{"id":43,"date":"2008-03-21T21:17:02","date_gmt":"2008-03-22T02:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/?p=43"},"modified":"2008-05-09T22:34:39","modified_gmt":"2008-05-10T03:34:39","slug":"what-is-it-about-maine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/?p=43","title":{"rendered":"WHAT IS IT ABOUT MAINE?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maine is not for everyone. Some people visit once, can\u2019t find anything to do, get in a twit when cell phones don\u2019t work, and willingly leave early. Others come, settle in, book the cottage for next year before they leave, and buy lots of withdrawal reads from Roseledge Books on their way away. So how do you know if you are likely to like Maine or to not like Maine?<\/p>\n

\"img_1776.JPG\"<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n

#7. Fifty-five steps from the rock wall up the hill on Sea Street to Roseledge Books.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best test I know is to read Robert McCloskey\u2019s One Morning in Maine<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. If you finish it and think nothing happened and, even worse, if you can\u2019t figure out why it\u2019s a classic, Maine is probably not for you.<\/p>\n

Another good test is to read Sarah Orne Jewett\u2019sThe Country of the Pointed Firs<\/a><\/strong><\/em> and to think that Dunnet Landing might be a good place to visit. Some think Dunnet Landing is really Tenants Harbor; others think it is Martinsville. One guy was sure it was Port Clyde. I don\u2019t think the pace of village life in coastal Maine has changed much.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve come to Maine and had the first of a lifetime of best vacations ever, then Roseledge Books has some great withdrawal reads.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"img_1775.JPG\"<\/a><\/p>\n

#8. An airy walk-by garden. I like airy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My favorite \u201csummer people\u201d books are Ruth Moore\u2019s Spoonhandle<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, a novel about rich people from away buying up local property, and Jim Sturba\u2019s charming Frankie\u2019s<\/strong> Place, A Love Story<\/strong><\/em> <\/strong>during which Midwesterner Sturba becomes a Mt. Desert \u201crusticator\u201d and marries Frances Fitzgerald. Maybe I chose these books because I\u2019m a Midwesterner who fell in love with Maine on a vacation near the rocks of Acadia and Frenchman\u2019s Bay. Now 35 years later, I\u2019m a summer people. But no matter what, both are great reads.<\/p>\n

In the old days of twenty years ago or so, a subscription to the weekly newspaper, Maine Times<\/em>, was a good way to keep memories alive. Today, the closest equivalent is a subscription to the monthly magazine, Down East<\/strong><\/em>. But for the book most likely to provoke the most varied and personal memories, I love Paintings of Maine<\/em><\/strong>. Find the places of your heart, remember the good times, and plan for next year
\n
\nMcCloskey, Robert. One Morning in Maine<\/a><\/strong>
\n
\nSturba, Jim. Frankie\u2019s Place<\/strong>
\n
\nMoore, Ruth. Spoonhandle<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jewett, Sarah Orne. The Country of the Pointed Firs<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Paintings of Maine <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maine is not for everyone. Some people visit once, can\u2019t find anything to do, get in a twit when cell phones don\u2019t work, and willingly leave early. Others come, settle in, book the cottage for next year before they leave, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,1,13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}