Rememberist
@rememberist.bsky.social
Owner/bookseller at Berkeley Books of Paris (2005-2019). Veteran of St. Mark's Bookshop and Posman's in NYC, and Serendipity Books in Berkeley.
I'm wild about it too, and only recently read Hughes's book. So profoundly dark, it stunned me.
November 28, 2025 at 9:30 AM
I'm wild about it too, and only recently read Hughes's book. So profoundly dark, it stunned me.
There are bookshelves, but they're only big enough for normal people's collections.
November 27, 2025 at 8:33 PM
There are bookshelves, but they're only big enough for normal people's collections.
Thank you for reminding me of this. Here is another of her poems which reads like a companion piece.
November 27, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Thank you for reminding me of this. Here is another of her poems which reads like a companion piece.
All is well over here. I talked with most of my family in California from the comfort of my reading chair. Feeling more thankful than usual that France exists.
November 27, 2025 at 7:40 PM
All is well over here. I talked with most of my family in California from the comfort of my reading chair. Feeling more thankful than usual that France exists.
!!!
Another one for the collection. In my travels, I've somehow acquired 3 copies of the Panorama issue. It's just so beautiful.
Another one for the collection. In my travels, I've somehow acquired 3 copies of the Panorama issue. It's just so beautiful.
November 24, 2025 at 9:49 PM
!!!
Another one for the collection. In my travels, I've somehow acquired 3 copies of the Panorama issue. It's just so beautiful.
Another one for the collection. In my travels, I've somehow acquired 3 copies of the Panorama issue. It's just so beautiful.
Too late! I'm tempted to use all the eyewash.
November 22, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Too late! I'm tempted to use all the eyewash.
I asked her if she wanted to keep the book and take it home with her. She looked at me, smiled, and said yes. She graciously offered me money back. Of course I couldn't take it. Just watching her face while she saw her mother's writing was a gift to me and I told her so.
November 19, 2025 at 9:47 PM
I asked her if she wanted to keep the book and take it home with her. She looked at me, smiled, and said yes. She graciously offered me money back. Of course I couldn't take it. Just watching her face while she saw her mother's writing was a gift to me and I told her so.
The same thing happened to me about a year ago. But the red truck in my scenario was their feral mom. They're still around, all fixed and all chunky.
November 3, 2025 at 7:03 PM
The same thing happened to me about a year ago. But the red truck in my scenario was their feral mom. They're still around, all fixed and all chunky.
I'm re-reading my dad's letters home from the war. Here he is somewhere in Germany, April 1945. He was not impressed by the dissembling Nazi losers he saw on his way to Berlin.
October 18, 2025 at 6:44 AM
I'm re-reading my dad's letters home from the war. Here he is somewhere in Germany, April 1945. He was not impressed by the dissembling Nazi losers he saw on his way to Berlin.
Of the many pleasures I find in used books, this one is a doozy. My copy was previously owned by a French-speaking person, so the margins are filled with translations of English words into French. I can't imagine a better book for a French reader to learn the word twinkle.
September 10, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Of the many pleasures I find in used books, this one is a doozy. My copy was previously owned by a French-speaking person, so the margins are filled with translations of English words into French. I can't imagine a better book for a French reader to learn the word twinkle.
A year later, and these little ones live next to my house. They're all fixed, vaccinated, and healthy. I don't see their mom anymore, but all her babies are thriving.
September 2, 2025 at 3:45 PM
A year later, and these little ones live next to my house. They're all fixed, vaccinated, and healthy. I don't see their mom anymore, but all her babies are thriving.
The view from the back door this morning. My cat is chilling in front of the car, and two not-my-cats are taking it easy after a heatwave. #caturday
July 5, 2025 at 7:24 PM
The view from the back door this morning. My cat is chilling in front of the car, and two not-my-cats are taking it easy after a heatwave. #caturday
I moved some books around today, and finally figured out what to put in the tiny alcove in the kitchen. Its intended purpose is a religious statue, but I put Saint Royko there instead.
June 13, 2025 at 9:40 PM
I moved some books around today, and finally figured out what to put in the tiny alcove in the kitchen. Its intended purpose is a religious statue, but I put Saint Royko there instead.
It doesn't matter how long I've lived in France or how well I know the language. I cannot help but laugh at seeing "le New Jersey" in print.
June 8, 2025 at 9:36 PM
It doesn't matter how long I've lived in France or how well I know the language. I cannot help but laugh at seeing "le New Jersey" in print.
This stuff is the first truly effective repellent I've ever used. Changed my life. Now I don't mind the outdoors so much. You can find the spray in Intermarché or Leclerc. The candle probably works too.
May 29, 2025 at 7:42 PM
This stuff is the first truly effective repellent I've ever used. Changed my life. Now I don't mind the outdoors so much. You can find the spray in Intermarché or Leclerc. The candle probably works too.
Here's a Behemoth who lives in southern France. He never did acquire a taste for vodka, cigars, or pistols. He's just a laid-back French boy who answers when I call him Bébé. #caturday
May 24, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Here's a Behemoth who lives in southern France. He never did acquire a taste for vodka, cigars, or pistols. He's just a laid-back French boy who answers when I call him Bébé. #caturday
One of many commemorations held this year marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, the liberation of concentration camps, and in remembrance of those who fought in the French Resistance. People read poems and letters dating from WWII while accompanied by the local orchestra.
May 17, 2025 at 7:42 PM
One of many commemorations held this year marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, the liberation of concentration camps, and in remembrance of those who fought in the French Resistance. People read poems and letters dating from WWII while accompanied by the local orchestra.
Native Chicagoan here. This is today's cover of the Parisian daily paper Libération. In French, he is Léon.
May 9, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Native Chicagoan here. This is today's cover of the Parisian daily paper Libération. In French, he is Léon.
He never did find his missing family members in Paris, but I did. Their names are inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance at the Shoah Museum in Paris. At that time, I lived just a few blocks away from the memorial. Some of his family survived by fleeing to SW France, where I now live.
May 8, 2025 at 11:22 AM
He never did find his missing family members in Paris, but I did. Their names are inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance at the Shoah Museum in Paris. At that time, I lived just a few blocks away from the memorial. Some of his family survived by fleeing to SW France, where I now live.
I discovered that his unit was the first in the US Army to encounter and liberate a Nazi concentration camp. In some of his letters he describes prisoners who, once the camp was liberated, tried to start walking home. To France.
May 8, 2025 at 10:58 AM
I discovered that his unit was the first in the US Army to encounter and liberate a Nazi concentration camp. In some of his letters he describes prisoners who, once the camp was liberated, tried to start walking home. To France.
He was advanced in age when I was born, so we didn't have much time together. He never mentioned the war or his family in France. I'd already lived in Paris for a few years when I learned of his experience in WWII. His family sent me a cache of his wartime letters home.
May 8, 2025 at 10:48 AM
He was advanced in age when I was born, so we didn't have much time together. He never mentioned the war or his family in France. I'd already lived in Paris for a few years when I learned of his experience in WWII. His family sent me a cache of his wartime letters home.
My dad writes home to his wife on V-E Day. He was an infantryman in Germany at the time. His last name was Cohen, so the US Army issued him dog-tags with the name Johnson, in case he was captured by Nazis. He later went to Paris to find his mother's family. Most of them were missing.
May 8, 2025 at 9:37 AM
My dad writes home to his wife on V-E Day. He was an infantryman in Germany at the time. His last name was Cohen, so the US Army issued him dog-tags with the name Johnson, in case he was captured by Nazis. He later went to Paris to find his mother's family. Most of them were missing.
Happy to report that the kittens aren't holding a grudge against me for having 'em fixed and vaccinated.
May 6, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Happy to report that the kittens aren't holding a grudge against me for having 'em fixed and vaccinated.
TFDR (Too French, didn't read): Once a year, there's a friendly competition among towns in France for who can draw the most people wearing a marinière. This year, a village called Pézenas took the crown. A few thousand people showed up, all wearing a stripey shirt, and they partied all day.
May 4, 2025 at 5:12 PM
TFDR (Too French, didn't read): Once a year, there's a friendly competition among towns in France for who can draw the most people wearing a marinière. This year, a village called Pézenas took the crown. A few thousand people showed up, all wearing a stripey shirt, and they partied all day.