May 10, 2012: The Perfect Beach Read

In a very happy turn of events, I’m headed off for a long weekend on the beach… without my kids. Don’t get me wrong, I’m crazy about my kids and I love travelling with them, but it’s nice to have an occasional break. Packing for just one person is quite thrilling, as is the extra space in my carry-on that would normally be occupied by diapers, wipes, Leapsters, sticker books, snacks, sippy cups, action figures, etc.
So of course my first question was what books to bring. Not book, but books. Because in addition to having the space to pack them, I will actually have a chance to read them. So exciting. I’m quite particular about my beach reading. It has to be paperback and not too heavy, either in weight or subject matter. It has to be a page-turner but it still has to be a quality read. State of Wonder comes to mind, but I’ve already read it.
On my last beach vacation, I went to an independent bookstore and asked for assistance. I listed some titles I had recently enjoyed, spelled out my beach read criteria and asked for some recommendations. The woman offered a few suggestions before we finally landed on Skippy Dies which she described as a dark comedy about a boys’ boarding school in Ireland which she had read in a single day on her last vacation. Perfect. Well, 660 pages and two months later, I finally wrapped it up. It’s a very good book but it missed the mark for me as a beach read. There’s a suicide (given the book’s title, this is hardly a spoiler) and there’s a lot of grappling with big questions about mortality and the universe and string theory.
This time around I’m going with Great House by Nicole Krause because it’s my next book club book (and because I’ve already read The Hunger Games) with a few back-ups packed in my suitcase. Wish me luck. Any other suggestions are most welcome.

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May 9, 2012: Art Garfunkel Reads (Among Other Things)

Another gem from Kelly the book-returner. He tipped me off to the existence of Art Garfunkel’s fascinating website. It seems that Art is a voracious reader (self-declared), a list-maker (not unlike myself) and a documentarian of his own life. On his website he lists every book he’s read since 1968, starting with Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Confessions and ending at present-day with Scotty Bowers’ Full Service. The last title, which Art read in March 2012, is book #1160 on the list and while that sounds like a huge number, it’s actually not that many when you consider that this is a 44-year ongoing project. To save you from whipping out your calculator, it’s an average of 26 books per year. That puts him in my ballpark and strangely, I now feel a kinship with Art because of it. However, beyond a love of reading and lists, Art and I seem to share very little common ground. A quick scan of his book list reveals only the tiniest overlap; very few of his all-time favourite books (he lists 156) would appear on my greatest hits list (Memoirs of a Geisha, The Corrections and On Chesil Beach, in case you’re wondering). In case you don’t believe me, he places the Russian at #11.

Not a one-trick pony by any stretch, Art’s website also lists his acting credits (under a heading titled “The G”) which include an episode apiece of Laverne & Shirley, Frasier and Flight of the Conchords. The site also provides quite a bit of detail about Art’s walk across America project, wherein he actually walked across America. This happened after he walked across Japan and before he walked across Europe, a project that is still ongoing. I know what you’re thinking, and again, I’m going to save you the trouble of doing the math: Simon & Garfunkel broke up in 1970. Art has clearly had [parsley, sage, rosemary and] time on his hands since then.

April 30, 2012: Reunited… And It Feels So Good

The most amazing thing happened to me this weekend. My friend Kelly (not the Kelly of floor-system fame) returned a book to me eight years after he borrowed it. He had read the book, enjoyed it, remembered that it belonged to me and, in one of those little miracles that life sometimes brings, he returned it. I had forgotten all about it which makes it even more exciting to have it back. I’m thrilled.

I can’t remember if I’ve written about lending books or not, but it’s a subject I’m really divided on. On the one hand, I love my books and I want other people to love them too. There’s nothing better than finding a kindred spirit who shares your taste in books and with whom you can exchange recommendations and swap copies of well-loved books for discussion later on. (I mean, isn’t this shared pleasure exactly what book clubs are based on?) On the other hand, I love my books and that means I like seeing them on my bookshelves. When I lend them out, I want them back. My mom knows what I’m talking about. Being a retired librarian, she is pretty strict about her lending policy. If your account isn’t in good standing you can’t borrow another book until you’ve returned all outstanding items. My aunt Cath can attest to the fact that she enforces this policy without exception.

For my part, I do lend my books but with mixed results. My mother-in-law is my only regular customer and she almost always returns them promptly having read them in a couple of days. We have a quick discussion about it, the book is re-shelved and then she selects another. It’s all business and it works. I have a number of friends, on the other hand, who borrow a book, don’t read it right away and then hang on to it, planning to read it at some future date. The book is either returned unread (quite unsatisfying) or isn’t returned at all (even worse). This model clearly doesn’t work and it forces me to take measures to keep my home library intact. I’ve even been known to sneak into my friends’ bedrooms during dinner parties and slip my book into my purse while pretending to be visiting the ladies’ room. (I’m aware that this is creepy so please don’t tell anyone that I do it.)

Back to Kelly. The book in question, in case you’re wondering, is Live From New York, an uncensored oral history of Saturday Night Live, featuring interviews with cast members, writers and guests. It’s insightful, revealing and hilarious but probably only appealing to a serious fan of the show. I loved it and it’s great to have it back.

April 18, 2012: Real People’s Bookshelves III

Enter Kelly. I think it would be fair to label Kelly’s system the anti-shelf. Kelly says she too dreams of rooms filled with books and spends many hours looking at house magazines and browsing Pinterest to find inspiration. Kelly has lots of ideas for rooms and shelves to build but somehow the floor option always wins out. You know what Kelly? I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve always loved the look of books stacked on the floor. I love the mix of books and magazines, vertical and horizontal, hardcover and paperback, fiction and non. I think it works. It feels bohemian, eclectic and warm. It feels like you’re surrounded by books that have been read and loved. And in spite of her dreaming, I think Kelly agrees: “It keeps me on my toes. Reminds me what I still have to read and what I want to re-read.”

April 13, 2012: The Fun Pass Is An Awesome Deal

Not even remotely related to books, but I was so charmed by this I just had to share.

April 11, 2012: Real People’s Bookshelves II

Not one to be left out of a good time, Lindsay sent me a photo of her bookshelves immediately after my last post. In her own words: “The opposite look. No order but I know where everything is.” In my own home, I adhere strictly to an alphabetical-by-author’s-last-name system but it doesn’t bother me that others don’t impose such rigidity on themselves. As long as she knows where things are, that’s what matters, right? I think what’s evident from these bookshelves (versus, say, Oprah’s bookshelves) is that Lindsay is a reader. You can just tell that these books have been read (and sometimes re-read) and enjoyed. I think you can also tell that Lindsay writes in the margins of her books, but that’s just a guess.

Lindsay also revealed that she has hundreds more books packed away in boxes. To be unpacked onto future bookshelves? To be carted off to a used bookseller? To languish forever in boxes in the basement? I’m not sure. The point is, Lindsay is a true lover of books, and for those of us who fall into that camp, there will always be more books than places to put them.

April 6, 2012: Real People’s Bookshelves

Sometime ago, I told Karen, one of my loyal (?) readers, that I would post a photo of the bookshelves in my own home. I have a lot to say about other people’s bookshelves, so when Karen asked, I thought it only fair to oblige. Somehow many months have passed and I have not yet posted a photo. I kept thinking I needed to tidy them up before photographing them and then I just sort of forgot.

I was reminded of this the other night at book club while admiring our host’s lovely bookshelves. Colour-coded and yet very easy to find your book of choice, a visually pleasing mix of vertical and horizontal stacks, and just the right amount of other objects (family photos, trophies and other ephemera) thrown in for balance. See for yourself. Click on the image for a closer look. I know it’s not a professional photograph, but aren’t they nice? And so, I present the first in a series I call “real people’s bookshelves”. (Karen, in case you’re wondering, my own bookshelves will be included.)