O’er rough and smooth with even step he pass’d,
And knows not whether he be first or last.
The little clock and date thingy in the bottom right of the screen is showing we’re almost two months in, and somehow it still feels like we’ve only just started the year. Maybe it’s a defence mechanism – a warm towel soothing the conflict between ‘thought time’ and ‘actual time’. I sometimes feel that I wasn’t made for actual time, it moves way too fast and doesn’t feel like the right place for the dreamers. So I take refuge in thought time – because there’s loads more of that. All I have to do is imagine it, and there it is, bundles of it, as much of it as you can dream up – and then when you awake, the hands on the watch are back where they started.
Time, Real and Imaginary – An Allegory by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
On the wide level of a mountain’s head
(I knew not where, but ’twas some faery place),
Their pinions, ostrich-like, for sails outspread,
Two lovely children run an endless race,
A sister and a brother!
This far outstripp’d the other;
Yet ever runs she with reverted face,
And looks and listens for the boy behind:
For he, alas! is blind!
O’er rough and smooth with even step he pass’d,
And knows not whether he be first or last.
This week brings a fine display of books – both fictional and not, for old and for young. Including, one of my favourites: Alan, King of the Universe by Tom McLaughlin. The start of a bonkers new series for children aged 5 and upward, this is about an orange cat blessed with opposable thumbs. Alan is convinced he was born to rule and spends his days scheming up brilliant plans to fulfil his destiny – from creating a brand new country, Alanland, to cloning himself in an attempt to raise an entire army of Alans. And his slobbery dog sidekick Fido is just happy to be along for the ride! What’s not more to love?
As always, if there’s anything you need, just pop by or reply to this email!
From Amber
Feeling curious? Click on the book covers below to explore the book.
The full newsletter with links to books – including this week’s Signed Editions – can be found HERE
