photo credit: somegeekintn
Spring cleaning has finally made its way to my house and I spent the weekend with my family making piles of trash, piles of yard sale items, piles of donations and piles of books. I have a few books. Ok, ok, I have a book issue. I have too many books.
There, I can admit it.
I love to read. Have since I was a kid. One time, I thought I went blind. I had been reading for so long I strained my eyes and stumbled out of the house screaming for my mom—because I thought I was blind.
(Embarassing)
Last week, We talked a bit about inspiration and many of you gave some great thoughts on where you find inspiration and the muse. One of the places I am inspired is in the books I read. If I like the way a writer turns a particular phrase, I steal it.
(This is turning into confession.)
Seriously though, it is great to see how others do their art and you can pick up some great tips on writing to incorporate into your own style.
So, what are you reading?
(I think there is still a corner in the basement I can stack more books. Just kidding, I am not that bad.)
Let us know what you are reading, or maybe a favorite book or an author that you really like the way they write and why.
See you right back here tomorrow for OpenLinkNight—doors open at 3 pm EST.~Brian
dVerse 
Wow, great minds think alike – I’ve just posted something about books myself – and the need to take a little break between bouts of intensive reading… But yes, I completely understand your problem! My solution has been to have books in attics/cellars/parents’ homes in 3 different countries. But alas, that means that the one I want to find that very instant is usually in the wrong location!
haha…nice…i might need to steal your idea on spreading mine around….we have a great used book store not too far away so unless the book moves me i trade it in and find another one….
currently reading:
all gods children need traveling shoes – maya angelou
visions of cody – kerouac
dragonlance chronicles – with my son
Oooh, let me know how you get on with the Kerouac, I’ve heard very contradictory reports about that one!
on the road and dharma bums are my favs of the cycle so far….cody is def taking me a bit to get through though….the maya angelou book is great….
I am a terrible book-binger. And lately I am reading nothing, because I am in recovery after a Marcia Willett binge. 😉
haha…happy recovery… i surely can relate…smiles
ha. i feel you…there are times i have to go in recovery…after this semester of grad school i am reading nothing but fun for at least month….rest my brain….
I have been reading and rereading some of May Sarton’s journals. A wonderful writer, I would definitely recommend!
nice…never heard about her…need to check her out
never heard of her either…will have to check that out…
was rereading some of kurt cobains journals the other day…
probably not the same…smiles.
Tasty Books
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Please don’t tell me you’re “moved” by a book,
Cuz I surely won’t give it a look.
I love thrillers and wit,
But abstain from chick lit
And spurn texts that explain how to cook.
haha…i love thrillers as well… and i love agatha christie…she’s an awesome character painter
ha. the closest i get to chick lit is jodi picoult…i actually love her books…
i am so outed with that…lol…
In my household, my husband’s the romantic, a fellow who love chick lit and chick flicks. And he also loves recipes and cooking shows. The two of us clearly defy all the male/female stereotypes. 🙂
haha how cool is that eh? smiles.
We are doing some spring cleaning too but old books/classics are irresistible ~ We are planning to visit a big bookstore selling second hand stuff – hubby is into history/philosophy, while I am into poetry books – we will see what is available.
For the moment though we are into e-books as they are very convenient and don’t take up so much space and dust ~ I am currently reading the e-books of our pub friends, Sam Peralta and Shay/Hedge/Kelli book ~
See you tomorrow Brian ~
i have a few ebooks as well…even on my iphone and i like that i can use breaks in the doctor’s waiting room or in the line in the supermarket to read a bit but usually i prefer real books because i like the feel of paper and the scent…smiles
I have been taking my time with the latter as well with some of Sam waiting to read–both ebooks. I don’t seem to read long texts at present though I have books in all my rooms and also lining the stairwell.
i have yet to make the ebook jump…there is just something about a book…but if i had one or the money to get one…i might just give a reader a try…my dad has one that i have played with and think i could …smiles…
My son gave us an e-reader, the kindle. But do you know that you can buy and read e-books in Amazon.com in your computer screen, even without the kindle itself. It is called the Amazon – Kindle Cloud Reader (its free) ~ I read the e-books in my computer screen, like pdf ~
yep i got one so i could read adan’s books…my mom has a kindle and loves it…reading on the computer…i do enough of that…haha…def a good hit for those that dont have a reader though…
I read the kindle downloads on my PC notebook. Works just fine.
oh i love books….and i forget time and place when i’m reading a good book…ha…always dangerous to start one…. at the moment, i’m reading Death’s Acre by Bill Bass, the founder of the body farm…ha…it’s really special but really good as well…and he’s a guy with a good sense of humor…smiles
poetry wise i’m reading Words for empty and words for full by Bob Hicok, a poet i discovered through karin lately and really fell in love with
Thanks for the Bob Hicok–exceptional!
i read death’s acre….it is interesting for sure…what an interesting place to visit as well…whew…but think of all the learning…
yep i need to check out hicok some more myself…
I love books too, but have sadly run out of room. Like seeing the photo of part of your collection. I am in a book club and one member suggested we each take a photo of our stack beside our beds to show each other what is “waiting” for us. Currently reading Natalie Goldberg’s “Writing Down the Bones”.
that would be a cool idea on everyone taking a pic of their shelf…i might have a hard time choosing a shelf…lol…just looked up the book…and looks pretty cool…i have a few books on writing that i really enjoy and occassionally pick through…will check it out….
My reply here was so long that I turned it into a blog post as well – and ha ha, I did post a pic of my bedside shelf: http://rosemary-nissen-wade.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/what-am-i-reading.html
I love Writing Down the Bones and return to it again and again. Also the sequel, Wild Mind.
I love to read, too, and must confess a few years ago I had more children’s books in my house than the school library. When I taught reading, I indulged in books for my students, and now my kids are reaping the benefits. I just can’t let go of them! I have gotten better, though, and donated some to the library where I know they’ll be in good hands.
I’m getting ready to start “A Secret Kept” by Tatiana de Rosnay… hoping it’s as good as “Sarah’s Key.” In fact, my neighbor just let me borrow it last night.
ha. we are def unloading some kids books at the yard sale…boxes….my boys have always loved to read so we tended to collect those as well…
nice on the book from the neighbor…another that i am not familiar with at all…
My favourite author is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, not just his Holmes stuff, but his other works too. His historical fiction is wonderful, and his sci-fi and horror and his general story telling and his non-fiction too.
James Clavell is another… I have so many books in this little bedsit, I’ve started to call it my book warehouse!!
nice..arthur conan doyle is def cool…i know some of his non holmes books…same with ray bradbury…he has some really cool short story stuff…lol…yep my wife would say the same of my bedside….
My all-time favorite is Frank Herbert. Still, I have quite a collection of Agatha Christie, Tanith Lee, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Anne Rice. Oh yes, Dragonlance too. Favourite books from growing up years – Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and The Moonstone by Collins.
Each room in the house has one or two bookshelves. And books on the staircase!
Am currently reading Tan Twan Eng and Malay classics by Pak Sako.
smiles…i remember your dragonlance poem…been pretty cool reliving it a bit with my oldest…think i was only 2 years older than he when i first read it…nice on frank herbert…it took me a bit to get into Dune the first time i read it…
I remember how it had been awhile since you visited your dragonlance books back when I wrote that poem on Raistlin! Can’t get over you remembering that poem…
I smile when I see my girls reading books I loved.
True legacies.
smiles…of course i remember that on…smiles…raist is awesome!!!!
I finished reading “The Wedding Night” by Sophie Kinsella recently. She’s one of my all time favorite authors. It’s a good lighthearted read 🙂 Her book “Undomestic Goddess” is by far the funniest book I have ever read. “Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett is still my number one favorite book of all time but its definitely not lighthearted.
ha. no, not lighthearted…smiles…my fun reading includes like james patterson as well…though no that he co-writes a lot of it i dont think it is as good as it was…have seen sophie kinsella books…shopaholic right?
Yes, she wrote the Shopaholic books too 🙂
I too have far too many books! Sometimes I cull, but then more come in to replace the ones I discard. I have so many books piled up by my bedside that I had to buy some special shelves. I already had bookshelves galore all over the house, crammed. And now I am rapidly filling my Kobo e-reader and the Kindle app on my iPad. I hate to give away old favourites in case I want to read them again some day – and indeed, this does happen. I have been known to buy new copies of books I have regretted getting rid of.
What am I reading now? Circles on the Water, poems by Marge Piercy, published in 1982. I lent my copy, decades ago, to a woman who was dying. Her family threw all her books away after she died, without realising they didn’t all belong to her. I finally thought to look for it on Amazon, very recently, and found a copy which has now been delivered. It is in beautiful condition. On my iPad I am reading Triangles by David Reiter. He is an Aussie poet, but this book is short stories, and they are brilliant. I have also made a start on Akhenaten, a historical/spiritual book by my friend Karin Hannah. It is beautifully written. I have a beautifully produced printed copy with her autograph, but prefer reading it as an ebook, for convenience. Much as I love books, I am one who has come to like the ebook experience better in many ways.
ah i love short story so thanks for the hit on that book….will add it to the ever growing list…smiles…yes, i am in the culling of books…though it is painful…you never know when you might want to read one again…ack..ha
Brian, I think you’ve hit a seam of readers/book hoarders/phrase stealers. I sure am all three. When we finally get to move our new place will be very small, but | have a big house full of books. Just now I am reading Kathy Reichs – an anthropologist come coroner (author and protagonist both) They are gruesome but so well told. The only trouble is that I am sitting up in bed at 5 am with a mouthful of wadding trying to stop a gum haemorrhage that started 8 hours ago. The ER sent me home at 2.30 am with instructions to take out the wadding before I slept. Ha Ha – half an hour asleep and I’m back to square one. The book is not exactly helping!
ah, reichs wrote the character that eventually become Bones….they are good, i have read a few…oh my goodness viv, i hope that your gums heal up…that sounds rather awful…and a trip to the ER to boot…goodness…hope you can find some rest…
Thanks, so do I. It is caused by the treatment for my cardiac problems – ie three different anti-coagulents decided to throw a party.
geez….some party eh?
g’night viv…
signing off for the eve…
ROFL with The Princess Bride right now. Trying not to over indulge. But, I think that might be inconceivable.
inconcievable…ha…love that book/movie….
I do not mean to pry, but you don’t by any chance happen to have six fingers on your right hand?
I’ve been reading a lot of Agatha Christie mysteries. Currently, I’m reading Secret Adversary – a Tommy & Tuppence mystery that I started on a 4 1/2 hour flight, stuck between a jerk and a lady who laughed out loud repeatedly during a movie and finally just outright snorted, which I admit was hilarious. The story is a bit slow starting out, but it kept my mind mostly occupied since my husband and I were unable to get seats next to each other. He was in the same row, but across the aisle stuck between two guys of husky proportions.
I love the feel of physical books, but since I live abroad and travel often, eBooks are necessary. I bounce between Kindle and iBooks on my iPad regularly. I have a few physical books where I live and I read them over again just for the pleasure of the feel of pages between my fingers. Among them are North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell, Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, Walk to Paradise Garden by John B. Campbell (really good historical fiction) and The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley.
If I could, I would decorate my whole house in floor to ceiling bookcases filled with books of every kind.
ha. sounds like you really needed that book on that flight….i hear you on feeling the pages…that is why the jump to ereader has been hard for me….i love their smell too….maybe is they add a scratch n sniff to the ereader…smiles…oh my…i dream of such bookcases as well…smiles.
Well, we have been trying to “down-size” or at least start at it for the last couple of years but do you think I can get rid of any of our 1,000 or so books? Yeah, well, no.
And we just returned from a short holiday in Victoria, B.C. where we stayed about a block away from “Russell’s” – the largest used book-store in Canada – it is an amazing place; I can’t believe I’ve never been there before. So, even tho’ I try not to buy new books (I have an iPad and can download from my library and iTunes plus all these other free sites I keep learning about) – who could resist a poetry section the size of the James Patterson section in most ordinary bookstores? Yeah. Not me. So, I’m just finishing John Irving’s “In One Person”
oh man, what a temptation that book warehouse…smiles…i would love to visit…its cool when you find one that has a good poetry section…there is one in charlottesville i like to go to…about the best poetry section out there…most are small and predictable…
oops – went up before I was ready…also reading poet Alice Major’s “Intersecting Sets: A Poet Looks at Science” (which I highly recommend) and “From the Four Corners of the Sky” by Michael Malone, plus “Hologram” by P.K.Page, the anthology “Breathing Fire” edited by Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane and finally “Poets Picking Poets” a compendium from McSweeney’s Books wherein they’ve picked five poets who give the reader two poems and then those five pick five more poets who give the reader two poems and pick five more poets and so on until you end up with an absolutely fascinating book of poetry containing 50 different poets and approximately 177 poems. It’s very cool.
I am an avid supporter of our local library system. They just had a book sale, and we are moving. I collected up all the books with no sentimental value that had not been touched in a year or so… delivered more than 120 books!
Currently reading, alternately, “The Widow of the South,” by Robert Hicks, and a book I found at the library about the Spanish flu during the first World War.
For many years, I could not concentrate enough to read… before the bipolar diagnosis, I was so anxious, I’d re-read paragraphs without soaking in their meaning. Now, I take pleasure in all sorts of fiction, historical accounts, and classics. Next, I’m re-reading my fave book of all time, “Time and Again,” by Jack Finney. Thanks for asking, great post, Brian.
nice…i am glad you can concentrate now…reading def has been a way to explore new worlds and even escape a bit for me over the years….will have to check out that fav book of yours as i am not familiar…
and i love the library sales…ours does a $5 bag you fill…which lets you take chances on some you may not normally get…
Ah Books..such good friends…I really think that those who do not read are missing an important dimension to their lives. I have too many books so I am only going to keep the ones I really love…which will be a lot:) At the moment I am reading The Journals of Kierkegaard 1834 – 1854.
” it is perfectly true as philosophers say, that life must be understood backwards. But they forget the other proposition that it must be lived forwards” ? LOL
nice…on living it forward….i agree though on those not reading…unless they cant…i have quite a few kids that i am working on reading with as it will serve them well…
There..forgot again about the Monday night treat.
My confession is much worse than any of yours:
I ‘m like my mum: we asked her what she wanted for her birthday, and as usual, she couldn’t think of anything.
“How about a book”, we asked.
“No thank you: I’ve got one”.
She read and re-re-re -read the same one.
And I’m afraid I’m much the same.
[And I’m not telling 🙂
OK…how about naming the author ? 🙂
smiles….re-read the same one…in that case i hope it is a good one…smiles….
when asked what i want…i say books..lol…just see my amazon…
Forgot to tell what happened to our red telephone kiosks:
Seeing that they are now phoneless, people have turned them into mini libraries: you just leave whatever book you liked and think others might like too, and people can take it or borrow it.
And in our village, now sans shop, sans doctor, sans post office and sans local bobby [only the pub is still there], some of the women organize coffee and deck chairs a few times a week, [sans rain :-)].
So nice to not have those red icons carted off to foreign lands any longer .
what a cool use of the phone kiosks…i love those red booths…they have a cool look to them so i am glad they are being used….
Seriously, it’s embarrassing- I do have books stacked everywhere. I am afraid someone from hoarders will show up at my door. My daughter is just the same, only a much faster reader. And the library and /or bookstore is my favorite place to be. Do you think there will be a library in Heaven? Hmmm….OK I digress. That is the other occupation I always wanted to be …a librarian. My hub will not let me work part time in a bookstore. Ahem. OK, so now I am going to read all these comments as I see some good recommendations to look into…Poemcrazy has been on my nightstand for months. Slow reader.
haha there better be a library in heaven…and just imagine if you can find all those books you always wanted to read but never found the time….smiles….
Poemcrazy is one of my favourites! Thanks for the reminder; I might just go and have a re-read. 🙂
Ha ha, I am a former librarian. I still arrange my books in general Dewey order though not down to the finest detail. And within the categories, of course they are arranged alphabetically by author’s name. The system serves me well, but I have to tell visitors, ‘You’re welcome to look at any book you like, but please don’t put it back on the shelf.’ If they do, they are liable to shove it any old where and then it can take me forever to locate that particular book which I must refer to right now!
haha some habits are hard to break eh…smiles…like the library, just leave it on the table…smiles.
Wow, speaking of books I’ve been rereading Ferinheight 451.
I’m also a book hoarder, but also a big library fan. So, for awhile I participated in Bookcrossing which is, “…a free online book club which was founded to encourage the practice, aiming to “make the whole world a library.” Basically you register a book you feel you can part with and leave in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise. This is the website if you’re interested: http://www.bookcrossing.com/
I found it increasingly difficult to part with my books though, so I’m not a very active member. But it is a cool concept.
that is pretty cool…i have had a couple booktracker books which is very similar…the coffee shop where we lived in MD used to be a hub that people took in and out of…
“Nothing is original…It not where you take things from–it’s where you take them to.”>KB
ha. true that…smiles….
Jumping in a bit late to the discussion. I’m like you–reading several books at a time. Just started re-reading “The Old Man and the Sea” (Hemingway, of course). As I age, it amazes me how books I read so long ago take on such a new significance. Especially this one in which Santiago has to deal with the limitations aging has brought into his life. Great reflection
nice…i think that our perspectives def change over time…even now reading a fantasy book with my son that i read when i was only a few years older than he…the different characters that i can appreciate all the more having traveled a bit further down the road…