Nothing Better Than a Good Read
Few things rival a really good book. I've always been a bookworm, had my face stuck in a book from when I was a little kid ... the nerdy type, I guess. Now that I wear glasses I'm even more the stereotypical nerd. :-) Let them laugh! Nothing will steal me away from my beloved books.
Right now, I'm reading "Haunted" by Chuck Palahniuk. It is fantastic. :-) Chuck Palahniuk is the guy who wrote "Fight Club". I never read that, but I did see the movie, and I wasn't that impressed. Edward Norton is so cool, especially in that movie, but the less said about Brad Pitt the better. Anyway ... he's definitely a really macho, testosterone-driven writer, very visual, and occasionally very sicko. But funny sicko. It's a great book.
My reading tastes have waxed and waned over the years. When I was a teenager, I always read the latest Stephen King as soon as it came out, because my older brother always bought the latest one for me at Christmastime. I absolutely loved Stephen King, back in his early days. He was a god to me. My favourites of his are "Salem's Lot", "The Shining", "The Stand" and "Pet Sematary". Then he started to run out of ideas (I love his recent memoir on writing though, "On Writing". It's great.) I was also into the sword and scorcery stuff, "The Lord of the Rings", et al. And typical teen fare like Paul Zindel ("The Pigman" is still one of my very favourite books), Judy Blume kind of stuff.
Then, in my 20s, I got into a true crime phase. I started reading every true crime book I could find, by writers like Joe McGinniss and Ann Rule. I think I might have inherited my taste for lurid criminals from my dad, who used to read "True Detective" magazine on a regular basis. I still remember the covers of those things, with photos of young, scantily clad girls running away from axe-wielding madmen in plaid shirts and story titles like "He Raped Her Then Cut Her Arms Off" (not too far off topic from Chuck Palahniuk, come to think of it).
After the true crime obsession ran its course and I began to feel like a seasoned homicide detective, I turned to biography -- specifically, Hollywood biographies, like Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor, Grace Kelly. Then I got into "regular" biographies, about people nobody had heard of but did extraordinary things, like one called "The Survival of Jan Little", about a blind woman who married a biologist or horticulturist who was also a bit of a recluse. They moved to South America, Brazil, I think, with her teenage daughter from another marriage. This guy was insistent they remove themselves from the human race, then he caught malaria or some other jungle disease, so did the daughter, and blind Jan was left on her own for months. She survived.
I went through a prolonged self help phase, thanks to being a regular viewer of Oprah back in the '80s, and tried to heal my inner child, resolve my inner hurts and be the best that I could be. I discovered that no book, no matter how wise or educated its author, can heal your inner child or resolve your inner hurts. But it introduced me to the likes of Deepak Chopra, for which I'm grateful.
I also loved reading books about the paranormal -- books about hauntings, possessions. And books about UFOs too. "Communion", by Whitley Strieber, practically traumatized me. That was scary.
And through it all, from adolescence to the present, Margaret Atwood has remained my constant favourite. No matter what proclivity or genre my reading tastes steer me toward, her books remain a constant, tireless companion. For me, she is one of those writers whose voice is timeless, beautiful, hypnotic, and always appealing.
Somehow, no matter how broke I am, which is very often, if I really want a book, I'll find a way to get it. I'll scrape the money together. I love the crammed look of my bookshelves. I often wonder if a stranger were to come in off the street and peruse my bookshelves, if they could decipher what kind of person I am. What clues would those books deliver?
All I know is, without books I would not be the person I am. I don't know who I would be. Me without books is just unthinkable.
Right now, I'm reading "Haunted" by Chuck Palahniuk. It is fantastic. :-) Chuck Palahniuk is the guy who wrote "Fight Club". I never read that, but I did see the movie, and I wasn't that impressed. Edward Norton is so cool, especially in that movie, but the less said about Brad Pitt the better. Anyway ... he's definitely a really macho, testosterone-driven writer, very visual, and occasionally very sicko. But funny sicko. It's a great book.
My reading tastes have waxed and waned over the years. When I was a teenager, I always read the latest Stephen King as soon as it came out, because my older brother always bought the latest one for me at Christmastime. I absolutely loved Stephen King, back in his early days. He was a god to me. My favourites of his are "Salem's Lot", "The Shining", "The Stand" and "Pet Sematary". Then he started to run out of ideas (I love his recent memoir on writing though, "On Writing". It's great.) I was also into the sword and scorcery stuff, "The Lord of the Rings", et al. And typical teen fare like Paul Zindel ("The Pigman" is still one of my very favourite books), Judy Blume kind of stuff.
Then, in my 20s, I got into a true crime phase. I started reading every true crime book I could find, by writers like Joe McGinniss and Ann Rule. I think I might have inherited my taste for lurid criminals from my dad, who used to read "True Detective" magazine on a regular basis. I still remember the covers of those things, with photos of young, scantily clad girls running away from axe-wielding madmen in plaid shirts and story titles like "He Raped Her Then Cut Her Arms Off" (not too far off topic from Chuck Palahniuk, come to think of it).
After the true crime obsession ran its course and I began to feel like a seasoned homicide detective, I turned to biography -- specifically, Hollywood biographies, like Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor, Grace Kelly. Then I got into "regular" biographies, about people nobody had heard of but did extraordinary things, like one called "The Survival of Jan Little", about a blind woman who married a biologist or horticulturist who was also a bit of a recluse. They moved to South America, Brazil, I think, with her teenage daughter from another marriage. This guy was insistent they remove themselves from the human race, then he caught malaria or some other jungle disease, so did the daughter, and blind Jan was left on her own for months. She survived.
I went through a prolonged self help phase, thanks to being a regular viewer of Oprah back in the '80s, and tried to heal my inner child, resolve my inner hurts and be the best that I could be. I discovered that no book, no matter how wise or educated its author, can heal your inner child or resolve your inner hurts. But it introduced me to the likes of Deepak Chopra, for which I'm grateful.
I also loved reading books about the paranormal -- books about hauntings, possessions. And books about UFOs too. "Communion", by Whitley Strieber, practically traumatized me. That was scary.
And through it all, from adolescence to the present, Margaret Atwood has remained my constant favourite. No matter what proclivity or genre my reading tastes steer me toward, her books remain a constant, tireless companion. For me, she is one of those writers whose voice is timeless, beautiful, hypnotic, and always appealing.
Somehow, no matter how broke I am, which is very often, if I really want a book, I'll find a way to get it. I'll scrape the money together. I love the crammed look of my bookshelves. I often wonder if a stranger were to come in off the street and peruse my bookshelves, if they could decipher what kind of person I am. What clues would those books deliver?
All I know is, without books I would not be the person I am. I don't know who I would be. Me without books is just unthinkable.
posted by emily pound at 1:24 PM
7 Comments:
My taste is techno-thrillers - Michael Crichton etc. And travel journals - Bill Bryson. Chek them out :)
I will. Check out Chuck Palahniuk. You'll never forget the experience. :-)
I knew I liked you! ;o)
I love books. A lot. I buy at least one a month, usually two. Which is silly really since I'm usually busy re-reading another one. Right now I've cut myself off from buying more. I have ten I haven't read yet :o/ lol Got carried away reading ones I already had but didn't stop buying.
I'm kind of the same way with books too. I read a lot of different styles. But the "constant" author for me is Alice Hoffman. I adore her books. Didn't discover her until a few years back though, so I'm still working on reading all of hers.
It's nice to hear someone else have such a love for books. And you're not a nerd for loving books. The smartest people in the world have a craving for books.
~Lily
Hi fellow book-lover Lily! :-)
I just cannot imagine my life without books, and I just shake my head in disbelief at people I hear saying, "Why do you read so much?" or "Reading's boring." ??? Don't get that. And you can get really attached to authors, can't you? After reading a few of their books, you sort of feel like you "own" them, :-) or they're at least a friend or family member.
Any particular Alice Hoffman you'd recommend? (I again recommend you give Chuck Palahniuk a try. He'll blow your mind.) :-)
I loved The Stand too. It was a great book.
Do you agree that Stephen King now is nowhere near as readable as his earlier work? It just does not compare, he seems to be rehashing the same stuff over and over, and it just isn't working.
The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile are two of my favs. Also enjoyed the Tower series but still ponder the ending from time to time. I think the unending pain that he lives with didn't help with his writing. A lot has been derivative but oh, when he comes across, he comes across!!
My shrink said I was her poster child. I have "stashes" of book laid away in case I can't get to the library...., She got a kick outta that. I told her that since I am a recovering alcoholic, that is my 'drug'. I also know that when I 'can't' read or I'm 'not' reading, I'm in a particularly scary place and my depression has crossed the line into suicidal. Cheerful, huh?
The reason I am so sympathetic to Steven King and the reason for the suicidal depression is because I, too, am in unending pain and am too disabled to work anymore. Your next post about unemployment strikes a resonance with me. I feel like I've lost so much self-worth and it's so hard to feel any type of worth when I can't earn any money to help pay bills (I do get disability but my husband discounts that as pretty much 'nothing'). I feel trapped and useless, and worse than that, a drain on my family because of my medical needs. Can't afford to go to the shrink anymore either, altho I still 'talk' to her in my head :-O
I know it's stupid to wonder 'why' but I can't seem to help it. I have lived my life as a good and worthy person..., why is it that I get such a healthy never-ending dose of misery?
Hi not,
I'm so sorry to hear about your difficulties. believe me, I can relate, especially to the depression and feeling suicidal. I've been there. I think everyone has, they just won't admit it.
I've banged my head against the wall a lot and asked 'why' too, about a billion times. It never does any good to ask why. It doesn't change anything. That's one thing I have figured out. The trick is, to make as good a life for yourself as possible.
Your worth is not in what money you make, although the majority of society sure seems convinced it is. I know it's a cliche, but it's what's inside you.
Email me anytime, if you like. My address is by my profile.
Big hug. :-)
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