1 post tagged “confessions”
I just finished my first Jonathan Carroll novel, Outside the Dog Museum, and loved it. Now I feel ready to try that scary-covered Carroll book which I bought a couple of weeks ago.
I think the last time I mentioned completing a book was during my brief period of reading the Brontës last winter: Wuthering Heights (did not like at all), Jane Eyre (liked very much), and Agnes Grey (enjoyed the writing but found the story depressing. It had a happy ending though). While I was slowly reading these I was also buying up annotated editions of all of Jane Austen and a few Victorian writers with grand plans for a 19th century English reading fest to fill in some of the gaping holes in my literary experience. This plan was triggered by Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale and gorging on Jane Austen screen adaptations.
Confession #1: I would much rather watch costumed ladies and gentlemen at a country dance in even a Hollywood-style adaption of a Jane Austen novel than read the actual novel. Years ago I struggled through three of her novels, and this February I started Persuasion, but quit after the ninth short chapter, just about the time the DVD of the new BBC production was released. Also, having seen the 1995 Amanda Root/Ciarán Hinds feature film enough times to memorize the script, I felt like I’d absorbed enough for now. Plus, I got distracted by some other, er, genre fiction (see Confession #2). However, all of those Broadview editions look impressive gathering dust in a pile on the outer layer of a shelf.
Confession #2: I am a sucker for packaging. Early this year it was covers of novels featuring ladies in long dresses with their heads cropped off at the top edge (or their faces masked), often gilded. This is how I got sucked into a series of what my sister-in-law affectionately refers to as swills. A couple of 'em inspired the reading of part of a biography of Catherine de Medici, as well as repeated viewings of La Reine Margot (well, at least the first viewing – the second and third were inspired by Vincent Perez), so some nutritional value was gained from their consumption.
Confession #3: I am a slow reader. More accurately, I don’t make enough time to read, so it takes me a long time to finish a book. Because reading feels like an indulgence, I tend to save it until after whatever household business has been attended to and I’m crawling into bed, exhausted, by which time I’m lucky to stay awake for eight pages. Couple this with a habit of buying books more quickly than reading them, and I've piled up a very optimistic quantity of yet-to-read books. At this rate, my nest will be well-lined for retirement. (My reading habit was more robust in the days when I had a rail commute. These days I still carry a book in my purse or backpack, just in case, but it only comes out when waiting in line or for the movie to start, or sometimes over lunch.)
Confession #4: I probably need bifocals now. If someone were to accuse me of having my nose in a book these days, it is because reading often requires removing or peering over my counter-nearsightedness glasses and holding the page very close to my face. When choosing what edition of a book to buy, print size is now a consideration. This sign of aging depresses me, and I am in denial, avoiding visiting the eye doctor until my current pair of glasses falls apart.
Confession #5: I own as many children’s books as grown-up books.
Confession #6: I own as many picture books as chapter books, taking into account both children’s books and grown-up books. The grown-up picture books include illustrated stories, artists' monographs, books of photos of old cities, dancers rehearsing and performing, interior design, funny signage, etc., and a few comics. By the way, Peter Sís and Maira Kalman are two of my favorite illustrators.
Confession #7: In addition to their covers, I choose books for the way they feel in my hands. I generally prefer trade paperbacks; the size and supple cover are comfortable to hold. The paper, too, is important. I like pages with loft and heft and tooth. Paper on which a soft lead pencil would feel so nice pressing against (but I would only do that with a sketch book, mind). And the scent of the paper … yes, I smell the pages. Are there words like “hoppy” or “malty” to describe the a book's bouquet? Typeface is also important. I look for the typefaces that sing.
Confession #8: I generally have no problem quitting a book I’m not enjoying. There are too many other books waiting to have a go. That said, I will usually give it a sporting chance, and am willing to wait and try again. Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is one book I was and am still hoping to enjoy, based on the reviews of others. I started it two and a half years ago, but wasn’t hooked even after 150 pages, so I put it aside to revisit later. Maybe this will be the year. Another book I just restarted for the third time is Rebecca Solnit’s Wanderlust: A History of Walking. I gobbled up her A Field Guide to Getting Lost, but somehow still can’t quite get going on this one. I bought it back when it was first published in hardcover, attracted by the cover photo. That was eight years ago. Perhaps I am just too distracted by the quotations streaming across the bottom of the pages, and if I can ignore them long enough the real book will gain momentum.
Confession #9: I haven't yet happened upon poetry (other than song lyrics) that I enjoy. Even on the second reading of A.S. Byatt’s Possession, which I loved, I skipped over almost all of the verse. (Any recommendations in this direction would be welcome!)
Confession #10: Sadly, on any given list of the most important books of the last century (or any other century for that matter), I bet I can count those I have read on only one hand.
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So what do I enjoy reading? Here are some books I loved within the past 12 months or so, in addition to three of the books mentioned above:
- Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore
- Stephen Kuusisto’s Planet of the Blind and Eavesdropping
- Sarah Vowell’s Assassination Vacation and Take the Cannoli
- Jordan Crane’s The Clouds Above
Yes, that's a very short list. Hmm ... wanna see photos of most of my all-time favorite writers? They are posted here.
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Confession #11: I stayed up half the night writing this post, when I could have been reading, or sleeping.
