Book Meme

Stolen from Crowinator

What books are your comfort reading--the ones you slink back to in times of stress?
Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon books, The Time Traveler's Wife, Lonesome Dove, early collections of Bob Greene columns

What was your favorite book as a child, and why? The Laura Ingalls Wilder books, the Ramona books, as to picture booksI liked the Dorrie the Litte Witch books, Corduroy, Blueberries for Sal

What was your favorite book as an adolescent, and why? as I got a little older the President's Daughter books and the Cherry Ames Nurse books (a Nancy Drew-esq series)


What is the most unread category of books gathering dust on your bookshelf--the books you've bought but just never get around to reading?
Non-fiction, particularly twentieth century history

What kind of books would you like to say you read, but never do?
Classics

What's the oddest book you've ever read?
If on a Winter night, a Traveler.. by Italio Calvino, too experimental for me!

What book were you never able to get through, despite the recommendations of people you respect? My husband would like me to finish a Neal Stephenson


What's the book it took you a couple of tries to get into, but was as good as promised once you finally made it?
Um, Twilight? That's the rare book I put down and picked up again (because of hype), even though it was solidly "eh" rather than good. Maybe The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.

What's your favorite short story--or do you even have one?
Jhumpa Lahiri's The Interpreter of Maladies has some great ones

The desert island. Three books (and collected works don't count. If you want the Lord of the Rings it'll cost you all three slots). Go:

War and Peace (It's long, baby, it will last a long time), the Bible (so I can memorize it and be armed and dangerous in debates with conservative) and Desert Island for Dummies.

Bachelor Brother's Bed and Breakfast

This book is very grandma friendly. The reviews on Amazon and the blurbs on the backs of the books use the words "cozy" and "gentle" over and over. While it's true that this book is squeaky clean fare, it's a lot of fun for the bookish sort. Homer and Virgil are fraternal twin brothers in their 40's who own a bed and breakfast on a Canadian Island that is basically a reader's getaway. People show up for their vacation with their to be read pile and dig in. The book loosely ties together the stories of the two brothers and several of their guests along with book lists and lots of reader humor. A fun quick read for those in the "reader's club."

Book Lust

Nancy Pearl is an uber-librarian. This book and the companion, More Book Lust and compilations of book lists. There are a list about dogs, lists relating to different ethnic groups and different professions, lists about different cities. I don't know if Nancy Pearl has read them all, but you definatly get the feeling she's read most, blowing Anstrat and I away with the depth and breadth of her reading. There is a also a teen version, Book Crush.

Bookmark Now

If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably part of the demographic that doesn’t really believe the sky is falling reports on how nobody reads these days. You’re probably in a book club, have friends who read, and always seem to see lots of people during your weekly trips to the library or bookstore. But some article or survey seems to come out every few months talking about the end of the book. It is this scenario that Kevin Smokler addresses in this essay collection he edited. There are 24 essays with young writers like Neal Pollock and Meghan Daum talking about why they still write despite these dire predictions. In actuality, the essays are much broader and more varied than that and talk about everything from the current state of MFA programs to author collaboration to writer jealousy. I found most of the essays entertaining, jotted down a few authors to watch out for, and was encouraged by the various ways that authors are trying to get their work out there, from blogs to cooperatives like the Dave Eggers/McSweeney’s groups. There is also a nice appendix in the back with lots of book resources for both writers and readers.

Ex Libris

Anne Fadiman is part of our club. You know the club. The reader club. If she comes to your house she will NEVER ask "have you read all those books?". Instead she will start checking them out, trying to discretely rearranged the double rowed ones to see what's back there. This book is a collection of essays, mostly about reading, but also about language and words too. My favorite essay is the first, in which she describes how she and her husband married their book collections together, approximately ten years after moving into together. They debate which doubles to get rid of and how to arrange the books (by author, chronologically, by subject?) and learn about themselves and each other. Another great essay concerns phyiscal vs. courtly love of books, whether one turns down corners, turns the book face down, writes in the margins, or would rather DIE than do any of those things. I am a physical book lover my, husband is of the courtly school (ah, the mixed marriage). If you are in the club (and you know who you are) you will love this book.