Tuesday, March 23, 2010

All about books

The Fibro is a house of books. Lots and lots of books. One enormous industrial bookshelf housing books with which I cannot part. A former-shop cabinet in my study housing reference books of varying quality – though I did get rid of ‘When Pets Come Between Partners’ before we moved. One unit that used to live in the Kiama Post Office, now painted green and housing children’s books, mostly tattered. One shelf in Mr3’s room, overflowing with books about cars, trucks and motorbikes.

To sum up, we’re never short of something to read around here.

What I’ve realised recently, however, is how few books I’ve actually read. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a demonic and voracious reader, known to devour books in a matter of minutes. But I’ve missed a lot of good ones.

So I’ve set out to rectify the matter. Last week I read Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. And loved it. This week, I’ll be looking at Love In A Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford (I’m sensing a theme here – clearly I’m ready to leave summer behind). In essence, I’ve decided to read my way through some (and there are many) of the Popular Penguin books – as a bonus, I’ll get a great collection of orange-and-white covers for my many bookshelves. Perhaps not the right motivation, but you take what you can get, right? And with 75 new titles to choose from, I’ll never be short a classic again.

That said, there are books on my shelves unread or unfinished. I never made it through Buddhism For Mothers: A calm approach to caring for yourself and your children by Sarah Napthali, though my sister C thinks it should be on my must-read list. (I did, however, read Buddhism For Sheep and enjoyed it immensely.)

Most of what’s on the unread shelf, however, is writing books. I buy writing books and then never read them. Why do I do this? Probably because I hope that each one will contain the miracle (The Secret?) that will magic a book out of thin air for me. Then I crack open the book, read the first few pages, and realise that, at the end of the day, reading about writing isn’t going to get my book written. So I stop. And I write instead.

The one book I did make it through, in one sitting, was Stephen King’s On Writing. The man is so good he can even make a page-turner out of how to write a page-turner. If you are an aspiring writer, or would even just like some idea of what makes a writer tick, read this book.

And when you’re finished, please come over and write my book for me. I’ll be busy reading.

{image: Design Sponge}

11 comments:

  1. Oh, we are up to our ears in books, too. Haven't read Buddhism for Sheep, though I'm intrigued, or the Stephen King book. I can recommend Bird by Bird, though. Almost got a book out of me. (Also, if you do find the "miracle that will magic a book out of thin air," don't even think about keeping it to yourself!) =>

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  2. Oh, I have just re-read Love in a Cold Climate and The Pursuit of Love. It's always been my dream to be a Mitford and spend my life 'exclaiming' and the rest of it in 'floods'. Love Stella Gibbons, too.

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  3. Oh good, a new writing book to buy (and not read...). And you know I'll be sharing when I find the golden book that lays a book... (Note I say 'when', not 'if' - ever the optimist).

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  4. @Allison Rushby - have you read The Mitford Girls - doorstop of a book about the lives of the 'gels' and a cracking read. I wanted to be one too. But not Diana. I don't think Oswald Mosley and I would have got along.

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  5. It's creepy sometimes, how it seems as if you're in my head (or my house).

    But then I must admit, that 'On Writing' is one writing book I have not yet bought & failed to read. Now I may have just bought books by Sylvia Plath, Cecelia Ahearn, received free copies of 'The Happiness Project' and 'Still Midnight' all whilst getting stuck into another novel I'm reading on my laptop, but your rec has me surfing over to Amazon to buy SK's as well. I realise that I am most assuredly a glutton for punishment.

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  6. Am impressed by the quality of your TBR pile. That's important, you know. It's all in the intentions...

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  7. I don't mean to curb your plan... but I think you should read Pursuit of Love before Love in a Cold Climate... Maybe you already have, in which case, good... ummm, enjoy.

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  8. who needs books when you can read a blog x Fi

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  9. @Estelle Wind. Sails. Gone. I will take your advice and read Pursuit of Love first, despite it not being part of the plan. On a brighter note, an excuse to buy another book. :-)

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  10. When the original 50 (errr.. 49) popular Penguins came out I bought every single one, determined to read every one.
    I'm six in, eighty to go. I also found I wasn't reading so much between iPhone mini-games and uke practice and the dreaded bane-of-my-existence TV.
    I too, recently started reading again. Can't quite get a book in a weekend (4yo + 1yo) but a book a week is pretty good for me now.

    75 more popular penguins! Oh wallet... get ready...

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  11. I also have a house full of books (and finding room for more all the time) but realised I'd missed lots of classics and novels that seemed to be constantly referred to both other people or stories.

    I set myself a task of reading the Popular Penguin books as well and even set up a PP REading Challenge at my blog. I need to add the latest 75 titles and will tweet the link.

    Happy Reading!

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