quotable Gabrielle Zevin

We read to know we're not alone.  We read because we are alone.  We read and we are not alone.  We are not alone. (The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry)

I read The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry from start to finish this afternoon/evening. The novel is scheduled for release on 1 April 2014.  I recommend it highly.

disclosure (because we can't have an endorsement without a disclosure statement): I received a review copy of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry from Algonquin Books via NetGalley. A review is forthcoming.

shades of grey (and an explanation of sorts for recent silence)

So, I loaned my mom Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (see post). She started reading it recently and brought the book along to the hospital with her to read in the downtime before her shoulder surgery.¹ Today she told me that both the nurse there and my father were completely scandalized that she was reading the book and that she was reading it in public.  Even worse for my father is that she'd gotten the book from me.

Shades of Grey ≠ Fifty Shades of Grey

Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron is zany dystopian fiction.
Fifty Shades of Grey is poorly written dominant/submissive erotica (or so I've been told).

My poor mother was apparently unaware of the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon so I had to fill her in. While I acknowledge a similarity in the two novels' titles, this particular case of mistaken identity seems odd to me considering that they were horrified by seeing her read the book, rather than by her making passing reference to the fact that she was reading the book. The Fifty Shades books have very distinctive (and widely publicized) monochromatic blue-gray cover art. None of the various covers for Shades of Grey look remotely similar. And while the cover art on my copy isn't as colorful as some of the other editions', I can't imagine confusing the following -

And, just to be clear, while I personally have no plans to read Fifty Shades of Grey and its sequels, I pass no judgment on those who do. I follow a "read what you like, like what you read" philosophy.  And it seems like the Fifty Shades books have inspiring many adults to read, which is a very a good thing.

n.b. The staff at your public library are not judging you based on your reading habits (unless, of course, you're the one "reading" The Joy of Sex in the men's washroom)² so go ahead and check out Succubus Blues, or whatever else floats your boat, without shame.

In any case, on to the parenthetical. It's been something like 2.5 weeks since my last post. I apologize for my silence.

Erratic posting is really a result of two things.  First, when you have to do something that you like (in this case: writing about books), it begins to feel more like work than like fun. Second, ever since we moved Russell and I have been sharing one computer at home. And by the time I've finished all the stuff I need to do on the computer, I don't always have the time or energy for writing blog posts. I have been reading even if I haven't been keeping my side-bar list updated³ and I do have a bunch of titles that I'm planning to review. My posting schedule will no doubt continue to be erratic at least for the foreseeable future. Please forgive me.

1. Surgery went well and she seems to be doing just fine.
2. No, I'm not joking. At a library where a colleague of mine worked part of the close-up procedure involved a trip to the men's room to collect The Joy of Sex for reshelving.  The joys of working in a public library.
3. I'll update it before I log out of blogger today.

quotable Ursula Le Guin

I've had this quote up on my sidebar for a little while now, but since I know many people (such as myself) click through from their blog readers only irregularly, I'm sharing it in its own post. It's too good not to share. From her February 2008 Harper's Magazine article, "Staying Awake: Notes on the alleged decline of reading" -

The book itself is a curious artifact, not showy in its technology but complex and extremely efficient: a really neat little device, compact, often very pleasant to look at and handle, that can last decades, even centuries. It doesn’t have to be plugged in, activated, or performed by a machine; all it needs is light, a human eye, and a human mind. It is not one of a kind, and it is not ephemeral. It lasts. It is reliable. If a book told you something when you were fifteen, it will tell it to you again when you’re fifty, though you may understand it so differently that it seems you’re reading a whole new book.
– Ursula Le Guin

Eva's Reading Meme

Dana of the Ace & Hoser Blook tagged me for Eva's Reading Meme.

On so many of these questions, I have the feeling that I'll wish I could go back and change my answers as soon as the post is published.

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
The Lord of the Rings, much to the chagrin of both my father and my husband who love the books. To be fair, I did try to read the books after I read and enjoyed The Hobbit, but I just couldn't get into The Fellowship of the Ring. It seemed so dull in comparison that I quickly gave up on the books and haven't given them a second chance.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?
A cruise would be fantastic, but maybe high tea instead so I can get rid of them if they start driving me crazy in real life. Now, who to invite...
- Chelle LaFleur, one of Susan Helene Gottfried's characters. She'd be a blast to have around.
- Captain Nemo. Honestly I have no idea why. He probably wouldn't be a fantastic dinner companion, but he's stuck in my head today. Maybe Chelle will give him a talking to.
- Albus Dumbledore. Just to mix things up a bit.

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realise it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?
Ooooh... I love the Thursday Next books... poor Granny Next trying to read the ten most boring books ever written.
Anyway, the most boring novel on the planet - The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway? Honestly, I have no idea, but I haven't read The Old Man and the Sea yet and I've heard that it's quite boring.

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?
In most cases, I've done this with books I have every intention of reading like The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, which I have on my book shelf. My biggest sins in this regard have probably been implying that I've read J.M. Coetzee and (ugh, I cringe just admitting this) Orhan Pamuk (yes, I own most of his novels, I just haven't gotten around to reading them).

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book?
Jane Eyre. I was certain that I'd read it in high school.

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (if you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead of personalise the VIP)
Here are a couple that I might recommend, based on the VIP:
- 1984 by George Orwell. I know that there are lots of people out there who don't like 1984, but I think it might be the perfect lure for some.
- Zahrah and the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu. I adore this book and think that many people will be able to relate to Zahrah.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?
This question is soooooo hard. Right now the language I most want to learn in Turkish, but I'm really not sure that Turkish would be the ideal choice for this wish. Maybe Russian?

A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?
Maybe The Invitation to the Voyage: An Illustrated Poem. This is a beautiful book. I have the bi-lingual edition so I can enjoy both the original French and an English translation. And, the book is short so it wouldn't keep me away from new reading for too long.

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?
I'll spin this question a bit and add the BookCrossing community to the blogging community and say that I've rediscovered mysteries since I got involved in BookCrossing and the broader online community of readers.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead-let your imagination run free.
My dream library might come along with a book-binding facility. I'd love all my books to be rebound by me in three-quarter leather (similar to a German bookbinding book I rebound during my book conservation apprenticeship).
As for the library itself, it must have comfy chairs with nice reading lamps. Russell wants a good speaker system to pump music in while we are reading and a spiral staircase, so I guess it'll have to have two floors.

As directed, I'll tag four other people to complete this meme:
- Chelle (I'm hoping that Susan at WestofMars will humor me on this one)
- Lotus of Lotus Reads
- Milan (zzz) of While sleepwalking...
- Puss reboots
I wanted to tag Gautami, but I saw her name on the list of people who have already completed the meme.