Books About Books

This fulfills another category in the my Year of Mini Challenges for the nonfiction category. I had planned to read Three Cups of Tea since it was already a book club book for me, but I just couldn't finish it. It's a great story of what one person can do to make a big change, but I've heard so much about it, I felt like I already knew the story. The writing is not great, and I've too many other books waiting to be read. So I gave up after about 100 pages. Now, on to the books I did read. They are both books about books and how and why we read them, as well as how writers can learn how to write better by reading great books. The first book is How to Read and Why by Harold Bloom, and the other book is Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose. I know that not one person that bothers to read this blog will find it at all weird that I have read and enjoyed these books. However, that's not been the case with the people I run into during my day to day life. In fact, I found myself more than once hiding the cover of the books when reading in public. I didn't want to have to explain AGAIN why a 41 year old librarian would want or need to read a book about how and why to read a book. It just doesn't make sense to those outside the book lover's realm, which sadly describes most of the people I encounter daily. Don't get me wrong, I am not surrounded by a bunch of illiterate people. On the contrary, many of them read and would say that they enjoy reading. However, none of them feel about books the way that I do or the way that many of you do.

My initial impetus for picking these books up in the first place was to learn to read more closely in order to wring everything possible out of the books that I read. Often when I read reviews of books that I've read or participate in book group discussions, I always find something that I missed or see something about the book in a new light. I think we've all experienced this. In fact, that's one of the reasons I love reading your blogs and participating in group discussions in the first place. I get more out of my reading when I do.

Well, you may ask -- did I learn anything from either of these books that will help me be a more attentive reader and get more out of my reading? The answer would be a resounding, yes. Though, I liked both books, I learned much more from Francine Prose's book, which was also written in a style that I much prefer over the Bloom book. Always a good indication for me of how much I like a book or how much I want to be able to recall is the number of book darts I use. Let's just say that I wouldn't be able to take the Prose book through a metal detector as it is now. I think I used almost an entire container of book darts in this book.

For the most part, I'm a fiction reader. I don't read a whole lot of nonfiction unless it's about books and reading or some related topic. There are a few exceptions occasionally but not very often. The reason for this is the language. I often find nonfiction written in a straightforward way in which language is used only to convey meaning. In other words, for me at least, the language isn't beautiful; it doesn't paint a picture for me; it doesn't transport me to another place or time. It simply relays information. That being said; however, I've learned that this certainly isn't the case for Francine Prose. I fell in love with this book and her writing style while reading the first few pages of the first chapter. I used 10 book darts in the first 12 pages. The first chapter is entitled "Close Reading." Prose begins with the question of whether creative writing can actually be taught. She doesn't really try to answer this question fully, but rather she looks at how she learned to write and how many other writers learned to write, as well and uses this as an example. She says on page 2,
"Like most -- maybe all -- writers, I learned to write by writing and, by example, by reading books. Long before the idea of a writer's conference was a glimmer in anyone's eye, writers learned by reading the work of their predecessors. They studied meter with Ovid, plot construction with Homer, comedy with Aristophanes; they honed their prose style by absorbing the lucid sentences of Montaigne and Samuel Johnson. And who could have asked for better teachers: generous, uncritical, blessed with wisdom and genius, as endlessly forgiving as only the dead can be?"

She continues on page 3 to describe what she means by close reading,
"I read closely, word by word, sentence by sentence, pondering each deceptively minor decision the writer had made. And though it's impossible to recall every source of inspiration and instruction, I can remember the novels and stories that seemed to me revelations: wells of beauty and pleasure that were also textbooks, private lessons in the art of fiction."

According to Prose, which makes perfect sense to me now that I think about it, we all began to read this way. As we gained more aptitude, we were able to read chunks of text at a time instead of decoding each word separately. This of course is necessary to be able to read anything of any length. However, it also makes it possible to miss subtle nuances that the author embeds in her book. Of course, it depends on what you're reading and why you're reading it as to how closely you want to read. A technical manual on how to put something together or make something work only needs to be read closely enough to pick out the crucial bits. However, a literary novel by an erudite author may require a closer reading in order to catch all the allusions, to understand all the symbolism, etc. That's basically what this book is about. In each chapter, starting with the smallest component of a novel -- the word -- and going on to the sentence in chapter 3, followed by paragraphs, narration, characters, dialogue, details, and gesture, Prose breaks down how to be a close reader. On the final page of chapter one, she describes a scenario in which close reading helped her in her own writing. She was writing a story and having a hard time figuring out how to make a violent ending seem natural and not forced. During this time, she was also teaching the works of Isaac Babel in one of her classes. As usual, they were reading his works one word at a time and breaking the story down in order to understand his choices and what each word signified for the story as a whole. In doing so, she realized that Babel often used "intense lyricism" directly before a scene of intense violence. "It's characteristic of Babel to offer the reader a lovely glimpse of the crescent moon just before all hell breaks loose. I tried it -- first the poetry, then the horror -- and suddenly everything came together, the pacing seemed right, and the incident I had been struggling with appeared, at least to me, to be plausible and convincing."

Throughout the rest of the book, she uses examples from some of the great writers to illustrate how to choose the perfect word, write the perfect sentence, put together a great paragraph, etc. Whether you're reader like me who wants to get more out of her reading or an aspiring writer, this is an excellent book. It is amazing what you can get out of reading if you take the time to slow down and look at it more closely. I know it's not possible to read everything this way or I'd only finish a couple books a year; however, for certain books, I think it is a shame not to slow down and delve a little deeper. After all, the author took all that time to embed these little nuggets of literary gold, the least we can do is take the time to appreciate them properly.

Before you think this post is never going to end, I promise I am soon coming to a close. However, I thought I should say a little something about the Bloom book since I mentioned it at the beginning of the post. It's a good book, but it's just not as good as the Prose book. He is more concerned with convincing people that they should read "the best" books. Of course, he goes on to tell you exactly which books are best and why he knows this. It's hard to argue with some of his choices, such as Shakespeare, but I just don't like being told what I should like and what I shouldn't. His writing style certainly doesn't read as fiction as does some of Prose's. He is a brilliant literary critic, and he includes some analysis of some really good pieces, but I just didn't find it as enjoyable or useful. I may have felt differently had I not read these two books so close together. If you're still with me at the end of this long, rambling post, I think that probably means that you feel about books as I do. If this is the case, I highly recommend Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose.

How Fiction Works by James Wood

As you can tell by my reviews on this blog, I'm not a big nonfiction reader. However, I do branch out a little every once in a while and read something out of the norm. This is one of those occasions in which I'm glad I did take a chance on something I wouldn't normally pick up. The author looks at specific pieces of literature and discusses why they work or don't work (in his opinion). He discusses all the aspects of fiction writing. However, it's his discussion of character and point of view that interested me the most. I'd like to think that I'm an astute reader, but I realized while reading this book that maybe I'm not all that astute after all. It was really interesting to see how much of a difference it makes when something seemingly minor is changed. I won't go into any great detail with this. However, if you're at all interested in the subject matter, this is a great little book.

I have a stack of about 25 books on my bedside table at the present, but I haven't decided what I'm going to read next. I have a couple of book club meetings coming up in the next week so it will probably be one of those. I actually haven't been reading quite as much as normal because I've been working on knitting a pair of socks. It never fails, as soon as the first hint of autumn rolls in, I'm ready to start knitting again. If I get really brave one day, I may even post a picture.

Weekend Reading Update

I had a nice relaxing weekend full of reading. I finished John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things and The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley. I thoroughly enjoyed both of these books, but they couldn't be more different. The only other experience I've had with Connolly is his book of short stories that have remained in my "Current Reading" for quite a while now. I've read probably three or four of the short stories but haven't written about them, yet. I'm trying to complete the Short Story Reading Challenge, but I'm not sure if I'll do it or not. I like the stories that I've read, but for whatever reason, I just don't pick it up very often. I guess I'm pretty much a monogamous reader -- it's one at a time for me.

The Book of Lost Things tells the story of 12-year old David who loses his mother to illness. David is absolutely lost when she dies, and he only finds solace in his books -- the books that he and his mother had shared. Things become worse for David when after a short period his father announces that his new girlfriend is pregnant and they'll soon marry. Oh, and if that's not enough, they must move from London to his new stepmother's house in the country. This is during the worst years of WWII, and the Germans have begun to drop bombs on the city. On the same night that a German plane crash lands in David's backyard, he finds his way into another world in a desperate attempt to find his mother. He thinks that he hears her voice calling to him for help. David encounters a world that defies description. He meets a few inhabitants that try to help him along on his search -- the Woodsman and Roland, but he meets many more inhabitants of this strange world who wish him harm -- the trolls, the harpies, and the loups (part wolf, part man).

Connolly uses familiar fairy tales with his own special twist to tell David's story of loss and fear. The fairy tales in David's new world are a little darker and in some cases a great deal darker than the ones we remember as children. But, David becomes stronger and better able to adjust to his new situation through each challenge.

In the back of the paperback edition that I read is an interview with John Connolly and "Some Notes on The Book of Lost Things." Connolly gives some background information on each of the fairy tales that's represented in the book. He begins each section with a quote from the book referencing the fairy tale and then gives information on the origin of the fairy tales, as well as the sometimes many different versions of the tales. Then, he reprints the best-known (usually Grimm's) version in its entirety. I found myself enjoying this part of the book almost as much as the novel.

I read The Haunted Bookshop in a couple sittings over the course of Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. It was written in 1918 by Christopher Morley and is set in Brooklyn, New York just after the end of WWI. The book is about Roger Mifflin, a secondhand bookstore owner, who has lofty ideals regarding the book trade. In fact, he believes that it's not a profession, but rather a calling. He also adheres to the school of thought in which it's believed that booksellers and librarians have a responsibility to put only the best literature into the hands of the people. This is a debate that was prevalent in the country during the early part of the century when the book was written. Today, of course, most librarians and booksellers simply attempt to give people what they want to read. But, I'm sure there are still some out there who would like to prescribe the appropriate reading material for the unknowing public. The shop described in this book is old and dusty -- full of stacks of books and tobacco smoke. Roger doesn't have a cash register and is happy when people come in to browse the shelves and end up reading for hours even if they don't ever purchase anything. The important thing is that they're reading 'good' books. Like most people who aren't familiar with this book, I assumed by the title that the bookshop was haunted. However, the title refers to the fact that the shop is

"haunted by the ghosts of the books I [Roger] haven't read. Poor uneasy spirits, they walk and walk around me. There's only one way to lay the ghost of a book, and that is to read it."

The book is full of literary references -- authors, book titles, and quotes abound. There is however a mystery to be solved in the story, which includes a German pharmacist (remember WWI just ended). However, in the end the book is meant to be read and enjoyed as a book about books. For me, the book is even better because of where I found this particular edition. There's a small bookshop in my area that more than resembles the bookshop of the novel, except for the fact that it's run by a woman named Lillian instead of a man named Roger. The shop is old and messy. The books aren't arranged the way they'd be in a library. There are stacks on the floor as high as five feet in some places. She doesn't sell books online. In fact, she doesn't even keep regular hours. You do well to call her at home before you stop by the shop. Yes, she gives out her home number. She doesn't do it for the money, obviously. She does it because she truly loves books and wants to share them and talk about them with others. I think somehow that Roger would approve of Lillian.

Struggling with Ex Libris

I just knew I would love Ex Libris by Ross King. It has everything that I like in a book. It is set in 17th century London. The protagonist is a rare/used book dealer. There are parallel stories and a mystery or two. I have tried. I really have. But, I just can't get into it. I know it's crazy, but I almost feel guilty because I don't really like it. Don't get me wrong, it's not terrible. For me, the biggest problem is the fact that he interrupts the plot and the character development to give long, history lectures. I know some background information is necessary, and I actually love reading about history. But, this is just too much. I have actually caught myself skimming over whole paragraphs waiting to get back to the action. These interruptions have not allowed me to buy into this book. I don't really care about the characters, and I don't really care what happens.

This may not be fair because I haven't even finished it, yet. I'm about 2/3 of the way through it. Maybe it will get better. Maybe if I reread it, it will be better. Maybe if I read it later, it will be better. I will persevere until completion mainly because it is a book I'm reading for two different reading challenges, and because (darn it!) I really thought I would like it. Oh well, I'll let you know how it all ends up. I just thought I would share my frustrations. I'm sure I'm not the only person to have this type of reading experience. But, this is a first for me.

Another Challenge

The 'idea' of reading challenges appeals to me; however, I haven't been very successful in the past with the ones I've participated in. I'm currently participating in the Bibliography Challenge and have also now joined the From the Stacks challenge. The only reason I've joined this latest one is because I can pretty much choose anything from the piles of books I already have waiting to be read. The idea for this one is pretty simple -- choose five books to read from your existing to-be-read pile. You can't purchase anything new for this one. The rules say you can also count books that you are reading for other challenges. So, I think I may actually be successful with this one. I have chosen the following books for this challenge:

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Ex-Libris by Ross King
Shadow of the Wind by by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
A Good Yarn by Debbie Macomber
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

But, I may change my mind and substitute (not sure if that's allowed) something else. That's another problem I have with reading challenges. I never know what I'll be in the mood for next. We'll see how it goes. I have also been participating in the 50 Book Challenge over at Library Thing. I'm currently at 36 books for the year, so I don't know if I'll make it to 50 by the end of December. But, as I've said before, I'll have fun trying.

Books, Books, and More Books

I'm a true bibliophile. I love everything about books. Of course, I love to read, but it's more than that. I also love books as objects. I decorate my home with them and surround myself with them. I'm not a book snob, though. I love all types of books -- old, new, literary, classic and popular fiction. I also love books about books and reading. I have both of Nancy Pearl's Book Lust books. I have the Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List, the Literature Lover's Book of Lists, Genreflecting: A Guide to Reading Interests in Genre Fiction, Now Read This II: A Guide to Mainstream Fiction, and Reading Group Choices 2004 to 2008. I even have a copy of the Used Book Lover's Guide to the South Atlantic States because I hope to one day take a road trip and hit all the used book stores along the way. I envision doing this in the fall so I can enjoy the beautiful leaves, as well.

So, as you can imagine, it was a special treat when I came home from work and found a new book in the mail. I got home late after going to my book club meeting and found my Easton Press 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I spent the next hour looking through it and making a list of books to buy. I was happy to see that I had read quite a few on the list; however, I don't think I'll live long enough to read the rest and read all the others that I already have piled up all over my house. But, it's fun to think about, anyway. So, it's hard to be at work right now knowing the clock is ticking and I have reading to do!