Books that have become classics - books that have had their day and now get more praise than perusal - always remind me of retired colonels and majors and captains who, having reached the age limit, find themselves retired on half pay.
quote by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dad and Me
Inside our house you'll find crannies and nooks.
Crevices and cracks and fissures and books!
Books under the bed and on the floor,
Books around the table and beside the door,
Books on the bookshelf and surrounding it,
Books all over the house, every single bit!
Not a one of these books are non-fiction,
Different worlds are their depiction.
Fictional, sci-fi, dark and fantasy,
Horror and happy, more books for me!
Books belonging to my father,
Or belonging to me as I rather.
My father and I in bookworm heaven,
Until mum cleans up around half past seven.
She throws the books in a huff,
Says it's a mess and to clean it up!
Well dad and I try to clean,
But on the work we quickly wean
And in one of the larger nooks
You'll find dad and me reading our books.
poem by Lenore Lee
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Second Hand Books
Books! Books! Books! There are so many different designs.
There are some which, by the author, are personally signed.
Some books have pages with gilt edges, which look all posh.
Some have nice pictures on their covers, which are embossed.
Some books have hard covers, while some have soft.
Some are all dusty, where they’ve been kept in the loft.
Some books have fancy covers; some just have plain.
Some have suffered mishaps, and are now all stained.
Some books are all dog-eared at the corners of their pages.
Some have gone yellow, where they’ve been around ages.
Inside some books, there can be seen a pencilled name;
Someone, who once, on this particular book, had a claim.
Some are obviously well read; their spines are all creased.
From out of a book, amazing adventures can be unleashed.
Some books have pages which are spoiled or a bit torn.
Some have covers which are grubby and look well worn.
Some just have text, while others also include illustrations.
Some are former prize winners; once the toast of the nation.
There are books by famous authors, as well as the lesser known.
Some are former library books which, to the public, were loaned.
There are romances, poetry, classics, sci-fi, humour, and histories;
Gardening, cookery, travel, thrillers, manga, and murder mysteries.
In wooden bookcases, the books are categorised, and are neatly lined.
In a second hand bookshop, you just never know what you may find.
poem by Angela Wybrow
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Ronnie
My friend Ronnie when he
retired as literature teacher invested
his money in books
he bought crates and crates of
books from the United States
and brought them
to the Philippines
to include a number of his favorite
poetry books bearing such authors
as frost, walt, derek, etcetera
and he invites me in
for some hours
as he loves to read these poems aloud
and discuss the meaning of
each metaphor
for he is a poet in his own little way
a right he claims somehow
and modesty aside i also write some
published sometimes
and he finds me
a compliment to this blank spaces
and so we indulge in this higher
state of literary affairs until he could not
accept that i know more about
his favorite poet than he does
i mean, i know it by heart
he sometimes gets away from this kind of loving
until he gets offended and shies away
from my own way of
intellectual desperation
he did not invite me anymore
his books took the revenge
letting in more dusts more dusts more dusts
with no finger prints
until he died, his greed for books went with him
the books that till date,
remained virgins.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Barnes and Noble Friends
Working at Barnes & Noble in City Place,
books, c.d.'s and gifts filled the space.
I was a bookseller and liked books a lot,
I helped customers find books, I gave it my best shot.
I worked with Jennine, who sold books like you never seen.
My managers were Marilyn, Merry and Mariam Volk,
I never complained to them or sulked.
I kept busy putting books away,
I loved to watch kids in the kid section play.
I worked with Luz Cruz, her name rhymes with Blue's Clues.
She is a really great bookseller, she works there till this day,
she always greets you with a smile and has a kind thing to say.
Only Luz is the last employee left from my crew,
unless Keijo is still there working very hard too.
Page who helped me do readings with stories of make believe,
she went to Fort Lauderdale,
while Jim in receiving went to Boynton Beach.
In receiving was also hard worker Mo,
he retired and wants to go to San Francisco.
Bookseller Jessica Galloway,
got married, had a sweet child and moved faraway.
Kim is now married and has another child,
she helped me get my books in the store for awhile.
Now it was a fun experience while I was there,
happy memories I can share.
Written By Suzae Chevalier on November 10,2011
poem by Christina Sunrise
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Barnes and Noble Friends
Working at Barnes & Noble in City Place,
books, c.d.'s and gifts filled the space.
I was a bookseller and liked books a lot,
I helped customers find books, I gave it my best shot.
I worked with Jennine, who sold books like you never seen.
My managers were Marilyn, Merry and Mariam Volk,
I never complained to them or sulked.
I kept busy putting books away,
I loved to watch kids in the kid section play.
I worked with Luz Cruz, her name rhymes with Blue's Clues.
She is a really great bookseller, she works there till this day,
she always greets you with a smile and has a kind thing to say.
Only Luz is the last employee left from my crew,
unless Keijo is still there working very hard too.
Page who helped me do readings with stories of make believe,
she went to Fort Lauderdale,
while Jim in receiving went to Boynton Beach.
In receiving was also hard worker Mo,
he retired and wants to go to San Francisco.
Bookseller Jessica Galloway,
got married, had a sweet child and moved faraway.
Kim is now married and has another child,
she helped me get my books in the store for awhile.
Now it was a fun experience while I was there,
happy memories I can share.
Written By Suzae Chevalier on November 10,2011
poem by Suzae Chevalier
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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War coverage should be more than a parade of retired generals and retired government flacks posing as reporters.
quote by Amy Goodman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Books
The universe (which others call the library). . .
-Jorge Luis Borges
Books which are stitched up the center with coarse white thread
Books on the beach with sunglass-colored pages
Books about food with pictures of weeping grapefruits
Books about baking bread with browned corners
Books about long-haired Frenchmen with uncut pages
Books of erotic engravings with pages that stick
Books about inns whose stars have sputtered out
Books of illuminations surrounded by darkness
Books with blank pages & printed margins
Books with fanatical footnotes in no-point type
Books with book lice
Books with rice-paper pastings
Books with book fungus blooming over their pages
Books with pages of skin with flesh-colored bindings
Books by men in love with the letter O
Books which smell of earth whose pages turn
poem by Erica Jong
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I Know I Have A Copy Somewhere
Wherever you may choose to look
You're guaranteed to find a book.
Perhaps a murder mystery.
Anthologies of poetry
Reference books and picture books.
Books on witchcraft and black magic
Tomes on almost any topic.
Some by authors long since dead.
Books which try to look ahead.
Books of every shape and size.
As I have come to realise.
Enough to start a library
Though jumbled up haphazardly.
poem by Ivor Or Ivor.e Hogg
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Picture-Books in Winter
Summer fading, winter comes--
Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs,
Window robins, winter rooks,
And the picture story-books.
Water now is turned to stone
Nurse and I can walk upon;
Still we find the flowing brooks
In the picture story-books.
All the pretty things put by,
Wait upon the children's eye,
Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks,
In the picture story-books.
We may see how all things are
Seas and cities, near and far,
And the flying fairies' looks,
In the picture story-books.
How am I to sing your praise,
Happy chimney-corner days,
Sitting safe in nursery nooks,
Reading picture story-books?
poem by Robert Louis Stevenson
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Pre-Retired
Well I'm almost there ya know
that full retirement kinda place.
I'm not old enough to collect any money
can't find a job, with age lines upon my face!
So I guess I'm pre-retired?
I don't have another name, yet for it!
But if this is what retirement is like
where all you do is, just write poems and sit!
Then I'd rather be ten feet under
or something sorta like that!
I use to have a great figure
now all I am is a ball of, pre-retired FAT!
Wife still is working full time
and she looks a lot better than me!
She stays out all night after working
with her girlfriends, not me!
I'm boring I guess, and feel out of place
no real purpose felt anymore.
I use to be a manager of twelve employees
in a large, retail discount store!
So don't tell me about retirement!
and how great it is for you!
It stinks to be pre-retired
and think when my full retirement comes
It won't feel anything like you!
poem by Linda Winchell
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I made my first Australian senior team when I was 16, first Olympics when I was 19, and I retired. I'm 32, I retired four years ago, so a good third of my life or nearly a third of my life has been all about running.
quote by Cathy Freeman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The reality is that the workforce relative to the number of people retired has shrunk and today in America there are only 3.3 working Americans paying payroll taxes to support each individual currently retired and collecting Social Security taxes.
quote by John Shadegg
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Children will not pretend to be enjoying books, and they will not read books because they have been told that these books are good. They are looking for delight.
quote by Helen Dunmore
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The Romance Of A Book
Reading a book, you're hit by romance,
No matter the subject matter,
You can read and read,
And every book is different,
Some stories are more pleasant than others,
While some are funny, but most are serious,
For the romance of a book,
Is in everyone's heart,
No matter their age or height,
Whether male or female:
It is all relative and I devour,
Each and every book,
I can read the classics,
Or even a heart-warming romance,
I just get through so many books,
I love every storyline,
Not so much the gory parts,
But the cleverness of the fictional detectives,
And those rock stars that roam the stage,
For a book is something that will never age,
No matter how many years on the shelf,
And stories can be shared with everyone else,
Yet everyone has their own views,
And books can be lifting when they're feeling blue,
For people have been reading fiction for centuries,
But, of course, not all books are fictional:
There're the historical books, interesting,
Even if a reader is just passing through,
And we can all learn something from the history books,
And let's not forget the autobiographies:
Many a man and woman fascinating,
Having lead unique lives and having had special loves,
And there is a romance to these people,
For they walked the same earth as everyone else,
Yet brought something strange and special to the world,
Like a scientist making a new discovery,
Or a rock star penning a hit song,
And all these things are which make books belong,
I haven't met anyone yet who finds books boring,
Because books are not boring: they are fascinating,
Unique, special, strange, romantic and enjoyable,
And every reader's dream: like hitting 'play' on a record,
For this is the romance of a book.
poem by Paula Glynn
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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My mother used to take my brother and me to get any books we wanted, but they were second hand books published in the '30s and '40s. I liked scary books.
quote by Alejandro Amenabar
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lists of books we reread and books we can't finish tell more about us than about the relative worth of the books themselves.
quote by Russell Banks
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Never lend books, for no one ever returns them; the only books I have in my library are books that other folks have left me.
quote by Anatole France
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Our mission, is to publish books on social and cultural issues, including books on law related to those areas. We are not looking for books on, say, tax policy, etc.
quote by Thomas Spence
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Books
books after being read
become nothing
but things
books unread
are treasures of gold
undiscovered
beneath your feet
books unshared
are thoughts unspoken.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Books are divided into two classes, the books of the hour and the books of all time.
quote by John Ruskin
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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