The Sunday Salon

The Sunday Salon – Panic over a book, or a cautionary tale of overloaded bookshelves

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At least once a year, or sometimes every few months, I clean off the shelves and the books are donated to the little library we have in our building. On the last go round, close to 100 books left the house. At the time, it was liberating. We had room for new books and the ones that made the cut were now better organized. I was pleased.

Now, we come to yesterday. I got up early to go swimming with a friend and per our routine, we swim a mile and then go for coffee and scones. Yes, I know the scones defeat the purpose of the swim but it’s what we do. Anyway, I ordered a large coffee and decided that since I had a lot planned for the afternoon, caffeine would be a good thing.

Here’s where my thinking went awry. Hyped up on caffeine, I thought “Oh, I need to find my copy of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell for the read along.” I begin looking and then begin panicking. I couldn’t find it. Poor husband gets drug out of another room to help me in my now frantic search. I explain in what I think is a rather calm state that I’m missing a book and I must have it. He looks at me and says, “How much coffee did you drink this morning?”

Obviously, he missed the point of my panic induced state.

“What’s so important about this book?” he asks.

“I need it,” I say.

“For class?”

“No, I just need it. Just find it! I didn’t give it away did I? I wouldn’t have done that would I?” I say in what I’m sure now was an increasingly loud, and probably shrill, voice.

“It’s a big book, greenish cover with a tree on it right?”

“Yes,” I say. And I should note that I was personally astounded he knew that because as far as I know, he’s never read this book.

“Ok, here ya go,” and he hands me the book. “Please don’t drink this much coffee ever again.”

I’m pretty sure I hugged the book and not my husband but he was the one that deserved the hug.

Happy Sunday! I have to go see if I can find a channel that doesn’t have pre-game coverage of the Superbowl. I feel the need to watch some TV in a nice comfy bed. Enjoy your reading today.

The Sunday Salon – Review. Can I use that word?

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I usually stay away from controversial topics because I don’t want this to turn into a personal rant space where I complain about each and every thing that bothers me. Trust me, I can so easily go there, but I won’t. This week there were a few interesting posts that caught my eye about blogging, reviews, contracts, book hoarding, and it did bother me, more so than these things usually do and I thought well, why not give in this time.

The links that got me thinking:

Chris at Chrisbookorama – Surley It’s a Review…and Don’t Call Me Shirley*

Author Maggie Stiefvater’s blog The World According to Maggie – The Only Thing I’m Going to Say About Bloggers in 2012

Ana at Things Mean A lot – The Sunday Salon – On Writing About Books (she re-posted a link on Twitter this week and she’s such a wonderful writer I wanted to re-share)

April at Good Books and Good Wine – Legitimacy, Professionalism, and Book Blogging

Insane Hussein at Insane Hussein Reviews – O RLY: A “Contact” for Book Reviews?

First, I need to say something. I don’t get paid to do this — this is a true statement for most bloggers. I make no money at all by getting up early (some days) and posting here. I take time out of my days and nights and write about books I enjoyed (and sometimes not enjoyed) and share that information with others because I know there are others out there like me that truly enjoy a great story. I buy most — I’d say 99.5% — of the books I talk about here. I have stopped requesting books from publishers not because the books don’t look interesting but because I don’t have the time to read them and don’t like to accept books I can’t review. That is not a judgment of anyone; it’s a choice for me. I even put a note up on my blog in October of 2011 explaining this. Yet, a few books have arrived at my house I did not request. I’ll read these books, oddly one was a book I really wanted to read, scary how they knew that, but in the coming months I’ll continue to kindly explain that I’m not accepting books at this time.

I like the flexibility to read and review what I want, when I want. I’ve always felt that way and continue to believe that. This year I plan to read more classics and books I already own. Not accepting new books means I’ll be able to continue reading this way.

I’ll note I do reviews for the BookReporter website and will continue to do those reviews. I choose the books I review and I truly enjoy working with the people there. I am not paid for those reviews either but it does allow me to read books I’ve been looking forward to; which was the reason I started reviewing books for them. The publisher does send me those books at the request of the editors at the BookReporter. I note that in my reviews.

NOW, the point. There was a kerfuffle on some blogs over what constitutes an actual review and should bloggers use the term review. I use the term review on my blog and I’ll continue to do so. I have a system for my reviews and while not everyone may agree it’s the best way, it’s my way and it’s my blog so that makes it perfect. Okay. Some people believe a review needs to have a certain style, be more academic, have a certain structure, and that’s fine. Reviews of that nature are helpful. They can be incredibly insightful but they aren’t the type of reviews I write and I will not be changing my style to suit that. Not that anyone needs to know it but my style is this:

1 – Short intro if I’m feeling writer-ly that day

2 – Re-cap of the book

3 – What I liked/didn’t like

4 – Final thoughts

I write the type of reviews I like to read. I want information on the book but I also want to know why someone read the book, what they thought of it, what they liked, what they didn’t like. I don’t even mind spoilers (secretly I really love them though) but I try to stay from spoilery material because I know many don’t want to read it.

There has been a few arguments/disagreements/finger pointing (call it what you want as you can see I’m not feeling any specific term) about bloggers making personal attacks on authors and calling them reviews. I agree; these aren’t reviews. I don’t find them helpful and I don’t read them. But I do think it’s fair for a reader to talk about how a book made them feel. We all experience reading and writing in different ways and to take that away makes what we do in this community (talking about books we love, like, dislike) just boring. Sometimes a little snark is needed. I shouldn’t feel that because I didn’t like a book that I can’t and shouldn’t talk about it, especially if it was something I paid money for. I can do that in a fair and balanced way even if I didn’t care for it because I know there are others out there who did and can speak to its good points. And in each review, even for books I didn’t finish or like, I try to find something good. Writing is difficult and I don’t think a writer should be belittled because I didn’t care for one of his/her books. That does not mean that every review I write is going to be happy and full of rainbows just to suit someone’s feeling that because I’m not writing for an academic journal but on a blog that my thoughts are not valid/good enough/whatever.

It’s my space and I’ll do what I want with it which means when I write about a book, I will write about how I felt, what I liked, what I didn’t like, in the most fair way I can. When I don’t like a book, I will say that knowing that simply because I did not enjoy it that others out there did.

Here’s the thing, I’m buying these books with my own cash so I feel I can talk about them the way I want. I’m not out to hurt anyone’s feelings with what I publish here, I’m looking to discuss books. Something I enjoy.

Now, this, A “Contract” For Books Review?, is crazy. Like bat-shit crazy. A CONTRACT to review a book?! Who thinks of these things?! As I said, I’m not getting paid to do this. I’m buying these books (and thusly supporting these authors and publishing houses) with my own cash so why in the world would someone say to a person who would be willing (FOR FREE) to read an author’s book and give them all the rights to the review?

Weeks back, it may have been last year, I’m fuzzy on time lately (I blame lack of sleep) about publishers getting pissy with bloggers who weren’t publishing reviews in the timeframe that publishers thought they should and that they would stop sending people books for review. K, so let me think about this. No, I’m not going to think about this because it doesn’t deserve what little my brain currently has to offer. When I’m doing something to help you out, please don’t tell me how you want it done. It doesn’t make me want to help you. It makes me want to ignore you. If you want to ignore me, I’m OK with that. I write for myself and for those people out there who read me (I thank you, I really mean that, thank you for reading.) and I talk about what I want to talk about, not what someone else prefers. I will not change my style to accommodate someone with a different viewpoint than mine.

There’s a lot of talk about the book blogging community and what it should and should not be. I’ve been doing this for, let’s go with about three years so I’m still sort of new, and the reason I started was because it was a fun place to share ideas and learn about and discuss books. I still think that’s true but there seems to be pressure from outside trying to change what the community is. My plan is to ignore that and be what I am. I’m not trying to please everyone. I can’t and won’t even try. I’m just being myself.

So, that’s all. Carry on. I’m sure you’ve all got better things to do today. 🙂 And thanks for sticking with me till the end of my rambling, really long post today. I feel I should give you a prize for that. Gold stars for all!

PS – I just wanted to thank everyone that stopped by and left a comment. They were all very thoughtful and I agreed with everyone 100%. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to answer them personally but I appreciate your thoughts and I know others do as well.

The Sunday Salon – Reading the Shelves

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Every year I always say something like, “I’m going to read the books on my shelf and not buy any for a while.”

Once again I failed, epically failed, if I’m honest. I’ve bought several books already, e and real, but I feel I’m helping the economy and authors in my own way so I’m letting myself off the hook on the buying aspect. The good news is that I have accomplished part of what I stated — I’ve been reading the books of my shelf. Out of the seven books I’ve read, six were books I bought in 2011 or books that I’ve owned for years. It’s not much right now, but I’m excited by those numbers, as small as they are. Of course, this morning after finishing Frankenstein, I decided to read a book I bought the other night, American Gods, so it’s pretty much blown to hell all over again.

Quick reading re-cap:

Lady Susan by Jane Austen — I don’t know what to say about this other than how much I enjoyed it. It was really funny, witty, and in some respects mean, but oh so good.

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell — It did make me want to go to Hawaii to see everything she points out and it’s quite interesting on the history front as well. For all that Hawaii is a state, I know very little about its history.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley — This was a re-read and I was surprised by how much I didn’t remember. It was good and creepy and also very sad.

Today I’m starting American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Why it has taken me this long to get to this book I’ll never know.

This afternoon I’m attending a bridal expo with a friend and then at some point I need to find time to write 1,000 words for the class I’m taking and all before Downton Abbey starts tonight so that’s it for today. Happy Sunday.

The Sunday Salon

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I woke feeling like I was being attacked by a nasty germ. Several hours later, and two naps on the couch, I’m sure of it. Damn germs…

Today’s post is going to be short because I don’t think I can keep it together long. I may result to mentioning things like unicorn poop if I hang around too long.

This week I read:

A graphic novel of Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen, adapted by Nancy Butler and Sonny Liew. I adore the original so there wasn’t going to be a chance of me not loving this one too. I did.

A Secret Diary of a Princess: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Melanie Clegg. I had a lot of fun with this one. It’s told through diary entries and I’m a sucker for that style and pretty much anything featuring Marie Antoinette.

I’m finishing Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell. It’s a non-fiction book about Hawaii. I’m enjoying it but being sick, and on top of a very stressful week, it’s been tough going. I’m hoping to finish it up in the next day or so.

I plan to start Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein this week or Lady Susan by Jane Austen. I’ve also got several reviews to write but I’m going to put them off for a few days, at least until the head clears. Same goes for the class work.

With that, please ignore my typos and anything else that makes no sense. I will now return to the couch.

Happy Sunday.

The Sunday Salon – On Resolutions and Non-Resolutions

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Happy New Year!

It’s nice to be back. I took a slightly longer vacation than anticipated since we decided to stay a few extra days with family this past week. It’s all good though because it left me with time to think about this little space and what I want to accomplish in the coming year. I’m not one for resolutions, especially in regard to my reading. I’ve tried but never quite accomplish what I set out to do. Last year, I planned to read at least one non-fiction book a month, and was good for the first few months of 2011, then took a free fall and let it go. I did read a number of non-fiction books but not the amount I anticipated. I pictured lists upon lists of non-fiction, I got to seven. I don’t feel bad about it though. I knew it would happen; it’s my resolution pattern.

On another note, I did complete all the challenges I participated in last year. In some ways, these challenges are my reading resolutions in that I’m picky about what I sign up for — I want something that fits with my reading style but leaves me room to try new things without feeling constricted in anyway — I try to keep it to three or four and no more. I also like to find things that will help me to read more of what I want (for example: classics) without feeling like I’m forcing myself to do it as part of some doomed resolution. So maybe I do have resolutions, but the passive aggressive type. Whatever works I guess.

Looking back on my list (I did a best of list early in December), I read a lot of good books, had very few DNFs (a scant three books went unfinished), and topped out at 99. Not my best record, and it would have been nice to see 100, but I’m happy with almost everything I read so no complaints. I ended the year on a very good note with MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche. It was funny, cute, and made me think about the relationships I have with friends. If you’re looking for a good read, pick this one up. I hope to have a review done soon, and I warn you now, it will be a gusher.

As for the blog itself, I keep thinking and re-thinking my ratings system and how it’s working or not working for me. Most books fit into the 5 star system and I’ve allowed myself to make use of the .25, .5, and .75 stars (what they are exactly I don’t know and I don’t know how you even go about divided up a star but anyway) and while it’s useful, I’m thinking of ditching it for a I liked this book/I didn’t like this book type thing. When and if I figure it out, I’ll let you know.

I’m also going to be taking a class starting in January and will probably see my reading drop a bit at least until the class is finished. January is usually my most productive reading month due to cold weather (or what passes for cold weather in DC) but this year I’m changing things up. So, if there are a few slow days around here, please forgive. I’ll be doing some writing instead.

I’ve got long list of books to read this year so I’m off to get started.

Happy Sunday, Happy New Year, and happy reading. 🙂

The Sunday Salon – Best of 2011

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While I don’t like to put these lists together until the actual year has ended, I will be taking some time off around the holidays so I thought I’d break with my tradition and name my favorites of 2011.

Let me explain how I picked these books, and no, not every one of these books is a 5 star book. I thought about going that route but decided instead to look at the list and see how I feel about the books now. Honestly, if I’m still thinking about, or recommending, a book six months later, obviously it was a good book for me regardless of how I rated it at the time I wrote the review. That seems arbitrary but it’s my list and I can make it however I want. The list is done by month and my favorite(s) of the year are at the end.

So here goes:

January

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

 

February

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

 

March

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

 

April

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville

A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin

 

May

The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma

 

June

The Dark Enquiry by Deanne Raybourn

The Postmortal by Drew Magery

 

July

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks by Juliet Eilpern

 

August

After Dark by Haruki Murakami

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran

A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin

 

September

The Taker by Alma Katsu

 

October

A Crimson Warning by Tasha Alexander

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

 

November

A Visit from the Good Squad by Jennifer Egan

The Twelfth Enchantment by David Liss

 

December

11/22/63 by Stephen King

 

Did I have an overall favorite? Maybe. I loved several books on this list. I will re-read several books on this list. Can I say I had an absolute favorite in 2011? No, but I was able to narrow it to three books:

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

A Visit from the Good Squad by Jennifer Egan

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran

So, there you have it, my best reads of 2011. What books/authors were among your favorites this year?

The Sunday Salon – In which I reveal a few non-music facts

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OR the totally true tale of a tone deaf reader

Music and books is a topic I see around but a topic I don’t understand and not for lack of trying. In general, I don’t listen to music and when I do it tends to be music I’m very familiar with; I don’t try out new music often. And I don’t try out new music while reading at all. The only place I regularly listen to music, and admit it’s for distraction purposes, is in the car while cursing snarled traffic. This doesn’t mean I don’t like music, because I do. I appreciate classical while cooking, I love songs I can sing along to in the car on long road trips, and when I see a song someone is listening to mentioned on their blog, I click on the link. I may not understand the connection but I’m curious as to why someone would pick that song.

Haruki Murakami is an author that falls into this topic. He’s been influenced by Western music and in particular jazz. Go ahead and google that if you don’t believe the woman who admitted in the previous paragraph to knowing nothing of music. Side note: I once saw Winton Marsalis play in Chicago. It was an interesting concert mostly because I didn’t understand any of it. Jazz is too discordant for me; I can’t find the rhythm. I spent the entire concert watching others to figure out why they were into it so much. I probably should have been paying closer attention to the concert itself though. What can I say; I was newly out of college and knew nothing. Anyway, while this Murakami/jazz connection has been made, and he’s admitted to enjoying jazz, I don’t get it. How can someone listen to something so random and write something so interesting? Maybe I need to try listening to some jazz while reading his books to understand it better.

Moving on to last night… We stopped at a friends’ house for a tree trimming party and were regaled with the sounds of Mary Poppins. They have a two year-old who knows and can recognize the different songs and was insistent on the one she wanted to hear. I didn’t recognize any of the songs. Yes, I was outshone by a two year-old when it came to musical knowledge. Shortly after, we stopped off at a bar to wish another friend a happy birthday. He loves music and his standards were played: Springsteen, U2, The Pogues. While flipping through the song list, I noticed several punk selections. I love punk. I know, I don’t get it either. You would think it would fall into the way too discordant category of music for me since I don’t understand jazz but I heart punk like you wouldn’t believe. And I have a most favorite song — Waiting for the Man by Nico and the Velvet Underground.

Here’s the connection I have to punk. And wait for it…it’s a book — The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. The main character, Henry, loves punk. In one scene, he’s waiting for someone, who happens to be a drug dealer, and he starts singing the song to himself. (Yes, the song is about a drug deal if you’re not familiar with it.) I went and looked it up because, well, I don’t remember why I did but I did. And I loved it. I fell in love with the song. Each time I hear it, I remember reading The Time Traveler’s Wife. Oh, memories. So anyway, this is my one and only music/book connection I have ever made to this day.

It’s what you get with a tone deaf reader. You were warned.

But I’m going to ask anyway. Do you have recommendations? I’m willing to give almost anything a listen.

And with that, I’m off to enjoy the company of some friends. Happy Sunday.

The Sunday Salon – Mixed Bag

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It’s been weeks since I’ve posted a Sunday Salon. Today’s actually the first Sunday I’ve been home and feeling up to writing complete sentences. I feel like I’ve been ignoring my blog slightly; mostly I’m trying to fit too many things into my life and a few things started to fall off. Sunday Salons were one of those things. That time of year I guess — too many places to be, too many people to see, too many things to do.

My reading’s been slow too. In November, I read five books but all books I enjoyed. I especially enjoyed A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. Definitely the best book of November and a contender for best book I read in 2011. I may also have to throw Stephen King’s 11/22/63 in the running too. And…that’s enough for now because if I go off on that tangent I’ll never come back.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about 2012 challenges. There’s a few that look promising: Gender in Fantasy and SciFi Challenge hosted by Cynical Bookworm and Back to the Classics Challenge hosted by Sarah Reads Too Much. I plan on signing up for both this week. I also have a few things of my own to put together. I have a list of books I want to re-read next year with a list that’s already growing madly. It’s going to be my own personal challenge but I guess if anyone wants to join I wouldn’t discourage them.

2012 will also be a year in which I read more of my own books. In the second half of this year, I felt buried under review copies which I don’t request often but somehow ended up with. I was glad to read and review them but I’ve got so many books sitting in piles and on shelves that I felt I needed to stop reading for others and go back to reading for myself. I guess you can say this is my second personal challenge for 2012.

And on a completely different topic, we’re planning on getting our Christmas tree today. We usually don’t get one until after my birthday (family tradition but I’m old enough now to understand Christmas and my birthday are not the same thing :-)) but we’ll be too busy next week, and with us traveling to visit family, there won’t be enough time to enjoy it. So, today it is.

I’m done rambling. This post is more, shall we say varied, than I anticipated but I’m going with it. Happy Sunday.