The Book Stacks

I am running so late on this one and on my other blogs as well. Ack. I hate running behind.

“Which do you prefer? (Quick answers–we’ll do more detail at some later date)

(Yes, I know, some of these we’ve touched on before, and some of these we might address in-depth in the future, but for today–just quick answers!)”

* Reading something frivolous? Or something serious? It depends on my mood, really. I think that I read more serious stuff overall, but there are times I *need* some lighter reading.

* Paperbacks? Or hardcovers? Paperbacks.

* Fiction? Or Nonfiction? Hrm. I read more fiction than non-fiction, but I do enjoy non-fic.

* Poetry? Or Prose? Prose.

* Biographies? Or Autobiographies? Autobiographies by a small margin. The only true expert on someone’s life is the person who lived it.

* History? Or Historical Fiction? History! I like historical fiction, but I have always loved history.

* Series? Or Stand-alones? Either. The only thing that is annoying about a series is having to wait so long for the next one.

* Classics? Or best-sellers? Neither?

* Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose? Fruity prose is annoying, though I will tolerate it to a certain level.

* Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness? Plots, thanks.

* Long books? Or Short? Doesn’t matter as long as it is a good story.

* Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated? I guess it doesn’t matter, though I rarely read books that have pictures.

* Borrowed? Or Owned? If I love it, I’ll pay for it. But I’d rather borrow it first.

* New? Or Used? I love getting new books, but if previous owners have been kind, there is no reason not to go used.

Follow-up to last week’s question:

Do you keep all your unread books together, like books in a waiting room? Or are they scattered throughout your shelves, mingling like party-goers waiting for the host to come along?

When things around me are disorganized, I tend to start getting a little bit cranky. You wouldn’t know it looking at my desk right now, but there is an organization to the various piles.

That’s why I have TBR shelf. It’s within arm’s reach right now, actually.

Since I started reviewing books, they quickly piled up to the point I needed a shelf. I had several books that I hadn’t read yet shipped over from the States as well as review books I’d been offered. I ended up saving money to buy a shelf so I could move them all to one area.

Another shelf, about a forty-five degree left turn of my head out of view, is where I transfer the books after I have read them once and have yet to pack them.

That is, anyway, if I intend to keep them.

If I have read a book and either not enjoyed it or enjoyed it enough to want to share it, the book goes to the bottom of my TBR shelf. That is where I store the books that are on this list and the books I intend to ‘release’ for BookCrossing.

Lots and lots of fun.

So, if you ever come to my place, no matter how messy it looks you know that I really am organized.

Hehe.

“An idea I got from The Toddled Dredge (via K for Kat). Here’s what she said:

“So here today I present to you an Unread Books Challenge. Give me the list or take a picture of all the books you have stacked on your bedside table, hidden under the bed or standing in your shelf – the books you have not read, but keep meaning to. The books that begin to weigh on your mind. The books that make you cover your ears in conversation and say, ‘No! Don’t give me another book to read! I can’t finish the ones I have!’ “”

That’s way too easy…

Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer
Saffron Dreams – Shaila Abdullah
The Vision – C.L. Talmage
Fallout – C.L. Talmage
The Scorpions Strike – C.L. Talmage
Kissing Games of the World – Sandi Kahn Shelton
Supernatural – Graham Hancock
Neutron Star – Short story collection – Larry Niven
Firebirds – Fantasy/Sci-fi Anthology – Edited by Sharyn November
The Foreshadowing – Marcus Sedgwick
The Redemption of Althalus – David and Leigh Eddings
The Serpent Bride – Sara Douglass
The Twisted Citadel – Sara Douglass
Season of Sacrifice – Tristi Pinkston
Copper Star – Suzanne Woods Fisher
Copper Fire – Suzanne Woods Fisher
The Lost Diary of Don Juan – Douglas Carlton Abrams

And this? Well, this is only part of the list. My husband has a whole stack of books I want to read (and he wants me to read so we can talk about them) as well as books on my TBR shelf that I haven’t listed.

Oy.

“Now that summer is here (in the northern hemisphere, anyway), what is the most “Summery” book you can think of? The one that captures the essence of summer for you?

(I’m not asking for you to list your ideal “beach reading,” you understand, but the book that you can read at any time of year but that evokes “summer.”)”

Well, I’m not in the northern hemisphere, but when I read this prompt, one book came to mind…

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

Now, I know I have prattled on about this book more than once in the past, but I hope you won’t mind if I do it one more time.

I can’t tell you for certain that the first time I read this book was during the summer, but I’m fairly sure it was. And what a summer. I ended up renting that book from the library at least a dozen more times before finally being able to find a copy of my own.

The Blue Sword reminds me of summer for so many reasons. There is the fact that most of the book takes place in a desert, deserts are hot, summer is hot, yada yada. I think, though, that it reminds me of summer so much because summer is when I did most of my daydreaming and writing.

Oh, have I mentioned this is the book that inspired me to follow my dreams and write my own stories? (Before that I had always been writing, but the longer stuff was fanfiction.)

Time spent alone in the summer, daydreaming of story plots and faraway places or writing out those daydreams make up most of my pleasant childhood memories. I just wish I could meet the author to tell her my sincere thanks.

“One of my favorite sci-fi authors (Sharon Lee) has declared June 23rd Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers Day.

So … what might you do on the 23rd to celebrate? Do you even read fantasy/sci-fi? Why? Why not?

What might I do on the 23rd? Well, I might go fly a kite, but it’s more likely that I will work just like I do every other weekday. Celebrations just don’t work that well for me unless they’re on a Friday or weekend.

BUT, for the sake of the meme, I’m going to stop being in such a b*tchy mood for a moment so I can answer the question nicely.

Yep, I definitely read science fiction and fantasy. I started off with horror, but then I moved into sci-fi and then fantasy. I stuck with fantasy for years, even completing a few fantasy novels of my own. My re-introduction to science fiction came when I moved out here and found my husband’s massive collection of science fiction novels.

How might I celebrate the day? If I could, I would lounge around reading science fiction all day and watching novel-based science fiction movies. And some science fiction and fantasy television series as well. I’d make peanut butter star cookies (star? get it?) and do something equally fun foodie for fantasy as well. I might invite friends over (if I had local friends I would allow into our shabby little flat) for a marathon of some show or other.

“There are certain types of books that I more or less assume all readers read. (Novels, for example.)

What niche books do YOU read?”

Wow. A difficult question this week.

Since becoming a reviewer as well as a virtual tour coordinator, books of many different genres (not to mention levels of quality) have been delivered to my door and mailbox. I have been exposed to many books I would have not picked up otherwise, and, in general, am happy about that.

I suppose, after all this time, the niche I still seek out that is ‘my’ niche is books on writing.

Now, I’m not talking ‘how to write your novel in one year including revisions’ nor ‘how to make your characters stand out’ - though I would probably take a peek at those as well. I’m talking about the books that get past the mechanics to the writer’s spirit. Heck, the creative spirit - it doesn’t have to focus just on writers.

Books like Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg and The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron have gotten me through some dark and difficult times. And their books can be applied to anyone who feels at all blocked creatively (though I would say Writing Down the Bones is more author focused).

I feel a bit boring saying that creative spirit books are my niche because there are way too many preachy people or spaced out and need their meds people writing books and professing to be the next big thing. But, if you wade through, you can find the books that really inspire you.

*Those* books are my niche.

I saw this over at Shelley’s, and thought it sounded like a great question for all of you:

“This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.”

Ooooo, a challenge. This should be interesting.

1. The Giving Tree - Shell Silverstein
2. The Blue Sword - Robin McKinley
3. Ender’s Game - Orson Scott Card
4. Speaker of the Dead - Orson Scott Card
5. Xenocide - Orson Scott Card
6. Children of the Mind - Orson Scott Card
7. Abarat - Clive Barker
8. Writing Down the Bones - Natalie Goldberg
9. The Missing Piece - Shel Silverstein
10. The Bride series - Catherine Coulter
12. Animorphs series - K.A. Applegate
13. Eddings’ Polgara/Belgarath/etc books
14. Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
15. A Piece of Normal - Sandi Kahn Shelton

Woohoo! Did it in ten. Still, that was hard.

These books have special meaning in my life, even though some of them are listed for the fact that I read them multiple times.

I guess you could say that I cheated a bit with the Ender’s series books, but I don’t think so. Sure, they are a series, but they stand out individually in my mind. They taught me an incredible amount and encouraged me to think about how I perceive the world around me. On that merit alone, I think they are worth listing individually.

A couple of those books encouraged me to write. Some helped me through dark times, some taught me the fundamentals of specific genres.

Others still claim influence over my childhood. I have Shel Silverstein to thank for helping me to be a child who knew what it was to give for love and not for reward and to be conscious of how other people feel…

What’s on your list?

In the perfect follow-up to last week’s question, as suggested by C in DC:

Is there a book that you wish you could “unread”? One that you disliked so thoroughly you wish you could just forget that you ever read it?

What an excellent question. I’m looking forward to what other bloggers have to say about this one…

I’m afraid I’m going to be boring and say that there aren’t any books that I wish I could ‘unread’.

I know, I know, but let me explain.

I have read bad books in my time - especially since becoming a reviewer and straying outside my usual genres. I have read books that were so incredibly bad that they actually made me feel angry. When I reviewed them, I had my husband read the reviews first just to make sure I wasn’t being incredibly nasty and/or snarky.

But do I wish I could ‘unread’ them? No. For two reasons.

First, I have bad books to thank for being confident enough to pursue editing work. I’ve been freelance editing since I was in high school, but I’ve never had the guts to make a career out of it. After reading some error-ridden books, I know that I can help authors who need editing help.

Second, reading bad books finally taught me to stop wasting my time with them. Only just a few months ago I finally had enough self-love that I didn’t waste my time with a bad book. If I had never read a bad book before that, well, then I probably would have kept on and wasted even more of my time.

So, no particular books for me. They’ve served a purpose, even if they aggravated me as well.

What book would you love to be able to read again for the first time?

(Interestingly, I thought that I had thought this one up myself, but when I started scrolling through the Suggestions, found that Rebecca had suggested almost exactly this question a couple months ago. So, we both get credit!)

When I first read this question, one book immediately came to mind: The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley.

By far, The Blue Sword is the book I have read more times than any other book. There are plenty of books I love, but I have only ever read each of my favourites a few times. This book? Well, I have read it, at the very least, a dozen times.

The Blue Sword captured my imagination in ways that no book I have read since has. Maybe it was just the right timing or I was just the right young woman to read it, but I was entranced from the very start.

Back then (and still a bit these days), I identified with main character Harry so much. She felt the way I felt and ended up getting to do all the things I wanted to do when I first read it (run away, learn a new way of life, be someone important, fall in love). As it turned out, my life ended up coming with many of those things, and I am a very happy woman today.

I would love to feel that initial excitement and loss of self within the pages of The Blue Sword once more.

But, even as I say all this, I know I read The Blue Sword exactly when I was meant to because it shaped my life in wonderful ways.

Mariel suggested this week’s question:

Book Gluttony! Are your eyes bigger than your book belly? Do you have a habit of buying up books far quicker than you could possibly read them? Have you had to curb your book buying habits until you can catch up with yourself? Or are you a controlled buyer, only purchasing books when you have run out of things to read?

I am a total book glutton!

Only… not in the buying way…

I am a book glutton of the highest order, but I am also a cheap one. I have so many books I need to read, but they are either from my husband’s collection or they are review copies. There are some in there that I have bought, but books can be pretty pricey in Australia, so I usually stick to reading whatever comes my way through email offers.

The thing about that is I’m not the fastest reader. So accepting so may review copies sometimes gets me into a smidge of stress when it comes time that I need to review them all.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who reads books crazy fast and we work with each others schedules to keep reviews going here every Friday.

When it comes to buying books, it’s always a matter of having the money rather than having the time. If I have the money, want to read the book and have no obligation to read it at a certain time, then why wait? (Other than the possibility of it going on sale.)

Suggested by Vega:

- Do you read graphic novels/comics? Why do/don’t you enjoy them?
- How would you describe the difference between “graphic novel” and “comic”? Is there a difference at all?
- Say you have a friend who’s never encountered graphic novels. Recommend some titles you consider landmark/”canonical”.

- Do you read graphic novels/comics? Why do/don’t you enjoy them?

Whenever I get the chance, I pick up graphic novels. I quite enjoy them. Not only do you get to know what the author had going on in his/her head while writing the story, they’re probably the easiest form of book to pick up, put down, pick up again…

- How would you describe the difference between “graphic novel” and “comic”? Is there a difference at all?

I was going to mention this in my answer as to why I like graphic novels, but then I saw this question.

I believe there is a difference between the two is length. Easy. There is also the question of never-ending series, but you can get that in graphic novels as well, so I’ll leave that out.

With graphic novels (in my experience), you don’t have to endlessly read on crumb by crumb. I like comics as much as the next person, but they’re thin and over too quick. Then there is the wait for the next one. Graphic novels are a bit more chunky so you have a longer reading time.

True, you have a wait between segments there, too, if there are more parts, but it’s not as big of a deal because you generally don’t get through the whole book in a day.

- Say you have a friend who’s never encountered graphic novels. Recommend some titles you consider landmark/”canonical”.

I’m not the person to tell you. I can tell you that I have enjoyed Jeff Smith’s Bones books. Very fun.

Which is worse?

Reading a completely disappointing book by an author that you love?

From a financial standpoint, I’d rather read a completely disappointing book from an author I love. That way, money I have spent on other (good) books by the author isn’t wasted. If the first one happens, you risk buying more books by the author - all of which turn out to be duds.

I would go with the first one being worst from a general point of view as well. I’m an optimist, so I would probably have to read quite a few bad books by the author after having read that first good one to get it out of my system and finally give up.

I have an easier time understanding an author who has a brief bubble (book) that isn’t so great among other great works than I have for an author who writes mediocre stuff most of the time and has a brief moment of genius.

I had this happen (the second option) to me recently. I read The Marriage Game by Fern Michaels, who is usually a decent author. However, The Marriage Game was utterly and completely awful. It is one of the few (the only one I can think of, actually) books I had to stop reading within the first couple of chapters.

And yet, I’d still rather that happen than for me to have loved The Marriage Game and hated all her other work. Less time wasted with the second option.

Hello everyone! Looks like we’re reaching back into the archives today for the weekly dose of book talk…

Feel free to leave a link to your answer in the comments or even answer in the comments if you like.

“Some people read one book at a time. Some people have a number of them on the go at any given time, perhaps a reading in bed book, a breakfast table book, a bathroom book, and so on, which leads me to…

1. Are you currently reading more than one book?
2. If so, how many books are you currently reading?
3. Is this normal for you?
4. Where do you keep your current reads?”

1. Why yes, yes I am. Haha. I am currently reading Daughters of Moab by Kim Westwood, Mainline to the Heart and other Poems by Clive Matson, The Flow of Time and Money by Lloyd Watts and the horror anthology In Bad Dreams.

2. That would add up to four. I could have sworn there was another one, but I guess not.

3. Four is a bit much for me, but two is pretty usual. Sometimes I get stuck into just one book, but I find it’s nice to have more than one book on the go. Not all books are transport/purse friendly, so having two makes it possible for me to pick out something that will fit in whatever I’m carrying.

4. Where do I keep them… All over the place. On my nightstand, on my desk, I have one on my printer right now because my work area is a mess… In my purse. I ‘keep’ them wherever I happen to put them.

Suggested by Barbara:

I saw that National Library week is coming up in April, and that led to some questions. How often do you use your public library and how do you use it? Has the coffeehouse/bookstore replaced the library? Did you go to the library as a child? Do you have any particular memories of the library? Do you like sleek, modern, active libraries or the older, darker, quiet, cozy libraries?

Wow! A lot of library questions for this week…

How often do you use your public library and how do you use it? I use it a few times a month. I would use it a lot more if my local had wireless there as well, given they’re mostly open working hours and I need an internet connection to work.

Has the coffeehouse/bookstore replaced the library? Nope.

Did you go to the library as a child? Yes, definitely. The library was the answer to the poor family who couldn’t really afford to rent movies. We borrowed movies, books, all sorts of things. It really blew my mind that we could do all that and not pay a dime. That sort of thing created quite the reverence in me for the library.

Do you have any particular memories of the library? When I was still back in the States, my local library was my sanctuary. They had a plethora of books and media, plenty of comfortable places to sit, a lot of plug-ins and wireless internet to boot. Not to mention the place is situated right next to a lake and has huge windows.

That place is my picture of an ideal library. I could go there to get away from the world and immerse myself in books, music and so much more.

Do you like sleek, modern, active libraries or the older, darker, quiet, cozy libraries? I don’t like ‘modern sleek’ to the point of sterility. That’s part of the problem with my current local. Personality is always a plus.

A little late, but worth the wait…

This week’s question:

“What book do you think should be made into a movie? And do you have any suggestions for the producers?

Or, What book do you think should NEVER be made into a movie?”

Oooo, the book I would love to see made into a movie is Clive Barker’s Abarat! A lot of his fans are pissed off because he’s taking so darn long to finish the series, but that aside, I think Abarat would be fantastic. Very hard to produce, but awesome.

There are colours, fantastic places, fun characters… Can I buy tickets yet?

Beyond that…

My brain has suddenly gone blank. Goodie.

There are quite a few books I love - especially women’s fiction - that, I really do love, but I wouldn’t want to see made in a movie. Shobhan Bantwal’s books, for instance. I completely and absolutely adore the books, but as a movie? I don’t think they’d do well. Audiences these days would get bored because they cater to people (mostly women) who like to sit down and read about relationships and other cultures.

You know what? Frankly, I could do with some movies that just plain aren’t based on books, comic books, children’s books, classic books, yada yada. You hear that, Hollywood? Produce something good an original. We’ve seen enough comic book characters on screen and you have plenty of book to movie things happening, so why not something original, okay?

Haha. I didn’t plan to go there, but hasn’t that been annoying you as well?