BookLust

Tell Me A Story, Sweetie...

Today I popped into the library where Guy works to see him and one of his colleagues perform a puppet play. It was very cute! After the play, Guy read to the kids one of my favourite stories, Rumpelstiltskin. Have you ever seen anyone so expressive when reading a picture book? I got me a man who can passionately discuss the ideas of Noam Chomsky, Thomas Homer-Dixon, Howard Zinn and Ralph Nader, and who also does the best Rumpelstiltskin voice ever. I'm one hell of a lucky gal.

A Memory Meme

Kate over at Kate's Book Blog has created her own delightful meme, and I'm going to try and answer her questions as best I can. She remembers much more than I do in regards to childhood reading habits, and I urge you to read her answers, which are much more in depth and interesting than mine! But anyway, here goes:

1. How old were you when you learned to read and who taught you?
I honestly don't know the exact answer to this. I know for a fact that I could read before I got to kindergarten, but the exact age escapes me. Definitely before the age of five, that's for sure. My mother insists that she read to me, but much to her displeasure, I have no memory of this. I do know that learning to read was no problem at all. But I simply cannot remember a specific period of time when I went from not being able to read, to suddenly understanding all the letters in front of me. It's just always been there for me, like being able to breathe.

2. Did you own any books as a child? If so, what’s the first one that you remember owning? If not, do you recall any of the first titles that you borrowed from the library?
We had quite a few books as kids. Collections of Mother Goose tales and some pretty scary fairy tales (The Little Match Girl really creeped me out as a kid), but one book that really stands out in my memory is The Big Jump by Benjamin Elkin. I think I loved the illustrations more than the story, though. The book got lost over the years, and about ten years ago I saw a copy in a used book store and snatched it up quick!

Another book (or really, set of books) which I remember strongly was Maurice Sendak's Nutshell Library. I've written about these books before, and how magical and precious they were and still are to me. I still own my original set (except one book is missing – sob!), plus I bought a new set as well. One thing I never told my mom – the Christmas that she bought me this set, I accidently came upon the gift (well, while snooping in her closet, ok?) before it was wrapped. So I knew I was getting those books for Christmas, and couldn't wait to unwrap that present! I felt a little guilty for being so sneaky, but I got over it soon enough!

3. What’s the first book that you bought with your own money?
Ooooo...that's a good question! You know what? I think I was really spoiled when it came to books. I didn't buy books as a kid with my own money, because either my mom bought plenty for me for Christmas and birthdays, or also through those reading programs in grade school when you got to order books from a catalogue. I'm pretty sure I got my parents to pay for those books, too. Let's face it: I spent a lot of my allowance on...sigh...candy. What can I say? I was a shy chubby kid who ate and read a lot. And also, my mom really did have an amazing collection of paperbacks in our basement library, so I really didn't need to buy anything for a long time. Wait a minute...it's coming to me! I know I bought Rilla of Ingleside, because for whatever reason, I couldn't get the last book from the Anne of Green Gables series from the library.  

4. Were you a re-reader as a child? If so, which book did you re-read most often?
Without a doubt, I re-read everything I could find that was written by L.M. Montgomery over, and over again. That woman bewitched me as a child, god bless her.

5. What’s the first adult book that captured your interest and how old were you when you read it?
I read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I think I was about twelve. It was one of the many wonderful paperbacks I discovered in my mother's basement library. Boy did that book ever give me the chills. Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. What an amazing first line. I just ate that book up.

6. Are there children’s books that you passed by as a child that you have learned to love as an adult?  Which ones?
Hmmm...there are children's books which I still haven't read, but sadly I have yet to explore them. I do keep hearing great things about Harry Potter (especially from my mother, of all people), so I imagine that I will get to those eventually. I'd like to read Mary Poppins. And I must confess, that I've never read a Nancy Drew book. Not sure I ever will. When I was a kid I had a friend who just adored those books, and when she told me about them, I was not impressed. Oh and I'd love to read I Capture the Castle.

So anyone else want to answer these questions? I'm curious, and I know Kate is, too!

Summer Readin', Have Me a Blast

I'm going away this morning, off for a week to house-sit in Muskoka, and hopefully relax a bit. Hence the flurry of blog posts before I'm outta here. I doubt very much if I'll be doing any posting up north – there's only dial-up (horrors!!!) – and really, it's time I took a good break from the computer.

I'm still not in the mood to go back to my regular reading, and I find that when I'm vacationing, I prefer short stories. So I'm taking the latest fiction issues of a variety of mags (including the cheezy cover you see above) as well as a collection of short stories by John Cheever.

I hope you're all enjoying your own summer reading, be you topless or not. Myself, I prefer to read fully clothed. Think of the paper cuts!

Toodles!

Simply Kinda Sad

About a week or so ago I was walking along Dundas Street West, near Keele Street, and I saw this billboard. Yup. I laughed out loud. But then I got to thinking. It's not just funny. It's sad. I mean, most people who see this ad will get it and laugh. But I think it's kinda that you gotta laugh or else you'll cry kind of humour, don't you?

Ad found via adblogarabia.com

Isn't it Romantic?

Reading brings couples closer together.

Here's a larger version of this illo.

Kinda reminds me of this old illo.

Here with a loaf of bread beneath a bough,
A flask of wine, a book of verse – and Thou
Beside me singing in the wilderness –
Oh, wilderness were paradise enow.

– The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
translated by Edward Fitzgerald

Why Read?

"In our daily lives, when we're bombarded by the fake and the trivial, reading serves as a way to stop, shut out the noise of the world, and try to grab hold of something real, no matter how small."
– from the Introduction of Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books by Maureen Corrigan

Painting by Pieter Janssens Elinga (1623–c. 1682)
Woman Reading, 1668-70
Image scanned from the book Reading Women by Stefan Bollmann

Some Of My Best Friends Are Readers

Recently I read this hilarious, brilliant post about reading, on the blog One Good Thing. The title of her post is Too Many Books Isn't Enough, which pretty much says it all right there. In the post the blogger lays bare her exasperation at people who have no interest in reading books:

If you don't read, how do you think? Through TV? Through gossip? If you don't read, how can I possibly relate to you? If you don't have a library, no matter how small, or a book splayed face down on your coffee tabe, how will I be able to see your brain?

My sentiments exactly. Not long ago, I asked the question if it was important if your mate read or not. Obviously, it's mighty important for me. I simply could not be in a serious relationship with someone if they did not read. I would literally go insane. But I will go one step further. If I think about it long enough, in my circle of friends and aquaintances, there are very few people I associate with who do not read. And the strongest friendships I have, are all with heavy-duty readers. It's been that way all my life. From grade school and onwards, my friends were book people, kids who read, got good grades and loved to talk about books. Sorry, but I have no interest in talking about American Idol, Survivor, The Amazing Race, or any of that other trash on TV. Start talking to me about crap like that, and I may be polite and nod my head, but trust me, I've tuned you out. Does that make me a snob? Probably. Do I care? Not really. Life is short. And now that I have hit the over 40 mark, it's a hell of a lot shorter than it used to be. I cannot afford to waste a single brain cell; I killed enough of them when I was young and stupid and thought that Hogan's Heroes was a funny show.

I have nothing but sympathy for people who can't read; I know what a struggle life is if you have problems with literacy – I was a literacy tutor for over a year, and it's damn hard work. What I don't understand are the people who can read, but for whatever reason, they just don't. They are missing out on so much. That great post from One Good Thing really said it best, I think:

Books are what get you out in the world, show you around, take you to all the good party spots that haven't been overrun with tourists. Good books envelop you totally, not letting you up for air until they're certain you've heard everything they have to say. When they leave you, they close up some of your heart and mind in their pages and you have no choice but to keep them safe on your shelf.

Beautiful.

Reading is Sexy... But I Already Knew That

During the Christmas season, my cool pal Johnny gave me this wonderful book Design Humor: The Art of Graphic Wit by Steve Heller. It's a great read, and being someone who is blessed with a sense of humour, I can truly appreciate intelligent humour in everyday design.

I can also appreciate the bloody brilliance of the very talented designer and illustrator Seymour Chwast, who created this gem, The Kama Sutra of Reading, found on pg 142 of said book. Reminds me a bit of my own attempt at illustrating reading positions, but my interpretation just barely scratches the surface.

Yup; the hubby and I have a great deal more to learn about the Art of Reading. Time to hit the books.

What's Your Favourite Position?

So now that I'm back in the swing of things with reading, the hubby and I last night decided to have a peaceful evening with our current books. Me with my Language Visible, and he with his The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. Conversation ran the gamut from A to Bush-bashing.

We were sitting comfortably on the couch, in our usual laid-back reader position mode, when I suddenly asked hubby the question: "Do you think other couples read like this?" Hubby just smiled and shrugged, and told me to keep my feet where they were, because they were holding his book up quite nicely thank you very much.

So I am compelled to ask the question out there to anyone and everyone. Does anyone else ever read like this with their significant other? I have even provided a detailed illustration (Fig. 1) for reference.

Please note the following:

Object of affection A. on one side of couch.
A.'s better half, B. on other half of couch.
B.'s legs in between A.'s legs, resting on A.'s shirtless stomach, holding up The Best Democracy Money Can Buy with B.'s feet (C.).
A.'s legs place outside of B., A.'s feet giving support for B.'s arms (D.).

I hope this helps. I would like to collect enough data in order to provided a detailed summation report at a later date.