Let's Bring Back...

While I was in Santa Barbara over break I went shopping at the local Borders. It was closing down and they were literally selling everything (even the shelves), so the sales were amazing. I bought three books, which should have cost me about $50 if they had all been full priced but I ended up only spending $15.

The best book I bought is called Let's Bring Back, by Lesley M. M. Blume. It is a sort of cultural encyclopedia of times gone by. It celebrates things that have slipped away with time and is a sort of witty, nostalgic list of things that the author wishes would be more prominent today.

Here's a short excerpt if you're curious:

"Good posture. Next time you walk past a manicure salon, peek in the window at the women getting their nails done. I'll bet you a million bucks that they're all sullenly slumped down in their chairs, as though they'd been shot.

Manual cameras. With black-and-white film. Particularly good on the Kerouac-style road trip. A Pentax K-1000 takes all of the wretched passivity out of taking pictures. And they won't just sit there blobbily on your hard drive afterwards.

Sunday roasts. In which you invite your family and friends late in the afternoon. This is a particularly nice ritual if you happen to like your family and friends.

Bright white tennis clothes. Because they just look so damn fresh.

Picnics. And picnic baskets. They're hard to carry but in the end they are worth it. Wear linen clothing, set up shop under a tree, bring (and read) books, take black and white pictures."

Maybe I'm a bit of a nostalgic myself, but I do enjoy reading about things that seem so sophisticated and simple. I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't get the books earlier in the vacation because now that school is about to start I'm not going to have any time to read them. But oh well, at least they were on sale :)