My notion of the ideal day used to be curled up in a warm afghan – perhaps by the fireplace – with a glass of tea, and an amazingly engrossing book. However, as I delved deeper and deeper into the world of knitting, this notion has shifted slightly. The warm afghan, the fireplace, and the tea are all still there, but the book may be a pattern book, and my hands will undoubtedly be holding yarn and needles…
Now that I am finished with school, I have some free time on my hands. Of course, what immediately pops into my head is MORE KNITTING TIME! but I have also been feeling the desire to read more. I have kept up with the book reviews, and I even managed to fit in some great audio books to listen to at work, but I want to actually hold a book in my hands. Flip through the pages. Stay up late to get to the end of the chapter. You know the feeling.
My book "stash" is like my yarn stash. It is large, varied, and beautiful to me. I like to stare at it, touch it, and yes, even smell it, on occasion. When I finish one book, like yarn, it is often replaced by a new book; therefore, the stash never gets any smaller.
And that doesn't even factor in my request list at the library. When I get wind of a new book, I add it to my list at the public library. Often, others had that same idea, and the lists are quite long. Yet, when my turn rolls around, I get a little email notification, and I make my merry way to the library to pick it up.
Such is the case with my newest read:
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Water for Elephants has received several favorable reviews, and the premise sounded intriguing. Plus, Susan liked it, and that is a good sign, since we tend to read and enjoy the same kind of books. I started it last night, and suddenly, I was 70 pages in: loving the story and the style. |
Depression-era traveling circus… sound familiar?** I look forward to reading more tonight and over the weekend. It is quite good so far.
The last two fiction books that I read, Alias Grace, and The Kite Runner, were so moving and I recommend them both highly. I also have a lot of books on the shelf, as you can see in the picture above. In recent years, my reading has turned to non-fiction titles, and my bookshelf reflects that change. Loads of history, cultural studies, and linguistics books… and a smattering of fiction and short stories.
My non-fiction "fix" lately came in the form of an audiobook.
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While I am greatly enjoying The Omnivore's Dilemma it is also unsettling. The thesis of the book is that the modern human is too far removed from their food. We go to the store, buy our food, and rarely think about where it came from – except when problems arise, like the recent E. coli outbreak in the mid-Atlantic over raw scallions… |
Vegetarian or not – organic or not, we are all affected by this globalization of our food sources. It is food for thought – literally.
And lastly, in my knitting "research" reading, I have began reading Sheila McGregor's great work, Traditional Scandinavian Knitting. It is well-researched, and has some great charts too. This book was a birthday gift from Kris, and I am enjoying it so much that I added her Traditional Fair Isle Knitting to my wishlist!
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So, now I am wondering, since my appetite for books and for information is unsatiable:
What books are you reading?
What books have you recently enjoyed?
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**It is reminiscent of one of my favorite television shows – Carnivale on HBO – cancelled before it ever really took on. (You can get the DVDs though, but the story is just left with this awful cliffhanger – and no resolution whatsoever.) I am assuming it will not be picked up again, considering two of the major characters from the show ("Brother Justin" and "Sophie" now have reoccuring roles in other network hit shows – "LOST" and "Heroes", respectively) Sigh.
Are you a member of Library Thing? You’d love it – though being a library science gal I’m sure you’ve heard about it by now….
I read the Kite Runner earlier this spring – I haven’t been doing very much reading since I left my bookstore job in June. I guess working in the bookstore really spurred on my reading!
What else did I love? Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Two years ago it was the Time Traveler’s Wife and the Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (not something most people know about but it’s amazing.) Three years or four ago it would be A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and the Adventures of Kavalier and Klay.
My partially read list is:
Color
Animals in Translation
The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber
(I’m relatively slow with non-fiction.)
My “stash” includes:
The Accidental, Ali Smith
Night Watch, Sarah W
Half a Life, Vs. Naipul
The Wonder Spot, Melissa Banks
Gilead, Marilyn Robinson
Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
Will and the Word
Krakatoa
New Jack
and several “Best of American….”
Working in a used bookstore was fantastic and I kind of panicked when I realized I wouldn’t be doing it anymore.
I definitely want to read:
March, Geraldine Brooks
and
Water for Elephants.
There are a couple of other books out there that I will snatch up post Christmas. The titles always escape me, so I have to get them before they stop showing up on the little tables in the bookstore!
I spend the rest of my time reading fantasy. The find of the summer was Shaman’s Crossing, but Myrren’s Gift was pretty awesome too.
Okay I went on way way too long… I love books too.
Oh, dear, seperated-at-birth twin! Yesterday I put many of those books on my library wait list (and Amazon wish list, since Christmas is coming up. Water for Elephants, Alias Grace, Kite Runner, Omnivore’s Dilemma! Seriously, just YESTERDAY!
I have a copy of Traditional Fair Isle Knitting that I don’t use very often; I hate doing color work! Would you like it?
I’m the same way with my books — they’re like old friends. I carry them with me everywhere I move and never feel settled until they are unpacked!
Your note about being disconnected with our food really resonated with me. Since I’ve been living in the mountains, I’ve become obsessed with self-sustaining lifestyles (a big thing down here) — growing my own food, buying locally, and become more aware of the process of food growth. This weekend, I’m participating in a hog killing at my friends’ house. They’ve been raising two hogs all year, and we’ll kill them on Saturday. I’ll get some bacon out of the deal, but I’m really very interested in being a part of the process (that way, I don’t have to feel guilty about eating meat. If I can’t respect the animal enough raise and kill it, then maybe I shouldn’t eat it)… anyway, that’s a rant for another time (probably my blog next week!)
Thanks for stopping by my blog… I’ve been lurking here for a while, but will make an effort to be more vocal!
I am currently reading Eragon as the movie will be released in Germany next week and I want to finish before then. I like the book and have ordered Eldest as well, but then I love fantasy and am a sucker for Fantasy.
I recently joined the November challenge and read some WWI books, but the Pat Barker one was not as good as her Regeneration Triolgy which impressed me deeply.
I have also joined the read from the stacks challenge (5 books till end of January), the classic challenge (5 classics in January/February) and the tbr challenge (12 books from your to be read pile, one each month). Ambitious, but it will get me to read more again.
I plan to take Blind Assassin up again once I finish Eragon and since I generally enjoy Atwood’s work, this should be interesting. Have you read Oryx and Crane? That was very spooky and very good.
Being a grad student, I don’t get much chance to read things that aren’t for school. I’m lucky, though, in that the projects I’ve chosen to work on this semester have given me an excuse to go back and read papers and books that I’m really excited about (if you must know: A.P. Martinich’s “The Philosophy of Language”, Horn & Ward’s “The Handbook of Pragmatics”, and Hofstadter & Dennet’s “The Mind’s I”…all of which I highly recommend to anyone who has an interest in language/cognitive science…all but the Horn & Ward are really approachable for someone new to the area, and I’d also recommend Hofstadter’s “Le Ton Beau de Marot”, my favorite book ever…the book is in English even though the title isn’t, and it’s all about the beauty of language and the interesting problems posed by translation).
I really want to read that Omnivore’s Dilemna book…I’ve heard such good things about it. I’m vegetarian, but still rely an awful lot of prepackaged stuff from far-away places, It’d be good to read something that gets me really thinking about making some serious changes to the way we eat. I’ve actually got that book, as well as a couple of Elizabeth Zimmermann books and Nancy Bush’s “Knitting on the Road” in my amazon shopping cart, which I plan to actually order as soon as I am not totally broke!
For fiction (which I might actually get a chance to read over break!), I’m hoping to get back into reading the Terry Pratchett series (I stopped several years ago, but his brand of witty, pun-filled humor really gets me!); I get jealous because everytime there’s a new book, my husband devours it in a couple of days and I never have the time to read it! I’d also like to finish out my mission of reading every Vonnegut book, and rereading our Douglas Adams books, and I’d like to read some Atwood, as well. Our stash here at home is ridiculously large, and is the only thing that makes moving a pain, because other than that (and yarn), we don’t really collect much junk.
Wow, that was an awful lot to write just about books! Hooray for books! (and my apologies for cluttering your already full comments page!)
Two of my favorite books are The Historian & The Glass Books of the Dreameaters……both really good books…..and my fav Stephen King is Bag of Bones
You mean besides Dr. Seuss and Paddington Bear? (Not that there’s anything wrong with Fox In Socks, mind.)
I’m back in historical mode… “Marie Antoinette: The Journey” by Antonia Fraser and “Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens” by Jane Dunn have been at the top of my reading list. I’m a history buff at heart.
But out of my usual zone, I have to say that I recently regiggled my way through Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s excellent “Good Omens.” Man, I love that book.
I can’t imagine life without being surrounded by good books.
Hey Lolly! I was just thinking of you last night because I went to a new grocery store in our area, and while I’m pretty sure you will already know about it, I figured I’d mention it anyway. There is a new M.O.M. (My Organic Market) at the intersection of 175 and route 1. It’s a little challenging to get to but you can find it if you pull in to the truck entrance bythe McDonald’s on 175 or turning left from rt 1 at the Arby’s.
You are so right about being removed from our food. It’s something I think about more and more as time goes by.
Hurray for Water for Elephants!!! It does lure you in quickly doesn’t it?! When I first read your post I thought it was neat that there was another Susan out there who liked that book but a quick hover over the link and silly me, it was me (but there are lots of Susans out there in blogland)! Like you, I always have my list going and my library is just a couple clicks away. I just got Pomegranate Soup yesterday after reading the review of it in something recently. Have you read that one? I love to armchair travel and am visiting Japan right now via Japanland.
I miss Carnivale too…
Hi, Lolly! I most recently read Amy Tan’s Saving Fish from Drowning and rediscovered all over again how she is such a seamless weaver of stories. What a joy!
I am in serious envy of moth your book and yarn stash! I love to read, but I rarely make time for it anymore. Since I can’t knit and read at the same time, I find myself watching much more TV than I used to. I am asking for several new books for Christmas, so hopefully I will find some books I’m excited about and get back into the reading habit.
PS – Do you have a whole room of your house dedicated to books?
I just finished Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior a couple of weeks ago. It was interesting and an enjoyable read.
I feel the same way as you do… I prefer real books than audio books! Besides, my english is much better reading than listening… It is an accent thing… LOL
I have learned British and mostly in books… so… You know what I mean…
To answer, your question, right now I am reading the Old Testament in French. Never did before… I only have read it in English and I thought I would have to fix that…
On my nightstand, “Les Fleurs du Mal” de Charles Beaudelaire (bilingual edition) and The Da Vinci Code that has been put on the side a little… I knew I shouldn’t watch the movie before reading the book! LOL
The latest book I have enjoyed is “At Knit’s End – Meditations for Women who Knit too much” by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I loved it!
Happy Holiday Season!
{{{HUGS}}}
I just finished “The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, V.1. The Pox Party” by M.T. Anderson. It won the National book award this year for Y.A. It was good but slightly disturbing, I think, for younger readers.
Right now I’m reading “Strapped: why American’s 20 and 30 somethings can’t get ahead.” By Tamara Draut. Very insightful. Maybe it will enlighten me on the fact why I am so broke constantly.
I love your bookshelves! I am envisioning something like that for one wall of my living room. Where did you get them? Or did you hubby build them himself?
Is that a picture of your personal library? If so, I am insainly jealous! With 3 kids, I usually buy and read kid books and lose myself in trashy historical romance novels. Mostly because my town’s library doesn’t have kid friendly hours in the winter (1-6, umm.. naptime dinnertime?)
Omnivore’s dilema does sound like a very interesting read to me. Awhile a go I realized I keep buying the same fruits and veggies, and decided then to break out and tray new things.
I’ve gotten back into reading again this past week or so now that the only craziness of school left this semester is finals. (yeah, I should probably be studying) I’m deep into The Plot Against America, just a couple years behind everyone else as usual, but I’m loving it.
Ha! Right now I’m preparing the very final copy of my manuscript for publication–will send if to the copy editor on Saturday!–and can’t wait to get back to actually reading!
This last year it has been very hard to keep up with my reading (because of the new restaurant). However, a two week vacation last month found both DH and I reading more than viewing in Paris and Rome. Niether of us had realized how much we missed page turning;) The World to Come, by Dara Horn was a great read. As was Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Right now I am trying to finish The Orientalist, by Tom Reiss so that I can read Ali and Nino, by Kurban Said (the orientalist). For my knitting time I have been listening to The Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon. I love light listening while knitting, but I have also been getting a small Scottish history lesson in the process.
It is fun to read what everyone else is into. I almost purchased Water for Elephants for that vacation. I’ll have to get it to have on hand for one I am taking in February.
Right now I am listening to The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova and it is riveting
) So much so that I listened to it while walking around the mall yesterday ;o)
My current ‘before bed’ reading is Book 2 of the Septimus Heap series which is a ‘young adult” book but it’s just enough of an easy read that I can absorb it at 1am.
yay! someone else who has a book “stash” in addition to all her yarn. I also often put books on the nypl hold list and then when my turn comes (which could be months or days) i wonder why or how i heard of this book. (that happened with the architecture of happiness). it’s a bit fun that way actually.
i often have many books going along with all the knitting projects. the day i can learn to read a book, knit, AND type will be a day I’m truly happy. I have the first two down (but only for hardbacks).
*sigh* my dream is to have gorgeous bookshelves/library like your picture and a nice reading chair. I spent the time reading your post looking up at my walls and musing how nice bookshelves would look there. hah! [we are looking to move so ANY new furniture is strongly debated first ... i have been sneaking both books and yarn into the flat for months. shh! don't tell my husband.].