[Your Book Activity Today - Thread 11]

Oooh King Lear is one of my favourite of Bill's Janet, it's so so so good!

[What vexes you?]

There are stickers that don't rip covers or leave residue, they're not cheap but I am quite willing to pay the difference because rub as I may, pencilled prices never disappear entirely from the front page !

[What vexes you?]

For the time being, here's a Top3:

 

1. Not having a job in a bookshop by now, though I spend most of my free time automatically re-shelving books in shops and gently informing vacant-eyed booksellers that book x has been mis-categorized and really shouldn't be in the Children's / Science Fiction / Whatever section.

 

2. While I object to book vandalism in all its forms (corner-folding, spike breaking, coaster-replacement, lack-of-preparatory-ablutions etc.), the one that gets me the most is when dealers pencil prices into second-hand books. Stickers may be expensive, but I for one would happily pay my second-hand books more if it meant getting them unspoilt. Inscriptions of the dedicatory variety add charm, which is why I ask people who give me books as presents to write something in them, but there's not much charm in '

[I need a book with good descriptions of the ocean]

I wasn't a fan of Baricco's Oceano Mare RW, but who knows, it might improve upon translation !

 

As for suggestions, the best descriptions - full stop, including a whole lot of oceans as he tended to write mainly about piratey types from around the globe - are in my humble opinion those of Emilio Salgari, who never stepped out of Italy in his life and yet could make you believe he must have sailed the seven seas personally, surely.

 

His best series by far is that of The Back Corsair, although sadly only the first book of five of the same name has ever been translated into English - a project for me, methinks. The Sandokan series however, is eleven books long, pretty much all of which have been translated into English I think. It starts with The Mystery of the Black Jungle.

 

You're welcome .

[Have your 'tastes' changed since being a member here?]

Not really. There are only two genres I have never read due to personal taste - crime and women's fiction - so there wasn't much branching off into unknown genres for me to do; what has changed is that I'm now 100% likelier to stumble upon a book in a preferred genre I would otherwise never have heard about, and that I am truly grateful for .

[Your Book Activity Today - Thread 11]

I've been naughty:lurker: over the past few internet-less days, I have: set aside Eyes Like Stars to read the first 7 pages of Kiss of Life, and then proceeded to set aside the Kiss of Life to read the first 22 pages of David Lozano's The Dark Door: The Traveller (which, along with Pullman's The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, was given to me as a birthday present). I fear this 'reading one book at a time' malarkey may not be suited to my temperament.

[King vs Koontz]

... there you go, Rawr's said what I meant to better than I did !

[King vs Koontz]

I find that King, even with what I consider to be his recent decline, is quite simply the better writer. Koontz is good at page-turningness, but that's got more to do with his plotlines than with his style.

[Jasper Fforde]

New Jasper book. His first children's novel. The Last Dragonslayer. Due in UK November 10th. YIPPEEEEEE!

OMG, I only just noticed this!! First of all, *dances about happily*. Second of all - Jasper really isn't happy unless he's juggling a gazillion series, now is he? Just how does he do it?! His books are so intricate I don't think I could keep track of their plotlines one at a time, let alone several at once... *sigh* I wanna steal that man's brainpower, he's too clever for his own good.

[How does Your Bookshelf Grow?]

You guys catalogue your Beatles books? Please share! I'd love that!

Books about/by The Beatles as a band; books about/by individual Beatles in classic John-Paul-George-Ringo order; books that don't fit into either of the above categories within individual categories, I try to have huge shiny hardbacks first and tiny paperbacks last.

 

I have too many books!

Quick, we need a medic - she used the words 'too many' and 'books' in the same sentence!!!

[Writers Known for Other Things]

I am also less likely to pick up a book if the author's already famous - I'm not into the celebrity culture at all, and would never buy a book by someone who I didn't admire / didn't think had any wordsmithing skills. I have Stephen Fry's The Ode Less Travelled as well as John Lennon's In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works, but then Stephen's sketches and John's songs were pretty promising indicators of a superior way with words !

[Looking for a new author to love...]

I am loving the Jasper-Cappuccino simile, and I think it works beautifully - two lovely, comforting yet exciting things one can never have enough of.

[Your Book Activity Today - Thread 11]

I just received snazzy, dead-cheerleader-artworked hardbacks of Generation Dead, The Kiss of Life and Passing Strange this makes me happee.

 

I'm pleased to report that Amazon US have not reduced themselves to saving pennies with lousy packaging - they may have crossed the Atlantic, but the books look as gorgeously new as they should. If only postage wasn't so dear I'd get all my books from across the pond from now on...!

 

Now the only problem will be refraining from diving into The Kiss of Life before I've finished Eyes Like Stars must... be... strong!!!

[How does Your Bookshelf Grow?]

Is this the thread you were thinking of?

Alas no, it was a General Book Discussions thread on shelf organisation which seems to have vanished into thin air...! Oh well. I did try.

[Jasper Fforde]

First of all - I'm very happy for you my dear .

 

Second of all - I hate you I hate you I hate you Jasper was wearing one when he gave that talk at the Lewis Carroll Society and I made a spoon of myself due to too much adoration, and since then I have wanted one badly. But alas,

[The Passage - Justin Cronin]

There's a post about it in the Promotional section, but not much information was given about the book itself unfortunately.

[How does Your Bookshelf Grow?]

I'm sure there used to be a similar thread because I clearly remember expounding my filing system for paragraphs on end but, even the Mod in me can't find it, so here goes again - the condensed version:

Big bookcase, from the top, left to right

 

1st shelf: Fantasy & horror

2nd shelf: General fiction and more fantasy & horror

3rd shelf: Dictionaries & books on writing

4th shelf: Old uni books (Philosophy, English Lit, Shakespeare, Translation Studies)

5th shelf: [DVDs], poetry and cookbooks

6th shelf: Beatles & general music books

Small bookcase, from the top, left to right

 

1st shelf: Graphic Novels, large hardbacks and limited editions

2nd shelf: notebooks alongside smaller hardbacks

[3rd shelf: DVDs and OH's games]

 

ETA: I don't even want to recollect the state my shelves are at my parents', my Mum's pretty much turned my room into her workshop so all my books are unsorted and double parked *has a panic attack at the very thought*!

 

I don't currently have a list going but I should, really hmmm, what method to use? Spreadsheet, notebook, both? Decisions, decisions.

[Your Book Activity Today - Thread 11]

I've succeeded in finishing The Curious Incident... in the shop today w00t w00t!

[The Beatles Music and Merchandise Thread]

Because Best and Favourite aren't synonyms, here's a few lists I'll be back to discuss gigs, merch and general displays of fandom later!

Top 5: Best Songs

 

While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Anthology version, minus Eric Clapton)

Within You Without You

Across the Universe (Let it Be Naked version)

In My Life

She's Leaving Home

Top 5: Favourite Songs

 

For No One

I've Just Seen a Face

You're Going to Lose that Girl

I Don't Want to Spoil the Party

Two of Us

Top 5: Best Albums

 

The Beatles

Revolver

Rubber Soul

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Let It Be Naked

 

Top5: Favourite Albums

 

Help*

Beatles for Sale

A Hard Day's Night

With the Beatles

Revolver

 

* this is the one with the greatest sentimental value because it's the one I discovered The Beatles with when I was 11. I'd gotten a Sony Walkman for Christmas and rummaged through my Dad's cassettes for something to try it out with; I count it Destiny that I picked up one of the only two Beatles albums in the entire collection !

[What do you stubbornly refuse to read, and why?]

I'm getting increasingly peed off, every time I go into Waterstones, that the section entitled 'Dark Fantasy/Romance' seems to grow exponentially, whilst the sf/fantasy section shrinks to accommodate it. Grrrr. Yes, yes, I know - supply and demand. I don't care. I demand my sf and fantasy, so they should blimmin' well supply it

I sympathise with the annoyance, although surely that's what the Forbidden Planet flagship store on Shaftesbury Avenue is for ?

[The Gap Between Books]

I don't usually have a gap as such, but I find that no matter how hard I strive to decide what to read next when approaching the end something, I'll invariably choose wrong and will need to try several books on for size before I can settle down into a new read.

[Looking for a new author to love...]

I'll fifth Jasper Fforde. Let it suffice that he's the only artist I've ever gone so gaga over I made an absolute spoon of myself in his presence and ended up literally running away in shame before he had the chance to respond to my ramblings .

[Disposing of unread books]

I only ever really get rid of books for one of the following reasons:

 

- got it from bookmooch/eBay/whathaveyou in shameful condition and want to replace it with a copy in better shape (i.e. Cornelia Funke's Inkheart)

- read it, loved it so much I want a nicer edition (i.e. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens)

- started it and struggled to read on because of themes I wasn't comfortable with (i.e. Dean Koontz's Frankenstein)

 

When I have enough, off to the charity shop they go.

[Your Book Activity Today - Thread 11]

Read 60 pages of The Curious Incident... in the shop yesterday; 67 or so to go so I'm hoping to get it done and dusted this afternoon. I don't care if it's a children's book, a book in four sittings is absolutely amazing for present-day-me, so I'm happy hello, mojo!

[The Beatles Music and Merchandise Thread]

... like Michelle, I'll Be Back again - like Kylie, so much to prattle on about on a thread such as this - I need to collect my manifold thoughts on the matter!