Sixty-One Nails On Sale Today!
31 August 2010
Back in June, I reviewed Angry Robot's SIXTY-ONE NAILS by Mike Shevdon... just a reminder that if you are in the US/Canada and are interested in seeing the book, it's on sale today at a bookstore near you!
The Guardian's Top Ten Train Novels
Those of you who know me personally might know that I love train travel. I know that 21st-century trains have lost the romance of earlier train lines, locomotives, etc., but that doesn't stop me and my imagine from having a grand ol' time on any train ride. There's something about riding through slums and people's backyards and vast open fields and over rivers and through tunnels that I find eye-opening... but I digress.
It seems that some great literary folk also fall into this love-for-trains category, and The Guardian recently collected a list of ten of the best railway books. Strangers on a Train has been on my radar for some time, and I've always loved Murder on the Orient Express. There were a few I hadn't heard of, and then I was surprised at the lack of Graham Greene - Travels With My Aunt (a spectacular read, by the way) focuses on a series of train travels.
Any other additions? Have you read any of these? Recommendations?
It seems that some great literary folk also fall into this love-for-trains category, and The Guardian recently collected a list of ten of the best railway books. Strangers on a Train has been on my radar for some time, and I've always loved Murder on the Orient Express. There were a few I hadn't heard of, and then I was surprised at the lack of Graham Greene - Travels With My Aunt (a spectacular read, by the way) focuses on a series of train travels.
Any other additions? Have you read any of these? Recommendations?
Books As Perfume (Quote of the Day)
29 August 2010
"If they made old book as a perfume, I would wear it. And new book for going out." -Yours Truly
Giveaway: One Day by David Nicholls
28 August 2010
The kind people at Random House seem to have sent me two copies of David Nicholl's One Day, which I thoroughly enjoyed (see my review). Because even a booklover like myself doesn't need two copies of the same book, I have one to give away. This is an unread galley (not the final book).Open to US and Canada only (sorry, postage is killer!)
To enter, simply leave a comment below. Plus one entry for followers, plus one for sharing the contest elsewhere (Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc).
Please enter by midnight on Wed, Sept 1. I'll pick a winner on Thursday, Sept 2. Good luck!
Great Drinkin' Friday, In Which We All Play Literary Drinking Games
27 August 2010
Happy Friday! In honor of the weekend, let's have a toast. No, several toasts. Oh hell, let's just play a literary drinking game or two. A few weeks ago, Jezebel featured an article on drinking games based on all of our favorite classics. The article stems from a NYTimes piece (also worth reading) in the Sunday Book Review that stated, "rules for drinking are not so different from rules for writing."
I would argue that these games are only further proof that bookworms are not isolated people, contrary to the NYTimes article that I discussed in my Monday post, "An Engaged and Approachable Bookworm."
As with all literary lists, some of these games are better than others. I rolled over laughing at a few, including David Foster Wallace (drink every time a sentence has three or more conjunctions) and Virginia Woolf (go buy some flowers, and then, if you have any time left, drink). I confess I've never been a huge fan of Woolf, though.
The comments section provides just as much fun as the original article. I'd add a few to the list:
James Joyce: Drink every time Joyce writes a sentence in stream of consciousness.
Dan Brown: Drink every time a sentence lacks a subject, verb, or other essential component.
Lord of the Rings: Drink every time someone goes into the woods or out of the woods.
Any more? What game will you be playing this weekend?
I would argue that these games are only further proof that bookworms are not isolated people, contrary to the NYTimes article that I discussed in my Monday post, "An Engaged and Approachable Bookworm."
As with all literary lists, some of these games are better than others. I rolled over laughing at a few, including David Foster Wallace (drink every time a sentence has three or more conjunctions) and Virginia Woolf (go buy some flowers, and then, if you have any time left, drink). I confess I've never been a huge fan of Woolf, though.
The comments section provides just as much fun as the original article. I'd add a few to the list:
James Joyce: Drink every time Joyce writes a sentence in stream of consciousness.
Dan Brown: Drink every time a sentence lacks a subject, verb, or other essential component.
Lord of the Rings: Drink every time someone goes into the woods or out of the woods.
Any more? What game will you be playing this weekend?
Better Book Titles, or Book Cover Re-takes
24 August 2010
The Book Case linked to Better Book Titles last week, and let me tell you - it's good for a laugh. Dan Wilbur, the genius behind the blog, explaisn
This blog is for people who do not have thousands of hours to read book reviews or blurbs or first sentences. I will cut through all the cryptic crap, and give you the meat of the story in one condensed image. Now you can read the greatest literary works of all time in mere seconds!
I've put a few of my favorites below, but there are many, many more to peruse if you're in need of some distraction.
This blog is for people who do not have thousands of hours to read book reviews or blurbs or first sentences. I will cut through all the cryptic crap, and give you the meat of the story in one condensed image. Now you can read the greatest literary works of all time in mere seconds!
I've put a few of my favorites below, but there are many, many more to peruse if you're in need of some distraction.
An Engaged and Approachable Bookworm
23 August 2010
During our Sunday morning perusal of the papers, I saw from across the table this shocking headline:
E-Books Make Readers Less Isolated
Of course I was intrigued. For those of you who don't have the time or energy to read the whole article (although it's not that long), the gist of it is simply that e-readers leave their users more inviting-looking to those around them, and less cut off from the rest of the world. Which, in turn, implies that those who read are, ipso facto, an isolated bunch:
First of all, why single out readers? We're no more "isolated" than the man shouting a conversation into his cell phone, the kid playing on her DS or the college student with an iPod on.
That said, I will agree that as a reader, I am not particularly open to strangers striking up conversations with me while I am clearly engrossed in my book. Ask me what I'm reading and I'm likely to show you the spine of the book as an answer - without ever taking my eye from the page. That's a question you can answer yourself, little to no detective work required. But say something interesting, something worth taking my attention, and I will, in the bat of an eye, put down my book and talk. Often about books.
I'm not an unapproachable bookworm, but you best have something worthwhile to say if you plan to interrupt my reading. Maybe that does make me unapproachable to some, or maybe it makes me seem isolated, but I simply cannot agree that bookworms carry a stigma. Books bring us together, not the opposite. If you think differently, I'd say that's your loss.
E-Books Make Readers Less Isolated
Of course I was intrigued. For those of you who don't have the time or energy to read the whole article (although it's not that long), the gist of it is simply that e-readers leave their users more inviting-looking to those around them, and less cut off from the rest of the world. Which, in turn, implies that those who read are, ipso facto, an isolated bunch:
“I think, historically, there has been a stigma attached to the bookworm, and that actually came from the not-untrue notion that, if you were reading, you weren’t socializing with other people.”I'm sorry, but as a lifetime bookworm - and avid conversationalist - I couldn't disagree more.
First of all, why single out readers? We're no more "isolated" than the man shouting a conversation into his cell phone, the kid playing on her DS or the college student with an iPod on.
That said, I will agree that as a reader, I am not particularly open to strangers striking up conversations with me while I am clearly engrossed in my book. Ask me what I'm reading and I'm likely to show you the spine of the book as an answer - without ever taking my eye from the page. That's a question you can answer yourself, little to no detective work required. But say something interesting, something worth taking my attention, and I will, in the bat of an eye, put down my book and talk. Often about books.
I'm not an unapproachable bookworm, but you best have something worthwhile to say if you plan to interrupt my reading. Maybe that does make me unapproachable to some, or maybe it makes me seem isolated, but I simply cannot agree that bookworms carry a stigma. Books bring us together, not the opposite. If you think differently, I'd say that's your loss.
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