PENGUIN #22 W. H. Auden

Adopted by Jocelyn in South Africa

 

Jocelyn has really beautiful handwriting so I thought I'd just let you see it instead of typing out what she wrote.

It's a really awesome stamp too.  Is that a rhombus? Oh, geometry.

It's of jasper.

Jocelyn adopted another postcard too, which has a similar stamp... coming up soon.

Thanks so much for participating Jocelyn!!

PENGUIN #21 A Book of Scripts

Adopted by Bonnie, aka STUFFellaneous, in Idaho

Bonnie wrote this really awesome quote on the postcard from the book for me.  What a beautiful way of thinking about writing, don't you think?

She sent me a letter besides the postcard saying, "A Book of Scripts is a history of fonts and writing (handwriting) styles. It is 2/3 full of examples dating all the way back to AD 114! An interesting read, but I mostly enjoyed the pictures of the different samples."

 Also look at the beautifully decorated envelope she sent it all in:

 

Bonnie, thank you so much for being part of my project!!!

 

PENGUIN #20 The Catcher in the Rye

Adopted by Bonnie Jeanne (PostMuse) in Pennsylvania

Bonnie Jeanne read The Catcher in the Rye for the first time in high school and unlike the rest of her classmates, she did not take a shining to it:                                         "I hated it. I hated the language. I hated the whining Holden.  I hated that everyone loved this book. I told the teacher that and he asked what I liked.  I told him The Scarlet Letter.  He made me debate the entire class on the merits of that over Rye. I was horrified."                          My goodness!! I would have been too!  And that would have made me hate it even more!  Later Bonnie Jeanne read the book again and enjoyed it.  I have read it, and only a couple years ago, but I confess that I don't remember very much of it.  It is tied up in my memory with The Floating Opera by John Barth (who comes from the little part of the world called the Eastern Shore of Maryland where I grew up), which has a similar feeling about it.

By the way, I find this book cover rather dissapointing.  Really Penguin? Just gray?

And here is the lovely stamp that PostMuse used:

How fitting to have another author on these book postcards.

PENGUIN #19 Man and Superman

Adopted by Johanna in Australia

 Johanna had to read this during her first year of her arts degree in 1978. She says that at the time she was too young to understand it (I feel the same way about a lot of the books I read), but now she sees it as "one of the defining themes of early 20th century".

 I've never read Man and Superman, and I had no idea until I just looked it up on wikipedia that it is a Don Juan story.  This intrigues me since I wrote a long paper on the French play Dom Juan by Moliere for my masters. Perhaps this needs to be added to my list of "To Read Books".







And look at these great stamps!!! Platypus and Centenary of Powered Flight.
And a great purple postmark.

PENGUIN #18 Spines of the Penguin Poetry Series

Adopted by Erin

Erin said "Looking over all these poetry books, I was surprised by how many snippets of verse came to my mind.  If you ignore the "high school I-want-to-be-a-poet" phase, I can't say I ever gravitated to poetry in school or at the library.  I've started making more of an effort to read more than just novels and I haven't been disappointed."


I too have not really gravitated towards poetry (or non-fiction).  I mostly read novels.  My boyfriend is normally reading one of each, plus a philosophy book.  For a while he would keep his current poetry book in the bathroom because of the often shorter nature of poems.  It's a good hint if you're trying to read more poetry!


Okay, well now I would like to share with you a snippet of one of my very favorite works: Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. I think of it as poetry, although it was written in the form of a play, "a play for voices", that was meant to be on the radio.  It is the only thing I've read by Dylan Thomas, but it was enough to make him one of my very favorite poets.  

And I especially love this part:

        FIRST VOICE
From where you are you can hear in Cockle Row in the spring,
moonless night, Miss Price, dressmaker and sweetshop-keeper,
dream of

        SECOND VOICE
her lover, tall as the town clock tower, Samsonsyrup-gold-maned,
whacking thighed and piping hot, thunderbolt-bass'd and
barnacle-breasted, flailing up the cockles with his eyes
like blowlamps and scooping low over her lonely loving
hotwaterbottled body.

        MR EDWARDS

Myfanwy Price!

        MISS PRICE

Mr Mog Edwards!

        MR EDWARDS

I am a draper mad with love. I love you more than all the
flannelette and calico, candlewick, dimity, crash and merino,
tussore, cretonne, crepon, muslin, poplin, ticking and twill
in the whole Cloth Hall of the world. I have come to take
you away to my Emporium on the hill, where the change hums
on wires. Throw away your little bedsocks and your Welsh
wool knitted jacket, I will warm the sheets like an electric
toaster, I will lie by your side like the Sunday roast.

Thanks again to Erin for adopting this postcard!!

PENGUIN #17 Our Man in Havana

Adopted by Johanna in Australia

Johanna read this book while on vacation in Zaire. I hope that her edition's cover had a slightly more interesting cover.  

 She writes: "In the early 1980s I worked in Zimbabwe.  We went north to what was then Zaire for our holiday at Christmas time.  We realised that we had too little reading material so we went to the US information office in Lubumbashi to see if we could borrow some.  Officially we were not allowed to but the woman there said that she had just received a shipment of personal books and we could choose from them." 

She chose Our Man in Havana as well as a few others.

How nice of the lady at the info office.  Lending books is always a dangerous arrangement. :-) 

So wonderful that she was ready to trust a stranger to return them.  

And here is the pretty stamp she used:

Thanks so much Johanna for participating in my project!!

And a p.s. to Stuffelaneous, yours will be coming up soon.

I'm really quite sorry to everyone that it's taken me so long. I'm frightfully behind.

For some reason it is harder for me to write these kinds of posts, and I'm the kind of person that easily buries their head in the sand. Now I'm trying to do one of these posts every other day until I catch up! Wish me luck.

PENGUIN #16 Aircraft Recognition

Adopted by Glenn in Canada


Glenn tells me that he is often able to recognize aircraft by sight and even by sound.  "Over the years aircraft recognizable by their sound include B737s and going way back to 1974, KC-135 stratotankers of the USAF."


This is the kind of skill that I personally find amazing.  In a similar vein, I wish I was better at identifying birds.  I do know a fair number of birds by sight, but am not able to recognize many by their calls.

Thanks again Glenn for participating in the project!

And here are the really nice Art Deco stamps he used:

By the way, my apologies to everyone for not being as diligent as I should be about posting the Penguins that have been sent back to me.

PENGUIN #15 Lost Moorings

 Adopted by Sandrine in France

Simenon was born in Liège, Belgium in 1903.  He wrote in French.  Sandrine has read some of the 75 existing Commissaire Maigret books.  Maigret is a police inspector in Paris from the 30s to the 60s.

I am currently loaded down with french reading for my classes, but I'm putting a couple of these on my list for after grad school (over in May!!).  I love detective stories...

And here are the lovely french stamps she used. The large one is of Marie Curie for "2011, Année Internationale de la Chimie".  I had no idea chemistry had an international year to celebrate it!

Merci beaucoup Sandrine!

1st try at origami

I won some origami paper in a giveaway (among lots of other wonderful things), and this is my first try at origami folding!

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. It is identifiably a star shaped piece of paper.

I chose one of the easier folds on a website, but it was still kind of confusing at some points.

Oh, and I wrote a letter on the back. Mainly because I wouldn't know what to do with it if someone sent one to me.  I've seen pretty mobiles made from paper cranes and those are really nice.  My boyfriend is so tall though, there aren't many places in our small apartment where I could hang one where it wouldn't be in his way.

To other origami-ers: What do you do with them when they are finished?

PENGUIN #14 The Drowned World

Adopted by Erin in France

 

 

Erin discovered J.G. Ballard through watching movies adapted from his books, Empire of the Sun and Crash.

She very much enjoyed The Drowned World, saying : "The images of a flooded, post-apocalyptic world are well done and I liked the focus on the psychological impact... The book is fine reading and what "Waterworld" should/could have been."

Thanks so much Erin!

I love science fiction and I really love books and movies where people have to make a new beginning. Maybe that is a result of the hundreds of times I saw "Swiss Family Robinson".

This one is going on my reading list!

PENGUIN #13 Scootering

Adopted by Misty in Ohio

Misty jam-packed this postcard with info about scooters!

The first scooter was produced in 1915 and was named Motoped.  Misty says "Looking at the photos of early scooters they look clumsy and unstable.  Nothing like the popular Vespas of today."

Vespa, the famous Italian scooter was first introduced in 1946.

I think scooters look like so much fun.  At the same time, I'm not a big fan of motorcycles.  My boyfriend, a friend of ours, and I were walking down the street once and we saw a really beautiful scooter parked next to a nice big motorcycle.  Both Clay and I commented on how cool the scooter was, which sent our friend into fits of laughter, since we both ignored the motorcycle.

What about you, motorcycles or scooters?

And how can you mention scooters without mentioning Roman Holiday?

My goodness I love that movie...

Thanks Misty!

PENGUIN #12 The Compleat Angler

Adopted by Brett in New Zealand

(my first mailing to New Zealand!)

Brett has a very interesting blog, Photo-Sleuth, where he examines old photographs.

He writes "I spent a very pleasant day out fishing the local rivers with my brother last week, so this card fits right in.  We didn't catch anything worth keeping, but that wasn't the point, as a read of "The Compleat Angler" will attest!"

Although I don't fish, I agree with that last sentiment about most things in life... if you enjoy what you are doing, the end product doesn't matter that much!



















Brett had downloaded an older publication of The Compleat Angler and he sent me this wonderful woodcut from the book in an email.

And finally here are the wonderful stamps he used:

The one on the right is really beautiful, although it's a little hidden by the postmark.  It's of a kiwi!

PENGUIN #11 The Penguin John Lennon

Adopted by Ilona (a.k.a. The Missive Maven) in  Rhode Island

When I sent this out to Ilona I wasn't sure what exactly this book was. A biography? 

Ilona kindly informed me that it is a book of John Lennon's poetry.
She was also surprised that this lovely postcard was so colorful. Rightfully so, since many of them are more "sedate" as she worded it.

Ilona writes that she was obsessed with the Beatles as a highschooler and as well as listening to their music, also "devoured Lennon biographies and any and all books about the Beatles I could get my hands on".

I also love the Beatles. I don't know what your excuse is if you don't. :-)

I've never read Lennon's poetry though. I do remember looking at a book of Paul McCartney's artwork when I was a teenager, and not being very impressed.  Maybe it would appeal to me more now. I'll have to check it out again.

Recently I have been compiling songs for a Mail Mix CD,
and the Beatles are certainly the biggest contributors so far with these gems:

Please Mr. Postman

All My Loving

and P.S. I Love You

As of right now I have 16 songs on the list, but it is only about 42 minutes since most of the songs are older and therefore generally rather shorter than the songs of today.  I would like to add a few more songs.  I don't want to give away my list yet, but if you have any suggestions please let me know!

Also let me know if you would like a copy when I'm finished!

PENGUIN #10 My Man Jeeves

Adopted by Ksenia in Ukraine

Here is My Man Jeeves returned back to me, posing with one of my books!

Ksenia said "after I set my eyes on the first paragraph of Jeeves and Wooster I knew it was going to be a long term relationship."

She also comments that she is lucky to be able to read his works in English and that half the charm gets lost in translation.

Ksenia and I have both seen some of the wonderful "Jeeves and Wooster" tv show, starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.

My boyfriend and I read books aloud together and we just finished the book you see shown last week.  It was a lot of fun.  Now we have moved on to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!

Thanks Ksenia!

PENGUIN #9 As You Like It

Adopted by Erin

Erin says that As You Like It is the first Shakespeare play from which she "learned that it is possible to recite his works with meaning and beauty. (High school students renditions of Shakespeare rarely do his work justice... or at least they didn't in my class!)".

I think it's every class, not just yours. :-)

Her all time favorite is Much Ado About Nothing. Of the film versions I've seen, that one is my favorite too! I just love Emma Thompson in just about anything.

This postcard is one of my favorites because my mom actually has Shakespeare's plays in these editions. I was so happy when I found this in the box. I think the cover art is wonderful.

Thanks so much Erin for participating in my project!!!

PENGUIN #8 Busman's Honeymoon

Adopted by Serena in the United Kingdom

Serena's description of Busman's Honeymoon made me really want to read it! She describes it as "a wonderful mixture of crime novel, love story (it describes Lord Peter's marriage to Harriet Vane and what happens on their honeymoon) and, in parts, social comedy."

She says that it would be one of her desert island books.

I love the stamps she used too:

Thanks so much Serena! 

Busman's Honeymoon is on my reading list now!

PENGUIN #7 The Great Gatsby

Adopted by Dana in Pennsylvania

This postcard got quite a bit of wear and tear in the post system. You can see where the color was scraped off on the bottom left!

Dana wrote that she read The Great Gatsby in high school and hated it, but read it again in college for a 1920s class and loved it.

I was somehow never forced to read it in school. So perhaps that's why I loved it right away when I read it.

For a long time my favorite quote was from the Great Gatsby. I still love it:

“Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crêpe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty, but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering.”

I've seen many beautiful pictures of Gatsby themed picnics and parties. I would love to dress up that way and party! Here are some great photos from Vixen Vintage.

                                                                       Thanks so much for participating Dana!

PENGUIN #6 The Conquest of Gaul

 Adopted by Malyss in France

Her blog: http://chroniclesfromtheshore.blogspot.com/

Malyss chose this postcard because she lives in a place where Romans used to live. There are statues, monuments, bridges and roads that they built that can still be seen (and some of them used) today.

Malyss studied Latin in high school and had to read this book. Because of living there, she felt that she already knew the story, the country and even the man himself!

When I studied abroad in France I lived in Aix-en-Provence for 4 1/2 months. My parents came to visit me while I was there and with them I went to see the Pont du Gard. It was incredible to see something so old still standing.  It was made by the Romans in the 1st century AD!

And here, the beautiful stamp Malyss used,

a painting by Jean Bazaine.

 

Malyss also sent me this beautiful envelope and post card. 

Merci beaucoup Malyss!

PENGUIN #5 The Penguin Book of Knitting

Adopted by Susan in Canada

Susan requested this postcard because it reminded her of the knitting patterns her grandmother used. She comes from a long line of talented needleworkers including her great-grandfather who was a master tailor.

 My mom taught me how to knit when I was younger, but I only ever got as far as scarves.

Very simple.

Still, I remember it as being very relaxing.  I gave my grandmother a scarf that I had knitted once.  Only family would wear the things I had created. :-)

Thanks very much Susan for joining in on my project!

PENGUIN #4 Tchaikovsky

Adopted by Chris (of Girls Go Postal!) in Georgia

I haven't listened to Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, but I love Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake and of course The Nutcracker.

Chris writes:

"I love that the piece starts off with 'church music', the audible hand of the friar in events to come.  Then conflict, the crashing symbols like swords striking together.  The 'love theme' takes center stage for a while - then more conflict.  The love theme tries to make a return- but the conflict overwhelms it."

It's pretty amazing how music can tell such a story.

Another interesting note: Chris has his own postmark! 

Pretty cool!

Here's a great website that explains what Mailer's Permit Postmarks are and how to get one.  After the reading all the rules, I think I need to wait until I have better access to a post office. Right now I mostly put my mail in the postbox around the corner.