Welcome to Merrydale's Corner
Olivia's blog of reflections and musings on reading, storytelling and fleeting thoughts
In today's world it often feels necessary to defends oneself and try to avoid misunderstandings. I would therefore like to start by saying that the views expressed in this sections are my own and that I am merely giving form to what goes through my mind. Some of these musings have been part of my world for a very long time and some of them are still fairly new; in the fledgling stage so to say.
What you will find here are my personal reflections on things that matter to me. If you are curious to see what these are, please accept my invitation to explore the words below...
Storytelling
"Tell them stories" is what Lyra and her companions advise those waiting to face the harpies in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. Every time I come across this passage again it moves me anew. I was introduced to stories, by someone telling them to me.
My mother would ask about our day and then weave a bedtime story out of what had happened. She used to leave my bedroom door open, so my sister - with three years ahead of me much too old for stories - could stealthily open her door across the hall and listen as well.
I wouldn't know because I was too young to remember properly, but I believe that on those evenings my love for storytelling was born. Later on, when we'd progressed to books, I would hear one phrase over and over: "It will be so exciting once you can read by yourself." Turns out my mother was right. I have loved reading ever since.
I didn't set out to be a writer, preferring instead to tell people about things I had read and - later - sharing books. Reading out aloud became a passion too and has remained so.
My parents' friends' children were mostly left with us children and quite frequently, after they had seen the books in my room and spotted one they liked, I ended up reading out loud to the younger ones. I have always enjoyed sharing stories. It creates a certain kind of magic that is completely its own. Stories can do that. They are powerful and sharing them is like a bond, connecting us to others.
That is why I relate so strongly to the exchange between Lyra and her companions and the harpies. Stories are important: they open up a window into another world; they can even help set us free.
Being ‘bookless’
"I'm bookless", usually pronounced in a slightly dejected - even mildly tragic - sort of fashion and followed by a desolate sigh, is one way of getting attention in my home. If favourably inclined it gets an "Oh dear" reaction, if the state has continued for some time it gets a "Well, get a move on and just choose one."
The state of 'booklessness' is not to be confused with not having anything to read in the house. It can - and does - happen when there are piles of unread books dotted about a home.
Being bookless is a reader's equivalent to someone standing in front of a wardrobe stuffed with outfits - and with clothes strewn across the entire bed and around them - declaring: 'I have nothing to wear.'
It is that moment of limbo you enter after finishing a book before you pick up your next one. It is that state of being faced with a potential read, that anticipation of a new discovery and not being able to settle on one. It's like standing at the crossroads wondering which route to take.
And if - like me - you are not a quick reader (and a mood reader to boot), you will need to choose wisely.
Being bookless is that pause, on the cusp of something, that moment of almost infinite possibility, before you commit to your next read. It's like being faced with a large number of enticing doorways which - save one - you know will snick shut as soon as you've chosen. Or like a train switching at a set of points before setting off on a journey.
I love and hate it in equal matter. It is usually worse if the previous read has been either particularly engaging or unengaging. If the first, it's a hard act to follow if the latter you want your next book to make up for it.
If the state of booklessness lasts too long though, I will get encouraged to choose a book by whoever is impacted by the restlessness of a bookless individual on the prowl; a state that can last a few hours to days.
And some books don't reveal themselves quickly so you may need to read into them, take time to consider, explore multiple options, see what clicks with you until you reach that magic moment when you finally sink (blissfully) into your new read.
It is one of my absolute favourite first world problems ;-)
As if it came from the pages of a storybook...
Up on the walls inside the Northwestern city of Chester, and high above the canal cut - centuries ago - into the red sandstone below, you can find a tiny gorgeous bookshop; aptly named 'books on the walls'.
This little gem - one of the more recent additions to the ancient city - is found in a space that had been a bookshop in the past and you can almost hear its sigh of contentment of being one again. Where the old place was a second hand bookshop, this bookshop is for new books, which have been curated very carefully and offer a fascinating choice.
Even better, the place is not only a cosy bookshop but also a café offering a wide range of hot and cold beverages and tasty snacks. The shop's soundtrack is provided by a record player and customers are welcome to choose what is playing from the shop's collection. They can also buy and order new vinyl records and all this doesn't even begin to describe the place's magic!
Viewed from the walls the first thing you may notice are the twinkle lights, strung along the walls and across the ceiling, vying for attention with the pot plants, who advertise their delight with their home by letting their green foliage unfold into the space. The walls - where not taken up by books, the fireplace and the bar - are decorated with photos and handmade tote bags you can buy. Everywhere there are tiny finds dotted around, from small earrings, cards, zines and other treasures and of course there are books! Books that were published decades ago and are now being reprinted, books by local authors and small publishers from the Northwest, books that customers recommended and so on. For a shop that size it is incredible just how very dangerous it is to browse there. Almost always you end up with a new discovery you are unable to resist taking home.
And all that is only part of its charm. If you happen to chance by on a Saturday afternoon, there is very likely an author's event or an interesting talk going on between 2 - 2:30 pm. Simply get yourself a drink and settle in. In addition to these Saturday events, the shop also hosts a monthly games night, a weekly craft hour and a monthly women's book swap club (co-hosted with Amblongus Books the small second hand bookshop close by).
If I hadn't experienced it I wouldn't quite believe that a place like that actually exists. It feels like something out of a comfy-sort-of-book you sigh over longingly but never expect to find in the real world. It seems to exist outside of time, a beating heart in a community and literally a place where, as the shop's website states, "stories, sounds and spirits intertwine in the heart of Chester".
If you would like to explore the shop's website you can find it by following the link below:
https://booksonthewalls.com/
And one last thing that I was delighted to discover is that you can access the shop by wheelchair if you come via the scenic route of the city walls. Simply access the walls via the 'ramp' behind the cathedral and make your way along the walls going north towards the Phoenix tower before heading for Northgate. It is very worth it!
(Please come back again at some point in the future when the thread will continue...)
