Currently reading
The Collected Stories
Middlemarch
Omensetter's Luck
Swann's Way
A Naked Singularity (Paper)
The Master and Margarita
Otherwise Known as the Human Condition: Selected Essays and Reviews
Infinite Jest
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self
Maps and Legends
Nick Hornby begins his book with the month of Sept 2003, listing on the left the 10 books he acquired that month (a few Salingers, a couple of biographies, some poetry), and the 4 books he read that month (the Salingers and one from a TBR pile). And then he tells us, "So this is supposed to about the how, and when, and why, and what of reading--about the way that, when reading is going well, one book leads to another and to another, a paper trail of theme and meaning; and how, when it's going badly, when books don't stick or take, when your mood and the mood of the book are fighting like cats, you'd rather do anything but attempt the next paragraph, or reread the last one for the tenth time."
Well, this kind of book is tailor-made for Goodreads fans. In a way, Goodreads is a polysyllabic spree too.
"All the books we own, both read and unread, are the fullest expression of self we have at our disposal…But with each passing year, and with each whimsical purchase, our libraries become more and more able to articulate who we are, whether we read the books or not.”
I would add that not only do our libraries articulate who we are, they also articulate who we want to be.
On quoting Gabriel Zaid, “the truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more.” , he enthuses "That’s me! And you, probably! That’s us!"
Yes! it is me! Hi! (nerdy Horshack wave) Thanks for giving me again even more titles for my TBR pile, Nick! ( [b:So Many Books: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundance|282626|So Many Books Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundance|Gabriel Zaid|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328757249s/282626.jpg|114378] )
This inaugural volume is the second one I've read in this series (the first was the last one of the series, [b:More Baths, Less Talking|13544149|More Baths, Less Talking|Nick Hornby|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1342858311s/13544149.jpg|19109113]) and it's just as good.
