A couple Sunday Salons ago, I was saying how I was cutting back my library borrowed items down, but this week, a lot of requests were filled. It won’t stop because I put a plethora of things on hold this week. They are mostly for personal research, and I don’t consider that I will actually “read” them. Still, there are many books that I take out from the library and know I won’t be able to read them in the limited time. I have too many books at home for the same reason. I am so addicted to books. In any case, it gave me incentive to finish Crime and Punishment yesterday (review up tomorrow) as well as get through more Sherlock Holmes. At this rate, I am thinking that I will read the complete canon. It’s been a week, and I’ve listened to two of the novels and started a short story collection. I only have two more novels and a couple more anthologies left. I am not sick of it yet though I did acquire more Agatha Christie too.

Today, I am going to read books 2-4 of Promethea and start Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose. This week, I hope to continue listening Sherlock Holmes and start another book such as Dragonfly in Amber or Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd.

The Globe and Mail has an article called “Socially awkward? Hit the books” which illustrates with research support that bookworms, particularly those who read fiction have stronger people skills. I am not surprised by this because I find good novels often have good characterizations and are loaded with themes about society and people in general. I also think that those who read a lot tend to be observers when they aren’t reading. Well, speaking for myself as both an observer. What do you think of the article? Does reading fiction help us navigate the world of social interaction?

Have a good Sunday and week, everyone!

Literary Links:

The Telegraph has 50 Best Ever Summer Holiday Books

Contrariwise: Literary Tattoos – Seems Le Petit Prince is a popular choice for body art.

Looking at Libraries – A nice little way of labelling books on shelves. Pretty labels.

It seems to be a slow reading week or it felt that way, even though I read and finished Pyongyang and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid early in the week, I only started and read one chapter of Crime and Punishment. I have knit a little more this week, and as a result, I listened to one short audiobook. I also listened to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which is in an audio anthology of his short stories. I think I am going to look forward to the movie and like it even more. It was interesting. I always have mixed feelings of FSF because while I have two of his novels and liked them, I do not love him, and yet, I still want to read This Side of Paradise and some of his other short stories. Though I think I rather read them than listen to the audiobook.

Today, I am going to read more C&P so I can make a bigger dent in the Russian tome. One chapter is not enough for me to judge, but it seems as somber as expected. Must get back to it; goodness I have loads of books to read off the TBR pile. Here is a quotation to end things. 

Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I’ll have a long beard by the time I read them.
— Arnold Lobel

How very true, except the part about the beard.

The readathon last saturday seemed to have sapped all my energy in reading as I’ve been taking my time reading Bill Bryson’s The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir and the graphic novel Pyongyang: A journey in North Korea. I enjoy them both and am reading more today after some Sunday errands. I’ve just been pacing my reading. I posted all the reviews I wrote during the readathon this week too, and I’ve been considering all the books I will be reading for the rest of the summer. I have been thinking a lot this weekend. 

Currently, I have 12 books and one movie taken out from the public library. That is the lowest number of items taken out in more than a year, at least. I love my public library. I spent summers there as a kid going through books. As I have started to recently buy books and borrow more from friends, I have needed to cut down on browsing in the library. Other than the express/bestseller reads, I don’t even browse there. I request all my books from the online catalogue and pick it up in my weekly visit. I am actually a bit glad that my library checkout item number is down because I own so many more books now, most of which I have not read because the library books get precedence. This summer, I am trying to achieve a balance.

In other reading news, I have been reading a lot of fanfiction today. I actually read a lot of fanfiction in general, and can into periods of not doing so, but for the most part, I do read many amateur writings. I have been doing so more or less consistently for years. They can be based on television shows, movies, or other books. It’s fascinating what writers do with other writers. I have read some wonderful writing and stories from fanfic. It’s an interesting subgenre made possible or at least, more alive by the internet.

Have a good Sunday and week.

This week, I read Gilead, Once Upon a Time in the North, The Geography of Bliss, and Anil’s Ghost (review up tomorrow). My review for Best American Travel Writing 2007 also went up.

Today, I am reading William Shakespeare’s Sonnets and I will begin Morrison’s Beloved. I will also start Boris Pasternak’s poetry with My Sister Life and Other Poems.

I have read quite a bit of nonfiction this month, and the transition was noticeable when I finished reading Gilead which is quite literary. I find going from fiction and literature to nonfiction easier than the other way. I wonder why that is, but it is true that there is a marked difference in the style of the writing especially since I will be reading more poetry this week. I always attempt to have a wide variety of prose and poetry in my reading habits. I am quite pleased I have been reading more nonfiction lately.

Actually, June and May have been good reading months. I have been on a downward curve in number of books read since 2004, and I will definitely read more than I did last year. It’s not so much that I am reading faster now, but I have been able to make time for books again. The reading challenges do help. Though I think I will join less challenges in the future. It is becoming harder to predict what I will read and when. Even if I do manage to read more books this year, every year, I become unsure though reading will always be in some way central to my life. My biggest and main hobby in life even if I do manage to read a sliver of what I read years ago.

Have a good week!

Literary Links:

Lit 101 Classics in Three Lines or Less – Brilliant.

Zoomi.com and Zoomi.ca – I don’t personally buy a lot of books online, but this website makes browsing Amazon.com books more fun.

EW’s 100 New Classics: Books – I actually agree with a few of these.

This week I finished In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan and just now, I finished reading The Best American Travel Writing 2007. Short review of it to come soon. June has been very nonfictiony which is good. I always like to balance fiction and nonfiction.

For the rest of the day, I am going to read Gilead. Also on the go are Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman, and I got a copy of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell again. It is doubtful when I will pick that up again. I am more likely to read one of the other nonfiction books I have on hand during the week or soon. Also, I need to finish three books for the Book Awards Challenge (Gilead is one of them, Anil’s Ghost is the next one, third to be determined) and read William Shakespeare’s Sonnets for the Shakespeare Challenge. The latter will probably not take a long time, but I still need to find time for it.

I read less this week than I have for the previous weeks because my social schedule ramped up. I think it continue to go up, much to my mixed emotions. I am introverted by nature, and it really is my preference to stay at home on weekends to read, knit or watch a film. I am not adverse to social activity, but I prefer books often. When I am busy socially or otherwise, my hobbies get neglected. I always seek to read more. It really is an addiction. I love amassing books and finishing them. Even though, as a fellow bibliophile once told me, it can be said especially in stories wherein the end leaves you wanting more or you have attached yourselves. It’s the mark of a good author that endings leave me bittersweet. I like finishing books, but I am sad I have to see the stories end and the characters go off to the fictional sunset.

Still, I will endeavor to read voraciously for the next couple of days when I am free. Since my childhood, my summers have always been about books and they will continue to be. It seems this is the way for most people though reading is a lifelong activity.

Happy Father’s Day to those celebrating it!

Have a good week.

This week I read Wanted, The Perfect Scent, and yesterday, I finished Stephenie Meyer’s The Host. The review will be up tomorrow. I know I said last week that I would finish Gilead, and I did read a couple pages before I had to return it to the library. I know. Once I get it back, I will finish it ASAP.

Today, I am starting Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. It’s going to be a very nonfiction-y June.

Possible reads for the coming week include Philip Pullman’s new companion to the His Dark Materials trilogy Once Upon a Time in the North, The Best American Travel Writing 2007, Anil’s Ghost, Beloved, The Name of the Rose, and the plethora of nonfiction I have on loan from the library at the moment.

Yesterday, I went to a book fair. I love book fairs because part of the reason I own so few books (for a bibliophile) is due to the fact that new books can be very expensive. It’s the best deal when shopping to find a good condition used books. I usually stick to buying trade or soft cover paperbacks because they are light, usually cheaper than hardcovers, but have much better quality in paper.

The Book Collection That Devoured My Life is an article by author Luc Sante about his own collection and musings about book acquirement. Though, I do not think I will ever obsess about acquiring books as he says many people do, I have been learning to procure books at a more furious rate. I would say half my collection of books has been gained in the last couple of years. I just did not buy books all that much a few years ago. Mostly because of economics. I will always continue to buy used books, trawl book fairs and second hand stores, but if my financial situation were to allow, I would love to buy more new books. I revel in the idea of having a study wall to wall with my books. Indeed, books are so much part of my life and my sanctuary. I have to admit they are good interior decoration in many rooms. It is true, I have not read many of the books I own. I use to only buy books that I have read (and rarely reread), but now, I buy books mostly because I want to read them as my book haul will show below.

Thirteen books for $10. It was a decent booty of books, but not the best. I think I should have gotten more, but I kept wondering around after awhile. My haul with notes as follows:

1. Howards End by E. M. Forster – The only book in this list that I have actually read; I love it.
2. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon – Third in the Outlander series. I just took out the second from the library. They had a really nice Outlander edition; in retrospect, I should have gotten it.
3. Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon – Fourth in the Outlander series. Now I really don’t need to take them out of the libraries. Since these are mass market paperbacks, I can transport with them too.
4. Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver – I bought The Poisionwood Bible from another book fair last year, but have not read it. Many people recommended PS to me after I read Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
5. Bel Canto by Ann Pratchett – Two people recommended this to me on allconsuming.net; I’ve heard mixed reviews from this on the blogsphere criticising this book as boring so I’m unsure if it was worth it. We’ll just have to see.
6. Possession by A. S. Byatt – My friend liked it. It’s a Booker winner.
7. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie – Another Booker. Hilariously, there is a label on the book that says “NOT Satanic Verses”. This book also has one of those personal handwritten notes you find in used books: “To David, Happy 47th Birthday, Love Denice.”
8. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant – Now I can stop taking out the library’s copy. Also recommended by a couple people on this blog as I selected it for What’s in a Name challenge.
9. The God of Small Things by Arunhdahti Roy – I did not need to get this as I have my friend’s copy to read for challenges, but I wanted to own it just in case I’ll like it. Though it does not seem to be the type of book I’d reread often from what I read of the synopsis. Also a Booker prize winner.
10. The Complete Poems and Plays by T. S. Eliot – I like Eliot. This was for my Book Awards Challenge, but I doubt I’ll be able to read it at all by the end of the month. But it’s good to have.
11. Walt Whitman Selected Poems – Ah, Walt Whitman. I’ve had a thing for you since Cunningham’s Specimen Days.
12. John Keats Lyric Poems – Totally spur of the moment. I think I’ll like Keats.
13. William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience – I love Blake.

The Booker prize winners are well represented in this group. At the last book fair I went to, I was searching for Pulitizers which I usually like. I wanted to buy a French book or two, but the selection was not as wide.

I forgot to write in this week’s Booking Through Thursday one thing I did not read a lot when I was younger and now I do is poetry. I always liked Shakespeare, but I was not really interested in poetry or poets until my late teens and into university.

Hmm. I should really learn to reread books. But first, I should read the books that I own but have never read. The life of a bibliophile is never over or dull really.

Have a good week.

Literary Links:

bbkeepr – tracks reading using twitter

10 Obscure, Thought Provoking Reads – A couple of these books are genuinely obscure, but Nabokov’s Lolita is on the list at #9. Really? I know that we bookworms are a rare bunch in the bigger scheme, but is Lolita really obscure. I would also argue that Slaughterhouse Five is not so much obscure as as a modern cult classic. I refuse to read Anne Rice again.

A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms with Examples

This week, I finished reading Outlander, The Tempest, and Remember Me?. I read the latter two yesterday and the reviews will be up this week. I am determined to finish Gilead this week; I’ve put it off for long enough. I am doubtful about when I will finish Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell though since I just got a mini boat load of nonfiction requests from the library. I am running behind on the Book Awards Challenge so I must get started on The God of Small Things, Anil’s Ghost or Little, Big as well.

With the Twilight series and Outlander, I realized my reading trends have been inclined to the romantic these past two week. I do not often read many novels that are particularly romantic or with romance as the focus. Funnily enough, they are supernatural romances. I even watched The Ghost and Mrs. Muir on Friday. I not do these things consciously; I do notice little reading trends mostly in regards to the story themes (solitary, introspective, romantic, sad, funny, etc). Though, it just seems romantic books have been coming towards me these past two weeks. Does that often happen to you where little themes arise from books?

I have a friend who is not particularly bookish that only waits for books to come to her. As a book worm, I seek and aquire books greedily. I collect them and I covet them at rapid rates. I always have several ideas what book I could read next, but she is very fly-by-edge-of-your-seat kind of girl. She is finally reading the Harry Potter books even though I recommended them to her seven years ago. For her, books come to her in a haphazard way. Though, I do think a lot of books come to me, just in much greater numbers. Where do most of the books we read come from? For me, a mix of friends and literary merits (prize lists, classic books).

Happy Sunday!

Literary Links:

Read at Work

Lost Titles, Forgotten Rhymes – How to Find a Novel, Short Story, or Poem Without Knowing its Title or Author

This week, I read and started quite a few books. Right now, I officially have three books going, but at some point in the week, I had five. I read Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth early in the week. I started listening the Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell audiobook, but decided to stop because of technical difficulties. I’m going to continue that in text book form. I decided to listen to the Outlander audiobook. I really like it. I’m on disc 9 out of 28. I probably would have gotten even further by now if I hadn’t started reading the Twilight series on thursday. Fluffy, entertaining books; I finished New Moon on Friday and Eclipse yesterday. The spoilery review for the sequels is going up tomorrow. By the way, I still have not made progress to Gilead. I am falling behind on my challenge readings even though I read two of them this week. I still have more to do.

The New York Times has an article called “Volumes to go Before you Die” by William Grimes on Prof. Peter Boxall’s 1001 Books to Read Before You Die. It’s interesting to note that Boxall intended for the list to be controversial, and when I first the saw the list, I was puzzled by the inclusion of several books for some authors and only a couple for others. Many bookworms do react rather argumentatively by the exclusion of their favourites and inclusion of some others. Obviously, book lists and being considered well read are subjective. It is just a suggestions list after all; nothing is definitive.

I have no intention of reading every book on the list. It is true that I am part of a reading challenge that encourages it, and I have been tracking what I have read on the list for more than a year now. It’s just that even with my proclivity for long, classic, and literary books, I have certain prejudices too. There are some authors I’m a bit adverse to reading again or reading so much of. I do like crossing off the books I have read, but I usually pick the books based on other recommendations so it’s a wonderful bonus if it’s on the list. Though Grimes’s experiment of picking three books to see how they would affect him was interesting. I would like to try it because there are at least a few books and authors in the list I have never heard of and seem to be very underrated. This game does sound amusing though:

In his novel “Changing Places,” David Lodge — not on the list — introduces a game called Humiliation. Players earn points by admitting to a famous work that they have not read. The greater the work, the higher the point score. An obnoxious American academic, competing with a group of colleagues, finally gets the hang of the game and plays his trump card: “Hamlet.” He wins the game but is then denied tenure.

If only I have enough bookish friends to play such a ridiculous and subjective game. Well, I have not read Ulysses, Moby Dick, a lot of Dickens, Sense and Sensibility, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the Aeneid, and Aesop’s Fables. Though as someone who does not work in book-related fields and was never an English or Lit. major, I have no one to impress or anyone to make me feel embarassed except myself.

Have a lovely last week of May.

Literary Links:

Amazon Book Map

Five classics written under influence

20 Unusually Brilliant Bookcase and Bookshelf Designs

Bookseller’s Selections for Summer Afternoons (NPR)

This week, I finished Hungry Planet and The Best American Comics 2006. My review for Count of Monte Cristo was posted this week as well.

Today, I am reading Gilead. I have found it hard to read this because I think the prose and the style, and something about the narrator and protagonist are so reflective of my own self. It’s hitting a bit too close to home, and it’s a bit solemn and serious as a result. These days, I am more in need of books that help me escape or ones not so self-confrontational.

Though, this has often been the case with books and me. I am escapist. I love to immersed completely in well crafted stories and characters. Books have always been there for me to pass the time, to enrich, to teach, but most of all, for me to get away.

Maybe that is why I love epic and long novels. A friend and I were discussing this because neither of us really read short stories (aside from the ones by authors we truly love). With epic books, I find myself so attached to the characters and the story that it is sometimes a bit sad when it is over. I guess I admire writers with the ability to write well on a linguistic and stylistic level as well on a story and character level. When I use to write creatively, I never managed to finish any of the novels I started. My penchant for classics runs along this vein as they tend to be long, winding and with somewhat archaic prose. I’m generally someone with a low attention span, but for some reason, I always try to stick with the books I start and keep going to the end no matter how boring.

Now for other books I will be reading this week and in the near future, I am trying to finish Gilead. I want to start The Tempest by Shakespeare. Also, a nonfiction book probably Best American Travel Writing 2007. I still have so many books to read for challenges (Crime and Punishment, Beloved, The God of Small Things) and my friend’s The Name of the Rose to start. Still too many books, and I even did some library weeding this week. Ah, better more choices than no choices.

Literary Links:

100-Must Read Books: The Essential Man’s Library – Has some typical book list fair (Hemingway, Fitzgerald), with a few questionable items (How To Win Friends And Influence People), and a couple interesting ones (Kierkargaard, Thoreau).

Books to film 2008: 10 Books You Should Read Before Seeing the Movie – Hey, I love a good adaptation. I will be reading a couple of things for this year’s films.

10 Books That Screwed Up the World

Book Rabbit – Another book cataloging and interaction site. This one allows connection through actual photos of the books you own.

This morning, I finally finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I read most of it, about 800 pages, yesterday. I read the last 35 this morning. I liked the ending for all characters save a couple, but I was really pleased overall with the experienced and enjoyed reading it. It’s been awhile since I read anything so epic and long, not to mention spent most of the day reading. Review to be written later and up tomorrow.

Now, that I am finished that book, I can move onto others. Gilead is still beside me, but I am not sure if I want to read it today nor Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Right now, I am in the mood for something light and amusing such as The Zombie Survivial Guide or some comics The Best American Comics. Maybe even poetry by T. S. Eliot or a book on books such as Bibliotherapy.

So many options! I have too many books to choose from. It has been very overwhelming of late as others have loaned me more books, and the library never stops pursing me via email about requests to pick up. It’s daunting, but I love books so I acquire them and surround my life with them almost excessively. Do you ever feel that way? I don’t even know which book to turn to sometime. Also, I am getting moodier with my reading choices as I get older so it seems to cloud my decisions and book choices.

As a result of so many books and moody choices, I am less monogamist than ever so I am probably going to dip into a few books today. Start them, and then pick up on whichever for the rest of the week. Plenty of material, and it’s a nice enough day to read.

Happy Mother’s Day to those celebrating it.

Literary Links:

10 Insulating Words You Should Know

This week, I finished three books: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Othello, and Cranford. I joined yet another reading challenges. I wish there were support groups for reading challenge addicts like me. We would probably end up making more challenges and finding more ways to cross post our selections.

Today, I am reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Yes, it has been months now, but it’ll be finished soon (hopefully). I still have Gilead on hold. This week, two friends lent me books. I received Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose which I think I will start in the next couple of weeks. The second book is a collection of Tolstoy’s short stories in French. I am unsure when I will get around to that one, but it should be one of my French reads this year. I should start The God of Small Things soon as well. I also want to start The Tempest and Shakespeare’s sonnets soon because the Shakespeare challenge is almost over. How time flies.

I have been cleaning this weekend, and I won’t be finished for awhile. I am trying to clear away things I’ve had for years. I am at a loss for what to do with all the textbooks that I was unable to sell during the school years. I should probably sell my philosophy books too. Hmm.

Salon has an article on “Personal profiles, faves, lists, snobbery, books.” It purports the idea that we are not what we read, and that culture has become where some books (such as self-help books) are scoffed by those who consider themselves truly literary. As a result, favourite lists on profiles have become definers that say “I like this = I’m like this”. This is why I never provide those details online; we are creatures of judgment to be sure. I can say that I know the books that I like, but others may not. My literary tastes do not necessarily define me. I do admit that I have read a self-help book or two. Do you feel that your preferences in books defines you in some way? Do you admit to reading self-help books; are they so shameful? Thoughts?

Literary Links:

Petrona has a discussion on the Sunday Salon.

“Baby Got Book” – To the tune of Sir Mix-a-lot’s “Baby got back”

20 Science Books Every Sci-Fi Fan and Writer Should Read – While I don’t read a lot of scifi, this is actually a pretty interesting list.