Saturday, March 14 is Pi Day, set aside to celebrate 3.14 (see what they did there?), also known as ‘pi’, also known as everyone’s favorite irrational, transcendental number, which has absorbed mathematicians and us regular folks going back at least to the third century BC. Continue reading “Happy Pi Day Reading (and Eating)”
Earlier this week, I wrote about a big book that I doubt I will ever read cover to cover, in the process arguing, essentially, so what? Since I don’t want to give the impressive that I believe it’s always okay to abandon or only partially read big books, today, I want to argue for reading them all the way through. Continue reading “What I learned from reading a big book”
Barnes and Noble made an alarming announcement on Tuesday: They’re closing all versions of their online Nook bookstore in the UK, according to the BBC. This news comes on the heels of a February report that e-book sales have fallen for all five of the UK’s largest publishers. Continue reading “Ode to my Barnes and Noble Nook GlowLight Plus”
On Sunday, I named Infinite Jest as a book readers can benefit from dipping into, even if they never read it straight through to the end. Today, I’m prepared to elaborate on why. Continue reading “On reading the first chapter of Infinite Jest”
My February reading roundup included almost as many DNF titles as it did completed ones. Typically, DNF implies a book and reader failed to connect on some level. Conventional wisdom says if we love a book, we read it from beginning to end, possibly without putting it down. Not finishing a book must mean something went wrong along the way. Continue reading “Reading Interrupted: BFD to the DNF”
I know, I know – Why am I looking at new books when I’m supposed to be focusing on my own damn books?
I’ll tell you why: Because I don’t want to let any serious gems slip by me. I mean, they will, inevitably. Think of how many books are published every week! But I have this thing called a wish list, and every item on it is books plus acres of free time to read said books.
So while I’m no longer endlessly scouring every conceivable book list, I’m still taking a little time each month to review new books. Here are five that will join my wish list this month. Continue reading “5 new books to look for in March”
Children’s literature holds a prominent place on my reading list. Seven of the 16 books I’ve read this year are classified children’s or young adult novels. That tally will increase when I finish my current read, Alison Uttley’s charming A Traveller in Time
I’ve been thinking about what draws me to children’s literature because of a Guardian article I read, loved, and shared widely last year that came back into my life recently through Facebook memories. It was written by SF Said and is called “Children’s books are never just for children.” I agree! Obviously. Continue reading “Why read children’s literature?”
For some book lovers, a list of major no-nos would go something like this:
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: If you’re borrowing a book your generous friend (or library) has lent you, doing any of the above is rude. Yes, sometimes it’s fun to eat potato chips while reading, but not while reading someone else’s book.
Outside the context of a borrowed book, though, are these really so bad? I’m discomfited by the suggestion, for several reasons. Continue reading “Book lovers’ 7 deadly sins … or not?”
I’ve been trying, unsuccessfully, to figure out which Gilmore Girls episode features The Polysyllabic Spree
Music by The Polyphonic Spree is featured in “Say Goodbye to Daisy Miller” (season 5, episode 1), but I have yet to find a reference to Hornby’s book. Was its inclusion on the official Gilmore Girls reading list a mistake, or does the book appear without a verbal reference? I dunno, but if you do, you are cordially invited to enlighten me.
In the meantime … whatever. The Polysyllabic Spree is on the list, and I embrace any opportunity to (re)read Nick Hornby. Continue reading “On reading Nick Hornby’s The Polysyllabic Spree”
Do spoilers ruin a reading experience or just change it? Does knowing what’s coming in a story put one off reading it?
Thinking about these questions reminds me of something one of my favorite professors once said. It was during a Jane Austen seminar, and we were discussing Austen’s endings. “Reading a Jane Austen novel is like listening to a Mozart sonata,” he said. “You know where it’s going. The fun is in getting there.” His obvious point was that knowing the outcome doesn’t spoil the experience of reading her.
On that note, let’s begin with… Continue reading “Do spoilers really spoil a reading experience?”
