I love books. What's not to love about them? Maybe their price tags, but that's about it.
I'm proud to say I read much more now that I'm married than I did before (when I actually had time to read and didn't as much because there was a bar full of friends waiting for me around the corner). So, yes, I did come a little... late to reading. I actually was one of the first in my kindergarten class to learn to read, both in spanish and english. But I think I used my superpower to read the subtitles to all Disney movies and learning them by heart. Did help with my spelling, though. I was –and still am– a true, spelling champion. And I still have my ribbons to prove it.
Now I'm probably seven or eight years late on my reading bucket list –which I actually only wrote about a year ago–, so I've got a lot to catch up on. And yes, I have a load of unfinished and half-read books waiting for me at home, making me feel bad every time I get a look at that Good Reads very embarrassingly long "currently reading" list. Still, I must insist on my weekly dosage of bookstore-wandering, because hey, you never know what you might find. Last week, I found myself with an old friend buying some Ken Kesey, Aldous Huxley and Frankl (in those three pretty versions). To my defense, it is very rare to find a local university bookstore actually selling this kind of literature. In english! So, I couldn't resist. Also, ever since our baby was born, I've gone ape-wild for buying children's books.
It is a tendency, I might add, to find myself lost in Barnes & Noble and have absolutely no idea what book I'm looking for, but do know with absolute certainty that I will come out of that store with a few many.
I judge books by their cover– literally. It's a figure of speech and they tell you never to do it, but in the real world, that's exactly how I purchase my books. Not by the title or blurb, if it's fiction or non-fiction, not by the famous author or the best-seller reviews. What does it mean, anyway, if a book is a best-seller? A book may sell, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's good. There are a lot of stupid people out there who buy stupid books. Although, I profoundly respect The New York Times best-seller list to my very core.
The blurb always reveals a bit too much, so I tend to read them only when the cover itself doesn't share anything at all about what's inside. Titles can be very bad, or clichéd, but the content may still be good. I try to read all types of books. And although I do have a notorious preference for fiction, whether it's romance, fantasy or mystery, I gotta have me some non-fiction too, specially if it's around the area of cooking, crafting, art, music or some good ol' Tina Fey humor.
Maybe it's the frustrated graphic designer in me, but the cover design is everything to me. While sliding my fingers across the many options on many bookcases, my eyes look for interesting colors and fonts. Once I find one with a nice composition, I examine the details and layout, specially the cover art. Whether it's a very good photograph, a well-tailored illustration, or a deep, emotional painting, a good cover should always communicate the tone of the book and I always look for one that speaks to me. Also, there's something wonderful about holding a book in your hands, feeling the weight of it. I look for quality printing too, a nice font and size, and sometimes even a good smell. I may not even know what the book is about, but I'll buy it if I like the cover.
I have the very common and very bad habit of watching the movie before I read the book. Not every time, but it is a recurring habit. What's so wrong about it anyway? I actually like reading Harry Potter with Daniel Radcliffe's face, even though I completely alter his acting and voice. And he's a lot taller in my head. I loved reading Forrest Gump with my good friend Tom Hanks, and everybody loved heroic Octavia Spencer in The Help. Yes, it sort of kills your imagination a bit, but somehow it also makes it a lot easier for me to relate to the story. Although I never buy the movie poster edition of the book, I don't like them. They feel... unauthentic. A little contradictory maybe, but that's the way it's always been for me.
A soon-to-be checked off chore on my to-do list is marking all of our books with our own signature Ex Libris stamp. I tend to document everything with dates, such as diary entries, photograph albums and scrapbooks, empty wine bottles and corks, letters and postcards, etcetera. So, it's pretty obvious I do the same when I buy a new book; I always write the date and place on the right-hand corner on the first page. Most of them I've bought at Barnes & Noble, local bookstores or the International Book Fair held every october. But some of our books were very special gifts, or have engravings, or are signed by their authors, or are first editions. And some of them were purchased in special bookstores, like some NY books we bought at Strand Bookstore this past summer, or the french ones we bought at Shakespeare & Co. two years ago in Paris when we were on our honeymoon.
If I had a little talent and wasn't so easily distracted, I would've probably been a writer. But being a reader is right up there too.
I'm proud to say I read much more now that I'm married than I did before (when I actually had time to read and didn't as much because there was a bar full of friends waiting for me around the corner). So, yes, I did come a little... late to reading. I actually was one of the first in my kindergarten class to learn to read, both in spanish and english. But I think I used my superpower to read the subtitles to all Disney movies and learning them by heart. Did help with my spelling, though. I was –and still am– a true, spelling champion. And I still have my ribbons to prove it.
Now I'm probably seven or eight years late on my reading bucket list –which I actually only wrote about a year ago–, so I've got a lot to catch up on. And yes, I have a load of unfinished and half-read books waiting for me at home, making me feel bad every time I get a look at that Good Reads very embarrassingly long "currently reading" list. Still, I must insist on my weekly dosage of bookstore-wandering, because hey, you never know what you might find. Last week, I found myself with an old friend buying some Ken Kesey, Aldous Huxley and Frankl (in those three pretty versions). To my defense, it is very rare to find a local university bookstore actually selling this kind of literature. In english! So, I couldn't resist. Also, ever since our baby was born, I've gone ape-wild for buying children's books.
It is a tendency, I might add, to find myself lost in Barnes & Noble and have absolutely no idea what book I'm looking for, but do know with absolute certainty that I will come out of that store with a few many.
I judge books by their cover– literally. It's a figure of speech and they tell you never to do it, but in the real world, that's exactly how I purchase my books. Not by the title or blurb, if it's fiction or non-fiction, not by the famous author or the best-seller reviews. What does it mean, anyway, if a book is a best-seller? A book may sell, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's good. There are a lot of stupid people out there who buy stupid books. Although, I profoundly respect The New York Times best-seller list to my very core.
The blurb always reveals a bit too much, so I tend to read them only when the cover itself doesn't share anything at all about what's inside. Titles can be very bad, or clichéd, but the content may still be good. I try to read all types of books. And although I do have a notorious preference for fiction, whether it's romance, fantasy or mystery, I gotta have me some non-fiction too, specially if it's around the area of cooking, crafting, art, music or some good ol' Tina Fey humor.
Maybe it's the frustrated graphic designer in me, but the cover design is everything to me. While sliding my fingers across the many options on many bookcases, my eyes look for interesting colors and fonts. Once I find one with a nice composition, I examine the details and layout, specially the cover art. Whether it's a very good photograph, a well-tailored illustration, or a deep, emotional painting, a good cover should always communicate the tone of the book and I always look for one that speaks to me. Also, there's something wonderful about holding a book in your hands, feeling the weight of it. I look for quality printing too, a nice font and size, and sometimes even a good smell. I may not even know what the book is about, but I'll buy it if I like the cover.
I have the very common and very bad habit of watching the movie before I read the book. Not every time, but it is a recurring habit. What's so wrong about it anyway? I actually like reading Harry Potter with Daniel Radcliffe's face, even though I completely alter his acting and voice. And he's a lot taller in my head. I loved reading Forrest Gump with my good friend Tom Hanks, and everybody loved heroic Octavia Spencer in The Help. Yes, it sort of kills your imagination a bit, but somehow it also makes it a lot easier for me to relate to the story. Although I never buy the movie poster edition of the book, I don't like them. They feel... unauthentic. A little contradictory maybe, but that's the way it's always been for me.
A soon-to-be checked off chore on my to-do list is marking all of our books with our own signature Ex Libris stamp. I tend to document everything with dates, such as diary entries, photograph albums and scrapbooks, empty wine bottles and corks, letters and postcards, etcetera. So, it's pretty obvious I do the same when I buy a new book; I always write the date and place on the right-hand corner on the first page. Most of them I've bought at Barnes & Noble, local bookstores or the International Book Fair held every october. But some of our books were very special gifts, or have engravings, or are signed by their authors, or are first editions. And some of them were purchased in special bookstores, like some NY books we bought at Strand Bookstore this past summer, or the french ones we bought at Shakespeare & Co. two years ago in Paris when we were on our honeymoon.
If I had a little talent and wasn't so easily distracted, I would've probably been a writer. But being a reader is right up there too.
Our lovely bookcase.
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