I thought about barns and the need to photograph and record their existence before they are gone. The barns are old and vulnerable here; without expensive shoring and repair, they will come apart and perish. When they go, there will be no more barns like them. They are both haunted and sacred places.
The photos speak for themselves; they don’t need any explanation from me.
This barn is more than 200 years old. It saw quite a bit.
I’m happy to report that the first Bedlam Farm Book sale was an instant sellout; all the books we listed were sold immediately.
I think this is going to work out well. Instead of giving the books away, which we love to do, we will sell them for $10 each plus $5 shipping. Maria handles the sales and shipping and gets to keep the money. That’s the way it should work. The one who does the work gets paid.
Books are a big part of my life. I get the ones I think I will love, take good care of them, and will not sell them when I’m finished. Maria will do the same
Note Do not send any money without Maria’s acceptance, if you do it will be returned. Thank
I had this idea about the new book I’m reading: Small Mercies, a novel by Dennis Lehane. I’m about 60 percent of the way through and will most certainly finish it over the weekend; I could hardly put it down last night.
This Book Is Sold,
I highly recommend it; you can buy it now. I’ll be done by Sunday; just e-mail [email protected]. I think this will be high among the best books of 2024.
This is one of Lehane’s best books; it is the story of family, love, racial hatred, corruption, and courage. It is the best mystery I’ve read in years, but it’s more than a mystery.
It’s also a beautifully written story of Mary Pat Fennessy, whose 17-year-old daughter Julie went on a date and never came home, and of the racism and class conflict that tore Boston and much of America apart in the 60’s and 70’s.
I worked for the Boston Globe, and the desegregation battles in Southie were among the most wrenching and troubling racial conflicts I’ve ever seen.
Hennessy is a healthcare worker in a nursing home and a true Southie living in a housing project in South Boston. She barely has enough food for herself and her two children, and she takes on odd jobs for the mob boss, as almost everyone in Southie does.
She wasn’t overtly racist, but she hated anyone who lived outside the boundaries of Southie, especially African Americans who wanted to move in.
(I worked there as a reporter during the time of the violent and traumatic desegregation order from a federal judge. Lahane, who is from Boston, got it right.)
In her fight to learn what happened to Julie – no one will tell her – Pat takes on the Boston mob, half of Southie, the police and tests her soul and courage. It’s beautiful, brilliantly told, gripping, tragic, and so real. We can learn much about what is happening today by understanding what happened then.
The point is, if you want to buy this book – I purchased it for $30, we are selling it for $10 plus $5 shipping. If you like it held for you, I strongly recommend it. There is some violence, but the book is genius, moving, unsettling, sad, and affirming.
Pat Hennessey is an almost heartbreaking admiral despite racial prejudices. It seems her daughter’s death was somehow connected to the mob and the murder of a young black man run over by a subway car downtown.
She’s on hazardous terrain as she pursues her quest to understand her daughter’s death.
One cliche is proven: never underestimate the power of a mother’s love.
If you want to reserve and buy the book, please e-mail Maria at [email protected]. This launch was great fun – selling good and used books in great shape is a pleasure. You can pay for the book – $10 plus $5 shipping via Paypal, Venmo, or check (Maria Wulf, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.
We’ll have a few more books to sell over the weekend.
Zip is a nuclear cat full of energy that never seems to recede. I took this out-of-focus photo of him eating yesterday – it was dark in the barn, and I had the wrong lens. But I liked the picture of him after I fed him. The photo captures his restlessness and kinetic energy. Every photo says something, focused or not.
When Bud came to us a few years ago, he was traumatized, sick, and in shock from the abuse he had experienced. He has healed slowly and gradually, and even on the worst days, Bud is eager to go outside and look for some roden or mole to stalk and kill and, when possible, eat.
When he locks into something, he is relentless and undistractable.
He’s a working dog, as all terriers are.
Fate has her sheep, and Zinnia has her therapy work, but until today, we’ve never had a real working mission for Bud.
As you may know, a savvy rat has been assaulting our kitchen, opening cabinets and tearing open boxes. She avoids every trap we set.
Getting desperate, Maria had the idea of letting Bud out of his crate and night and giving him a free run of the house. Boston terriers were bred as rat hunters in the 1800s; Bud seemed to know he was finally getting to work. It was a great idea.
Bud patrols the house in the dark, and every morning, sometimes at 2 p.m., at 4 a.m., and at 5 a.m., we hear some barking downstairs. When the rat appears or approaches the kitchen, Bud waits to run her off. And she runs.
We haven’t seen or heard her or any sign of her since we unleashed Bud. When I come down in the morning, he is positioned by the kitchen door, staring, sniffing, and waiting. We believe his barks and warnings have kept the rat away. Maybe she will go elsewhere, or maybe Bud will set a trap and kill her.
He’s our hero of the moment, along with Zip in the barn. Zip has cleared the barn of rats and pigeons. Bud is having a good time; having this work and purpose has been good for him. So far, so good.
A new thing: Starting today, Bedlam Book Sales.
We will offer books we love to blog readers for sale.
We want to make money but also like to give our readers a break. The books – signed if you wish – will be sold to blog readers in the United States for $10 plus $5 shipping. You can buy one by first e-mailing Maria at [email protected].
When we have books to sell – we have a lot – we’ll offer them five at a time, announcing the sales on both blogs. Maria will administer the program and handle the sales and shipping; I would be a disaster. We will post updates on each of our blogs when new books are offered on sale.
But we are doing this together.
If you see a book you want, e-mail her (not me) at [email protected] and say the book you wish to buy and the way you would like to pay – Paypal, Venmo, or by check to our P.O. Box, Maria P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, New York, 12816. All sales are final, with no returns. One or two books have been bookmarked and had a page corner turned down to keep a place.
Once the book is paid for, it will be sent out soon. If you want a book signed by either one of us, ask.
Don’t buy anything without getting the go-ahead from Maria.
Books have always been sacred to me; I haunted libraries when I was young, and when I earned money, I went to bookstores. I love everything about bookstores, and I love all kinds of books. I love mysteries, novels, history books, spiritual books, and books relating to female writers and themes for Maria and me.
As a book writer, I’ve always believed that buying hardcover books is the best way to support other writers.
Maria is as rabid a reader as I am; we both read constantly.
I prefer hardcover books, and I can’t wait for library books to become available when I get the itch.
I get a lot of itches.
So does Maria; we are both eclectic readers; we like and read all kinds of books, take great care of them, and almost all are as good, neat, and clean as new. We’ve been donating books to the local library for years, but it’s a small library, and they can’t handle us anymore. We also love the idea of getting some reimbursement.
It’s also time for me to stop acting like a big shot; having these good-as-new books gather dust for months or years is silly.
If you’re interested in a book, you can look up book reviews online or read Amazon reviews. We only sell books we like and have read if that means anything.
The first batch is an exciting mix. (I’m big on novels and fiction; Maria can speak for herself.
As always, the social media wasps struck immediately, accusing me of ignoring libraries and wasting money on bookstores. Yuk. I know I have a lot of readers who love books, and the books are current and much less expensive than buying them outright. The mind is fascinating; I expect outrage and criticism for anything I do or write. We love this book idea.
I don’t have the time or space to describe the books in detail; people should do their homework and follow their instincts. Mostly, I delete, but the devil in me whispers in my ear to strike back occasionally, which is sometimes satisfying. I buy new books and read them carefully and respectfully. Books are sacred to me.
Glory Be is a terrific new mystery series with a beautiful heroine character named Glory Be, a feisty old Southerner. The Bee Sting is a much-praised (and long) book about a family after Ireland’s recession; Blood Sisters is a chilling story about a Native American Indian Agent fighting to find her missing sister and discover who is kidnapping young women in a reservation.
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Women is a charming story of courageous women in the 1880s who risk everything to help liberate persecuted women; the Secret Life Of John LeCarre lifts the lid on John LeCarre’s personal life, which was just as wild and conspiratorial and devious as his Russian spies, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, the compelling – charming – story about a remarkable Chinese doctor living in 1511.
I’ll be offering new mystery writers, promising new novelists, and, from time to time, some of the spiritual books I have been reading and writing about. Maria has her interests and will describe them on her blog.
Each of these books is $10 plus $5 shipping, a sharp markdown from the cost. We are working to raise money for some expensive repairs to our septic and plumbing system, damaged by the endless rains. We also like selling these new books cheaply to those who support us.
This feels good to us, and since I hear from book readers who follow the blog all the time, this might be good for everyone. I was looking at the bookstocks the other day, and it hit me that there is a lot of money in those stacks, and I am no longer a best-selling author getting big checks from a publisher. Like everyone else, I need to embrace reality and plan.
If you want to buy any of these books, e-mail Maria at maria@fullmoonfiberart. And tell us how you plan on paying. Please don’t buy anything without contacting Maria and ensuring you are the first buyer; we want this to be easy and efficient for both sides.
We’re ready when you are; this is exciting, hopefully fun, and a great use of the many books stacked all over our house. As soon as the books are sold, if they are sold, we’ll offer some new ones. I’m very proud of our list.
