The Subconscious Shelf, by Leah Price. (The New York Times, 11/13/2011)
Excerpt; As a teenage baby sitter, I went straight for the books. No sooner did the door close behind the spruced-up parents than I was on the prowl: the bedside table for erotica, the kitchen counter for cookbooks, the bathroom for magazines, and finally the official living-room shelves. Only then did I scan the refrigerator.
What would a babysitter find in Paul and JoAnna's home? (Gratefully, we're 14 years beyond this need. Jesse, the last in a line of excellent sitters, literally hopped over our backyard fence to report for duty. That's no exaggeration.)
Favorite authors clustered and prominently displayed in the living room on former school library shelving.
Paul's architectural collection shelved wherever there's space.
JoAnna's cookbooks in a dining area nook.
"Fireside" reading.
Coffee table books.
The puzzle section of the Wisconsin State Journal, with the day's Suduko and KenKen offerings likely to have been solved. Or at least a best effort made.
And, finally, the Family Archives shelved, appropriately, in the family room.
No comments:
Post a Comment