For Book Lovers

Friday, 8:38 pm

By Kate

Jul

02

2010

Since this is a long weekend (in the US, at least), maybe this will give a couple of you something to go with your later morning coffee…

Bookshelf Porn..... I might be embarrassed to tell you how long I spent gazing on all of the sumptuous photographs. There are many people out there in the whole wide world who love books. I love peeping into their homes and public spaces filled with books. Maybe you will, too.

While poking though the Bookshelf Porn photos, I found a few of a book shop in Paris, called Shakespeare and Co., that completely captured my imagination. I think that the shop has been around nearly as long as time. It seems to be a most magnificent and magical place. Here is an article in the U.K. Guardian from last March that is a feast of word pictures. For the more visually attuned, watch this You Tube video of the bookshop and interview with the manager.

Shakespeare and Co. is one place I’d really like to visit before shuffling off this mortal coil.

Enjoy the books.

I'm a Kindle-loving Nazi?

Saturday, 11:29 pm

By Kate

Dec

05

2009

I do so love my Kindle. This afternoon I wirelessly downloaded 13 books for a total cost of $24.40. As follows:

1. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens - $0.0

2. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott - $0.0

3. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens - $0.0

4. The Beautiful and the Damned - F. Scott Fitzgerald - $0.0

5. This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald - $0.0

6. Sookie Stackhouse 8-book “boxed set" - Charlaine Harris - $24.40 (includes: Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, Club Dead, Dead to the World, Dead as a Doornail, Definitely Dead, All Together Dead, From Dead to Worse)

I also get a subscription to The New Yorker and daily New York Times latest news articles (in depth and updated several times a day) for a total of $4.98 per Month.

And I get to carry all that reading material (plus about 300 other titles) around in a light-weight device the width and height of an average paperback novel. I really can’t imagine what’s not to like about that, but I know that some people are opposed to digital/e-books for various reasons. Perhaps the monks thought Gutenberg’s invention heralded the end of civilization, too. Change is hard for some folks.

And some folks seem to think that reading is an all or nothing proposition—either you read all paper books or you read all e-books and destroy the world. Never seems to penetrate their noggins that some of us buy dead tree books, borrow dead tree books from the library, and buy and read e-books as well. I’ve even heard it said that some people even—gasp!—listen to audio books. And you know what? It is entirely plausible that we can do all of the above without bringing civilization down around our ears.

Bearing that in mind, this HuffPo article is over the top, stupid, and really offensive. I mean, reaaaaaaally grossly offensive. The author equates the Kindle (and Google books) to Nazi book burnings and concentration camp culture. Slightly ironic that the article’s author has a book offered for $9.99 on Kindle. How much you want to wager he’s donating those evil Nazi royalty dollars to the charity of his choice? Yeah, me neither.

My Autumn 2009 Reading List

Thursday, 10:00 pm

By Kate

Nov

05

2009

I have little bit of a library book logjam going on. I should not be doing anything but sticking my nose in a book when the opportunity presents itself. These are all mostly new books, so they are not renewable at this time. That means I have about 2000 pages to read in a week and a half. I have my doubts, but I’m going to do my best.

How does this happen? Well, I put in interlibrary requests for books and go on the waiting lists. I had assumed that my place in line was not an arbitrary number, but it appears that it is. If my hometown library gets in the book I want, then the next person on the list From My Town goes to the head of the list. Just so happens, I ended up jumping from something like 57 on a waiting list to number 1. A couple of times. Messed up my reading schedule something awful.

My autumn book list currently looks like this—I just didn’t anticipate having all of them in my possession at the same time.

This Quiet Dust: And Other Writings by William Styron

I’ve had this one for a little while now and have renewed it once. I can’t renew it again and it’s due on Monday, so this is at the top of my list. Interesting book...it begins as a response to both black and white critics who beat Styron to a metaphorical bloody pulp over his book The Confessions of Nat Turner. Styron was born and raised in Virginia, but was a transplanted New Englander. Viewing the situation from both sides of the geographical fence, he was correct is judging the critics hysterical—and not in a funny way. Nat Turner was written at the height of the Civil Rights movement. You could possibly suppose that Styron was either a very brave writer or the book’s timing was most unfortunate. A fine book, in any event. The essays in this book are a worthy read so far as I’ve gone. Quite thought provoking.

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

This book is number 7 in an ongoing series. Historical/paranormal romance and actually, pretty darned good writing. Gabaldon is in a class by herself. These are good reads with lots of reality, a little bit of magic, lots of history, action, and lots more history. (Well, quite a lot of tupping, too. At least in the early books.) The saga of Jamie and Claire continues.

This book is 814 pages long. I was number 118 on the library waiting list when I reserved it back on September 19. A week ago, I was number 57. Suddenly, the next day, it was waiting for me at the library. I gotta read it quickly because I don’t imagine anyone will be able to renew it until there is no longer a waiting list. That may take a few months. This book is due back at the library on November 17.

The End of Energy Obesity: Breaking Today’s Energy Addiction for a Prosperous and Secure Tomorrow by Peter Tertzakian. The author asks the question: How can the world reduce its energy appetite and change its diet of fuels for a prosperous and secure tomorrow? I am quite keen to know the answer to that question. I am skeptical that Tertzakian has the consummate answer(s), but I’ll betcha he has some good ideas. Tertzakian is Chief Energy Economist at ARC Financial Corporation and has a commendable track record in analyzing and forecasting energy trends. His is not always the consensus view. I was surprised to see this book promoted by my library and placed right in the front lobby where you’d almost have to trip over it to get in the door. Huh. Times must be changing. This one is due back on November 10.

Gabriel GarcÍa Márquez: A Life by Gerald Martin

I think Márquez is a remarkable writer and this book devotes 545 pages to telling us who he is, with 16 pages of photographs included. According to the dust jacket blurb, this is the first full and authorized biography of the 1982 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. This is a man’s life I want to know more about. What made him the writer he is?

This hardcover edition of the book is gorgeous with deckle edged paper. (I am quite tempted to run off to the bookstore.) I am sure that the written material is equally as gorgeous, too. With surprises. Can’t wait to dig in. I have until the 17th to start and finish it.

Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver

This book started out as a library book, but I wanted to buy a copy for myself so I Kindled it. I’ve read about a quarter of this book of essays so far, but it’s on hold until the other library books are finished and returned. Now that I own a copy of it (and a paperback edition of High Tide in Tucson), I can read it at leisure, which is how Barbara Kingsolver ought to be read.

Apparently I’m still conflicted over which I prefer—Kindle books or paper books, even though it is easier reading on my Kindle.

Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West by Wallace Stegner

A few weeks back I watched a PBS show about Wallace Stegner. This biographical work, along with others, was highlighted as relevant to his life as an environmentalist/conservationist. In the old fashioned sense of the word. It wasn’t fashion or fad with Stegner. He was plain-spoken in his belief that the masses of people who moved willy-nilly into the west like a plague of locusts were as bad as a plague of locusts.

This book is about John Wesley Powell who worked for the US Geological Survey (he and his team explored the Colorado River and its canyons) until he was booted out. Some things do not change with the passage of time. Powell relied on science for his projections and analysis for land and water use policy, the government relied on politics to formulate land and water use policy. This is a classic book about water rights and water use in the American West and probably one of the most important ever written on the subject. Many of the West’s environmental problems arising today were forecast by Powell (and Stegner). Purchased paperback.

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner

A novel for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972. This will be the first work of fiction I’ve read by Stegner. I love his non-fiction and essays—I understand that this novel is as seamless and lovely as his non-fiction.

It is, not surprisingly, a story about the American West and a family that settled there in the latter half of the 19th century, researched and told by a 20th century, disabled history professor descendent.In reading the synopsis for this, bits of it sound a little familiar from Stegner’s book of autobiographical essays, Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs. A Kindle book.

Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free by Charles P. Pierce

As far as I know, this book was sort of catapulted to the top of the author’s To Do List after a curiosity visit to Kentucky’s Creation Museum. On the dust jacket I read:

It was the saddle on the dinosaur that did it. In a legendary journalism career, Charles P Pierce has interviewed vacuous movie stars, disingenuous politicians, cretinous sports heroes, and all manner of charlatans, demagogues, and fanatics. But it wasn’t until his visit to the Creation Museum in Hebron, Kentucky, that he realized just how far gone America is. At the center of this popular tourist spot are models of dinosaurs, one of which is wearing a saddle. “We are taking the dinosaurs back from the evolutionists!” cries the proprietor, who runs something called Answers in Genesis....

Naturally, I had to buy the book. Someone should probably put one in a time capsule somewhere, just in case. We obviously aren’t getting any smarter. Purchased Hardcover.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

I have to admit that the reason I discovered this book was because my book store had it on the shelf with the cover facing outward. It was pretty. I was intrigued and reached for the book. The rest, as they say, is history. I’d never heard of the book before, but within hours of buying it and bringing it home, I’d stumbled across three different references to the book. Accolades, even. A cynical little girl and an ugly, cranky, brilliant autodidact (art, philosophy, music, Japanese culture), both hiding their lights under a bushel basket for different reasons and both outed by a Japanese interloper who sees straight through them to the delightful people they are. How wonderful. I look forward to reading it.

_______________

Between times for Whacking Good Escapism....

James Rollins’ SIGMA Force Series. I’ve polished off the first two, so far.

And that’s it for my Autumn 2009 Reading List.

Autumn officially ends in 45 days. I’ve gotta read faster.

Kindle 2

Wednesday, 9:57 am

By Kate

Feb

11

2009

It was halfway through the day on Monday before I learned that Amazon had announced their second generation Kindle in the AM. I missed all the fun of watching the webcasts live. Stephen King was even there with Jeff Bezos, holding a pepto-bismol pink Kindle. I’d have paid to see that. I believe the pink was to celebrate/promote his new story about a Kindle, which will be released on February 24th when the Kindle 2 begins shipping. Anyway....

When I first looked at the photos/videos of the new Kindle, I thought “how sleek” and I really wanted it. Naturally. And to make matters worse, Amazon said that 1st generation Kindle owners had until Tuesday night at midnight to place an order to be assured of getting one immediately—as opposed to waiting for weeks or, possibly, months. We know how that goes. My one-click finger was awfully itchy.

I’m glad to say that rationality prevailed and I’ve decided that I’ll wait until the 3rd or 4th or 5th generation. Mine works just fine and I’m happy with it. There are improvements yet to be made, but I can’t imagine being without it now. I love my Kindle.

The more I’ve looked at the Kindle 2, though, the more I’m unsure if I actually like it better. Compare the two photos below. First photo is the 1st generation Kindle. Second photo is the new one. I appreciate that the new Kindle is all sleek and slim and cool looking, but the 1st generation one grew on me. It has more personality. The new one, however, does address the side button issues. It took a while to learn how to hold mine without inadvertently pressing one of page turning bars. Even now, I still hit one accidentally on occasion. It’s not a big issue for me, though. The new design seems to eliminate that problem.

I might have been a great deal more tempted if Amazon had attended to one of the largest and most widely expressed wishes for the next generation Kindle. Folders. For those of us who have had our Kindles for several months, it became abundantly clear, after acquiring more than 100 books, that its organizational features fell far short. There is no way to divide books into categories. One can either choose to list them all by author, title, or in order of date acquired/most recently read. That’s it. Fortunately, the Kindle 1 has a slot for a card onto which we can place our books in some kind of order that suits us. Different cards for different categories and such. Also a good way to back-up copies of books and files downloaded from places other than Amazon, without needing to plug into a computer for back-up.

The new Kindle does not have a card slot. But it does have 1.4 Gigs of storage. They say it’ll hold in excess of 1500 books. I’m trying to imagine storing that many books on a Kindle with no folders. That would be somewhere in the vicinity of 125 pages of menu to wade through to find what you’re looking for...ordered by date, author or book title. I almost always sort my books by most recent first. That way the books I’m reading appear at the top of the menu’s first page. Otherwise, they’re scattered all over the place and it gets to be a nuisance hunting for them. Can’t sort them by genre or whatever else floats my little boat. You can search for what you’re looking for, but after a certain number books, you kind of forget what books you have unless you can organize them in some meaningful way.

And I know that the Kindle does have some folder capability. I subscribe to Newsweek and it is listed on my menu as a folder and inside the folder are all the issues I’ve received. Amazon just doesn’t allow us to create our own folders.

Maybe they will through a software update in the near future. Or not. I’ll wait until Amazon provides that option before I’ll even think about upgrading to a new model.

Now, if they ever decide to come out with colors...well, that’s a whole other irresistable universe. But for now, I’m a little disappointed in what the new Kindle offers or doesn’t offer. They also make you pay $30 extra to get a cover for it, while one was provided with the 1st generation Kindle. The new Kindle really is pretty and sleek, but Amazon left off a couple of important features. It’s odd that they removed the card slot and provided nothing else for organizing large numbers of books. I don’t get it.

The good news is that there are suddenly a raft of 1st generation Kindles up for re-sale for anyone not wanting to pay top dollar. Looks as if a number of Kindle 1 owners are trading up. 

The Road, finally

Thursday, 6:35 am

By Kate

Feb

05

2009

Last evening I scanned through my digital pile of books on my Kindle to see which one I might be in the mood to read. I was thinking along the lines of light-hearted, but somehow my finger clicked on Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. I took it to bed with me, thinking I might plow through one chapter before my eyelids drooped.

Well, not quite. After several chapters, I had to put it aside or I’d have read all night. What a magnificant book.

The Road is about the bleakest book I can remember reading. The story is bleak. The landscape is bleak. The colors are cold and bleak. But the language is oh-so-rich. He paints detailed pictures with words. And yet, the sentence structure is quite spare—except for the similes that pepper every page. One would think that might distract, but they are just so exquisite and they flow so naturally. It’s a work of art.

I have never read anything else by Cormac McCarthy, so I am unfamiliar with his style of writing. I wonder if the spare style in this book was intentional to mirror the bleakness of the story. If so, it works beautifully. It that is his usual style, well, it still works beautifully.

There is not a single word in the book, so far, that could be removed nor one that needs to be added. It is about as perfect as anything I have ever read. And I don’t recall having ever thought that about a book. I wish I’d tucked into it sooner. And yet, I’m in no rush to finish it. Savoring each page slowly is the only way to go.

Happy New Year

Thursday, 6:09 pm

By Kate

Jan

01

2009

I hope that you all have had a wonderful holiday season this year. And my finest wishes for a good 2009.

Life in my little house has been relaxed and most pleasurable this holiday. It was a little topsy-turvy at first, but all turned out nicely. We’re cozy and warm and well-fed. The lad received a few cookbooks for Christmas and he has been practicing on me. Just an unfortunate learning experience or two along the way, but in the main, oh my. Last night, for example, he made me steak marsala and it was to die for. The night before it was rosemary chicken with a honey/balsamic vinegar glaze with horseradished potatoes. Horseradish in potatoes, you say? Ohhhh....so delicious. I shall regret sending him back to school. Meal times are just too much fun. Having someone cook for me is simply a luxury beyond measure.

Does anyone have any New Year Resolutions? I used to have a long list of them every year, but learned that a long list was unrealistic. The only thing it was good for was to make me feel terrible when I didn’t achieve most of them. So, I’ve scaled it back significantly. In terms of blog resolutions, I think just one—try to blog more often. In fact, I will try to post every single day in January. Not sure how well that will pan out, but if I get through January, then I’ll tackle February.

The one resolution that I made in 2008 turned out well. It was simple—read at least one book a week. I used to be a voracious reader. Somewhere along the line, that stopped and it was a good year when I read a half a dozen books. I think there were a couple of years in there were I was doing well to read 2 books. I think part of that was because the public library is in the most inconvenient spot on earth. Otherwise, books have grown rather expensive over the years and I can’t afford to walk into my favorite bookstore to get ONE book and walk out with an armful every month. I have a lack of discipline when it comes to buying books. Best to stay out of the bookstore, which I did. Plus...I didn’t have any more room to store books. I still have boxes and boxes and boxes full of them in the attic.

Well, in May, I decided to purchase an Amazon Kindle e-reader with the whispernet mobile technology that allows me to download books wirelessly from Amazon and a couple of other places that offer free public domain books. I wasn’t sure that would be a whole lot better than walking into a bookstore, but at least it solved a couple of problems—no more piles of books scattered all over the house and no need to lug a book or two along with me wherever I go. Oh, and I could get a book the second I wanted it. Instant gratification is lovely, especially after the waiting lists at the library, which often extended beyond 4 weeks.

This has worked out very well for me. I now have a growing library contained in this little device and it goes with me wherever I go. It’s amazing how much reading I can get done standing in line waiting. Since last May, I’ve acquired 73 e-books from Amazon and 33 free public domain books. The total book cost involved for the last 8 months has been $227 for 106 books, which makes the average cost per book about $2.15. Not bad. And, of those 106 books, I have read 31 of them. Plus another 9 that I checked out of the library.

So, for the last 8 months, I’ve read 40 books and that comes out to about 5 books per month which is slightly more than 1 book per week. I still didn’t quite meet my 2008 New Year’s Resolution for the year, but I came pretty darned close. I should exceed it this year.

The best part is that I am reading voraciously again. And I’m reading authors I might never have discovered. 2008 has been an absolute feast.