mountain laurel

Illustrated by Elizabeth Dauber. 1960.

"Don't judge a book by it's cover," my mom once told me. Only, I didn't listen. I purchased this book in 2001 at a vintage store in Fullerton solely because I liked the cover. I like the simple line drawings characteristic of the 50s and 60s. Of course, the two things that pop out most to me are her brightly colored shirt and green eyes. (Lo Pan would have loved her.) Look a little closer though. She obviously is an attractive drawing, but if you ask me, I can't tell you why. Her nose seems too long, her lips too large. But there she is, pondering her choices in life. What to wear? What to eat? Who to love? Burgeoning love interests or old flames revisited? Ain't it tough though?

Dave was tall and strong and easy-moving beside her. They walked in silence for a while. Laurie was thinking long thoughts . . . now that she decided to tell Dave about her feelings, hating to hurt him, almost knowing how it would feel. Later, in the moonlight she could see the puzzlement in his face. When he spoke again his face had hardened into lines of disillusionment. "I'd never tie you to a three-year promise, Laurie, if you didn't want it."

Can't you see how it all went down? He must have sensed what was happening. Nervous and anxious to stall, she would have kissed him. What a long and awkward kiss it must have seemed for her. She breaks free, now hugging him. "We have to talk," she began, but what she said next was neither comforting nor altogether clear. Ah, the frailty of the human condition never ceases to surprise me. Decisions never get easier. Life never becomes clearer. This paperback book is Young Adult Fiction by the way, as if you couldn't tell. I have never read it, nor am I all that interested in reading it really.

Now, this paperback reminds me of an experiment that I have always wondered about. Paperback Swap. Once you sign up, post some books that you don't want anymore. Then, you choose a book and it gets mailed to you. When people select your book, you mail it out. You pay postage on outgoing books. There is an approval system that presumably saves you from having to send out ten books at $2.23 a pop before you even get one in return. It would certainly be cool if you loved the book and wanted to keep it. Otherwise, isn't the library cheaper in the long run? Anybody ever tried it?