Saturday, March 10, 2012

Confessions of a Bookaholic

When we were little, my Mom would get us out of her hair by annoyedly saying, "Go read something." It worked. Too well. We grew to be absorbed in books, so absorbed that she'd eventually yell, "Get your nose outta that book and (whatever she wanted us to do)!"

Reading has remained my favorite activity. Books have a sort of migration pattern in my home. New and unread books pile up on my nightstand, where they are eventually read in order of urgency (library books first, natch). The ones I'm very attached to stay there until I have a clearing fit. The really beloved may never leave the nightstand (there's a pile of Game of Thrones and Led Zep books there now). From there they go to the sitting room to join a stack on my desk or a tabletop or be shelved in a bookcase. Years down the line, I may get rid of a few, but only the extraneous. Books, like music, mark times in my life. I'd sooner lose a kidney than some of my books.

The Guardian has reformatted its webpages, which means little. What matters is what you find in them. And this weekend, the "Books" page has lots of goodies. This is what originally drew me to the Guardian, its excellent books section. Much better than the NY Times.

500 new fairytales were found in Germany, compiled by a compadre of the Grimm Brothers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/05/five-hundred-fairytales-discovered-germany

An interesting podcast about factual fiction and fictionized facts:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audio/2012/mar/09/john-lanchester-paul-mason-podcast

Characters sometimes reincarnate in surprising ways
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/09/prequels-sequels-books

Have a weird ebook you want promoted?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/09/weird-fiction-electronic-universe-ebooks

The story of a bookstore and a ubiquitous poster
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2012/mar/09/keep-calm-and-carry-on-secret-history

The poem of the week
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/05/poem-of-the-week-philip-sidney

Ladies, take note
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2012/mar/08/neglected-women-writers-class-issue

8 comments:

SarcasticTestGuy said...

Many of my best friends are books that I've read. I do love my kindle, and Game of Thrones may be among the next books that I try to tackle, as I've been told that the story is excellent.

Thanks for the resources.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm.... that sample fairy tale you linked to reads like a magic mushroom trip. Of course, I've never been sure that the old fairy tales were actually meant for children.

Lisa said...

I love reading- you know that fact very well. While I love holding the book in hand and turning the pages, I have to say I really, really love my Nook. Oh yeah, I've got about 300 pages to go in Feast!! grrrrr

Austan said...

STG- GoT is worth every minute. It's a story you've never heard and every story you've ever heard.

(and you're most welcome. My pleasure.)

Austan said...

Lawless- The best things, like Bugs Bunny, speak different things to different ages. ;)

Austan said...

Lisa- I have a huge resistance to consuming power to read. It's bad enough I can't see well in the dark anymore and have to turn lights on. Which makes me hear Marge the Sarge yelling, "Turn on a light, you'll go blind reading in the dark!"

Elephant's Child said...

Our house is groaning at the seams with books. Every once in a while I manage to cull some that I am sure I will never read again. All the bookshelves are stacked two deep. A never ending source of joy/education/escape/amusement. The love of reading is the best gift my parents ever gave me.

Austan said...

EC- I absolutely agree.