Ganeida's Knots

I don't know what the world's coming to," he went on, "People getting more worldly every day." Jess Birdwell ~ Except for Me & Thee.

The first time I read Jessamyn West's Except for Me & Thee, I read it greedily in a rush, as a starving woman.  It had to be returned to the library because a friend wanted to read it before the inter~library archives claimed it back.  I was bitterly disappointed.  I had known & loved The Friendly Persuasion so long I compared it unfavourably & found it wanting.

My children learnt early to head me off at the pass when it comes to bookshops.  I would rather read than eat & they know it.  For some strange reason they would rather eat than read.  Over the years bookshops became a thing of the past.  I couldn't afford the prices & besides one of the quirkier things about our little island is that it has always had an excellent library with a wonderful librarian who has always managed to get me whatever I wanted no matter how obscure it was ~ & believe me some of it has been very obscure!  So I stopped buying books.

We have had a computer for a while now & it has gradually dawned on me that there, at my fingertips, was the library wealth of the world, much of it affordable & so I have begun dabbling in the wonderful world of pre~loved books.  This time I can savour Except for Me & Thee for the rare & delightful treasure it is.

West has a rare knack for character & a sly humour.  I rarely laugh out loud but I snigger a lot.

If he had to be married to some~one, & it looked like he had to, proposing at the rate he was, he preferred Emily to Georgia.  But he didn't want Emily either.  She had less rise to her than a buckwheat cake.  After an evening with Emily he began to appreciate the merits of disorder & hard liquor.

He couldn't remember sleeping a wink that week.  The cornhusks in his mattress rustled all night long as he tossed & turned trying to figure out how in 3 short days a man could take such complete leave of his senses.

I might be gone a while.