Musings of a Bookish Kitty

The title of this post is a little misleading. The book I currently am reading, Marie Brenner's Apples and Oranges: My Brother and Me, Lost and Found, is a true story. It is a memoir about the author's relationship with her brother. I began reading it not too long ago, and it would appear that my timing could not have been better. There are certain aspects of my life I am uncomfortable sharing in detail in such a public format, but suffice it to say the title is quite fitting for my own situation. While are stories are different in many respects, I still can relate to her and her brother's story and their struggle to make a connection they've longed to have much of their lives.

I wondered if others have had this experience too. You are reading along in a book, be it fiction or nonfiction, and you realize that your life is mirroring the story unfolding before you. Maybe not directly or in every detail, but enough to make the story familiar and real for you in a personal way. I am not just talking about those books that you connect with, that you can relate to in general. I am referring to books that seem to be imitating your life right then and there in that moment. Have you had this experience?

I am just about half way through Marie Brenner's book as she recounts her family history and talks about her visit to the apple orchards in hopes to be with her brother. I am learning quite a bit about apples in all their varieties. I will have to remind my husband to pick up some apples the next time he is at the grocery store.

After I finish Apples and Oranges, I hope to dive right into a mystery. It has been awhile since I last set foot in Wyoming and visited my friends in Absaroka County. I can almost hear Sheriff Longmire calling out to me already.

It will definitely be a day of reading. The temperature is rising and is expected to settle in at around 106F. I appreciate the air conditioner much more at times like this. I had better encourage the dog to get his outdoor time in while it's still relatively cool . . .

This past week turned out to be a good one for self-reflection, falling in love, and standing up for one's self. This describes all of the books I read when it comes right down to it.

Cecilia Samartin's Tarnished Beauty took me into the life of a Mexican woman hoping to rid herself of an ugly birthmark, wanting nothing more than to fit in and lead a normal life. She befriends an elderly man who is struggling to regain his strength, only wanting someone to listen to him.

Dave Pelzer once again pulls from his own life experiences in hopes of inspiring and motivating readers to Move Forward and start really living life to its fullest. Hopefully now I will not be so hard on myself when I am having a bad day; exchange "I'm such an idiot" for "It can only get better from here." Okay, so there's a lot more to it then that, but too much negativity can hold a person back.

Michelle Moran's Nefertiti is an example of what having too much power (and confidence) can lead to. Nefertiti and her sister, Mutnodjmet, could not be more different; both are strong women in their own right, one extremely ambitious and cunning and the other more practical and honest.

I am nearly finished reading Nefertiti, with about 164 pages left to go. It was a good choice for taking along with me for jury duty. I was not sure how long I would be sitting in the jury room waiting my turn to be called. What better way to spend the time than lost in a book?

I am kicking myself because I missed an opportunity to meet the author of Tarnished Beauty. She was a few short miles away at the beginning of the month, and I did not even know it. Hrmphf. I need to pay closer attention to these things. I do hope that when Michelle Moran's new book, The Heretic Queen, comes out in September, she will have a local signing (in the evening or on the weekend so I can attend--hint, hint). As long as the book doesn't come out earlier than scheduled, I should be home from Hawaii by then.

I will be posting my reviews of Tarnished Beauty, Moving Forward, and Nefertiti later this week so stay tuned!

It is hard to believe the year is nearly half over. June is the month my husband becomes a year older than me (well, only when considering the actual age--we're actually 3 months apart birth date wise). My husband's grandmother also officially turns a year older this month. It is also the month my parents will celebrate their wedding anniversary. My brother and his wife too for that matter. I already have the Father's Day presents (they're both getting books) wrapped and ready to go in the mail. I have a promising stack of books sitting here on my desk, and I am hopeful that June will prove to be a worthwhile reading month. Just look at all those glorious books! No, I suppose you can't really see them, can you? I won't get to all of them but what I do get to, I expect will be good.

I spent a good part of the morning lost in Bob Avey's Beneath a Buried House, added the finishing touches to my review of Killing Rommel by Steven Pressfield, which I will post later in the week, played with the animals, and now am turning my thoughts to what I want for lunch. I love a lazy Sunday.

Bob Avey's novel pulled me in immediately, which is always a good way to start off a book. It's a mystery set in Tulsa, Oklahoma with the usual components: murder, a missing suspect, and a police detective determined to uncover the truth. The author is giving little away as his detective follows the leads, connecting the dots. This one may just surprise me at the end, something that is not always easy to do.

I have two books sitting in my shopping cart at Amazon.com right now. I have been good about not selecting that buy option. One of the books is the first in a series by Boris Akunin, called Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog. I came across a later book in the series while browsing through the local Borders store a couple of weeks ago and decided it was an author I wanted to further explore.

I read an article recently about Chuck Palahniuk's novel, Haunted: A Novel, which made me morbidly curious. It now sits in my shopping cart awaiting my decision. I actually wanted to read the book when it first came out, but I got my hands on another of the author's books first and ended up changing my mind about Haunted. I was not too impressed with Diary. I did not hate it, mind you. I just did not especially care for it.

I was mentioning my hesitation in taking on another Palahniuk book to a few fellow readers, and a couple of them advised me not to bother. It isn't that they have read anything by this particular author--they haven't. In their experience, however, if a person has bad luck with one book by an author, a person shouldn't waste his or her time on that author again. A lot can depend on why a person did not like the book he or she read by the author. I imagine there are certain qualities in a book that are an immediate turn off, not to mention are a good predictor of what the author's other books will be like. And yet, aren't there also times when you read one book by an author, love it and then aren't so bowled over by the next? In some cases there's an obvious distinction between the two scenarios, but not so much in others.

I confess that I stopped typing just now to read a little further in my book. I couldn't help it. Detective Elliot just got an e-mail warning him off the case or else. Why do the villians bother? Don't they realize that their attempts to stall a case will only increase the protagonist's resolved to get to the bottom of the mystery? Sheesh.

I guess this means I should go back to my book. Lunch can wait.

I spent time this morning polishing off my review of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Lost Prince, a book that I finished last night. The cover is not the most attractive, at least not to me, and probably not one that would attract my attention at first glance. The story between the covers, however, was one that definitely held my attention.

As a frequent reader of advanced reader editions, I occasionally do run into typesetting errors. Because the book is unfinished, it is easier to dismiss such mistakes and move past them without further thought. Sometimes these mistakes are corrected before the final product comes out, but not always. Or so I have heard. It is more difficult to ignore such mistakes when made in the final copy, the one sold to the public, especially when the errors are more than just a few. If the errors are minor and the story is good, I sometimes do not notice the mistakes at all in a marketed copy, but it is hard not to notice when they are so glaring and frequent, as they were in this book.

The story itself was interesting enough to get me past the errors in this instance, but they were sometimes glaring ones: names misspelled or misplaced, an entire section printed twice, "rn" turned into "m", an offense which made me giggle a couple of times in the beginning, but had me rolling my eyes as it continued throughout the rest of the book. Such mistakes can pull a reader out of the story, out of the action, and dampen one's enthusiasm for a book. I find it sad, really. This is a book I enjoyed reading and think others who like a bit of the old fashioned kind of horror novel might like too. However, some of those readers will be turned off immediately by the errors and may not bother with it at all.

I will be posting my review of this book in the near future, with only a minor mention of my complaint. Had the book been an ARE, I would have been less likely to say anything at all. I felt it best to focus more on the story itself and the writer's skill in this case. It really is a book worth reading for those who might find the subject matter to their liking.

What do you think? Do typographical errors and the like immediately turn you away from a book or do your persevere if the story is engrossing enough? For those who write reviews, how do you address this issue, if at all? I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Earlier in the week I posted a review for Jordan Dane's No One Heard Her Scream, a romantic suspense novel, which is both sexy and fun. I also reviewed The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson, a new-to-me mystery author who is going straight onto my favorites list.

As for today's reading, I am about to begin reading G.G. Vandagriff's The Arthurian Omen, a book I received through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer Program. The premise sounds fascinating, a lost fifth century manuscript, murder, a puzzle to solve, all promising suspense. I have yet to read the other reviews posted about this particular book, wanting to read the book myself first, however, I have caught snippets and seen ratings which have lowered my expectations a bit.

I will probably not delay too much longer in reading The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall, a novel a coworker loaned me earlier this week. She asked that I read it so that I can tell her whether she liked it or not.

Recently added to my TBR collection (if you have read any of these, please do share your thoughts--without spoilers, of course.):
Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender
American Woman by Susan Choi
Down to a Sunless Sea by Mathias B. Freese
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
House-Keeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby
What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt
Admit One: A Journey into Film by Emmett James
Absolute Friends by John Le Carre
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
Killing Rommel by Steven Pressfield
The Rottweiler by Ruth Rendell
Devil's Cape by Rob Rogers
The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer

Now to start on my next book . . . Happy reading!

My reading this past month was dismal, to say the least. I do not believe in reading slumps; lulls in reading are merely a shift in priorities, a chance to dive into other interests long neglected for the book. Or so I tell myself, sometimes even convincingly. I do not remember doing much at all of those other hobbies either. I have been working a lot. Although, I am not sure that is the reason either. Whatever the reason, it did not quell my interest in books. I had a blast last weekend at the L.A. Times Festival of Books, was energized and became excited about trying several new authors and reading more books by familiar ones. It spurred on a book buying binge I told myself I would refrain from for the next several months. I suppose I should be glad I did not go on an eating binge, adding on the pounds as opposed to books to my house.

I gave away quite a few books this past week, finding a home for the books I no longer need to keep around. Saying goodbye was difficult but necessary. It might be more meaningful if there were not books already to take their places.

I rediscovered a used bookstore I had not visited in a while and wondered why I had stayed away so long. The staff were busy collecting books on the shelf to take to a friend in the hospital, making everyone who came in sign the get well card. It was a homey sort of atmosphere where everyone knew everyone and returning was like visiting an old friend.

My reading plan for May is to make up for lost time in April. I guess that means I should get started! Happy Reading!

My enthusiasm bubbled over from yesterday into today as my husband and I made the treacherous drive into Westwood for the second day of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Anjin was a little less enthused, still recovering from the day before. He hung in there as best he could though with only minor grumblings.

The UCLA campus was buzzing with activity when we arrived. Exhibitors and volunteers were ready for the crowds, authors were starting to arrive for their panels and book signings and mother nature graced us with another beautiful day.

Of all the author discussion panels this weekend, I was most looking forward to one entitled The Outer Limits: Horror and Science Fiction. Not only did I think this was the perfect panel for my husband who enjoys reading both fantasy and science fiction, but I also knew that I would enjoy it as well, especially with Raymond Feist scheduled to appear. Unfortunately, Raymond Feist had a family emergency and was unable to make it as was David Brin, another author I had been hoping to see. Sitting in their place was author Harry Turtledove, most known for his alternate history novels. Also present were authors Kevin J. Anderson and Joe Hill.

Moderated by Nick Owchar from the Los Angeles Times, the panel spent quite a bit of time discussing the recent increase of crossover writing, merging of genres and other types of writing. Mr. Turtledove was quick to point out that this sort of writing is not new and has been going on for decades now. Joe Hill and Kevin Anderson both argued that while that may be true, the current climate has widened the audience for science fiction, horror and fantasy as a result of the free flow of writing from one genre to another. One panelist mentioned that people are often reading books without realizing they are genre fiction.

The second panel I attended this Sunday touched on similar themes, only from a different perspective. Christine Smallwood of The Nation moderated the panel called Fiction: The Magic in Everyday Life. Authors Aimee Bender, Alex Espinoza, Yxta Maya Murray, and Alice Hoffman offered their thoughts on the subject at hand. Each of these authors is very different in style and approach, and yet their answers were still very similar. The authors discussed how magic played a part in each of their books, sometimes in a very real and ordinary way. They also talked about authors who have been a big influence on their writing, such as Marion Zimmer Bradley and Ursula K. Le Guin.

One thing in particular came out in both panels: that fiction writing offers insight into reality, sometimes more clearly and truthful than reality itself, regardless of how fantastical or out of the world the story may be. One of my favorite quotes by Jessamyn West is "Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures." It is something I truly believe myself.

You would not think there would be a business in scalping tickets at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, but evidently there just might be. At least I could get a meal out of it. A woman was offering twenty dollars for two tickets to one of the author panels Anjin and I went to see today. Alice Hoffman is just that popular. Honestly, if I had tickets to spare, I would have given them to her freely. The tickets to the panels are free other than a 75 cent surcharge if you go through Ticketmaster to get them.

I dragged Anjin one more time through a couple of booth areas just in case I missed something the day before. I was lingering a little too long outside of a small publisher's booth trying to remember if I had ever read a book printed by that particular publisher and was coaxed inside by a woman handing out cards. While one of the authors tried to sell my husband his book, I commented to author Anne Carter,who I was standing next to, that the other author had the wrong reader, that I usually kept my husband close because he was my no man, and I all too often said yes when tempted by a book that looked good. Just as I expected, Anjin was able to get away book free, but I walked out of the booth with a book in hand.

A little later in the afternoon, I completely passed by a booth that my husband drew me back to. "Too bad you didn't bring that book you bought yesterday back today. The author could've signed it," Anjin said. I could have kept walking, but now I was curious. I hadn't filled my quota of book buying for the day, and I could always get her to sign the second book in her series, right? Naomi Hirahara couldn't have been nicer. She told us a little about her series and, of course, signed her second book for me.

Sitting next to her was author John Hamamura who was deep in conversation with another passerby. The cover of his book caught my eye, and so I thought I'd thumb through his book while he was preoccupied. I was sold after reading the back cover blurb. Anjin and I stood talking with the author for a short while about his book as he explained how it was similar to the story of his own father's life.

Only four books made it home with me today, if you can believe. I was trying to be especially good after yesterday's little stockpile:
Point Surrender by Anne Carter
Color of the Sea by John Hamamura
Gasa-Gasa Girl by Naomi Hirahara
Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama

Wearily we headed home soon after. Anjin is taking a nap. Too much sun and time on his feet, I think. I imagine the cat is napping nearby too. My dog wants some make-up playtime after being left along for too long. After I take care of his needs, I am going to settle in for the rest of the evening, curl up with a book and try not to think about how much I wish I could have taken tomorrow off from work to recuperate after such a full and fun weekend.

My Saturday morning started something like this:

5:15 a.m. - *scratch* *scratch* Pawing at the blanket covering my shoulder, my early bird of a cat cries, "Mew. Meow. MEOW!" In my sleepy daze, I offer him a little pat on the head and promptly roll over to get a little more sleep. It is Saturday after all.

5:30 a.m. - "Meow." *scratch* Ugh. "Fine," I tell the wicked little devil who is keeping me from sleeping in. "I'm up!" Of course, now the dog is up too and wanting to play.

The weather was lovely, if a little too warm. Still, no complaints from me. It was a perfect day for the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and nothing was going to dampen my enthusiasm. My husband and I had a great time, browsing through many of the booths, attending book signings and some of the author discussion panels that were held throughout the day.

My favorite panel turned out to be one that Anjin was particularly interested in attending. Jeph Loeb, most recently of Heroes fame, was joined by Mike Mignola (Hellboy) and Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) to discuss Comics: Superheroes of the Page and Screen. Moderator Geoff Boucher (L.A. Times Reporter) did not have to do very much to get the three men talking about their careers in the comic book and film industry. The conversation was entertaining as well as informative. The stigma surrounding comic books was a roadblock for a number of years in getting the books taken seriously as movie fodder. With the popularity of the genre in recent years, it is getting much easier. Jeph Loeb, sadly, would not give away any spoilers for the third season of Heroes.

Rushing across campus, we were able to make it to our second panel of the day just in time. The topic of the morning was Mystery: The Literary Detective. I admit that one of the reasons I was interested in this particular panel was the chance to see Peter Robinson, author of the Inspector Banks series. However, I was also very curious to see how the topic itself would be addressed. Joining Peter Robinson were authors Leslie Klinger and April Smith. Sarah Weinman was the moderator. There was a little discussion of the history and evolution of the literary detective, beginning with Edgar Allan Poe. April Smith and Peter Robinson shared details of their own process of writing and creating their characters while Leslie Klinger offered his input based on past research he had done for his nonfiction work. It was an interesting discussion that touched slightly on the literary fiction versus genre fiction debate, if only to demonstrate how ambiguous such labels can be.

I could not pass up the opportunity to take in the Fiction: Lives on the Page panel, featuring Elizabeth Berg, Anne Taylor Fleming, Joanne Harris, and Elizabeth Strout, moderated by Amy Wallen. It was quite interesting to learn how each author breathes life into her characters, pulling from her own experiences initially, but then branching out from there, letting the characters take the lead.

The time we spent checking out the different booths proved quite fruitful. We got to see authors Harlan Coben, T. Jefferson Parker, John Lescroart, Laura Levine, Robert Crais, and Joanne Fluke among others. My heart skipped a beat just being around them all! I did tell you about my being star struck by authors before? It's awful.

I met a couple of authors I was not familiar with: Dan Fesperman and Louise Ure, both of whom were the nicest people. Looking back, I think I made a fool of myself in front of Dan Fesperman. I asked a couple of inane questions. He was extremely polite, however, and his books sound especially good. Louise Ure's books also caught my interest set in Arizona, one of my favorite settings. I felt a strong bond with Louise Ure immediately. Maybe it had something to do with her admission that she buys a lot of books too. Louise Ure said she thinks she might have stopped by my blog at some point, which both scared and thrilled me. Scared because, well, I am a shy person and feel more comfortable as a wallflower. Thrilled because she'd actually heard of my little blog!

This was the first year the festival sported a Comix Strip section, which really wasn't much at all, but it was something, I suppose. Anjin came upon one booth in particular that drew him in. We got the chance to meet comic book writer Michael Alan Nelson who seemed like a great guy.

I did manage to find a few books that caught my fancy. Several made their way home with me:
The Woods by Harlan Coben
Lie in the Dark by Dan Fesperman
The Small Boat of Great Sorrows by Dan Fesperman
The Jane Austen Club by Karen Joy Fowler
Summer of the Big Bachi by Naomi Hirahara
Sun Storm by Åsa Larsson
Dissolution by C.J. Sansom
Forcing Amaryllis by Louise Ure

By the end of the day, my feet were sore, and both my husband and I were ready to head home. We had a fun time and are looking forward to heading back tomorrow. You didn't really think one day would be enough for the likes of me, did you?

I am looking forward to settling in with my book today and stepping outside of my own world for a short while. Author Karen E. Olson recommended Craig Johnson's Sheriff Walt Longmire series to me quite a while ago. It did not take long for a little bubble of excitement to well up inside me as I began reading the first book in the series. A promising start to be sure!

I try and avoid getting onto a soapbox here on my blog, but I could not resist jumping on it today. I am not always good at expressing my thoughts, but I'll give it a try.

I recently came across a story about an author who let her ego get in the way. A reviewer on Amazon actually liked the author's book, however, took issue with a few things. The response she received back from the author was a nasty personal attack. In another forum, the author stated that she had used a private investigator to get personal information on the reviewer, an implied threat. Whether the author is full of hot air or actually did this, I cannot say. I would hope it is not true. It also has come to light that this particular author has engaged in questionable behavior for quite some time, striking out at anyone who writes what she deems as a negative review against her work and encourages others to do so as well, with the intention of having the reviews removed from Amazon. There is much more to the story, but I will not go into it here. Suffice it to say, as a reader and reviewer, I am appalled.

I have heard about and even witnessed authors lashing out at readers/reviewers who did not like their work. By lashing out I am referring to being mean spirited and cruel. I will not name names, but I imagine their reputations proceed them. On the flip side, I can think of a couple of authors who have recently commented on the blogs of friends, both of whom were gracious in disagreeing with the reviewer on minor points, and it lead to interesting discussions. As a reader, I appreciate the added insight into a novel. Perhaps I did miss something or will find new understanding with clarification. One of the things I enjoy most about being a part of book discussion groups is the fact that members not only discuss books, but offer differing perspectives and ideas. It is especially exciting when an author can join in on the discussion as well.

Readers/reviewers can be cruel too, of course. I despise author bashing. It really does not serve a purpose, and it says more about the reader than it does about the author. I can say the same for readers who vehemently lash out at other readers who disagree with an opinion on any given book. It is one thing to criticize or disagree in a respectful manner and a completely other thing to resort to insults and name calling.

Anytime you put something out there, it is open to interpretation by the person receiving the information. An author can hope that the reader will fully comprehend and take away from his or her book what the author intended, but so many variables come into play that could make that impossible. Every time I sit down to read a book, I bring with me my life's experiences, my knowledge, my expectations, and, yes, even the mood I am in at the time. This alone is enough to color my impressions of a book. How I perceive something could be entirely different than how you might perceive it. And then there's a matter of taste itself. What appeals to me will not appeal to everyone. There is nothing right or wrong about it. It just is.

When I write a review of a book, I am merely sharing my impressions, putting forth my own opinion about how the book affected me. Reading is a communion between the author and the reader. For a short while, we are bound together in a relationship of sorts. And like in real life, relationships are complex. We put our trust in each other, the author in writing the book and sharing it with the world, and the reader in selecting that book to read. Reading is a very intimate and personal experience.

I can understand how an author might not appreciate a negative review. Not many people like to hear such criticism. An author puts a lot of sweat and time into a book. The book is a part of that author--who he or she is. Some authors handle criticism better than others. Some are able to flick it off their shoulders like it is nothing. Others feel a pang of pain with each negative review, however small. No one likes to be rejected, after all, even in the slightest of ways. Fortunately, most authors do not act out their frustrations of a negative review on the reader/reviewer. They do not turn it into a personal attack. They may blog about it in general terms, but there's nothing at all wrong with that. Authors deserve a forum to talk about us crazy fans and commiserate about the wild things reviewers say. Not to mention it's quite entertaining to blog readers, writers and non-writers alike.

At the same time, I do not think that readers/reviewers should avoid writing well thought out negative reviews. It is never my intention to hurt anyone's feelings, but I value honesty and have to be true not only to myself but also to those who may happen upon my thoughts about any given book. To do otherwise would put into question my credibility as well as my self-respect.

I think that authors who lash out like the one mentioned in the beginning of my rant are very rare. They stand out like a sore thumb as a result. The few authors who have left comments for me so far have always been gracious and kind. I get a thrill when authors take the time to comment on my blog. It is a validation to me as a reader, and, well, it is just plain awesome.

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I had a windfall in free books this week, some coming as a complete surprise. Others were being sold at bargain prices that I just could not resist. It was a rough week, what can I say? Book retail therapy was in order.

Recent Book Acquisitions:
Moving Forward: Taking the Lead in Your Life by Dave Pelzer
The House of Midnight by Lucie Whitehouse
Tigerheart by Peter David
The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton
The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien
The Gathering by Anne Enright
The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler
Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos
Silver of Truth by Lisa Unger
The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
The Courage Consort by Michel Faber

For those who have been reading my blog for awhile, you may remember that I keep two reading journals. There is the official reading journal which is simply a Word document where I keep my reviews and other tidbits that I might find interesting, including the basic statistics of each book. Each year, I open a new Word document and start fresh with a new reading journal. I began that reading journal the latter part of 2003.

I have always loved blank journals and have a little collection thanks to the kindness of others who have thought to give them to me as gifts. I have a nice stack and often wondered what I would do with them, not wanting to give them away because I liked them so much, but I also realized that they were just taking up space. And then I had an idea.

Three and a half years ago, I started keeping a second kind of journal, although I wasn't quite as faithful about writing in it until about two years ago when I began my blog; this one is a running journal of my thoughts as I read a particular book. This proved to be quite helpful when it came to recall, but it also gave me a chance to jot down questions, favorite passages, and my impressions as I went along, things that sometimes got lost by the time I finished a book and was caught up in the euphoria of a good ending or struggling through a bad one. Those blank journals are coming in quite handy now.

Last night I put to rest my second journal, a little notebook that easily fit into my purse alongside my books and has kept me company for just over a year. I began reading April Witch on April 7, 2007, the first book to make an appearance in my handwritten journal. Some of my notes on books are very brief while others go on for pages and pages. I jokingly told my husband about a week and a half ago that I would soon need a rubber band to hold the journal together, the pages beginning to come loose. I wasn't wrong. Jonathan Santlofer's The Murder Notebook has earned the last spot in my journal, a book I finished on April 11, 2008. There's still one more empty page I could probably fill, but the book I am reading now looked like it would inspire me to write even more than the one page would allow, and I was not wrong. I did not want to stop mid-sentence to start a new journal. So, this means goodnight to journal #2.

Now I have to adjust to a new journal. This one with homemade and line free pages. It's about the same size, only fatter, probably because of the thickness of the pages. The cloth cover is quite fetching on the new one, a sort of floral design, but not at all bright. More earthy in tones with its muted green, shades of brown, orange and gold. There are sequins and beads on the front cover that add personality to it. It's even got a little bookmark string attached to help me keep my place.

It makes my battered and rather plain striped notebook with neatly lined paper and its cardboard cover look sad in comparison. My old journal and I shared many adventures over the course of a year. It is battered only from constant use, laid flat so I could write in it, and a pencil too often used as place holder (so I'd always have a utensil with which to write). It traveled with me just about everywhere I went, both literally and figuratively speaking. Shortly, I will be tucking it away in a box with journal #1, another book which is full of the thoughts and memories of my reading experiences.

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I settled in with Tara Yellen's After Hours at the Almost Home last night and was immediately transported to The Almost Home, a bar and grill in Denver, Colorado. It is one of those novels that would have kept me up late into the night had sleep not overwhelmed me. The book was not far from my mind even in sleep as my dreams often took me back there throughout the night. I will be returning there later this morning for another visit.

Recent Book Acquisitions:
Jackfish, The Vanishing Village by Sarah Felix Burns
No One Heard Her Scream by Jordan Dane
The Island of Eternal Love by Daina Chaviano
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim (a prize I won in Jaimie's BAFAB contest--thank you, Jaimie!)
Sobibor by Michael Lev (a gift from Megan--thank you, Megan!)
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (a trade from my friend Nicole from The Reader's Nook online book group.)

I spent some time last night looking through old files of mine, searching for a poem I had written back in my poetry writing days, an ode to books. Actually, I think that was the title, An Ode to Books. I did not come across it, but I did find some other interesting work I'd written long ago: two love poems to my then-boyfriend-now-husband, a short story, a couple of starts to stories I never quite got off the ground, more poems, and bits and pieces from a journal I used to keep, angst and all. I always find it interesting to read some of my old writings. They seem so familiar and yet so foreign at the same time. I went between, "I wrote that? That's crap!" to "I wrote that? That's really good!" And no, I am not going to share. I have not given up on that poem though. I think it may be hidden in the closet somewhere.

I am just about finished reading a short story collection by Kevin Brockmeier, and many of the stories touch upon choices made throughout life, reflections on the past and the direction lives have taken. I love the author's writing style. His descriptions catch feelings quite well, and there is a moodiness about his stories that matches my mood these days. Or maybe that's just me projecting my feelings onto the book. I do that sometimes.

I received my first issue of The Strand not too long ago and still haven't done much beyond flip through it quickly. There is an interview by one of my favorite authors inside, and so you would think I'd be more motivated to read it right away.

Reading Quirk: If a book has a cover with a person looking outward, even if just a face, I have to turn it over when I set it down; otherwise, I feel like the person is watching me.

Several new books have found their home among my stacks. They were welcomed with open arms, although I think a-book-not-to-be-named was a bit put off by the new additions. He threw a bit of a tantrum, in fact. Not a pretty sight. Repeated reassurances seemed to do the trick, however, and now they're all the best of friends.

Recent Acquisitions:
The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper (ARE)
Tarnished Beauty by Cecilia Samartin (ARE)
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult (ARE)
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson (ARE)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid (recommended by Wendy)
Small Favor by Jim Butcher
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (recommended by Jenclair)
Soul Circus by George P. Pelecanos
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

Books in, books out . . .

Thank you to all who participated in my Buy a Friend a Book Week drawings. I do not often give away books, but when I do, I enjoy it, especially sharing the excitement with the recipient. I actually had the opportunity to give away two other books to friends this past week, duplicates I had received unexpectedly, which added to my pleasure at being able to share my books with others.

On to the winners . . .

Amy of Park-Avenue Princess is the lucky winner of The Cove by Catherine Coulter.

Chris of Book-a-rama is the lucky winner of An Angel of Forgetfulness by Steve Stern.

Congratulations, Chris and Amy! I hope you enjoy your books. I will be posting another giveaway tomorrow for those who may be interested.

I had planned on getting a start on the laundry right about now, but it looks like that may have to wait. My sleepy dog is resting his head on my shoulder, and I hate to disturb him just yet.

Happy reading everyone!

This is the final installment of my own thoughts as I read Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman. I haven't touched upon every essay in the book, just the ones that made the biggest impression on me. If you are curious and have yet to do so, please check out Part One and Part Two.

Thoughts of this common reader (continued):

"Inset a Carrot" (The title of this essay is simplified here because I do not know how to add in the edit marks)- While dining out one night, the Fadiman family began perusing the menu, each of them pointing out errors in spelling and wording as they went along. The Fadiman's are natural proofreaders and have taken this habit a step farther. Anne's mother, for example, collects newspaper clippings filled with errors and plans to one day ship them all to the editor.

I spend a good part of my workday proofreading and making corrections. It is no wonder then that when I sit down to read a book, I have a difficult time ignoring the errors. Still, if I am caught up in a story, sometimes I am willing to overlook the minor mistakes. Unfortunately for my staff, their work is rarely that captivating.

Anne also mentions her annoying habit of looking over her husband's shoulder and making corrections to his writing. I am guilty of this as well, I admit. I am not quite as quick at finding my own errors, however, and sometimes miss them altogether. It can be quite embarrassing.

"Eternal Ink" - The perfect writing utensil can sometimes act as a muse. With the advent of computers, more and more people are using computers to write, which for some makes the process more impersonal, more hurried, and less romantic.

I have had favorite pens and pencils over the years, but none stand out in memory. I am one of those people who finds it easier to compile my thoughts and write on the computer than to pen something by hand. My thoughts come faster than my pen will write, sometimes faster than I can hit the keys, but the convenience of copying, pasting, moving text around until it fits perfectly together is hard to beat. When I do write, I prefer to write in pencil. Perhaps it is my insecurities coming through or just the fact that I like the gentler touch of a pencil. It is not as permanent, certainly, but my thoughts are not always permanent. I cross out just as much as I use the eraser. I don't mind smudges in my notebook from the eraser. I think it adds a bit of character.

My husband is much more specific about the type of pen he uses than I am. He prefers "the Uniball Roller Micro (5mm), made by Sanford, preferable in black," although he likes to have a variety handy for other purposes.

"The Literary Glutten" - Although I eat when I read, I rarely develop an appetite for a food I may be reading about at any given moment. It is different for Anne, however, for whom food in books creates an appetite.

I asked my husband where he stands on this subject: "Yeah, reading about food does nothing for me. Unless someone eats pizza. That's usually enough to start a craving."

"My Ancestral Castles" - Anne was raised in a home of readers. They were a family that read together as well as on their own. I imagine there was not a place in her house where there was not a book to be found. Bookshelves lined the walls. A person's bookshelves say a lot about them, sometimes revealing more about the person then he or she might realize.

When I enter a house, my eyes automatically search out the books. While not every booklover is a collector of books, there usually are some books out and about, even if they are library books. I especially love it when visitors to my home do the same, stopping in front of my shelves and start browsing the titles. I feel a sense of pride in my collection, as motley as it might be. I am not really sure what my books say about me, although I attempted to figure it out in last week's Sunday Salon. Maybe my library says I have too busy of a mind.

"Secondhand Prose" - It is no surprise that Anne is drawn to used bookstores. As a carnal booklover and one who values inscriptions as she does, she can fully appreciate the treasures that are tucked away in the cozy used bookshop, not to mention coming across an older out of print book that cannot be found elsewhere.

I admit that I prefer new books to old, but there certainly is something special about a used book, one that has crossed through many hands, is read and appreciated, has that irresistible old book smell, and will most likely be passed on again at some point. Isn't that the purpose of books? Books are the ultimate way to tell a story, a story to be shared with many others, passed along for generations to come.

A couple of days ago, a friend sent me the link to Rachel Donadio's article in The New York Times Sunday Book Review, "It's Not You, It's Your Books," an essay about how taste in literature can sometimes get in the way of love. It is an interesting article and at times worth a few chuckles.

My husband and I are fortunate enough to share a love for the written word. We have similar tastes, but sometimes we disagree. It seems only natural. I have reader friends whose significant others barely open a magazine to read at any given time, much less bother with books. Many are happy in their relationships. Since it was books and writing that initially brought my husband and I together, I cannot fathom the idea of not having that in common with my spouse. Reading and books are an important part of my life, and I personally would prefer to share it with someone who feels similarly. But that is just me. I do not believe there is any one recipe for a successful relationship.

This past week I seemed to hit the jackpot in ARE's. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway arrived as did The Book of Dahlia by Elisa Albert. I found one sitting on my front porch and the other behind the back gate. Both delivered on the same day. Obviously signs that the books came via different routes. It almost felt like an Easter egg hunt! I also received an ARE of After Hours at the Almost Home by Tara Yellen as well as a copy of The Arthurian Omen by G.G. Vandagriff, a Library Thing Early Reviewer selection. It wasn't my birthday, was it?

After reading Bibliolatrist's review of Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates, I could not wait to add it to my TBR collection and so picked up a copy while at the store yesterday. Since I was already there, I stopped by the discount table and picked up copies of Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman and Clockers by Richard Price as well.

Buy a Friend a Book Week officially begins Tuesday with several contests already underway in the blogosphere. Will you be surprising someone with a book this week?

Last Sunday I let you glimpse some of my thoughts as I began reading Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader. Part One of my own impressions found us discussing the joining of libraries, the love of words and poetry.

This week, let's take a walk through my library as I continue sharing my thoughts as I read this little book about reading and books.

Thoughts of this common reader (continued) -

"My Odd Shelf" - Anne refers to her odd shelf as books "unrelated to the rest of the library, yet which, upon closer inspection, reveals a good deal about its owner." [pg 21] The only odd shelf I have in the house is what I refer to as the reference bookcase which houses all of the reference books, home repair how-to books, the Bibles, animal care books, and cookbooks. I do not think that is exactly what Anne was referring to. And if it is, my odd shelf could be very misleading if you expected to actually learn something about me from the books I keep on that bookcase.

Literate Kitten posted about a similar topic, although more general as it relates to a person's entire library, Thoughts for Thursday - What Your Books Say About You. Over half of the books I own are unread books, books I have collected in recent years with every intention of reading. I still plan to read all of these books too; it's just that I am not quite as fast a reader as I am a book collector. Like in life, there is so much I want to take in and enjoy and, unfortunately, there never seems to be enough time to do and see it all.

Among my read and unread books, there is a wide variety of subject matter. I am a very curious person and have a passion for learning. I especially enjoy learning about other cultures and lifestyles, whether they be somewhere close to home, in another country, or in another world altogether. Although the mysteries probably outnumber the fantasy novels, I have a great passion for both--and it shows on my shelves.

The condition of the books a person's shelves also says something about us, don't they? Mine are a combination of pristine and tattered and torn, depending. There are new and used books on as well. Not one is there for display alone--that's not the sort of person I am.

The books are organized simply. The hardbacks and trade paperbacks are separated out from the mass market paperbacks. It's more of a shelving issue than for aesthetic purposes. Mass market paperbacks take up less room and are easier to double shelve. Regardless, they are all in alphabetical order by author's surname. Series books are kept in order of publication. At the moment I have quite a few books stacked at odd angles on top of the shelved books. Lack of space and my tardiness in filing them away being the two main reasons for this. Oh, and my to be read books are kept separate from the read books, rooms apart, but the shelving system is the same for all of them. While my bookshelves convey a sense of organization there is still a hint of underlying chaos, another echo of who I am.

What do your books say about you?

"Never Do That To A Book" - This was among my favorite chapters of the book. This is a topic dear to many of us booklovers hearts regardless of which side you stand. Anne describes two camps on this issue: the courtly lover who is always careful and treats books like a fragile glass figurine; and the carnal lover who ravishes books, loves them hard, and is not afraid to let it show. One is gentle and would not dare mark in a book. The other is fearless and uses the margins as if the space is meant for notes and recording a reader's history. Anne is a carnal lover as is most of her family. Her examples had me chuckling and nodding along in agreement, from both sides of the fence.

This topic has come up a few times before. You can find my more detailed thoughts on the subject here and here. I fall somewhere in between a courtly and carnal booklover when all is said and done.

"Words On A Fly Leaf" - This is perhaps my favorite of the author's essays. It was not too long ago that I shared my thoughts about inscriptions in books. Anne shared her own story about how the first book she received from her husband-then-beau was inscribed in a rather impersonal, friendly way, and then years later, he had penned the most romantic dedication she could have hoped for. Inscriptions can hold all sorts of meanings, be serious, romantic, funny, or short and to the point. For the recipient, it can mean the world. Or not:

"How melancholy, by contrast, are the legions of inscribed copies one finds in any used book-rack, each memorial to a betrayed friendship. Do the traitors believe that their faithlessness will remain secret? If so, they are sadly deluded. Hundreds of people will witness it, including on one occasion, the inscriber. Shaw once came across one of his books in a secondhand shop, inscribed To---- with esteem, George Bernard Shaw. He bought the book and returned it to ------, adding the line, With renewed esteem, George Bernard Shaw." [pg 60]

Of course, there are many reasons an inscribed book might land in a secondhand bookshop, not just because the reader no longer wants the book.

"You Are There" - Would the ultimate reading experience involve reading the book in the setting that is being described? Anne Fadiman thinks so. I do like to visit the places I read about or read about the places I visit. On my husband's and my journey through the Southwestern U.S., I was especially drawn to books set in the spots we visited. Anytime we would come across a bookstore, I headed straight for the local area section in hopes of finding just the right book. I have also found that it can be even more stirring to read a book set in the same season that is underway when I read a book, even if the location may not be one I am familiar with.

I had every intention of answering this week's Booking Through Thursday question along with participating in the Friday Fill Ins. A surprise visit from my parents and a few other unexpected issues of the unwelcome variety have kept me away from the computer and my reading this week. I have been unable to stop in and visit all my favorite blogs recently as a result. Hopefully I will be able to get back into the groove of things soon.

New Book Acquisitions:

I hope that you all have a good week. Happy reading.

Anne's essays are full of humor and sentimentality. While I could not relate to every topic she raised in her book, I did enjoy reading about her experiences as a common reader.

I keep a trusty notebook handy when I read, and the following are my notes as I read each essay. Because of the length of my thoughts, my comments will be split into multiple parts. I hope that you will share some of your own experiences and thoughts as well!

Thoughts of this common reader -

"Marrying Libraries" - Anne and her husband waited five years into their marriage before finally taking the plunge to merge their individual libraries. It proved to be a difficult task because they each had their own organizational preferences, which did not always coincide.

I asked my husband if he remembered the moment in our lives when we decided to marry our libraries (and our CD collections--which I think was somehow harder, although I'm not sure why). My own recollection is a bit fuzzy because, frankly, we did not really have any disagreements about which books should go where. Neither of us was nearly as particular as Anne and George had been. The hard part for me was taking that step at all. There was a finality in the process that was both exciting and a tad bit frightening.

Anjin's own recollection is similar: I don't remember any conflict. It felt like a natural extension of our moving in together. Although I still think of certain books as mine, it's just a vestige of old favorites being added to our communal shelves. The only weirdness was dealing with multiple copies of the same book, but we figured out how to deal with that pretty quick. We see eye-to-eye more often than not, so conflict over books seems a little silly to me.

Anjin brings up an interesting point regarding books that we still consider our own. I confess to feeling that way too about some of the books on our shelves--and about all of the books in the TBR room, even though technically, they are just as much his books as they are mine.

"The Joy of Sesquipedalians" - A sesquipedalian, by definition, is a long word. In this particular essay, Anne reminisces about her love affair with words. Her parents encouraged both her brother and her in their reading and love of words. She and her brother used to search them out, making it a sort of competition. Throughout all her essays, the author's love of words comes through in her writing.

My own love for words is not quite as passionate as Anne's. I do find beauty in words, the way words come together and are manipulated to form images and stories. There is a definite power in words and in how we use them. Sometimes I will come across a word that will thrill me, but it is less common then it was when I was younger.

I asked Anjin his thoughts on the subject and this is what he has to say: I never have had much love for individual words. I'm not the kind that likes the sound of a word or discovering how it's derived. As a writer, I'm more interested in the utility of certain words and how they flesh out the structure of my writing. I like words that evoke more precise meanings or that make a complex statement more concise. The right word in the right place works wonders. But it's the flow of the structure that I care about, not the individual pieces.

In reading this essay one of the questions that popped in my head was whether or not you look up words you do not know when you read? And if you do, do you make a list to go back to later or rush to the dictionary or computer to look them up right away? I admit that a lot depends on where I am and how easily I can access a reference tool to look up definitions. Sometimes I can figure out the meaning of a word based on the context it is used, but other times I prefer to know the exact meaning.

"Scorn Not the Sonnet" - The author writes about her own attempts at writing poetry and the point in which she realized that good, meaningful poetry, as well as the sonnet, involves more than just the mechanics of it. The voice in which the poet speaks can reach deep into the soul if done right. Anne shared how difficult it was when her father, an