I had a bit of an idea for a regular blog post. I've always been a lover of anything that comes through the post. The REAL mail, that a man on a wee orange motorbike delivers from Monday to Friday (yes US and UK folks, in Australia we don't get mail on Saturday or Sunday) and that you can pick up and open and carry around. When I was a kid I always loved writing letters to penpals all over the world, and then I started collecting postcards, which I now have THOUSANDS of. Not just any postcards, they have to be ones sent through the mail. Either to me, or I also have some lovely antique ones that people have bought me over the years.
That got me thinking about how nice it is when you get something through the mail. Other than bills and junk and political crap touting for the upcoming election. I think, once per week, I'll talk about something nice that has arrived in my mail, and the story around it.
This week, I think the nicest thing I have got all week is a copy of Bill Bryson's "Made In America" in paperback.
I got this one through BookMooch (www.bookmooch.com) which is a website where you can register and trade books. You create an inventory of books you have that you're willing to give away, and you get points for each book. Then you create a wish list, and it costs you a point to "mooch" a book from someone. When someone mooches a book from you, you pay the postage to send it to them, and in return, when it's your turn to mooch from someone, they pay the postage to you. It's a good system and a cheap way to get your hands on books. I used to do a lot of BookCrossing (www.bookcrossing.com) but it was pretty random what books you could get, so I like BookMooch much better, as you create a wish list of things you actually want.
Incidentally, I love Bill Bryson's work. He's hilariously funny yet very humble. I always feel kind of warm and fuzzy while reading his books.
It's always a delight to get a parcel in the mail, but even more so when it's a freebie, and a book!
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2 comments:
Couldn't agree with you more as much as I adore the internet/email etc, I love getting letters and parcels in the mail.
To think that someone could sit down (particularly) in this day and age and write you something makes me feel very spechul (special).
Hope your book is a good read. Cheers.
I love mail too: I mean postcards and handwritten stuff.
You are very good for collecting all those post cards.
I keep all handwritten mail in a large box, with KEEPSAKES on it.
I figure, one day, handwritten mail will be a thing of the past and I am quite sentimental about handwritten things: They reflect a lot of personality.
I really love writing postcards when I travel. They are even better if they get crumpled, or food spilt on them or something... because they show character. Plus, I think it's a bonus to get something with a postage stamp and watermark from across the world.
BTW, I am reading that MB book you rave about. To say it's BRILLIANT is an understatement: I think it's the ultimate MB Manual for all diehard fans!!! Can you BELIEVE that Adam has no tertiary training at all? Perhaps he is a genius? As for Jamie, well, the man has a degree in Russian Lit... what more could spell brainiac than THAT?
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