Don't feel guilty about not reading enough books

The general rule of thumb in the USA book industry is that 1/3 of the books bought are never started, and a further 1/3 are never finished, there is definitely room in most people's lives to be more choosy about which of the millions of books in print they should spend their limited time and hard earned money on...

Read rest of article on Too Many Books, Just Enough Time.

On my bookshelf

Sixpence House: Lost In A Town Of Books :: Paul Collins

I scoured the net for weeks looking for this book. There were no more copies left on Amazon and I, living in Singapore, could not buy them from the Marketplace. Finally found it and a first edition hardbound copy too. Woohoo!

Then it was several months later, after I finished some books ahead in the queue, when I finally picked it up. It goes something like this: Man, wife and baby son move from San Francisco to Hay-On-Wye in Wales, UK, looking for a better life. It is a small village of 1500 people and 40 second-hand bookstores. Man finds a part-time job in a bookshop while working on book in the midst of publication. They meet interesting village people while looking for the perfect home. But after months of being unable to find one that doesn't need costly renovations, they realize that maybe they are not ready for the move after all.

I was and still am enthralled about a village bulging with books. I've now got a standing invitation to visit a good friend who lives "just down the road", to see and smell it for myself. Musty old books have the third best smell in the world, right after pineapple tarts at Christmas and the smell of new books, freshly bought. I looked forward to reading of Collins' efforts to assimilate to village life, and his adventures there but was left bereft.

The story of someone trying to adapt to life in a new country, with all the cultural and social missteps, is always quite entertaining. You know it works when you feel you're right at their elbow through their adventures. However I found that lacking here as well as any insight, the "meat" if you will, of really living in a bibliophile's idea of heaven.

Yes, there are LOTS of anecdotes about books and book-making and book buying and book cataloging and book dumping...quite enough and then some for the rabid bibliophile. It made me want to move there. BUT that was because of the village itself, not the author who after all the fuss, had another life-changing decision to make.

A good read but not worth the weeks I spent online to buy it. By the way, I got my edition from Alibris.com.

Now reading: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007, and with a few months to live, gave his 'last lecture' at Carnegie Mellon. It was a lecture on "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". This is his autobiography.

On my bookshelf

The City of Dreaming Books :: Walter Moers

A young septuagenarian dinosaur Optimus Yarnspinner is on a quest to uncover the author of a manuscript left by his authorial godfather. And it's to Bookholm he must go.

Bookholm, a city I'd call a bibliophile heaven. A city obsessed with books and everything about them. Only many of these books are not just for reading. Some are truly hazardous while others are just downright deadly. Some are even alive! All to be found in this city of strange inhabitants like Sharkgrubs and Murchs who live above enormous catacombs, filled with even more books of inestimable worth, and even stranger creatures. Booklings, animatomes, Harpyrs, and flora and fauna of the truly bizarre kind inhabit the caverns far below. But the strangest and most fearsome of them all is the dreaded Shadow King.

Optimus falls into the clutches of an evil book dealer, is hypnotized, poisoned and abandoned in the catacombs. What happens next is a rollicking adventure unlike anything I've ever read in a long, long time. Definitely not a children's book; too many bloody scenes and vicious books that could scare them out of picking up a book ever again! I raced through it in 5 days and enjoyed every word of it.

Highly recommended and a definite re-read.

On my bookshelf

Mirror Mirror :: Gregory Maguire

I've always loved fairy tales. Not the vanilla tales from childhood but tales written for a more adult audience, sometimes twisted and dark with a dash of the macabre. Discovering Gregory Maguire in 2007 at a B&N in Cordova, TN (only realizing later that HE wrote Wicked), made me want to buy every book in his oeuvre. Glad I didn't.

The tale is a retelling of Snow White, only Maguire sets his story in Italy at the time of the Borgias. Nearly all the elements of the original are here: magic mirror, dwarves, wicked stepmother, poison apple, a beautiful girl. And a father who has disappeared on a quest for a biblical treasure (no, not the ark or the grail). There are also the court intrigues and political machinations of princes and popes jockeying for power and wealth. All the right elements to make a great story.

I finished Mirror, Mirror, and felt... Not that uplifted feeling I get at the end of a really good book. Neither a sense of loss cause I've finished it. I just felt... flat.

While I loved the story, what I didn't like was its pacing and protracted scenes. I found myself rushing through the last 50 or so pages WANTING to finish it so I could start something else. Read this only if you're a Gregory Maguire fan.

On my bookshelf

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic In Disguise :: Ruth Reichl

"New York is the centre of the American restaurant world." And a job at the New York Times as its new restaurant critic could potentially make nervous wrecks of anyone, never mind the new upstart from California, home of veggie burgers and tofu salads. But New York throws out the welcome mat. Even before Ruth Reichl arrives, there are "wanted" posters of her in nearly every restaurant in the city, as well as substantial "bounties" for spotting her. So much for anonymity! Now how is "the most important restaurant critic in the world" to get her job done?

With the help of wigs, makeup and vintage clothes, Reichl morphs into Molly, Miriam, Chloe, Brenda, Betty and Emily, fooling every sharp-eyed waiter and restaurateur in the city. Her personas are hilariously funny even as her reviews are mouth-wateringly delicious. Unlike the previous critic Bryan Miller with his penchant for French, Italian and Continental establishments, Reichl is an equal opportunity critic - dining and reviewing even Asian, Indian and Latino restaurants, leading her readers into hitherto unknown territory of the city's culinary map.

I admit to being a fan after reading her earlier novel Comfort Me With Apples. And I thoroughly enjoyed this book which not only has some of her best restaurant reviews and recipes from her own kitchen but also anecdotes of her life in New York and her time at the paper. Highly recommended indeed.

Now reading: Walter Moer's City of Dreaming Books. I'll be posting another review in a couple of days, of Gregory Maguire's Mirror Mirror. Two books read in January!

Look out for...

Keith Donohue's new book due out in March 2009 - Angels of Destruction. After getting totally lost in his first book The Stolen Child, I've eagerly waited his next. And now it's almost here.

Bad, bad, bad...

Before the holidays overwhelm (as it is, I'm already feeling the pressure of NOT having done my Christmas shopping yet!), I did a check on the books read this past year.

P A T H E T I C!

As of today, I've read:
Fiction: 4 (5 when I'm done with Maguire)
Non-Fiction: 4
eBook (iPhone): 1
S&S (aka Started & Stopped): 3.

That's barely a book a month! I'm so ashamed, mad, disappointed... Especially when I remember a not too distant past when I could devour a book in 4 days! But what with work AND freelance, I find myself reading on my trips between places, waiting for anything or anyone, lunch breaks, before bed... I admit that there have been some empty spaces, but after a day of staring at the computer, the last thing I want to do is look at more words again.

But...I'm going to change this. My reading habit that is. I will read more and I will read more often. No pressure - You hear me, self? I miss the whole 'sit down with a book' moment. Those totally indulgent selfish moments when I set aside a few hours for myself, deadlines and 'must-dos' be dammed.

I'd like to get my total up to 24 books in 2009, mere pittance when compared to what some other bibliophiles are consuming. Anyway, that's one of my goals for 2009. Read. And get more freelance copywriting jobs.

On my bookshelf

I, Lucifer :: Glen Duncan

I've always wondered... The Christian God is all about forgiveness, right? So could he ever forgive Lucifer and welcome him back into Heaven? But more importantly, would Lucifer miss home and repent? And what would it take for this to happen?

Well, Lucifer has been missed and is offered a chance at redemption before all hell breaks loose. He's given a trial run, one month, in the body of a suicide victim to decide if he wants to go all the way. Of course, the little devil has his own ideas of what that life should be and he proceeds to live it, on his terms. What happens next is a wicked romp through the streets of London as Lucifer indulges in the earthly pleasures of sex, drugs and expensive suits while offering us insightful glimpses of the Fall, temptation of Eve, the Last Supper and life in Hell, not to mention the rest of the angelic host. But goodness! He is a whiner who behaves like the bad boy in a preppy do-good family.

Whatever you do, don't read ahead, especially the end. And if you can put up with Glen Duncan's verbal gymnastics and biting wit, you'll be rewarded with a tongue-in-cheek tale of a heavenly exercise gone awry.

By the way, there's a movie based on the book due out soon. Guess who's in the title role?

Now reading: Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire - an adult version of Snow White set in the time of the Borgias in Italy.

On my bookshelf

Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World :: Anthony Doerr

Anthony Doerr won the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. It came with a stipend and a writing studio in Rome for a year. Lucky chap. He learned of it when he and his wife returned from the hospital with new-born twin. Doubly lucky.

So off they went to the Eternal City where for one magical year, they embraced life in Italy and their new roles as parents. The book is both an insight into the sleepless lives of young parents, as well as a guide to the butchers, bakers, grocers and their neighbourhood on the Janiculum.
We are taken on tours of the Vatican (now I know to get into the Sistine Chapel queue very early then run like a mad thing to lie under the famous ceiling and enjoy it in solitude for nearly 15 minutes), meet Romans (who all love babies), discover parts of the city that are not in tourist brochures and attend the vigil of a dying pope. There are funny anecdotes of his family and musings on the writer's life with healthy observations from Pliny and Dante.

An easy book to read and and get lost in. And wish, wish, WISH you were there too.

Now reading: I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan. A thoroughly wicked look at the possible salvation of the devil.

I love KL!

Kuala Lumpur that is! Thanks to the strong Singapore Dollar against the Malaysian Ringgit (SGD1 : MYR2.4), many things are so much cheaper there. Like British India's beautifully embroidered linen and silk tops which sell dollar for dollar. I LOVE their easy to wear classy pieces that are perfect for the weather here. Also, Nine West shoes, Banana Republic, Massimo Dutti and not to mention, Borders! Yes, books in KL are much cheaper than home and what's more, KL doesn't have a goods-and-services tax!

I did some controlled spending at Borders and bought ONLY 3 books: The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt, Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire and Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier. I'm off there again at at the end of October.

Currently reading...

I've had enough of regular books for a while. Well actually, I want something different but I don't know what that is just yet. So, I've started on the entire graphic novel series of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. I've read book 1 (twice now), almost done with book 2 with book 3 waiting in the wings. I'm off to Kinokuniya tomorrow for more - they have stocked the entire series.

Question: Although these are not my old 'comic books' (remember Archie and Beano?) can I still classify these as serious literature? There are more picture than words. Also, I've been eyeing The Watchmen - any thoughts on this, anyone?

On my bookshelf

The Secret Of Lost Things :: Sheridan Hay

A coming of age tale of a young 18 year-old girl who travels from Tasmania to New York City after her mother's death. There she finds work in the Arcade, a huge second-hand book-store filled with odd characters like Pearl a large, black soon-to-be all woman with operatic dreams and Oscar who is incapable of loving anyone. Along the way, she's besotted with a totally undeserving fuckwit (thanks you Bridget Jones!) who uses her to aid his search for a lost Herman Melville manuscript, and has her first sexual encounter with another who's looking for the same.

I liked Rosemary although her naivete and country-mouse wonder at life and love made me want to shake her after a bit. I enjoyed Sheridan Hay's prose and her ability to create idiosyncratic characters. While the Melville manuscript was a secondary plot, it was an clever way to put Rosemary into situations that tested her, and allowed her to grow.

A good effort but I wish it had a slightly faster pacing. Recommended for serious consideration to any TBR pile.

Now reading: Not sure what's next. Maureen Corrigan's book kinda disappointed me. I need a thriller to yank me from the depths of book purgatory. Suggestions welcome!

On my bookshelf

The Shadow of the Wind :: Carlos Luiz Zafon

Nearly 500 pages of plots within plots within plots; of a parallel coming-of-age tale of two young men and the women they love, a labyrinth, of a sadistic police officer driven by psychopathic lust to hurt and kill, of books that are hunted down and destroyed. Murder, love and mystery rule while quiet moments of regret, loss and longing give pause and a lump in the throat.

This is a delicious Gothic novel in the same vein as Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. It's one of those books that you'd want to savour every page, to prolong its inevitable conclusion yet at the same time, want to rush through to find out what happens next! There are nail-biting scenes which will have you reading well past bedtime on a work night before you get to a spot where you can close the book, however reluctantly. But whatever you do, don't read ahead.
I'll be looking for more of Zafon's novels to add to my library. Highly recommended!

Now reading: Maureen Corrigan's Leave Me Along, I'm Reading, and Sheridan Hay's The Secret of Lost Things.

On my bookshelf

An Alphabetical Life :: Wendy Werris

This is an ode to the long-ignored, underappreciated bookseller. A profession Wendy Werris stumbled into when she was hired at the legendary Pickwick Bookstore in LA on September 2, 1970. It traces her journey from a lowly sales person to publishers' sales rep with snippets of her family along the way.

Wendy was selling books in an era when indie bookstores still dotted the US landscape, providing personal service and in-depth knowledge of their products, before they were engulfed by the mega stores we see today. These small bookstores had a personality and larger-than-life, generous book buyers who became her friends. Many remained close even as their bookstores folded or were bought over by the corporate giants.

There's a hilarious moment at a Microsoft Press sales conference. Mac-user Wendy, determined to show up a presenter, inserted foot-in-mouth by asking, "So tell me - will Microsoft be launching a Macintosh version of this Windows software upgrade?"

A thoroughly enjoyable book that well deserves its place on the bookshelf of all bibliophiles.

Now reading: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Reading: Books on Books

I have unintentionally started a reading challenge. Looking at some of the books I have in my TBR pile and the ones I'm reading now, I see that I have the beginnings of a Books on Books challenge.

So far, the books are:
* An Alphabetical Alphabet by Wendy Werris (current)
* The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Safon (current)
* Leave Me Alone I'm Reading by Mauren Corrigan
* The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers
* Sixpence House by Paul Collins (Thank you Alibris.com!)
* A Passion For Books by Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan
* King's English by Betsy Burton
* The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay
* The Complete Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby

I'll keep adding to this list as I discover more. If you'd like to join in or even add to this list, please drop me a comment.

On my bookshelf

Special Topics In Calamity Physics :: Marisha Pessl

I was NOT going to let this book get the better of me. I hung on for dear life, carting this heavyweight around in my bags for nearly 2 months. I endured some rather rotten characters in the first 434 pages to only have those characters nearly disappear in the remaining pages. So much for getting attached to some people I had grown to really dislike.

I kept asking myself as I turned each page, "What's the point in all this?" And after just finishing the book a scant 10 minutes ago, I have to say, "Nothing." Except for a couple of incidents that happen in the first two-thirds that shed some light on the last few chapters, everything is expendable. Pessl's freshman effort could use with some drastic editing, if not for the book's benefit, than at least for the sake of her readers. The last 200 pages zipped along with a couple of twists I rather enjoyed though you can see them coming as the plot slowly unravels. But goodness! Getting to that point where you can actually start enjoying it, is SO tedious.

Go to Amazon to read a synopsis, I'm too fed-up with this book to write more than this: Girl and father move to a new town, to a new school, girl makes unlikely new friends, girl finds body of her teacher, loses friends, then uncovers an underground, near-legendary revolutionary group with links close to home.

Recommended only if you're going to be marooned on a desert island.

Now gratefully reading: An Alphabetical Life by Wendy Werris.

Books and Gas

At the Exxon gas station near my house, in a barely populated book rack near the door, you can find some rather good books for a pittance. Like this baby here by one of my favourite authors - a first edition hardcover of Edith Wharton's The Cruise of the Vanadis, for only $10 (about US$7)!

New books

The books I ordered from Amazon.com arrived today, two weekends since I ordered. Not bad for standard shipping.

1. The Reagan Diaries, edited by Douglas Brinkley
2. The Copyeditor's Handbook by Amy Einsohn
3. The Life of Elizabeth 1 by Alison Weir
4. A Passion for Books by Rob Kaplan
5. An Alphabetical Life by Wendy Werris
6. Leave Me Alone I'm Reading by Maureen Corrigan

The Reagan Diaries was something I should have bought when I was at my sister's last summer - it was only $18.90 at Sam's. It's retailing at Border's here for S$60 or about USS35!! ACK!!!

The Handbook is something for work especially now that I'm doing more corporate communications writing. The rest - well, because they've been on my Amazon wishlist for so long and I've not been able to find them here!

And that's it for now. No more new books for the next... oh! 3 months?? Really!

I'm so looking forward to this weekend. It's Labour Day tomorrow here in Singapore, and I'm taking Friday off. So that's a long 4-day weekend for me. And oh! I'm off to the ShangriLa for English tea tomorrow with some friends. A small treat to myself after the last 2 crazy months.

Weekend Stuff

A few days ago, I added this post about some clever library ideas. Thanks to Aloi, I found this perfect addition to my some day perfect library - perfect for curling up with a good book.

Jim Rosenau creates functional art from old, discarded books. And he's got some really cool shelves for sale on his site. I love how he creates themes from book titles.

No news yet when Susan Hill's The Man in the Mask will finally appear on US shores and if it will have the same title. It's still absent from bookstores here.

Dream libraries

These are some of the cleverest bookshelves I've seen. The first one in a Tokyo apartment wraps around and provides privacy for the bedroom. Falling asleep and waking up to books...Nice! The second one is a bookshelf built into a staircase that ascends to a loft. I so so want this. But I think I'll need a loft and a second floor first.