I mentioned yesterday that I’ve been reading a fabulous book and while I haven’t finished it I can almost tell this is one of those I’ll have to add to my keeper shelf (my copy is from the library). The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A Novel in Pictures by Caroline Preston is so much fun for me to read because it takes me back to my big scrapbook phase. I used to scrapbook in my high school and college days and while I don’t do scrapbooks anymore you know how much I love art journaling which to me is a bit of a mix of scrapbooking and diary keeping.

“How this story begins… Scrapbook was a high school graduation present from mother. I found daddy’s old Corona portable in the cellar. Mice had chewed the case but it still works! I sent away for a free instruction booklet on how to type. I will type one page every day.”

Each page in this novel is filled with vintage ephemera. Advertisements, postcards, labels, playing cards, etc. While the story of Frankie, who is documenting her life as a Vassar student and later graduate is interesting in its own right, having the images just adds another wonderful dimension to the novel. You can visit the author’s website and take a peek inside the covers.

As I said, I’m not done with the book yet but I’m really enjoying it and really wishing I had an old typewriter I could use for my crafty projects. Ha. Speaking of crafty projects I think this novel also comes at just the right time for me because I’m currently taking an art journaling class and it’s so much fun. I can’t wait to share with you some of the pages I’ve been working on. Stay tuned.

I didn’t even get a chance to celebrate National Poetry Month on my blog this year but why stop at celebrating poetry just one month out of the year right? I wish I could tell you that I’ve read some great poems lately or been to some poetry events but I haven’t had the chance to do that either. Hmm…

But I did write my own poem thanks to InstaPoem. Hee, hee.  Go check it out and write your own. I know it’s hard to read but here’s mine:

April has come and gone so quickly. I feel like my reading was really way off this month too but I started a new book last night which has been so delightful. I promise to tell you about that one very soon.