Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Category: bibliophile

  • Support Your Local Independent Bookstore!

    So, in Columbus we have this amazing bookstore called The Book Loft. It is a 32 room amazing monstrosity of a bookstore that is rambling and confusing in the best way. My friend told me that once former President Clinton wanted to shop there, so the secret service came in to check it out and promptly walked back out and told him that it was impossible to clear and he could not go in. It is unclearable by the secret service amazing!

    Of course with the pandemic issue they have had to close their doors to shoppers but they are still running their online business. Last week they announced something new they are doing, Malamarkus (the skeleton god of the book loft) Mystery Boxes. You pay them $69.99 and give them a genre, book style, or theme you like as well as your t-shirt size and then they send you a box with several new books they choose for you as well as some extras and a Book Loft t-shirt. It is a brilliant idea, so to get some new books and support my local bookstore I bought one.

    I ended up with a lot of books and adult mad libs and a gray book loft shirt. I am so chuffed by my new reading material. This is absolutely worth the price. Look at all this gorgeous bounty.

    So overall, support your local bookstores, and if you would like a Malamarkus Mystery Box you can order one here. Honestly support all your local businesses. Please. They need you.

     

  • Who am I? 20 Facts About the Weird Girl

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    Hi! My name is Betsy White. I will be 39 in about 12 days; I was born in 1981 and I am either a millennial or a xennial depending on what websites you look at. I have been married for 8 years in October to my amazing husband Seth. We live in Columbus, Ohio with a very large cat named Samhain (Sam for short) and a very small dog named Zoe. Now for some more random facts about me:

    1. I have 5 tattoos with plans for many more. I have the word bibliophile on my right wrist. Huginn (thought) on my left arm and Muninn (memory) on my right. I have an interesting looking gentleman on my right calf whom I have named Admiral Flaneur and declared the captain of an airship. And finally I have a cricket on my right shoulder who is wearing a naval officers hat and has an arm extended with an anchor tattoo. It is a tribute piece to my grandparents; My grandmothers nickname was Cricket and my Grandfather proudly served in the navy. My mother and my younger sister also have the cricket tattoo.
    2. I don’t have a favorite color so to speak, because it depends on the day. I love all colors. For clothing I tend to wear black, but I have been working hard to add color back into my wardrobe. I had far too many years as a goth and old habits die hard. In the rest of my world I am all about color and the brighter the better.
    3. I love vinyl records and have quite a collection. My husband bought me a gorgeous record player for my birthday a couple of years ago. I love the sound of vinyl and I prefer to buy albums if at all possible.
    4. My favorite movie of all time is Labyrinth. I have a binder that has the original screenplay that I printed out once upon a time ago when I was bored. I am a genuine Jim Henson junkie, and Labyrinth is my favorite obsession.
    5. I have been writing poetry since I was a little girl, but I do not share it often. I love poetry though, and especially love to read it aloud. I just bought a new poetry book yesterday by Nikita Gill.
    6. I have multiple tarot and oracle decks. I read tarot very well, but I do not do it professionally and I have never charged for it.
    7. I love crazy colorful socks. I am especially fond of knee high or over the knee stripey ones. I own a bunch.
    8. I have been a singer since I was young. I am a high soprano. In another world I would have been an opera or musical theatre major. I still love to sing, though I don’t do it much anymore. I have been considering practicing and auditioning sometime in the next little bit if I can get brave enough.
    9. I am a pretty good seamstress. I learned to sew from my mother when I was a little girl. I can make viking garb in about an hour since I make it all the time.
    10. I love skulls, bones, taxidermy and many things dark and macabre. I have in my personal collection several skulls including a full alligator skull that I inherited from Seth’s Grandpa.
    11. If I am craving change I always just want to change my hair. Dye it or cut it off. I have been resisting the urge for the past couple of years but I still want to do it.
    12. I have a minor obsession with Fairy Tales. I love them all; the classics and the retellings. I have a massive collection of books, movies, comics and other pieces that are Fairy Tale based.
    13. I am a water sign to my core, and I love to take baths. I am obsessed with bath bombs from Witch Baby Soap. I use hand made soaps by a lovely girl named Katie who runs Elder Forest Soaps. I dream of remodeling our bathroom and putting in a larger soaking tub for me to luxuriate in. Someday.
    14. I am currently fantasizing about opening my own business. I have an idea that I am in love with, but I have no idea where to even begin. I would genuinely love to make it happen though.
    15. I love bookstores! and Libraries! and Books! And Books! I visited my newest local bookstore the other day and even joined a book club there. I am so excited. It is the LGBTQ+Allies book club and I am ready to dig in. Our first book I am reading is Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom. I listened to it on audible today, and I am planning to listen to it again before we meet on the 15th.
    16. I love to play dress up, and have my entire life. I am absolutely unashamed to go out in public wearing the craziest things. It is why I love the lady gang so much, they are dress up girls too.
    17. I have a VCR, a laser disc player, a dvd player and a bluray player. I also have media to watch on each.
    18. I cannot play video games. I had an Atari as a child, but then never had another gaming system in my house until the Playstation. I have absolutely no hand eye coordination in that way. My husband laughs at me because I play so poorly.
    19. I love musical instruments, but I cannot play any. That being said I own two acoustic guitars, a ukelele and several percussion instruments. I am actually working on playing the ukelele but will probably never play the guitars.
    20. I love to make jewelry and specialize in Shrinky Dink charms. I am thinking of making better pieces and trying to sell them.

    So…do you feel like you know me a little better? More about me as the month progresses. Do you have any questions you would love to have answered? Let me know.

  • “We are made of stardust and stories.”

    “We are made of stardust and stories.”

    I finally finished The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern on Christmas. I was looking forward to this book immensely because I absolutely loved The Night Circus. In fact I re-listen to the audio book of The Night Circus every couple of months; it is read by Jim Dale who brings such life and sympathy to the characters. I need you to know this as I tell you how I felt about The Starless Sea as I am fully aware that I am not the most unbiased source. I will say that when I read the last page of the book I cried, not because it was sad but because it was over and I had to leave that world now. It hurt my soul a little, and still does.

    Zachary Ezra Rawlins is the son of a fortune teller who narrowly escapes an adventure as a child. As an adult grad student he discovers a book in the library and becomes aware of just how close. The discovery leads him into a world of stories that lies beneath our world and just on the edge of a starless sea.

    The world Morgenstern created is so lush and complex, and is laid out in a language of fairy tale and myth in a way that feels as though it was written just for me. I fell into the world freely and gladly, my little escapist Pisces heart happy to be taken away and allowed to live with people out of time, and curious cats. I have read several reviews of the book that say something to the effect of “if you are the kind of person who likes this type of book you will love it but…” I guess I am just that kind of person because I thought the story was original and nuanced, and as everything is starting to come together toward the end of the book her ability to blend and reveal was beautiful and engaging.

    The characters, including our hero Zachary, are unusual, complex and quirky as are the settings. I learned from this book the names of the lions on the steps of the New York Public Library (Patience and Fortitude). I fell a little in love with all of the characters including the cats and with the beauty of the Starless Sea. AS said previously this was obviously a book that was written for someone like me, and I found it beautiful.

    If you are the kind of person who likes this type of book I cannot recommend The Starless Sea more. I plan to read it again and again while waiting for Erin to write me another beautiful tale.