"A Republic, if You Can Keep It."

A powerful scene from the HBO series "John Adams" as a reminder of what our forefathers did for us; it's all on the line tomorrow:




Remember:  "A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people."

Do You Write Notes in Your Books?

Do you write in your books?

I've been thinking about books a lot lately; maybe it's the New Year and the inevitable "read more" resolution. It's partly the articles I've been reading about the Rove/Bush annual reading contest (one of those articles listed many of the specific volumes George W. Bush and Karl Rove read and then I examined many of those myself and ordered a few.) It could also be the winter-nesting-reading cycle I get into.

At any rate, I've been thinking about books. When I was a student in college I was a big fan of the highlighter. As I read texts I would highlight voraciously. Looking back at the few of those texts that I kept I can see that when I was a freshman I highlighted with a great deal less discretion than I did much later. "What the hell did I highlight THAT for?!" As a more "mature" student I discarded the highlighter for the neater, and less permanent, light pencil underline, with marginal notes of my professor's brilliant comments and analysis.

Sometimes I print articles off the internet (I hate reading long texts online) and I will highlight those. Sometimes I'll forgo the highlighter and underline, or write margin notes. I remember specifically one Obama speech, before he was even a presidential candidate, about which I wrote copious questions and incredulous comments in the margins.

As an adult reader and a collector of books, I now find that I can not bear to write in a book. It's not even so much that I collect RARE or priceless books (although I do have a few treasured rarities that are quite antique) - many are even softcover and easily replaced. I find myself now resorting to the sticky-note method. By every reading spot in the house you will probably find a small pile of various sizes of sticky notes and a mechanical pencil.

My copy of John Adams, by David McCullough, is nearly twice as thick as it's original size because of all the sticky notes. I know this is bad for the spine and the binding of the book. Most of my books don't have as many notes as the Adams book, but as I'm reading Heroic Conservatism, for example, I find interesting quotes or salient points that I want to make note of, remember, or possible quote from. Sticky note.

It brings to mind, speaking of John Adams, what David McCullough pointed out as he discussed the voracious reading habits of both Adams and his friend Thomas Jefferson. Both men read a crazy number of books and the classics often in their original languages. Adams had over 3,000 volumes in his library, and he didn't exactly have Barnes and Noble in his neighborhood, or even Amazon. Books were precious items back then! In 1815, Jefferson sold over 6,700 volumes from his personal library to the government to replace the collection of the Library of Congress that was burned when the British invaded the Capitol.

McCullough writes, "Unlike Jefferson, who seldom ever marked a book, and then only faintly in pencil, Adams, pen in hand, loved to add his comments in the margins." In that regard I am much more a Jeffersonian reader than like Adams. In Mary Woolstonecraft's French Revolution, Adams wrote some 10,000 to 12,000 words, depending on your souce, in the margins (he disagreed with almost everything she said.)

A couple of years ago there was an exhibit in Boston showcasing over 3,800 volumes of the Adams collection, some in glass display cases with his marginalia visible (pictured above.) For my money, his notations and commentary would be absolutely as interesting as the texts themselves!

So what about you? Do you write in your books?

(Image credit: Globe Staff Photo / Michele McDonald)

The Emmys

On Sunday night I will be in front of my television switching back and forth between the Emmys and the final night game in Yankee Stadium. The Yankee festivities kick off in the afternoon and go all day; my kleenix and I will be ready.

As for the Emmys, I, who watch very little television, have an interest because of the 23 nominations for the John Adams miniseries. I honestly don't watch very much on television except for news and such, but I've watched the Emmys in the past because I've always had one or two shows that I'm anxious to see win. Like the Sopranos. LOVED that series. I love watching House, but probably would not watch the Emmys just for that. Ditto for Grey's Anatomy.

But, as I have posted before, the John Adams series was really well done and I enjoyed watching it. I learned a lot about American History that I (sadly, embarrased) did not know. Laura Linney was inspiring as Abigail and Paul Giamatti as John Adams was also great but the actor that swept me off my feet was Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson. Dillane is tall, as Jefferson was, and had the swagger and slightly superior demeanor that Jefferson is reported to have had. He was great. The series is also nominated for a cinematography award, but for me, sometimes the camera angles made me seasick. Sometimes they were all titled and crooked like you were on a ship on rocky seas. I also loved the theme music and hope it wins its category.

The series really gave you a sense of what was at stake for these guys and what sacrifices they made for their country. Of course after the series was over I had to go out and buy McCullough's book, which was excellent. The series left little out. If you have not seen it, you absolutely should! I hope it rakes in the awards tomorrow night!

Here's the scene where Adams and Franklin get their first look at Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence:

Explore Monticello

Ever since I saw the John Adams mini-series I developed an intense interest in both Adams and Jefferson. I went back, after the movie, and read books on both men and learned a lot about both of them. Adams was probably under appreciated I have decided. I admire how he stuck to his principles, specifically by not giving into pressure and refusing to cave into party politics just to get elected. Jefferson was "an odd duck" as my mother might say, yet very interesting. I was quick to dismiss him as hypocritical for denouncing slavery yet owning over 300, but I think there's more to him than that. I have decided that he was brilliant. Have you read the Declaration of Independence lately? I suggest everyone watch at least some, if not all, of this mini-series before you vote in November.

At any rate, this site is great. You can go there and learn about Jefferson, his life, his times, his gardens, his homes; you can take virtual tours, you can access the Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia, read all of Jefferson's writings; you can even buy seeds from the Monticello gardens (which I did this spring)! There are even special pages for teachers to use in their classrooms. I can spend hours on this site. Check it out!

(Photo credit: Monticello.org)