Bookworm

[moonwise]

When I was a kid, I read voraciously, and was always having one book or another taken away in class.

As I got older, I didn't read quite as much, and with the advent of the Internet, somehow the number of books I read a year fell off dramatically. It was bothersome - like I'd lost a talent.

On Friday after work, I went to Borders and picked up a copy of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," intending to make it last for a weekend.

It didn't last an hour and a half.

It was good to know that was still possible - to be so engrossed in a book that you can't stop reading even for dinner or a trip to the potty.

Comments

[wpl510.livejournal.com]

I'd been feeling down lately about how little I was reading (partly because our library doesn't have half the books the catalog claims, and books are expensive nowadays)... and then suddenly last week I discovered an amazing used bookstore downtown.

Needless to say, I spent everything in my wallet, and had to restrain myself from pulling out the debit card. And it was worth it!

[arafel.livejournal.com]

We've got a used bookstore nearby, and I'm ashamed to say that I've never been there! Definitely a better deal for bestsellers.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

I think you'd like it - it appeals to the science and math nerd.

[ssilverfish.livejournal.com]

> On Friday after work, I went to Borders and picked up a copy of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," intending to make it last for a weekend.

It didn't last an hour and a half.

I ate that one, too! That's probably the last book I found that engrossing as well, though I've also been reading a lot less lately. I'm mired in Possession, which I've borrowed from a friend... slog slog...

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Hee, I remember seeing that on your recently read list! What's Possession about?

[ssilverfish.livejournal.com]

Possession is about a pair of literary scholars that each specialize in a particular Victorian poet (fabricated for this book). They discover that the two poets may have had a relationship (after one finds a draft of a letter in the old manuscript he's working with), and much of the book consists of the correspondence of these two poets, with excerpts of their poetry, etc. Presumably the two scholars fall in love with each other, too, as this is titled Possession: A Romance. But I don't know. I'm not even halfway through it yet.

It's not a bad book, it's just not grabbing me. It's extremely descriptive (you're hard-pressed to find a noun that doesn't have a string of colors attached to it), yet somehow not engaging. It might be that I know I have to read it now, so I can give it back to this friend before we move. :)

[ladyofthesea.livejournal.com]

My reading didn't fall off per say- I just kept reading everything I owned over and over again. I bought a bunch of Star Trek books last week and I've been enjoying them immensely. After wasting my money on one of Laurell K. Hamilton's books it's refreshing to have a good read. Star Trek has yet to fail me in that department. Good to hear that you want to get back into reading. :D

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Star Trek books are fun. I always liked the Peter David installments, because the man is a riot.

Did you see that LKH is a strong contender for Wanker of the Year? She may yet lose to Anne Rice, though, who feels that she is a good candidate to write a fictionalized Life of Jesus.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

I read a lot of Babysitter's Club too. :)

It's amazing how many people tell me that school ruined their interest in reading. Is it that you didn't enjoy what you were given to read, or that you were forced to read at all? For me, assigned reading was something of a treat because now it was my assignment to read in class.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of David Mitchell. What's Cloud Atlas about?

It's certainly easier to be a voracious reader when you're a kid, because you simply have more free time. Grad school never helps anything, either, because you feel guilty about extracurriculars!

[ex-acertainf406.livejournal.com]

Ooh! Curious Incident was really good! i got to read it for my postmod lit class this semester. one of the best books we read of all ten. heh. ^^

[tntoxfox.livejournal.com]

You know, I've sort of followed that same pattern. I read a lot as a kid too but as I got older it trailed off and being in grad school seemed to squelch any desire for me to read something creative, because I was simply too tired! I'd been reading papers all day and the last thing I wanted to do was go home and read some more. I feel kinda bad about it.

Oh well...I've recently picked up a copy of Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie and I'm enjoying that muchly.