptions to the rule that a person must pay dearly for the divine gift of creative fire." — Carl Jung   "When you choose one way out of many, all the ways you don't take are snuffed out like candles, as if they'd never existed. At that moment all of Will's choices existed at once. But to keep them all in existence meant doing nothing. He had to choose, after all." — Philip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass   "it occurred to me," I continued tentatively, "that the Holy Grail is not the treasure but the dream, like the carrot before the horse. It's the impulse that gets you off the couch and propels your journey. The problem arises when you don't allow your dream to change. In that case, if you seek it, hopefully you won't find it." "Why?" "Well, that would be a mid-life cries, wouldn't it? You finally get what you want, but didn't realize that the journey to getting it has informed who you are, so the grail you once dreamed about, that was supposed to bring perfect happiness — whether a car, house with a white picket fence or dream job — is, not likely, not going to make the current you feel fulfilled."   The Hindu concept of Dharma came to mind, what I understood to mean that we each have a responsibility to follow our own path — unique to ourselves, our interests and talents — for by doing so we give the space and opportunity for others to do the same. (Conversation copy omitted) By leaving to follow my dream, I was making room for someone else to follow theirs.

The back cover is a bit cliche/wanderlusty BUT I love that kind of stuff. "A book for anyone who has ever thought "What if" — a true story about a woman who dared to follow her dreams.." perf.