I’m finishing up Deidre Bair’s Simone de Beauvoir: A Biography at long last. I picked this up used at a college book sale back in the late 90’s and somehow never got around to reading it. My M.O. is to buy a small stack of books and stash them away for future reading, so I guess I stashed this one too well… I usually mix up my reading between biography, classic literature, spirituality, journals/letter collections, and a little contemporary fiction every now and then (generally given to me by someone) so I don’t get too bogged down by any one type of book. I don’t tend to read much self-help or how-to books, though I do have a decent collection of Arts and Crafts movement books for inspiration with my Craftsman bungalow.
I’ve been an avid reader ever since I was a tiny child; I had already read all the Dick and Jane books before starting kindergarten so my teacher had me assist the other children in learning to read, even the Spanish speaking kids! I used to spend whole weekends devouring books, until we got our first computer… But still, I find that nothing can replace the cozy feeling that curling up with a book in the tub gives me. Or reading in bed before going to sleep. Or sitting at the breakfast table with a cup of coffee and good book. Heck, where’s my book? What am I doing at the computer?
Anyway, I always kind of enjoy seeing what other folks are reading, so I figured I’d make that a new part of my blog, for the curious. I’m actually also reading Thoreau’s Walden, which I like to bring with me to the beach because it just seems wrong to read it indoors.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Mike // Jan 9, 2007 at 3:56 pm
I love Walden. I could read it over and over again. Same with Leaves of Grass. Or William Carlos Williams. The book that I keep going back to (I think I have read it 6 times in 6 months) is the “Essential Pablo Neruda”..it’s in both English and Spanish. The last new book I just read was “Busting Vegas” about those pesky MIT kids.
2 Plattitude // Jan 9, 2007 at 9:33 pm
You have stellar taste in books! Ever read Edith Wharton? I was resistant to her at first, but I grew to love her work. The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth are my favorites.
3 anjibee // Jan 10, 2007 at 2:53 pm
hey julie. i haven’t read them all, but i’ve got several wharton books on my shelf; “glimpses of the moon,” “twilight sleep,” and a book of ghost stories. i make it my business to read novels from the 20’s and 30’s, since that’s my favorite time period. feel free to recommend others!
4 anjibee // Jan 10, 2007 at 2:59 pm
hey mike. i haven’t read any neruda yet. i might start with “Veinte Poemas”… i just found a site selling the “essential” book to raise funds for a movie - sounds intriguing!
http://www.redpoppy.net/pablo_neruda_aboutbook.php
5 Mike // Jan 10, 2007 at 5:19 pm
How great is that site? I know you will love Neruda once you read him. Have you seen Il Postino? Neruda is a main character in the movie and it has many of his poems. Get the essential before the 20 poems. You won’t regret it.
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