Leave Me Alone . . . I'm Reading

The title of this post is the title of a book--a fantastic book--by Maureen Corrigan, the book critic for NPR's Fresh Air. She writes a wonderful memoir of reading, tracing her love of books back to childhood (with some ambivalence on her upbringing) and on through university and adult life. In her choices and interactions, it sometimes seems Corrigan prefers books to people; what's wrong with that, I ask?

Biographical oddities aside, Corrigan's book conveys the deep passion of a reader. I especially appreciate her commentary on mysteries and female adventurers. Corrigan's book has sent me scrambling for pen and paper to ensure I don't miss a great read.

For what it's worth, this is my second tour of duty through Leave Me Alone . . . I'm Reading. I read the book when it was first released and spied the audio book on a recent trip to the library. I'm glad I grabbed Corrigan's book for a second time and, hearing her read, a different experience.

Just Closed the Cover On . . .

. . . Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co by Jeremy Mercer.

I love books and bookstores. Jeremy Mercer has shared a fascinating portrait of life inside the famous Paris bookstore, Shakespeare & Co. It's a charming memoir about his time living there. Yes, people--many, actually--reside at Shakespeare & Co. Proprietor George Whitman (no relation to Walt, despite the portrait outside) welcomes strays into his shop for bed, food, and esprit de corps.

What amazed me as I read this book is that Mercer writes about his time at Shakespeare & Co beginning in 1999. If I didn't keep that in mind, I would have read this as a chronicle of the '60s or '70s, a much more freewheeling and experimental era.

Mercer does a great job developing his characters, most notably friends Kurt and owner George. Mercer chronicles his own challenges, fears, and ultimate triumph and paints a sweet, though eccentric, picture of life there. We see relationships forming and unraveling, scavenging for food, and bathing in public spaces. Underneath it all is the joy and power of books.

Mercer's book is a delightful read for the bookishly inclined. It'a amazing that a place like Shakespeare and Co exists, indeed thrives.

Just Finished Reading . . .

I just finished reading Catherine Goldhammer's Still Life with Chickens. It is very gentle and pleasant read. We enter the story at the point of Goldhammer's divorce and purchase of chickens for her daughter. She chronicles her departure from upscale "Hearts-Are-Cold" to a smaller, ramshackle beach community where her bank account runs low but not dry as she renovates her house. A year of raising the chickens sets the story line and pacing as we witness Goldhammer re-build her life. In the end, her house has become a beautiful home, the chickens and the people have truly found their place.

Goldhammer's book is worth picking up to appreciate her eye for detail and the way she moves between mundane and higher themes. You'll learn more than a bit about chickens along the way, too.

N.B. As you can tell from the giant "Search Inside" banner, I picked up the above photo from Amazon.com.

How Have I Missed This?

Today I volunteered in my son's kindergarten/first grade classroom. His excellent teacher was reading to the class from James and the Giant Peach by Road Dahl. How did I miss this book? I got myself to a bookstore, pronto, and picked up a copy. Now, we'll be reading at home in parallel. Road Dahl can be a bit dark but definitely appeals to the kiddos.

An Eater of Words

I have become an eater of words. They nourish and sustain me.

I've always been a bookworm, reading any chance I have. It's been that way since childhood. I have never been more than an arm's reach from a book. Magazines are part of the diet: food, home, culture, business, photography, art, and literature. Add to that nearly 350 RSS feeds of blogs. Audiobooks and podcasts emanate from my ever-present slender white square, filling drives, chores, and otherwise lost time with words.

The challenge for me is to balance the taking in with the putting out. I may consume words but I write less than I'd like. One of the compelling aspects of November is this drive to put words out, online, on paper, however. I'm taking in great material; the opportunity is to put out equally great stuff.

November (Already)

Statement of the obvious: today is November 1. Another SOO: It has been far too long since I've written here. The great news is that any day can represent a new beginning.

For some, today marks the firing of the virtual starter gun for NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month. One month. 50,000 words. One novel. For the past two years, I've been thinking about it. And that's as far as I've taken it. November 1 sneaks up and catches me unawares, finding me not having thought about plot, characters, or much beyond a core idea. Ah well, there's always 2008 for a dash-to-the-finish novel effort.

In the meantime, November 1 also heralds the launch of NaBloPoMo: National Blog Posting Month. One month. One blog post a day. Last year may have not seen profundity on a daily basis from me but my writing habit increased. Indeed, my technical sophistication did too, as I made my first moblog post in this month last year.

Here's to new beginnings, for this blog and for a more regular writing practice. Watch out world, there might be pictures too.

Good Mystery Series

I cannot believe it's already the end of February. The new year is already flying by and I often feel mired in quicksand. One consolation is discovering a terrific mystery series by Dana Cameron. The series features a female protagonist, Emma Fielding, who is an East Coast professor and anthropologist with a strong sideline interest in forensics. No matter where she goes, the bodies turn up in due course. The characters, relationships and dialog are smart and engaging. Get thee to the bookstore!