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15 Things: Books and Reading Edition
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bottle_of_shine.
15 Things About Me, Books, and Reading
1. I taught myself to read before I was 2. So I've been reading as long as I can remember, literally.
2. The first chapter books I ever read were the Oz series. I was probably around 5 or 6 at the time. According to my mom, the local librarian once asked if I read the books or just looked at the pictures.
3. I'm a re-reader and always have been. I probably read each of the aforementioned Oz books dozens of times, for example. Probably I started the habit because, as a youngster, I read my way through the collections in our small-town Iowa libraries pretty quickly and so had to content myself with starting over. Now I have more options, of course, but I still find something very satisfying about spending time with an old friend, particularly when I'm sick or stressed out.
4. I used to save up my allowance for books. A dollar a week would get me a book by the end of the month, easy. (Remember when paperbacks were $3?) The summer months were the best, because I'd get an extra $2 for mowing the lawn. That was almost a whole extra book!
5. When we brought home the Scholastic order forms, I was generally allowed to pick one or two books each time. Of the books I got that way, the one I remember best is "A Bargain for Frances", which came with a record. I really wanted a tea set after that.
6. I've spoken about my Sweet Valley High addiction in the past. I eventually gave up on them, probably around my sophomore year, when I got impatient with the lack of character development. When the same characters are reliving the same year of high school over and over, there's only so much room for growth. And different plots. How many Spring Breaks and proms do you really need?
7. Most of what I read falls into the genre of speculative fiction. I tend more toward the fantasy side of things, although I will read hard sci-fi from time to time. I will read contemporary fiction, sometimes chicklit, occasionally a traditional romance although they're not my first choice usually. And some literary fiction, although usually only by recommendation. Although really, I'm willing to try almost anything, except....
8. Mysteries. I don't know why, but they don't appeal to me and (since Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden) never really have. Maybe I just haven't been reading the right ones. I don't have anything against the genre, but I never think to pick them up, and I haven't even really followed up on recommendations.
9. I do read non-fiction from time to time -- "Going Nucular", a book of essays about linguistics in politics, business, and the media is on my night stand right now -- but it's rarely my first choice. Typically, I read for escape and/or entertainment, not so much for learning. I figure I have the web for that. And my job.
10. I started reading comics and graphic novels during college. "The Sandman" was one of the first. "The Tick" was probably the other. I went through a phase during the first few years after college when I read lots and lots of comics, mostly because I was slowing going through SE's entire collection. I've slowed down on them lately, mostly because it feels so expensive to keep up with the titles I like, but I do still pick new ones up from time to time.
11. I never read manga, ever, until last year whenhinikuish convinced me to try out "Death Note" and "X/1999". Now I've added "One Piece" and "Fruits Basket" to my repertoire as well (or instead, since both of those other series are done). I enjoy reading them, although I wish they would come out with new issues faster. I've tried reading scanlations and just can't get into the format.
12. The first time I ever bought books from Amazon, it was a few web programming books for school, some cookbooks, and a hardback copy of "The Westing Game". I was in library school taking a web design class and wanted some extra reference material, I had just moved out from my then-boyfriend's place and was living on my own for the first time ever and needed some help cooking, and "The Westing Game" is my favorite book of all time and I decided it was long past time I owned it. This was in August 1998, which I'm pretty sure is during the dim and misty era during which Amazon only sold books.
13. I almost never buy books from Amazon (for myself; I use Amazon for the library all the time). I'd always had this sense, but when I went back to check my facts on #12 I was surprised to see just how few Amazon orders I've placed over the years. I've gone whole years without buying anything. In part, I like the instant gratification of walking into a bookstore and walking out with a book; the other reason is that there are just way too many books out there that I want to read. And if they're all available on Amazon, what stops me from getting them all? Being limited by the inventory actually in the store, and by how much I'm able to carry, saves my book budget. A lot.
14. So in case this hasn't come through yet, I love to read. Other passions have come and gone, but reading is eternal. No matter what else is going on in my life, in the world, I can pull out a book and be transported for a few moments or a few hours. One of the saddest things, to me, about not being immortal is knowing that the world is full of great books that I will never read. Even if I quit my job and devoted every moment to reading, I'd never get them all.
15. Officially, I broke down and started carrying handbags a few years back so that I could carry my cellphone. The real reason? So that I can have a book along pretty much everywhere I go.
bottle_of_shine.1. I taught myself to read before I was 2. So I've been reading as long as I can remember, literally.
2. The first chapter books I ever read were the Oz series. I was probably around 5 or 6 at the time. According to my mom, the local librarian once asked if I read the books or just looked at the pictures.
3. I'm a re-reader and always have been. I probably read each of the aforementioned Oz books dozens of times, for example. Probably I started the habit because, as a youngster, I read my way through the collections in our small-town Iowa libraries pretty quickly and so had to content myself with starting over. Now I have more options, of course, but I still find something very satisfying about spending time with an old friend, particularly when I'm sick or stressed out.
4. I used to save up my allowance for books. A dollar a week would get me a book by the end of the month, easy. (Remember when paperbacks were $3?) The summer months were the best, because I'd get an extra $2 for mowing the lawn. That was almost a whole extra book!
5. When we brought home the Scholastic order forms, I was generally allowed to pick one or two books each time. Of the books I got that way, the one I remember best is "A Bargain for Frances", which came with a record. I really wanted a tea set after that.
6. I've spoken about my Sweet Valley High addiction in the past. I eventually gave up on them, probably around my sophomore year, when I got impatient with the lack of character development. When the same characters are reliving the same year of high school over and over, there's only so much room for growth. And different plots. How many Spring Breaks and proms do you really need?
7. Most of what I read falls into the genre of speculative fiction. I tend more toward the fantasy side of things, although I will read hard sci-fi from time to time. I will read contemporary fiction, sometimes chicklit, occasionally a traditional romance although they're not my first choice usually. And some literary fiction, although usually only by recommendation. Although really, I'm willing to try almost anything, except....
8. Mysteries. I don't know why, but they don't appeal to me and (since Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden) never really have. Maybe I just haven't been reading the right ones. I don't have anything against the genre, but I never think to pick them up, and I haven't even really followed up on recommendations.
9. I do read non-fiction from time to time -- "Going Nucular", a book of essays about linguistics in politics, business, and the media is on my night stand right now -- but it's rarely my first choice. Typically, I read for escape and/or entertainment, not so much for learning. I figure I have the web for that. And my job.
10. I started reading comics and graphic novels during college. "The Sandman" was one of the first. "The Tick" was probably the other. I went through a phase during the first few years after college when I read lots and lots of comics, mostly because I was slowing going through SE's entire collection. I've slowed down on them lately, mostly because it feels so expensive to keep up with the titles I like, but I do still pick new ones up from time to time.
11. I never read manga, ever, until last year when
hinikuish convinced me to try out "Death Note" and "X/1999". Now I've added "One Piece" and "Fruits Basket" to my repertoire as well (or instead, since both of those other series are done). I enjoy reading them, although I wish they would come out with new issues faster. I've tried reading scanlations and just can't get into the format.12. The first time I ever bought books from Amazon, it was a few web programming books for school, some cookbooks, and a hardback copy of "The Westing Game". I was in library school taking a web design class and wanted some extra reference material, I had just moved out from my then-boyfriend's place and was living on my own for the first time ever and needed some help cooking, and "The Westing Game" is my favorite book of all time and I decided it was long past time I owned it. This was in August 1998, which I'm pretty sure is during the dim and misty era during which Amazon only sold books.
13. I almost never buy books from Amazon (for myself; I use Amazon for the library all the time). I'd always had this sense, but when I went back to check my facts on #12 I was surprised to see just how few Amazon orders I've placed over the years. I've gone whole years without buying anything. In part, I like the instant gratification of walking into a bookstore and walking out with a book; the other reason is that there are just way too many books out there that I want to read. And if they're all available on Amazon, what stops me from getting them all? Being limited by the inventory actually in the store, and by how much I'm able to carry, saves my book budget. A lot.
14. So in case this hasn't come through yet, I love to read. Other passions have come and gone, but reading is eternal. No matter what else is going on in my life, in the world, I can pull out a book and be transported for a few moments or a few hours. One of the saddest things, to me, about not being immortal is knowing that the world is full of great books that I will never read. Even if I quit my job and devoted every moment to reading, I'd never get them all.
15. Officially, I broke down and started carrying handbags a few years back so that I could carry my cellphone. The real reason? So that I can have a book along pretty much everywhere I go.
I
Robert B. Parker - the Spenser detective stories. In particular the early ones since the later books suffer from the usual 'too long a series' disorder. "Early Autumn" is one of my favourites; I must have read it at least half a dozen times. Spenser is fascinating and is one of the few other characters who awakens the fanfic writing genie in me.
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More than anything, I’m pitching in the obligatory rec for Agatha Christie. Towards Zero, all the way, baby.
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Re: I
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I imagine, per your description, that Going Nucular is indeed spelt that way. Heh!
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Going Nucular is indeed spelt that way
Yup. The title essay is about why politicians pronounce the word incorrectly and why it's almost certainly a conscious choice, to make themselves seem more "folksy". It's a little dated -- most of the commentary is from 2001-2003 -- but I still find it relevant and interesting.
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Mostly I was pissed that my favourite characters barely showed up :(
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However, it did have one of the best "oh HELL YEAH" moments in all the books at the end, so it left a better taste in my mouth than it might have otherwise. (I won't say what here, since it's a major spoiler and I don't want to wreck it for anyone else who might read the series, but I bet you can guess what it was.)
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...It was quite awkward, really, as I was at work.
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Amen! :)
Sounds like we have similar reading histories - except I started with the Laura Ingalls books, and Oz came a little later. I was never into Sweet Valley High and I love mysteries! If you want a mystery rec., I'd say "Gaudy Night" by Dorothy Sayers; I think you'd like the main characters and it's set at a women's college (in Oxford).
Have you read the latest Temeraire yet? What did you think?
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I have finished the new Temeraire and liked it quite a lot. None of them have quite captured me the way the first book did, but I was so unusually captivated by "His Majesty's Dragon" that I wasn't really expecting it to happen again. I like how much farther she's pulling the alternate history now. And the last few chapters were totally heartbreaking.
What did you think of it?
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