Sunday, October 18, 2009

Surprisingly few Fabio covers. Thank God.

The question "what are you currently reading" really should have been an easy one. I, naturally, have to go and muck it up a bit. So, I present to you my book shelves (as seen from my dining room table):

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(And why I use my dining room table and not my desk, I have no clue. I have no control over where I feel my most productive. I just go with the flow.)

Before we go any further, let's just go ahead and address the giant elephant standing in the center of the room.

There is a shelf missing.

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Yes, it's been missing for, oh, a good two years. Possibly less. Probably more.

Yes, there are tools still sitting on the shelves from when I last worked on them... which I think was back around Christmas because we had this giant tree that required us to rearrange furniture and I was actually able to access the problem area. Just long enough to spackle.

There in the corner of this photo you can catch a peek of the stacks upon stacks of books that are sitting upon the railing that divides the dining room from the living room. These books include the ones that previously sat upon said missing shelf and those that I've recently read and since added to the pile.

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In my defense, if I had realized that a few books would have been too heavy for these shelves, I probably wouldn't have bought them. Possibly. But that's neither here nor there.

Look, you don't understand. There is a big, heavy desk in the way of me making repairs. And, really, Ikea should have to come out and take care of it since it's their shelf that can't hold up under the weight of a few measly books.

And that's all I'm going to say about that.

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My mom was and still is (when she has the time) an avid reader. While I was growing up, I remember she had boxes and boxes of books that took up space in our garage. It drove my dad crazy. He was constantly moving them from one side to the other, trying to make space where there was none to be found.

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I swore I would never box up my books. I wanted them out in the open, where I could see them and flip through them whenever I wanted. (And believe it or not, I often find myself browsing through them, rereading my favorite scenes, and sometimes just sniffing them. That's right. Sniffing.)

What I didn't realize was that the amount of books I owned would continue to grow as I continued to read and eventually I'd run out of space for them. Which is why they're currently stacking up around our apartment and why my husband constantly threatens to hold a garage sale and sell them. So what if we don't have a garage? He'll find a way.

Or he would if he knew I wouldn't file for divorce the very next day.

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My books are incredibly important to me. I can't help becoming involved in the stories and characters. Some stick with me for a long time afterward or leave such lasting impressions that I go back and reread them again and again. (Twilight. Need I say more?) It borders on unhealthy, but damn it, I love them.

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However, there’s a part of me that wonders more and more often if the books I adore don’t cause me to place unfair expectations on my husband and our relationship. This thought keeps me up at night. And when I can’t sleep, I read. It’s a problem.

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So, what am I currently reading? This book by Nora Roberts. I started it a couple months ago, got halfway through, and became sidetracked. I’m finally going back to finish it. After this, I need to finish Three to Get Deadly, another book I got halfway through and set aside. (Reading halfway through books just to finish them months later is not a normal habit of mine. I swear.)

Now you. Currently reading? Favorite book of all time? Do you absolutely love the smell of books like I do???

(By the way, peeps, you've got till Wednesday.)

16 comments:

  1. Love your shelves! All of my books are out, too.I have a stack of books by my bed that I'm trying to get through but there is a little 2 year old putting the brakes on that ;)One of my favorite books of all time is Suite Francais by Irène Leona Némirovsky. Right now I'm reading 2666 by Roberto Bolaño.

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  2. I'm currently reading "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan". But I'm having trouble getting into it! I'm part of a book club and I need to get reading. uugh but I just can't get motivated!! One of my favorite books of all time was "A child called it" But it was so sad. I don't know why I love books that make me cry! But the rest of the books in that series were really not as good. Maybe I should get into romantic novels...-L

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  3. My favorite? The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. This may change one day when I have more time to read. If you remember little sis, YOU got me started on that series. So, it's your fault.

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  4. Right now I'm reading Breaking Dawn. I don't like it as much as the others in the series. I liked Bella better when she wasn't graceful and beautiful!

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  5. Your book collection is only a fraction of mine. It's so embarrassing we've dedicated closets to hide them. Seriously, I can read 1000 pages a day. Easy. And I often do. I have to make stacks of books I have read and stacks of books I haven't read. If the stack of 'hasn't read' gets too small I have to stop at a book store before nights end. I swear it's worse than running out of toilet paper. Although the trash I've been reading lately is at about that value. I've discovered a new section, Paranormal Romance. It's terrible. It's where Twilight would be if it wasn't already in the adolescent section. It's bad, really. I've actually found romance stories dealing with selkies. Yes, that's right, seal bulls that change into humans. That one threw me for a loop but i still read it. Now that's addiction, no? Complete and utter garbage, I swear.

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  6. I went to a digital reader last year, for that exact reason. Now I can take hundreds of books with me wherever I go.

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  7. I feel your pain. My books are all over the place (in my bedroom) I have too many books. And I have a trillion e-books. Now keep in mind that I have 4 bookcases full of books as well. I need to make myself a library. Sigh.

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  8. currently re-reading Twilight (next will be NM) in prep for Nov. 20th... i am catching a few things that i didn't the first 2 times... ahem, Edward wore an ivory turtleneck that accentuated his chest? whoda thunk he used to be in 98degrees?my all time fave book is the SmokeJumper by nichoas evans. to kill a mockingbird by harper lee is a close 2nd.

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  9. I love the engaging audience questions! I love to read, but only find myself reading boring wedding books and Weight Watchers materials these days. Help! My all-time favorite book is definitely The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.

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  10. I just finished reading The Other Eden by Sarah Bryant. It was a great book and will be memorable.I have several favorite books, but I'd have to say that The Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb is probably the most memorable one for me.We have an entire room set aside for books in our house. When we saw this place, we were sold on it by the wall of built ins in the library. Which, all those shelves are already filled. On top of that, we have 3 other book cases filled with books and are in need of another book case.My husband understands my love of books. Then again, he grew up with it. My MIL is a retired romance author in her own right.

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  11. kerryanne, I have a stack of books by my bed, too. Unfortunately, I buy a lot faster than I read, so the pile gets bigger and bigger before it gets smaller. HonduranBaker, you should absolutely get into romance novels! They’re wonderful! (Then again, I sometimes think I should try and find a new genre.) How do you like your book club? I always think about trying one, but I’m seriously introverted and painfully shy and nervous. I clearly have issues.Teeter, I remember that I bought Outlander only because it was so long I thought it might last me a while. It was good. But I never got sucked into the series like you did. Gayle, I can’t believe you’re already on Breaking Dawn. I expect a full report on the series once you’re finished. Will you read what’s available of Midnight Sun? I went into BD with such low expectations (I heard the worst before I started) that I wound up loving it. I didn’t think it was nearly as bad as what people had led me to expect. But I didn’t think it was as good as Twilight or New Moon. MichelleSG, I am going to tell my husband about this. Then, maybe, he’ll lay off because obviously it could be a lot worse.Urban Cowboy, I think more and more about buying a digital reader. But… I love my books. I’m just worried that digital won’t be the same. Sigh. I’m not sure I want to risk the money just to find out I hate it. Dutch Donut Girl, after you build your library… will you come build one for me? Pretty please?Angry Asian, that’s the great thing about an imagination. You can just ignore the ugly clothes authors choose and imagine something completely different. Although, didn’t Edward wear a turtleneck in the movie? I think during the restaurant scene, after he rescues Bella from her would-be attackers. Maybe I’m wrong. Whatever he wore in that scene, he looked good, so I ain’t hatin’… (God, I can’t wait for New Moon to come out!)Deanna, how goes Weight Watchers??? Someday I’ll write something about my experience. It was a good one. I hope it works out for you!oregonsunshine, I am terribly jealous of your built-in shelves. That is something that would totally convince me to buy a place. I dream of built-ins…

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  12. Don't we all love books? Love the feel, the pages, the promise?I'm currently reading Junot Diaz's Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao but I LOVE Cormac MacCarthy's The Road.

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  13. The book club is alot of fun. We drink alot of wine and mixed drinks. Eat ALOT of food then eventually talk about the book. It's not like the book club I imagined, I guess I invisioned something like what you see on tv. But it's completely laid back. We do have some questions about the book to spark conversation. But other than that it's just like chatting about a good (or sometimes not so good) book with your girlfriends. it sucks that you're so far away from Massachusetts, I know we would love to have ya!-L

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  14. I switched to a kindle. I can say that in some way's it is totally better (I only need two shelves to house my books now, though there is still some double stacking going on). Traveling is easier- I can carry as many books as I want. I keep all my favorites on there, or at least, all my favorites that are available on Kindle. Some authors are slower to put their books out there electronically. I love reading Anne Bishop, especially her Dark Jewels trilogy (which is at times lol funny, at times blush bright red explicit, and cry in public touching). I love several authors and don't want to take up too much space here to list them out. The only one that isn't electronic (yet) is Mercedes Lackey. The part I miss is the physical touch of the pages. And frankly, I always liked having it clear to visitors that I am a bibliophile. Still, when your apartment is 950 square feet and you're adding another person (albeit a little person), saving the space is important.

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  15. Janet Evonovich...*sigh* Love her. Get ready for four, five and six. Whoa. I love the whole series though. Also, Nora Roberts McKade Brothers trilogy...er, she just added a fourth though but amazing. Devin McKade...enough said.

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  16. But I LIKE my Johanna Lindsey Fabio covers....:DCurrently, I am reading nothing because my books were all packed when I moved and my shelves designated for my books are now dedicated to something else. So I need to get book shelves.Meanwhile, I'm waiting to get more of my trash (as my friends call it) and get a couple more books by Mercedes Lackey as well as more jewelry books. I swear, I love my books and I frequently look at them and stroke them lovingly...especially the ones that have been with me for 20 years...:)

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