Book Lovers Everywhere

The Neat Little Bookshop ~ one of the first photos. Some of the walls were still bare!

When we took the name of the business that friend and neighbour, Herb Martindale, had begun, we had no idea whether the village of Cayuga would support a reincarnation of Herb's old bookshop.

Herb's customers have come back; new customers have arrived and travellers looking for a used book store have made our effort worthwhile.

The enthusiasm shown by book lovers everywhere make us work harder to ensure that the little bookshop remains a landmark.

We will have been in this location for three years this coming Mother's Day! Thank you, to our readers and to you our customers.

Winter Hours:

Wed. 11 - 5; Thu. 11 - 5; Fri. 11 - 7; Sat. 11 - 3. Or ~ Please call if you have run out of reading. 905-577-5635

"Without words, without writing and without books there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity."

~ Hermann Hesse

German-born, Swiss novelist, poet. (1877 - 1962) Won the Nobel prize in Literature in 1946.

Treasury of Wit & Wisdom, 2006 Reader's Digest.

Your Smile for Today ~

"You have to run as fast as you can just to stay where you are. If you want to get anywhere, you'll have to run much faster."

Lewis Carroll, (1832 - 1898) English author, mathematician, Anglican Clergyman

Treasury of Wit & Wisdom, 4,000 of the funniest, cleverest, most insightful things ever said,
2006, The Readers' Digest Association, Inc.

Literary Nonsense

Lewis Carroll's Adventures of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass are good examples of what is known as literary nonsense.

Thursday's literary hour at The Neat Little Bookshop could sometimes be labelled literary nonsense ~ the discussions are always insightful, thought-provoking and entertaining.

With Valentine's Day approaching, today's debate will be whether or not there are universal personality traits desirable in a friend -- or a mate -- or do different cultures and individuals look for different qualities?

Do you ever feel like Alice, landing in strange and sometimes not so wonderful places that you could never have imagined? See you at 1:30 P.M. The Neat Little Bookshop.

Author Jill Marshall

To The Arctic and Home Again is a collection of light and humourous stories as well as meaningful articles on serious issues. Author Jill Marshall has provided a personal insight into her life both in Haldimand County and in Yellowknife, North West Territories.

Justice Dr. David Marshall presided in the Supreme Court of the North West Territories for six years. During this time Mrs. Marshall's

adventures ranged from sewing five parkas ~ one with an exterior of moose hide ~ to volunteering for meals on wheels and acquiring her motorcycle licence.

A musician, teacher, radio and newspaper journalist, mother and wife, Marshall wrote at different times for the Yellowknifer and for the Hamilton Spectator. Her first book is a treasure ~ a 162 page gem ~ complete with photographs.

Home with a Hearth

"I dream of a home with a hearth-fire in it, a cat and a dog, the footsteps of friends ~ and you!"

In her journal on Sept. 25, 1910, L.M. Montgomery wrote, "How I do love an open fireplace. I love it so much that I feel sure I shall never have one of my own. No, I shall be doomed to stuffy stoves or -- worse still! -- a radiator all my live."

Lucy Ward Montgomery, Canadian author (1874 - 1942) The Selected Journals of L.M.M. Vol.II, Oxford University Press, 1987

(Journals, letters, scrapbooks, photographs, personal papers and library are the property of the University of Guelph, Ontario.)

Click on photo to view larger image. Scroll right to find the snowblower and shovel. Photo: Michaye Walker

Mark Twain's Fireside

"I know the look of an apple that is roasting and sizzling on the hearth on a winter's evening, and I know the comfort that comes of eating it hot, along with some sugar and a drench of cream...I know how the nuts taken in conjunction with winter apples, cider, and doughnuts, make old people's tales and old jokes sound fresh and crisp and enchanting."
Mark Twain, American author and humourist (1835-1910) Extract from his autobiography.

And from a letter written by Mr. R.J.Burdette after a visit to Twain's home:

"I am not a man addicted to cold weather. I am not sufficiently 'British' to wander through December and January in short checked coat and no ulster. I am given to much wrapping up when I do go out in the snow, and to very little going out in the snow at all. I begin to shiver with the first frost, and I keep it up until the following April. And so when I can sit down before a bright wood fire and burn up cigars while somebody entertains me. I love the icy winter."

Janice Anderson, Fireside, A Family Companion, MQ Publications Ltd.,2004