I get asked this question a lot, along with, "Why don't you post your reading selections?"
Basically, it boils down to three things:
Hap hazard reading as I await the bus or while in line for one thing and another. The books for such occasions range from popular fiction or thrillers to books telling me why my cat does as he likes. The more serious reading materials reside in a stack on my bedside table. There are two such items at the moment:
The Elephant's Journey, a novel by the unfortunately late, Jose Saramago, a Nobel Prize recipient.
The New Frugality by Chris Farrell. Farrell is the resident economic/finance guru for American Public Media's programme, Marketplace Money, which I sometimes catch on NPR.
I've just finished the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, about which you can read at the Virtual Book Club blog. There is a link to the VBC on my profile page.
Additionally, I make no claim to endorse a book or author simply because I read. Your tastes may rest with a genre or author I don't especially care for. Reading is a lot like eating. Sometimes a quick burger does the trick while other occasions are reserved for fine dining. I do not enjoy feeling like people expect me to tell them what to read simply because I happen to be a librarian.
Finally, I enjoy the freedom to try new books and authors without the pressure of critiquing every word or nuance. As someone who knows personally the agony of facing an empty page when one is expected to produce for others, I try to look at any book as a writer might. Good writers take risks, and they don't always have the expected results as far as reader reaction is concerned.
I'll leave you with this: I am currently searching for a well loved collection of Jane Austen novels since mine, which dates from the Dark Ages otherwise known as university, is no longer available.
Happy reading.
Unti Next Time...
15 comments:
nice...always looking for new books...and i like it when authors are daring...those are the ones i am drawn to...
The Elephant's Journey sounds so good.
All the hardship lately prompted me to read books of people who survived adversity: Unbroken, Empire of the Summer Moon, Helen Keller autobio, In the Garden of the Beast...just finished Sarah's' Key, which was good though no surprising plot twists at any point...like you I read a lot of varied things and whatever suits the mood at the time...i should keep a list as I read so much I often draw a blank when one asks me...
I always think it's interesting to hear what others around me are reading. That's the best way to learn about new and interesting books!
Sometimes I go to the library and take out several books and end up not reading any of them or want to read all of them. I really like non fiction books, mostly biographies. Can't get enough of them.
I like your point about reading being like eating...different levels for different moods.
I've just thrown down in disgust 'The Hours' by Michael Cunnningham...not because it's badly written, but because it reproduces all too accurately the fart arse world of Bloomsbury with its cheap snobbery and solipsism.
But I've been enjoying another Pulitzer winner....'The Shipping News' by Annie Proulx....it fitted a Sunday afternoon mood, which rereading Laurence Durrell...lurking in reserve for the week...would not.
Reading blogs at the moment. And looking for something that interests me that i haven't already read by ne of the 19th century novelists who used anguage in a different way.
I had the great pleasure to read the "Guernsey Literary...". Was it you who recommended it! Now I can recommend it! :-)
Yes, we each have different tastes.
Sometimes its nice to share thoughts, but I agree that random recommendations are seldom much use.
I am a serial reader. I recently finished reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell for my book club. Since it is my pick, I hope everyone else liked it as much as I did. On second thought, I hope there is some differing opinion so we will have an interesting discussion on Sunday night. I have begun Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, which is proving to be an excellent read.
I'm always looking at kids books, trying to find the magical book that will make my young reluctant readers at the shelter less reluctant.
I must say I am a total convert to reading in digital format, something I was loathe to do until about 18 months ago. I can even read on my phone if I am stuck someplace with nothing else to do.
I've just finished The Great Perhaps by Joe Meno, which I'd thoroughly recommend. Very funny and imaginative book about a rather dysfunctional family. Prior to that, I also enjoyed Bodily Harm by Margaret Atwood, which for some strange reason I'd never read. Now I'm reading Wuthering Heights, which also for some strange reason....
Hi E
I've been away from blogging for at least a month, so just catching up! I love reading about what others are reading.. and really enjoyed your earlier post about those Treasures, too!
I have recently acquired an e-reader, and have hundreds of old classics on there.. At the moment, I am thoroughly enjoying old Agatha Christie stories, in between more modern things. I must really have a look at your virtual book club soon!
The love of books is my mother's greatest gift to me. We were poor, but thanks to our Carnegie library, we were always rich in books. My mother was an austere woman, but she allowed me to borrow lavish stacks of whatever I liked every two weeks. I remember reading "Lord of the Flies" at 10 years old.
I haven't been able to read any book cover-to-cover in two years, thanks to some mysterious attention-span problem. As you mention, very aptly, there are ways to "snack" on books, so I make do with essays and literary journals.
And you gave me a vicarious thrill, in discovering what you're reading. May you savor every word of every intriguing book, for me.
Actually this is very useful as I am always searching for new books to read. And one of the great advantages of the Kindle is that you can normally download the first chapter for free so you can avoid that pile of part read books that gathers diust in the corner of your life.
I love book recommendations - sometimes they throw up undiscovered gems.
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