Though I've been a book addict since before I could read and much of my childhood was spent haunting Barnes and Nobles or public libraries, it wasn't until college that I discovered used bookstores.
Wouldn't you rather buy new books? you ask. What's the draw of a used bookstore?
Here are my top 3 reasons to choose a used bookstore:
1. Cheaper books
As any economist can tell you, when the price of a commodity falls, demand for it rises, because people can afford to buy more of it. Cheaper books=more books on my shelf. Where's the problem?
2. Charm
Far from the mass-produced commerciality of chain bookstores, with their hygienic, matching stacks of flash-in-the-pan bestsellers, used bookstores have the allure of individuality and eccentricity. Don't get me wrong--I love a good multi-story Barnes and Noble with a digitized inventory system (I spent two college summers working in one), or in Britain, a big, clean Blackwell's or Waterstones. But from the sign over the door to the entrance display of books to the cat in the window, no two used bookstores are exactly alike.
3. Adventure
Chain bookstores have the feel of business parks; used bookstores are more like house parties with literary friends. You step in and run into someone you know ("Mr. Wordsworth! It's been too long!"), make some small talk, and pretty soon they're introducing you to their friends and their friends' friends (Eco, Joyce, Zusak, I take down on my To-Read list). Next thing you know, you're exchanging business cards and promising to keep in touch and walking out with a dreamy smile and a stack of "finds" you didn't know existed an hour ago. (This is why I often leave my credit card in the car when I enter a bookstore.) It reminds me of the movie Midnight in Paris, where if you step into the magic car at midnight, you might be whisked off to sit in Gertrude Stein's living room and watch Hemingway argue with Fitzgerald. Sometimes I'm so overwhelmed by the collective wisdom and camaraderie that I get teary in front of the fiction section.
Image courtesy of stock.xchng and kaeska
So, to shed some light on these little-known gems (and to give myself an excuse to visit more of them), I'm starting a blog series profiling various independent bookstores, especially those that include used books. Some will be local to my area, some farther afield. While there won't be a new one every week (I wish), this series will be recurrent as I discover more bookstores. If you read about one you've visited, feel free to post your experience with it in the comments section. If there's one that strikes your fancy, go visit (and let me know how it goes)! Or, best of all, if you have recommendations for bookstores I should cover, I'd be only too happy to hear about them :)
Next week: a trio of bookstores on Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz...
Okay. Before you read any further, stop! And click on this link.
That's a recording of my most influential college professor, Dr. Luke Reinsma, reading the Prologue of The Canterbury Tales--in Middle English.
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote...
That cadence takes me back to cozy firesides in the British Isles, where I was studying abroad three years ago. (Three years! How is that possible?)
Assigned to read The Canterbury Tales in Middle English for our Medieval Literature class, most of my classmates and I felt overwhelmed. Middle English is similar enough to modern English that it can mostly be understood--but it takes a lot of effort. Medieval non-comprehension set in. Frustration set in.
And so Dr. Reinsma began hosting semi-weekly reading sessions. His background is in medieval literature, and he reads fluently in Middle English. And so we students would sprawl all over hostel couches, chairs, benches, carpets (sometimes beside an English fireside so quaint it looked like a painting) and listen to The Professor read.
It's amazing what reading aloud can do for your appreciation of books. One of my earliest memories of literature is hiding under the couch cushions when my parents got to the part about Black Riders in The Fellowship of the Ring. It was a rite of passage when I got to take a turn in intoning the passages of Little House on the Prairie. And even in college, as an adult living in another country for three months, having The Professor read aloud took me back to that childhood place.
A human voice reading does not just transmit information--it conveys experience, wisdom, and a passion for life. We learn from being read to, but it's much more than an academic exercise. The vocal rhythms whisk us back to a time when wandering bards passed down ancient traditions--history, legend, theology--through oral song and story.
To read aloud from a book proclaims your investment, both in the book and in the person being read to. Now that I am an adult, reading aloud to my students is one of my favorite parts of our lessons--getting to use my voice and presence to bring alive the literature I believe in. It's a manifestation of care through quality time, combined with the wisdom and learning contained in the book itself.
Though The Canterbury Tales may never be my favorite work of literature, listening to the recording of it today brought tears to my eyes. Much more than a homework assignment, reading aloud became a memory.
Do you ever read aloud? Have any special memories of someone reading to you?
Complementing my love of reading is my love of reading gadgets.
Most notably, bookmarks. I keep a ziploc baggie of them, and when I start a new book, sometimes it's a real, time-consuming task to choose just the right bookmark to pair with it. Hey, people spend that kind of time on wine/cheese pairings. I think this is at least as legitimate.
Bookmarks are also my souvenir of choice when I travel. I couldn't hunt up some of the more exotic ones, because they're dutifully marking a page somewhere (since I'm reading so many books). But by my way of thinking, bookmarks are a) portable, b) memorable, and c) genuinely useful. Unlike a touristy keychain, baseball cap, or stuffed bear. These are from Maui, Gettysburg, and the Avenue of the Giants here in California.
Below are some of my favorites from Britain. L-R: the Bodleian Library, Oxford *swoon*; Edinburgh, Scotland; and Trinity College, Dublin (home of the Book of Kells).
I also have some bookmarks from other people's travels. They're presents that get used often but never worn out. They make me feel like I've traveled to Nicaragua, Honduras...and maybe even Middle-Earth.
Do you have a favorite bookmark? What does it look like? OR: locate the weirdest bookmark you can find on the Internet and link to it in the comments!
Yes, I am reading all of these books. At the same time. Count them. There are fifteen. One-five.
Nearly 16 months ago, I wrote this post, getting my knickers all in a twist over reading *gasp* seven books at a time! Today, my past self would be shocked and probably horrified. Fifteen is a lot of books.
It's also a lot of inches. Maybe I should start measuring my reading that way.
When I'm reading this many books at a time, my progress advances infinitesimally. Some of these titles have been on my bookshelf for a year.
Tsk, tsk. So read fewer books, you say.
But which ones to choose?
For spiritual growth, I've got Philip Yancey's Prayer and Disappointment with God, Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas, C.S. Lewis's The Problem of Pain, and Me Addiction by Rick Brown &c.
On the topic of relationships, there's His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley Jr., Sacred Search by Gary Thomas, and an old favorite: Boy Meets Girl by Joshua Harris.
Halfway there.
Now, for creative inspiration, we have Alan Jacobs's biography The Narnian, about C.S. Lewis. There's The Imagineering Way, by Disney's team of Imagineers. And a particularly fascinating one called Imagine by Jonah Lehrer, about the process of creativity (a great loan from my knit-designing friend Audry).
Some books for discussion with my tutoring students: The Library Card by Jerry Spinelli and Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards (yes, the actress of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music also wrote a children's book!).
And finally, some just for fun: Foundling by D.M. Cornish and "The Courtship of Miles Standish" in a beautiful 1893 edition of Longfellow's collected works (a find from my latest library sale).
Oho. But wait, there's more.
Now I can read even more books at a time. Being the die-hard fan of paper books that I am, I held out a long time on an e-reader, but finally caved when my family gave me a Kindle for Christmas. Now I realize that, while I may always be partial to the smell and feel of paper, I don't have to choose which method to love.
More methods of reading means more books :)
Kindle reading does come up smaller by the inches method, but I've already got more in-progress titles on here, including Dreamwalker and Mourning Cloak by writer friends Angela Wallace and Rabia Gale.
Well, good morning, 2013. I've been underground for a while. Nice to see you.
Time to get a new year of blogging up and running with a post about New Year's Resolutions. Someone told me recently that they don't bother with resolutions at New Year's--if they see a need for change in their life, they'll get on with changing it immediately. I respect that, and I don't hold much stock in resolutions either, but last year I talked a bit about my philosophy about resolutions vs. goals. I do like the opportunity afforded by a new year to turn a page in life. If 2012 beat down your idealism and best efforts and dragged you through the mud, it's okay. Wipe the slate clean. Cancel the debts. Start fresh. Tomorrow is another day.
I like to start by glancing over my shoulder at last year's goals. It's a bit encouraging, a bit dismal, and a bit amusing to remind myself of what I set out to do in the last year:
1. Get to know God better by reading the Bible through in chronological order
Status: in process (forever). I made it about halfway through the Bible before this year's hurricanes got in the way. I'm hoping to pick up the other half and finish it this year. 2. Have the second draft of my novel completed and be ready to start looking at literary agents by June
Status: in process (hopefully not forever). The second (and third) drafts of my novel are done (yay!) but I've learned a lot about the process of publishing since last January. I decided to recruit a squad of test readers, primarily 9-14-year-olds, to read the manuscript and help me identify its weak spots. That process is now winding up, as the last few of these loyal secret agents send me their invaluable files of comments. Armed with these, I plan to troubleshoot the manuscript one last time and then apply to some literary agents. I've also learned more about the increasingly attractive and accessible process of self-publishing, which may be another possible route for my book. 3. Take a 2-month class on blogging and social media for authors
Status: done! One down! I learned so much from this class, taught by Kristin Lamb. We may not agree on every issue, but it definitely got me thinking about writing as a business, kicked me into gear on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Google+ (yipes!), and most importantly, got me connected with a network of other writers who are working toward the same goals.
4. Buy a car
Status: also done! My sweet silver ride still makes me smile. Ever since we met back in July, it's been love for Baby and me :) Incidentally, I've also learned how to check PSI, buy a pair of windshield wipers, and refill wiper fluid in the engine (hint: you can use plain water :)). 5. Read Gone with the Wind, Othello, and The Kite Runner
Status: 2 out of 3. None of these are especially happy books, but The Kite Runner was just too intense for me by the time I thought about it in mid-August. Othello--forgive me, Shakespeare--was not my favorite play ever. The conflict felt contrived and the female lead was just downright wimpy. Othello wasn't exactly a genius, either. I think the best role went to Iago's wife, who told everybody what was what (before dying in the last scene, of course). Gone with the Wind was the best of the bunch--a soaring, operatic panorama in a style that reminded me of Les Miserables, but was much easier to read. The characters are fiery and unforgettable, and the portrait of the antebellum South was detailed and dramatic. A great book, if you've got time for a long one.
And now for some new goals. We'll see how these fare in the year to come :)
1. Grow closer to God
2. See my novel accepted for publication or self-published
3. Work up to a monthly income I can live on
4. Learn the craft of bookbinding. Okay. How cool would THAT be??
Ever wondered what a day in the life of a published author is like? Does the muse sing gracefully while fingers race on the keyboard to keep up? Or is it more like piles of coffee cups and shredded drafts? Do published authors have second jobs? What are their geeky secrets? And what do they think about e-books vs. paper?
Free image courtesy of stock.xchng and nkzs
Well, today we're lucky enough to find out, because I'm doing my first author interview on this blog! Local author (and my good friend) Angela Wallace has just self-published her 5th title, an urban fantasy called Earth Tones, which is the third in her Elemental Magic series. She is now sitting in my virtual living room, ready to reveal her secrets. Muahaha.
I mean, welcome, Angela.
1. Let's talk about book love (since that's obviously one of my favorite topics). How old were you when you fell in love
with reading? Can you remember what book/ books inspired you?
I fell in love with reading the moment I learned how. I’d
go to every Scholastic book fair and read enough books to get a prize every
time. Some of my favorite books were Tamora Pierce’s quartets Song of the
Lioness and The Immortals. They started with a young child with dreams or
special powers, and the books followed their growth into young adulthood. I
loved the journey. And the fantasy worlds. ;-)
2. What was the first story you ever finished about?
It was a YA sci-fi about a teenage rebel group in a post-apocalyptic United States. I guess the correct term would be dystopian, but it was heavy with space pods and ray guns. I wrote it when I was ten.
3. If you could have lunch with anyone,
living or dead, who would it be and why?
A. W.
Tozer. I love his book, The Pursuit of God, and I imagine it would be an
extraordinary conversation.
4. Juggling jobs is one of my biggest challenges. How does a published author support herself? Is writing your only job?
I’m also a sign language interpreter. I work at a couple
local colleges interpreting classroom lectures. It’s great because I get to
keep learning new subjects, but don’t have to work for a grade!
5. What is the geekiest thing about you? Because we have to know :)
I know how to write a form of Tolkien’s elvish runes. I
used to exchange letters with a friend in high school written in them. It also
makes a very handy code to keep passwords in.
6. What are some of the weirdest
ways you've gotten story ideas?
Dreams, for one. I’ve dreamed a few complete story plots from
beginning to end, though they don’t often get written down. If I could just
dream about the novels I’m actually working on, I could save time!
7. Now that you can look back on the completion of your latest book, Earth Tones, what was your favorite part of writing
this book?
Hm, I think it was getting to
know a new main character, plus getting to play with a new element. There was a
lot more opportunity for Nita to communicate with animals, and the earth
wielding in fight scenes was fun too.
Angela's latest book, Earth Tones, is the third in her Elemental Magic series.
8. You publish both paper books and e-books. As an avid reader yourself, which do you prefer, and why?
It depends. I do like paper books, seeing the cover on the front, seeing my progress as I turn the pages. But some of them are really fat and it hurts my wrist to hold them, lol. Then I like e-books better because it’s much lighter to carry around.
9. Online self-publishing gets a lot of media attention these days. So what do you like about self-publishing?
I like keeping control over my story. (Yes,
I’m a control freak.) I also like working at my own pace. I can be a drill
sergeant on myself, but am well aware that “life happens.” It’s easier to give
myself permission to be flexible than it is to ask for it from someone else.
10. Anything you don't like about it?
The marketing, lol. Though, traditionally published
authors have to do much the same. Putting together this blog tour was a big
step for me!
11. Are there
are any fun scenes in Earth Tones that didn’t end up in the final draft?
There was this cute scene I wanted to use, but it just
didn’t fit anywhere in the story. Nita and her boyfriend Keenan are leaving the
house when they find a moose on the porch. I learned that this is a very
dangerous situation and that people are actually trapped in their homes until
the moose decides to leave on its own. Now, Nita could just tell the moose to
get lost with her earth magic, but instead she says they’ll have to put their
plans on hold, and with a suggestive smile, hints that they can figure out
something else to fill their time with.
Thank you for your time and insights, Angela!
If Earth Tones captures your fancy, check it out on Amazon. And watch the book trailer on Youtube (trailers aren't just for movies anymore)! Authors nowadays--especially self-published--are Jacks and Jills of many trades, and Angela turned moviemaker to promote her new book. Check it out.
You can also read the book description:
Nita Young doesn’t know if she has a future with college sweetheart Keenan Donovan—two star-crossed lovers of opposing elements—but she invites him up to Alaska to see if Earth and Water can rekindle their old flame. When a series of wild animal attacks strike the inhabitants of Yakutat, Nita has to put her romantic plans on hold. Mangled bodies are turning up, and a mysterious black panther has been spotted in the woods. Fur, scales, and a venomous bite suggest the cat is supernatural in origin—and evidence indicates that someone not only summoned it, but is using it to target those Nita cares about. It’s the perfect murder weapon: no fingerprints, no evidence. And in a town this small, the killer is someone she knows. Nita’s strength will be put to the test as she faces losing her friends, her town, and the man she loves.
To connect with Angela: Angela Wallace loves gun-toting good boys and could have been a cop in another life except for the unfortunate condition of real blood making her queasy. Good thing writing gun and sword fights isn’t a problem. In her books you’ll find the power of love, magic, and redemption.
My business card says Alina Sayre, Freelance Writer/Editor.
It doesn't say that those two halves of my brain have separate personalities.
But before you ship me off to the asylum with multiple personality disorder, I'd like you to meet them.
The writer in me is named Cordelia, after Anne from Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (played by Megan Follows in the 1985 film). At her first meeting with her new guardian, Marilla, eleven-year-old Anne introduces herself this way:
"Will you please call me Cordelia?" she said eagerly.
"Call you Cordelia! Is that your name?"
"No-o-o, it's not exactly my name, but I would love to be called Cordelia. It's such a perfectly elegant name."
Cordelia is a dreamy, imaginative person with plenty of capacity for feeling and believing. She watches the habits of people and observes the world with eyes hungry for detail. No nook or cranny is too obscure to find wonder there. Sometimes she gets carried away with wild schemes, like dyeing her hair green, or flies into unexpected rampages, but overall she is a poetic and reflective person. She lets beauty "soak into her soul" and makes up stories about herself, her family, the neighbors, and any interestingly unsuspecting person. Consider yourself warned.
The other half, Madame Editor, is a middle-aged Victorian woman named Aunt Josephine (played by Meryl Streep in the film version of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events). Her watchword is:
"Grammar is the greatest joy in life, don't you find?"
Aunt Josephine's idea of a good time is an afternoon spent adjusting commas in accordance with The Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed., of course). She flinches at the improper use of their/there/they're and goes into raptures over a sentence that diagrams correctly. Her ideal man is one who says, "Why...grammar is the number one, most important thing in this here world to me" (even if he turns out to be a sham fisherman). How these two people co-exist inside my head is a mystery to me. They certainly don't get along very well. Both are high-strung and occasionally fly into a temper when their opinion is contradicted. I've learned that the key to a happy mental life and successful writing sessions is to keep them apart. Do not cross this line. Do NOT cross this line. When I'm writing, usually Cordelia gets to come out first, because Aunt Josephine isn't actually very good at coming up with original sentences. Cordelia, by contrast, could gush out words until the moon turns blue. With over 500,000 English words to choose from and an innumerable number of life observations and human subjects to choose from, she can imagine herself into any world she chooses at any time of day. But eventually it's time for her to come away from the keyboard and give someone else a chance. Then Aunt Josephine comes out to play. While she may look like an ogre as she ruthlessly slashes away, cutting out whole words, sentences, and paragraphs, she actually has a huge respect for writing and language. She simply believes that language forfeits its full power if it is overused or improperly used. Brevity is the soul of wit, and good grammar doesn't hurt either. Sometimes she bosses Cordelia into submission, but when the dust settles, they usually agree that the end manuscript is better for their joint efforts. I saw a cartoon where a pencil point and its eraser were having dinner together. On the phone, the pencil point says, "Can I call you back? I'm having dinner with my editor." Life in my brain is like that. As long as the two halves of the pencil work separately and respect each other's abilities, they continue to co-exist safely and (sometimes) happily.
Does your brain have multiple sides to it? How does it help or hinder your creative process?
Well, I've got my nose to the grindstone in the midst of book-writing, proofreading, and tutoring, so today this video is going to do the talking for me :)
This animated movie, produced by Moonbot Studios, won the Academy Award for Best Short Film. It's entitled The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Moonbot's website describes it as "a love letter to books...about the curative power of story."
Interesting, because it's wordless.
Enjoy!
What do you think? How did you react to this film?
The adventurous and interesting Tami Clayton invited me to play a game of letters (my favorite kind). The rules: reveal 10 of your favorite things that begin with a certain letter of the alphabet.
My letter (in case the post title didn't give it away): S!
Ready?
Stories: Escape into magical worlds. Power to change the real world. What I want to spend my life writing and reading.
Spices: Cooking has never been so interesting!
Sliding ladders: Ohhh, I want one so much!! Or I could just move into a library that has them.
Shakespeare: The love of my literary life (minus the earring). The genius bard of the Western world. Themes as relevant today as they were in the 16th century. Need I say more?
Sunshine: Just one of the many great reasons to be living in California again!
Scotland: The windswept land of bagpipes and legends, monks and poets, caber tossing and lovely accents--my second-favorite place in the world (after home, of course).
Springtime: My favorite season of the year!
Singing: I like to shatter windows with the high notes. (Actually, I just like imitating Hayley Westenra in the shower, on my church praise team, and when I have the house to myself.)
Sincerity: One of the characteristics I value most in friends (and in literary characters).
Socks: These are not my feet. But I kind of wish they were. My favorite Tinker Bell pair got a hole in them, but I do have a pretty awesome pair of knee-high blue-and-green argyles.
What are your favorite S-things? If you have a blog and want to play the letter game, leave me a comment and I'll send you a starting letter via Facebook or Twitter!
Hello, Monday! It's time for a book-themed interview game, courtesy of Angela Wallace and her tag party...
Rules: 1. Post the rules. 2. Answer the questions. 3. Pass the questions on to eleven people by tagging and linking to them. 4. Let them know you’ve tagged them.
If you could live in a fictional world, where would that be?
Somebody else's fictional world? Middle Earth. But of course I'd love to visit my own if that were allowed :)
Fiction or Nonfiction? Definitely fiction (although nonfiction has its uses).
Do you read in noisy or quiet places?
Quiet places, with peppermint tea and scented candle preferred. But reading in noisy places is also something I've learned to do, thanks largely to my brother's early influence :)
Do reviews influence your choice of reads?
Probably only if they're by someone I know. Or if a large number of reviews are unanimous. The trouble with reviews is that people have all sorts of motives to say things, true or not.
Audio books or Paperbacks?
Paperbacks. I have a horrible audio retention rate. Plus I like to write in my books :)
What was the first book you ever read?
By myself? The first one I can remember is One Fish, Two Fish by Dr. Seuss. My preschool teacher informed my parents, "Um...did you know your daughter is reading?"
Favorite author?
J.R.R. Tolkien...we fell in love when I was 8. Check out my Good Reads page for a list of my top 10.
Classic or Modern Novels?Oh, definitely classics. Though there are a few moderns I like rather a lot.
Have you ever met your favorite author?
I wish. The trouble with loving classics is that almost all of my favorite authors are dead (some for 200+ years)...
Book Groups or Solitary Reading?
Hm, both? I relax by reading alone, but after 4 years of college English classes, I find a good book discussion very stimulating.
If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Ack! What a horrible question! Definitely the Bible. But if we're talking other literature...probably the Collected Works of Shakespeare (that's not cheating, right?)
One of my goals for the month of March is to blog not once, but twice a week! Monday posts will feature short, fun tidbits to be found around the internet (blog recommendations, photos, videos, etc.), for just a moment of inspiration, thought provocation, discussion, or a good laugh. Fridays will continue to be the article-style reflections to which you've become accustomed around here. I hope you'll feel free to comment on those, too--even if it's to play devil's advocate or argue the other side!
You are young and fresh off the press. I know your binding glue is new and your cover art done by a cutting-edge designer. I know you sit on the bookstore shelves and flirt with every customer who walks by, simply because you have no experience of the world and do not know what terrible and gruesome deaths books can meet. So pay attention! I would hate for any of these to happen to you.
1. Not all humans value commitment. Some humans may buy you off the shelf, read you once, and then throw you away, never to be opened again. They won't even pass you on to a friend or send you to the library for another chance to be loved. No matter how beautiful you are or how hard you work to keep your pages stiff or your suspense scenes interesting, some people will never appreciate your labor and service. All books deserve a loving home, so please watch out for second-rate bookbuyers like this.
2. Less devastating but more painful: some humans will actually abuse you. They turn your pages, make you think they love you, and then plop! a wad of gum lands between your pages and sticks them together, making them impossible to open again without tearing. Or a waterfall of hot coffee comes pouring down on your head, obliterating your words and wrinkling the weave of your paper forever. There is help for such damage, but no real cure, so be careful.
3. Worse: death by fire. This fate was a much greater risk several years ago, but especially if you open your mouth and utter shocking and uncensored comments, you are at risk for being burned at the stake, perhaps even publicly. It is one of the great unrectified injustices against our kind, but for the time being, you must watch yourself.
4: Perhaps more gruesome still: death by water. Your innocent-seeming owner appears to love you so much that they read you at every possible opportunity, even snatching a few minutes with you while they brush their teeth. One minute you're happily flapping around in their free hand, and the next thing you know, you're facedown in the sink, covered with toothpaste. Or worse--I shudder to think of it--floating in the toilet bowl. Beware of small bathrooms; these increase the danger exponentially.
5. And now we come to the worst fate of all. I hate to even tell you about this and cast a shadow over your unscarred print-history line. But it must be told. There are some people--some bookstore-frequenting people--who will appear enamored with you, seem to appreciate you for your depth and worth, buy you off the shelf, take you home, shelve you above their television set--and then leave you there, untouched and unnoticed, to gather dust with a row of other deceived books for the rest of your lonely, unloved life. You'll even be close enough to hear the cruel blaring of the television as they sit with it every night.
Please don't despair, dear Libris. These fates are terrible and tragic, but there are also excellent humans who will take good care of you and make your shelf life long and sweet. There are those people who will tiptoe into the bookstore, or library, or even up to the giveaway table at a yard sale, and spot you, and cry: "Just the one I've been looking for!" And they'll take you home and love you and read you again and again. They will laugh at your funny parts and turn your pages carefully. They'll keep you far away from coffee mugs and television sets, and they may even recommend you to their friends. It is worth any risk to end up in the hands of such a person.
Dear Libris, I hope you may end up with such an owner. But even so--keep your eyes open. There are many gruesome ways for books to die.
Thank you Hannah, Teri, Megan, Caleb, and Elaine for these wonderfully grisly ideas! What warnings would you give a naive, newly published volume about the world of readers?
What's the worst crime you can commit against a book? Have a pet book peeve that really makes you cringe? Think we should start a Prevention of Cruelty to Books organization?
When I asked this question of you on Facebook and Twitter, I got so many creative and twisted responses (some of them confessions) that I'll be doing a second post in this series next week. Thanks for your delightful/horrifying ideas.
Time for some indictments--and maybe some more confession--as we uncover the 7 Deadly Sins of Reading.
#1: Dog-ear pages instead of using a bookmark
Ever watched someone start to turn a page--then go back, lick their finger, and crush down the corner of the paper? Ever give you the feeling that one of your bones is breaking?
Be kind to books. Use a bookmark.
#2: Read a series out of order
Picked it up on #2, then skipped to #5, started #7? No wonder you can't keep track of the main character's love interests.
#3: Write in it
This is one that used to give me the gag reaction before I went to college. Deface a book?! It would be like unleashing a can of spray paint on the National Gallery of Art! Now, thanks to a couple of ink-stained professors, writing in my books is one of my favorite things to do (especially with Shakespeare). I underline my favorite passages and write comments in the margin--it's like having a conversation with the author that I can add to every time I pick it up.
#4: Skip chapters
Skip the "boring" dialogue? Cut the blah-blah-blah and get on with the story? It would be like skipping the songs in a musical!
#5: Tear pages out (or let your rabid bunny do it)
Isn't this picture just terrifying?
#6: Read the ending first
Or, even worse, read it and spoil it for others. You have to go through the story to get to the end, just like the characters do. No peeking!
#7: The worst of them all: don't read
Joseph Brodsky wrote, "There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." Whatever you do to your books, there's no worse crime than putting them behind glass and letting them collect dust.
Not to say that you shouldn't admire them, however. Just treat them nicely.
Which "sins" would you add to this list? Which ones have you committed? Check back next week for "5 Gruesome Ways for Books to Die"...
