My Reading Frenzy

My Self - Imposed Reading Pressures

Last week I explored the ways reading is good for mental health, both mine and that of others. Today I want to explore the corresponding stresses I sometimes feel around reading. 

 

The Pressure to Read

Like many avid readers I feel the self-imposed pressure to read many, many books. I am under no obligation to read at all if I do not want to. As a librarian, I can choose what to buy based on professional reviews and recommendations. As a blogger, I can write about whatever strikes my fancy. I am not obligated to read in either of these situations. But my desire to read ALL the books is an intrinsic pressure whether or not it makes sense.

I set a Goodreads goal for myself every year, but I set a realistic goal based on the number of books I read the previous year. I do not think this contributes to the pressure to read more. For the past few years I have bumped up the goal as the year progresses because I am reading more than anticipated. I think I can say that this number is not significant to me outside of helping me to track what I have read. 

(Goodreads is the only place I record EVERYTHING I read so I can refer back and check on whether or not I have read something. A  few years ago I accidentally deleted my account and lost all my records. I was bereft because I knew I would not be able to remember everything I had read over the previous five years. Now, as books pop up that others are reading or I randomly remember having read a book I add it back.)

 

The Avoidance of Reading 

Conversely, when I find myself in a situation where I am expected to read a book, I employ avoidance tactics and read anything but the book in question. This happened when I served on the Virginia Reader's Choice committee. I would come home from our biannual meetings with a stack of books I had agreed to read as part of my role as a committee member. I would look at that stack of books for 5.5 months before jumping in to be able to speak to whether or not we should consider the books for the high school list.

This also happens to me when in a book club, which is even more ludicrous because I love being in a book club. I look forward to the opportunity to discuss books while socializing with other readers, but even so, I often put off reading the chosen book until the last possible minute.  

I want to apply to be a reviewer for Booklist and School Library Journal, but I fear that as soon as books arrive that I "have" to read, I will freeze up and dread reading them even if they are books I WANT to read. This makes me hesitate to apply.

 

Do I Really Need to Have All These Books?

When I was a child and teen I would wait until I was ready for a new book to read before perusing the family shelves or visiting a bookstore or the library. But then, for no reason that I can identify, I started wanting/needing to have shelves of books I had not read available at all times. As soon as I discovered a book I wanted to read I would buy it or get it from the library. Then it would sit there while I read other books. Sometimes I would end up returning the book to the library or getting rid of one I owned without having ever read it because my enthusiasm waned or other books would come along that I wanted to read immediately. I have mainly reined in this tendency by creating lists of books I want to read on Goodreads or Amazon, list are much easier to weed than shelves of books. This need to have lots of unread books around has also been curbed by moving. When I had to pack up all the books I own, both read and unread, I culled my collection significantly. I discuss how I made the decision about what to keep and what to let go in this post. I also had to accept that I was wasting money buying books that I would eventually give away or sell for much less than I paid without having read them which also helped me to stop. 

 

I Didn't Bring Anything to Read! 

My last reading concern goes hand in hand with my addiction to reading. Whenever I am somewhere waiting, I get antsy if I do not have anything to read. This does not happen very often. If I know I am going to an appointment I bring a book. If I am riding the Metro I bring my Kindle. If I am driving I have an audiobook ready to go. It seems therefore that I have almost no times when I do not have anything with me to read, but it does occasionally happen. The reason any of this is an issue is because I think it is bad that I get anxious when I have to sit without reading material. I worry I cannot just sit and be. I have tried recently to sit mindfully, observing my surroundings rather than separating myself. 

 

What pressures do you association with reading?

Who are the Top Authors I Would Like to See in Person?

A few weeks ago I wrote about the authors I have seen in person (or virtually).  

Today I want to share some authors I would like to see if given the opportunity and others who are long gone, but who I think would have been great in person.

• Phillip Pullman - I have been reading Pullman since the His Dark Materials series in the 90s. As far as I have seen, he does not do book tours or festivals. I respect this if it is his preference, but I would enjoy hearing him talk about his work. Especially now that he has been writing another trilogy (The Book of Dust) set in Lyra's London. I have also read his Sally Lockhart mystery series.
• Connie Willis - Given my feelings about her time travel books, Willis is an author I want to have tea and a good chat with. I'd also like to see her talk about her work. 
• Erin Morgenstern - I rarely read books more than once, but I have both read and listened to The Night Circus. I haven't yet read her second novel, The Starless Sea, though I have owned it since it was released in the spring. I know I will be sorry to have waited, but there isn't a bad time to read a good book.
• Jason Reynolds - In reality I have seen Reynolds speak, but it was in his capacity as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, not in connection with his own writing. This is a goal.
• Tana French - The more mysteries I read, the more I am intrigued by mystery writing. 
• Ann Patchett - The first of her books I read was Bel Canto, the most recent was The Dutch House. In between I have never been disappointed. She is one of this generation's greats. AND she owns an independent bookstore!
• Glennon Doyle - I so enjoyed listening to her book Untamed recently. I am on the wait list for Love Warrior. I connect to her real voice because she sounds like a friend and to her written voice. She says things that make sense and encourage me to look inward.

I could probably write all day about authors I would like to hear talk about their work, the world, philosophy, life, but these are a few of the top who I will seek when there is again an opportunity for in person events. Until then I will look for virtual events, like the National Book Festival, which begins tomorrow.

 

 

I also made a list of authors who are no longer living who I would like to have had the opportunity to see and hear in person as well. They mainly include authors whose work I have taught, but in most cases I chose works I loved or found merit in so the authors are those I respect and whose work I would love to hear more about.

• Oscar Wilde - I love his satire from The Importance of Being Earnest to The Picture of Dorian Gray. I visited his resting place in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France. It is a beautiful memorial to a favorite writer.
• Edgar Allan Poe - Poe's work is attractive to students and therefore fun to teach. The short stories are masterful examples of the power of brevity. Despite his final resting place being in Baltimore, I have not visited, an oversight I hope to rectify soon. 
• The Transcendentalists and their friends - After visiting Concord, Massachusetts last summer for a National Endowment for the Humanities educator workshop I came to know this remarkable group of writers and philosophers more deeply than I had from only their writing. Seeing the places they wrote and spent their time offered insights that have made their work more meaningful to me. The writers I include are:
  • Henry David Thoreau
  • Louisa May Alcott
  • Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • Margaret Fuller
• The poets Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson - 2019 was the 100^th anniversary of Whitman's birth. The Library of Congress had a special open house during which were displayed rare works and special publications. The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City had an exhibition as did the main branch of the New York public library. I was able to see all three.
  • I consider Dickinson and Whitman to be parallel poets, whose words resonate with me in similar ways. I have participated in an all day reading of Dickinson's poems to commemorate her birthday and visited her home in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
  • I think a walk in the park with the two of them and some time on a bench in conversation would be intellectually stimulating  and nourishment for my creative soul.
• Zora Neal Hurston - Because she was a groundbreaking writer, a talented folklorist, and Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of the most gratifying novels I have ever taught because of the ways in which almost all students find a point of connection with Janie Crawford's story.

There are certainly far more authors I could add to this list as well.

 

What authors do you want to see in person? Who are you sorry to have missed?

 

 

 

 

What I've Read - What I am Reading - September 14, 2020

A week and three quarters after the move, the apartment looks like a home and just about everything has found a place or been given away or donated, which does include some books. This means I was able to spend more time reading than I did last week. 

On Saturday I made a trip to Politics & Prose on Connecticut Ave. to pick up the latest Louise Penny mystery All The Devils are Here that was part of our ticket to the Zoom conversation between she and Hillary Clinton. 

 

 

 

 

Read:

Last week I began reading Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore, which I finished this week. I enjoyed it and thought it was sassy, smart, and swoony. I liked both Annabelle and her love interest Montgomery. Each was layered and flawed as well as believably attracted to each other based on backstory and events in the novel. I appreciated the strong friendships between the women working for women's suffrage in the Victorian age in England. This was a slice of history I knew little about which prompted me to do some research to discover how the movement in England compared to that here in the United States the centenary of which is this year. I intend to read the next in the "A League of Extraordinary Women" series A Rogue of One's Own.

Over the week I also started and finished The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I read Daisy Jones & the Six in November, which prompted me to seek another novel by Reid. The story of Evelyn Hugo is framed around her seven marriages, but the larger frame is that Evelyn commissions a talented but struggling writer, Monique Grant to interview her then write her biography after she passes away. The layers of both women's stories drew me into all the twists and turns of their lives.

I picked up two books in addition to the Louise Penny when I visited the bookstore. The first was the graphic novel, Wonder Woman Tempest Tossed, by Laurie Halse Anderson, illustrated by Leila Del Duca. It came with a signed book plate which was a surprise. I read it on Saturday evening. I want to read it again, but I think my 10 year old niece will like it too. 

I also bought Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King, which was also unexpectedly signed. I have read many of her works, each of which I have found surprising and mind-sparking. This one will go near the top of my TBR. 

 

Reading:

I am continuing to read The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty because I want to savor this last book in the trilogy. Since it is a library ebook due this week, I started The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai. I will finish it early in the week. 

 

Listening:

I finished The King of Crows by Libba Bray, just in time for the digital audiobook to go back to the library today. The series ended satisfyingly. I am thinking of grabbing the book from my library so I can reread the last few chapters. One of the reasons Bray is one of my favorite YA authors is because she writes a variety of genres. I think my first Bray read was the Gemma Doyle trilogy, which I have read AND listened to and still ranks as my favorite of her work. 

In the car today I started Dreams from My Father, written and read by Barack Obama. 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

To picture books, with love

Many of us begin our reading lives by being read to. This is one important step in becoming a life-long reader, as is having access to books. Dolly Parton is such a strong advocate for getting books into the hands of children that she founded Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to gift books to children from birth to five years old. According to the site, 143 million books have been gifted as of August 2020. This is not the only program of this kind because being read to and having books is crucial for child development as well as future success. Reading is Fundamental is another organization that seeks to get books into the hands of all children. 

Each night before bed my brother and I were treated to a story. Sometimes two. Those times with my brother are the earliest memories I have, but I know I was being read to before he came along. I also know that having books and hearing books is what started my love of books and reading. 

We both liked the Dr. Seuss books, in particular One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and Fox in Socks, both of which my father claims he can still recite. While neither of these is truly a story, they both feature rhyme and word play that I appreciate as an adult reader. In my favorite part of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish a "nook has a hook on which is a book about how to cook" and in Fox in Socks I am partial to the segment about the "tweetle beetle battle." 

There were others I favored because I enjoyed the story. One I loved and still do is Christina Katerina and the Box by Patricia Lee Gauch. It is the story of Christina and her friend Fats Watson and the days following a new refrigerator and its box coming into Christina's home. The two friends turn the box into all manner of fantastic things including a castle and a race car. 

Others I remember are The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and Best Friends for Frances by Russell Hoban. We were fortunate to have many books in our home to choose from and read on our own, once we could. (Being able to choose ones own books is an important element to becoming a lover of books and reading.) I was excited to learn to read and was able to do so quickly. 

When I got to school and had access to the school library I branched out. An early favorite was The Girl who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble, which won the 1978 Caldecott Medal and depicts the story of a girl of the Plains Indians of North America. [Goble's work is generally accepted as a respectful and accurate depiction of the Plains Indians as he was "adopted into the Yakima and Sioux tribes (with the name Wakinyan Chikala, “Little Thunder”) by Chief Edgar Red Cloud" in 1959.] I checked out this beautiful story as many times in a row as I was allowed then checked it out again once other students had had a chance. I own a number of copies today.  

Another book I have fond memories of and still own is The Star Wars Storybook that I woke up early on weekend mornings to read in bed before breakfast. 

As a high school librarian I am rarely asked for picture book recommendations, but as a school librarian it is important for me to be familiar with books for all levels of readers, because not all high school students read at a high school level and I might not always be a high school librarian. I have also over the years shopped for books for friends as they became parents.

My most reliable sources for knowing what is being published are:

• School Library Journal and Booklist reviews
• Awards lists 
• Browsing in bookstores 

I try to buy books that are current and not just fall back on old favorites. I like to explore new authors when possible knowing as this post from Book Riot reasons, many of the favorites of the parents as well as those buying the books are outdated without a broad or diverse viewpoint, and more practically may be purchased many times over for a new reader. 

Some recent books I have purchased either for my library or as gifts:

	The Undefeated	Kwame Alexander & Kadir Nelson
	Hello Lighthouse	Sophie Blackall
	Maybe Something Beautiful	F. Isabel Campoy & Theresa Howell
	Stellaluna	Janell Cannon
	Last Stop on Market Street	Matt de la Peña
	Henry Hikes to Fitchburg	D.B. Johnson
	The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore	William Joyce & Joe Bluhm
	Drawn Together	Minh Lê & Dan Santat
	Julián is a Mermaid	Jessica Love
	The Word Collector	Peter H. Reynolds
	And Tango Makes Three	Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell, & Henry Cole
	Parrots Over Puerto Rico	Susan L. Roth & Cindy Trumbore
	The House in the Night	Susan Marie Swanson & Beth Krommes
	The Insomniacs	Karina Wolf & Brothers Hilts
	What Do You Do With an Idea? What Do You Do With a Problem?What Do You Do With a Chance?	Kobi Yamada & Mae Besom

 

What are some of your favorite picture books to read and gift?

 

 

 

 

The Joys of the Independent Bookstore

I did not know until I couldn't how much I enjoy roaming a bookstore.

I do not go to bookstores without some idea of what I want to take home with me. Except for when I travel and visit at least one independent bookstore wherever I go (just like one of my baseball heroes Sean Doolittle), I rarely visit bookstores without a title in mind. But, I said that so I can say this -  I also do not walk in, grab my intended book from the shelf, pay, and walk out. (I almost forgot to put in the part about paying; I have never stolen a book.)

Instead, I peruse the displays. I am draw almost without exception to the shelf of books recommended by the booksellers. I read a number of book review magazines and blogs in order to make well-considered purchases for my library. But I always find a book I do not already know about on these shelves. I also like to look at new releases, both hardcover and paperback. In part for the art exhibition that a shelf full of face outs is. I have a deep regard for cover artists. Another section in many independent bookstores is a shelf or shelves devote to authors who live in or are from the area. These are also intriguing to me. 

I also appreciate the special displays or promotions. One of my favorites is a "Blind date with a book," for which the books are wrapped up in brown paper with just a brief description to draw you in. I also appreciate clever pop culture references such as books related, often indirectly or in a humorous way to movies, music or TV shows. 

Note: Most of my visuals come from the Library of Congress. If you want to see publication details, just click on the image to go to its home on the Library's site.

In case you travel or want to plan a trip to some excellent bookstores - 

Independent Bookstores I LOVE:

1. In my neighborhood - East City Bookshop
2. A bit farther afield in Virginia - One More Page Books and Hooray for Books!
3. Quite far away - RJ Julia in Madison, Connecticut - A bookstore I found serendipitously and fell for immediately.

Other independents near and dear (all of which I have visited and purchased from):

1. Politics and Prose in Washington, DC
2. Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC - They have an interesting story.
3. Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, NC - It has been a few years since I have been here and am eager to return.
4. Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN - My life dream, become an author and then open my own bookshop.
5. Square Books in Oxford, MI  - This one was a quick pass through because I was with hungry non-readers.
6. Raven Books in Northampton, Massachusetts - This is the only used bookstore on the list, but both Second Story Books and Capitol Hill Books are two others I love and visit regularly in DC. 
7. Borderlands Books in San Francisco, CA - This is a specialty store focusing on science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mystery - oh my!
8. The Shop Around the Corner in New York City - A fictional bookstore I have only been to through the movie You've Got Mail, but what a delightful place it is.

I have also been fortunate enough to visit two meccas to books and reading:

1. Strand Books in New York City
   
2. Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon
   

*These are places where you want to spend the day, then camp out, and explore more with a hot tea and cozy sweatshirt in the morning.

Places to visit that are on a literal list in my phone for when I travel:

1. The Drama Book Shop in New York City - This one is not quite open yet, but SOON!
2. Loyalty Bookstore in Washington, DC
3. Philly Aids Thrift @Giovanni's Room in Philadelphia, PA - This one has a long history.
4. The Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore, MD

If you do not have proximity to an independent bookstore think about reaching out to one of these, most of whom will gladly ship books directly to you.

Getting Back to Blogging

When I began back in 2011 I thought I would review books. And I did, I tried, but I lost momentum because what I really want is to write about books, about what they mean to me, and what each has given me.

In addition to writing my own reviews, I read the reviews of others. It was this that caused me to accept that reviews are more subjective than I had known. This should not have been a revelation to me. I had read plenty of reviews of books I had read and loved when the reviewer did not and vice versa. I kept up with my reviews and commentary, but lost my enthusiasm to write as regularly as I would have liked and would be needed to attract readers. 

This is the first post in what I hope will be a new direction, leading toward more engaging writing about the books I am reading, the ones I am avoiding, and the experiences I have had related to reading and books. 

Look for my next post on Monday about how isolation and more free time because of COVID-19 have changed what and how I am reading.

Cybils Nominations

The Cybils or Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards nominations are open from now until October 15th.  I have been selected for the middle grades science fiction and fantasy Round 1 panel.  This means I get to read a TON of books, always a great responsibility to have, and recommend with my fellow panelists a few to proceed to the judging. 

Do boys still read?

This blog sadly shows that boys are not reading...but I can happily and proudly say the boys who visit my library read....a lot!