I am in the process of Book Reading that in some ways I find almost as interesting (alas) as in the reading for some--it is the Choosing.
I walk around the house, checking the shelves in the living room, the extra bedrooms, and the den.
I peer and pull, read the titles, names of authors, and reviews on the book jacket if it has one. I sometimes choose according to my list of Good Reads which I have downloaded from the Net.
Sometimes I choose according to genre as in historical fiction, mystery, soft fantasy or self-help, or some combination thereof.
Sometimes I just sit and read recipe books. The Bible , being a great reread, even gets picked up upon occasion for a chapter or two.
Other times I choose according to a repeat author, although not often, as I like to check out various writer's styles. Mark Twain, Mauve Binchy, Agatha Christie, Ken Follet, Colleen McCullough, James Clavell , J. R. R. Tolkien, L. M. Montgomery,and John Updike, ( didn't that Rabbit just need a slap on the upside of his head?) are just a few author repeats. Some because of their quality. Some because of availability.
I avoid reading any book that someone else in the house has just read. Nor do I like someone reading a book that I have just read. To me it is like the 'stealing' of a good friend. I just find it creepy that someone sitting beside me would be peering into 'my book', experiencing the same words and thoughts that 'my author' had just recently revealed to me and that person getting to react to the characters in the same manner as I, or even worse--have a different reaction. I can't help but feel just a little jealous when I see my dear old friend sitting on the other bed stand, or being attentively carried around and watch it being picked up, held and its pages gently turned, and with each turn convey to someone else its adventures, ideas, and emotions. You may call it weird but that's just the way I feel about what I refer to as Copy Cat Reading.
Sometimes I choose by size and even weight. A friend is currently reading a 900 page book that he claims weighs at least five pounds. Who would have thought that a book about Cleopatra would be that weighty? Imagine having that sitting on your chest while reading late at night or carrying it around on a bus trip? No stashing that one in your carry on or casually laying it down on a lunch counter at a rest stop.
So after about 45 minutes of just walking around the house-- perusing, analyzing and trying to imagine the subjects and plots ( a totally futile effort), I have finally made a choice.
It should travel well in case I do. It should be worthy of my time and attention, which I believe it is as it is considered one of the Top 100 books of the 20th Century. I have heard of it but not enough to spoil the suspense.
Although I probably won't carry it in my pocket and will not likely meet anyone in Uniform while reading it, I do think it will be good company for the next few days.
1st Published 1930 . This Pocket Edition was done 1944. Please note the black box on the lower right hand side on the back cover.
A movie with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall was made in 1941.
I walk around the house, checking the shelves in the living room, the extra bedrooms, and the den.
I peer and pull, read the titles, names of authors, and reviews on the book jacket if it has one. I sometimes choose according to my list of Good Reads which I have downloaded from the Net.
Sometimes I choose according to genre as in historical fiction, mystery, soft fantasy or self-help, or some combination thereof.
Sometimes I just sit and read recipe books. The Bible , being a great reread, even gets picked up upon occasion for a chapter or two.
Other times I choose according to a repeat author, although not often, as I like to check out various writer's styles. Mark Twain, Mauve Binchy, Agatha Christie, Ken Follet, Colleen McCullough, James Clavell , J. R. R. Tolkien, L. M. Montgomery,and John Updike, ( didn't that Rabbit just need a slap on the upside of his head?) are just a few author repeats. Some because of their quality. Some because of availability.
I avoid reading any book that someone else in the house has just read. Nor do I like someone reading a book that I have just read. To me it is like the 'stealing' of a good friend. I just find it creepy that someone sitting beside me would be peering into 'my book', experiencing the same words and thoughts that 'my author' had just recently revealed to me and that person getting to react to the characters in the same manner as I, or even worse--have a different reaction. I can't help but feel just a little jealous when I see my dear old friend sitting on the other bed stand, or being attentively carried around and watch it being picked up, held and its pages gently turned, and with each turn convey to someone else its adventures, ideas, and emotions. You may call it weird but that's just the way I feel about what I refer to as Copy Cat Reading.
Sometimes I choose by size and even weight. A friend is currently reading a 900 page book that he claims weighs at least five pounds. Who would have thought that a book about Cleopatra would be that weighty? Imagine having that sitting on your chest while reading late at night or carrying it around on a bus trip? No stashing that one in your carry on or casually laying it down on a lunch counter at a rest stop.
So after about 45 minutes of just walking around the house-- perusing, analyzing and trying to imagine the subjects and plots ( a totally futile effort), I have finally made a choice.
It should travel well in case I do. It should be worthy of my time and attention, which I believe it is as it is considered one of the Top 100 books of the 20th Century. I have heard of it but not enough to spoil the suspense.
Although I probably won't carry it in my pocket and will not likely meet anyone in Uniform while reading it, I do think it will be good company for the next few days.
1st Published 1930 . This Pocket Edition was done 1944. Please note the black box on the lower right hand side on the back cover.
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