All About Books discussion

1. I have been a reader for as long as I can remember. As a child, I would carry books around even before I learned to read in 1st grade. Reading was an escape for me. I was emotionally abused by my mother. I was the oldest girl of 5 children, and was definitely put to work as soon as I was able. By the time I was 10, I was responsible for all the dishes, all the ironing, the general clean-up of the house, and babysitting my younger siblings. I would escape to books whenever I could. It infuriated my mother to see me reading. "What are you doing?!!! You always have your nose in a book! I'll find something for you to do!" So I would find a quiet place in the house or in the apple tree, and quietly read as long and as often as I could. My Grandfather was a great reader, and I always loved the time I spent with him. When he was older, I became his and my Grandmother's caregiver when she was diagnosed with dementia. I lived with them for 6 months, and Grandpa and I shared a lot of reading during that time. Those memories are so important to me.

2. My favorite book as a child was Five Little Peppers and How They Grew. It was the first "big book" that I read, and I fell in love with it. I was also a big fan of the Bobbsey Twins.

3. My love of reading was enhanced by the books I was required to read in high school and college. Among my favorites were The Great Gatsby, David Copperfield and other Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist), a lot of Shakepeare (Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth , Hamlet), I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, All Quiet on the Western Front are all ones that come to mind. Some books, such as The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, I was too immature to appreciate. I read it as an adult and it spoke to me.

4. My favorite place/time to read is cuddled in a corner of the couch with my dog Charlie, late at night when the house is quiet and dark, covered with the purple patchwork quilt my great-grandmother made. (I was lucky enough to know my great-grandparents.) I read better when it's quiet, but I often read while my husband is watching TV. We watch a lot of baseball (today is opening day--YAY!), and I read easily while half-watching the game. I do keep a set of earplugs, so if something is too distracting to me, I pop them in.

5. My 5 favorite books, in no particular order:

1. The Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business, The Manticore, and World of Wonders by Robertson Davies. I may be cheating by including 2 trilogies, but I can't resist. Robertson Davies wrote several trilogies, and I love them all. He is a Canadian author, and his books really speak to me. His stories are complex, and he uses a lot of Jungian themes and symbols. His books are rich and detailed. He also uses magic realism. (I never realized it before, but in compiling this list I found that many of my favorites include a bit of magic realism.)

2. A Great Circle: The Mayfield Trilogy by Reynolds Price. (This includes the books The Surface of Earth, The Source of Light, and The Promise of Rest.) Price is an American writer of the South. His books are also layered and complex. This trilogy makes an incredible southern saga, very Faulkneresque. He writes about the themes of natural life, time, being part of a family vs being alone, issues of race, and sexual love vs family love. I've read all of this author's published work, and I like it all. It's very meaningful to me. These are the kinds of books I search for.

3. 1Q84by Haruki Murakami.
Murakami was the 1st Japanese writer for me, and he inspired a general interest in the genre. For some reason, Japanese fiction enchants me. This book specifically also includes some magic realism. The book offers insights into Japanese culture and the Japanese psyche, and that speaks to me on a very deep level.

4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I am fascinated by the Amercian 1920s and The Jazz Age, and that dates back to reading this book in high school when I was 14 years old. This is the first book I really learned to analyze in a literary sense, and it opened a whole new world for me. I still rely on those principles I learned then to analyze and criticize works of literature. I reread this book every few years, and that is very unusual for me. I believe it's a literary masterpiece.

5. Middlemarch by George Eliot.
I am a real fan of 19th century fiction, and I have to say this is my favorite. It's funny, but I only read it recently. I had tried several times to read it, and just couldn't get into it. But this time it reached out and grabbed me, I just loved it! It seems to be that you have to be ready for certain books to weave their magic, and that was the cast with me and this book.

6. I prefer fiction, though I do read a lot of nonfiction as well. In general, I am always reading a book of fiction, one of nonfiction, and one of short stories. This combination meets my needs, and I sometimes throw in other genres for interest and education.

7. My favorite author, as mentioned above, is Robertson Davies. He is a Canadian author, and often in his work he comments on the relationship between Canada and the U.S. His books have a sense of humor. His writing is deep and complex, and you can always search for deeper meaning in his words. As I said above, he uses magic realism in his writing. I discovered Davies when I was about 30 years old. He's a prolific author, and has written plays, literary criticism, short stories, and many other works. I have devoured all of his fiction and his memoirs. He is another of those rare authors that I like to read over again.

8. I have recently discovered African fiction (after reading Americanah and Thirty Girls), and an author I plan to check out is Chinua Achebe.

9. I use both GR and my own method to keep track of my reading. I have a notebook I started in 2004 in which I list the books I've read using black ink for fiction and red ink for nonfiction. The books are tracked by month/year. I make comments if the books are especially good or especially bad. I also keep composition books in which I write quotes or book passages that are especially beautiful or meaningful for me. I am on my 8th volume of these books. Since I joined GR, I rely on their system to write reviews and keep a closer track of my reading.

10. My favorite book so far from this year is S by J. J. Abrams (creator), Doug Dorst. It's a very unusual book and quite hard to describe. There's the basic book, Ship of Theseus, written by the mysterious fictional writer V. M. Straka. A graduate student and an undergraduate student are researching this book, and they begin to communicate by margin notes, and a fine story develops there. So there are many things to analyze and keep track of. In addition, (the most fun part), pressed between the pages are many additional notes, things such as copies of telegrams or letters, newspaper articles, obituaries, and all sorts of surprises I won't spoil for you here. This book provides a unique reading experience. I wish my words could describe it better.

What's next? I'm never sure. I don't plan my reading out too far in advance, I like to allow room for surprises. I plan to read a lot of African fiction in the coming months. I've just discovered 2 new (to me) short story writers (William Trevor and Lorrie Moore) and I can't wait to read more of their work. (I'm still looking for a fellow devotee of short stories.) I have to restrain myself in signing up for challenges and such on GR because I find myself getting too booked up, and, as I said, I like to always have room for the unexpected find. Happy Reading!

Terri - I always think of you as one of my friends who devours books! Having read your reading journey, I now understand why. It is so very poignant.

It is wonderful that you appreciate your book so much, and get so much out of them. There are not many on this list that I have read, so I will take note! But we both love Dickens, and the Shakespeares and George Eliot are familiar. Some Robertson Davies too - oh and Scott Fitzgerald - OK then maybe it's about half!

But I have been slightly in awe of the tough non-fiction and contemporary fiction that you read and analyse, so thank you for sharing this :)

Great journey Terri! Thanks for sharing, especially those personal memories.

I am just beginning to explore authors from other countries (outside of North America and Europe), and am planning on reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe sometime this year (I will be using it for my Around-the-World challenge!). Perhaps we could do a readalong...

"Touching" journey Terry. Really great memories though. I bet you're proud of your grandfather.
Some of the books you name I books I love - Middlemarch for obe. Some other I don't know. Time to look them up

I love short stories, have read the stories of Faulkner, love Cheever and lately have read Vampires in the Lemon Grove: Stories and The Frangipani Hotel: Fiction, next I will read Read This and Tell Me What It Says: Stories and recently finished The Birds: and Other Stories.

Lovely, and very interesting, journey, Terri :) I feel the same way about The Great Gatsby...it was the first novel that I analysed and wrote about at uni and there's something incredibly magical and original about it.

Thanks, Terri.

I like short stories also, Terri. I enjoy both William Trevor and Lorrie Moore (including her novels). Another writer whose short stories I enjoy is Bernard MacLaverty.

I'll check out Reynolds Price; I don't know him.

Wow, this is a very diverse reading journey, thanks for taking the time to share! Gatsby was the first classic book I read after leaving school and it got me hooked upon reading again and for that it will always be special to me. I really enjoyed Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart so I hope you like his writing too :)

I had All Quiet on the Western Front for Christmas and I plan to read it soon. My husband and brother have both said it's in their top 10.

Gemma wrote: "I had All Quiet on the Western Front for Christmas and I plan to read it soon. My husband and brother have both said it's in their top 10."

Gemma, if you want to hold off on that, All Quiet on the Western Front is our Group Classic Read for October-November.

Oh I didn't realise that, Leslie. Im being badgered to read it by the hubby as he wants to be able to talk to me about it...I'll see what I can do ;)

Gemma wrote: "Oh I didn't realise that, Leslie. Im being badgered to read it by the hubby as he wants to be able to talk to me about it...I'll see what I can do ;)"

You can always join in the discussion even if you read it now; I just thought that I would let you know :)

Terri thank you this is so personal and some great books in here. Gatsby is a favorite of mine.

Leslie wrote: "Great journey Terri! Thanks for sharing, especially those personal memories.

I am just beginning to explore authors from other countries (outside of North America and Europe), and am planning on ..."

Leslie, I'd really like that! It's on my list of tbrs, and I can read it any time.

Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone! I was really worried that it was too personal and not literary enough. Your kind words mean a lot to me, especially since I am going through some difficult times right now. You folks are great! I'm so glad I found this group!

So are we, Terri :)

Diane S. wrote: "I love short stories, have read the stories of Faulkner, love Cheever and lately have read Vampires in the Lemon Grove: Stories and The Frangipani Hotel: Fiction, ne..."

Diane, you've given me some great new choices!

(And thank you, Jean!) :)

Terri wrote: "Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone! I was really worried that it was too personal and not literary enough. Your kind words mean a lot to me, especially since I am going through some diff..."

Terri, I've just read your reading journey and it was lovely that you were able to share this with us. Some of your favourites I share with you (e.g. The Great Gatsby) and I also recently enjoyed Middlemarch. Others, I have not heard of, but I will look them up for sure. Once again, thanks for sharing and we're very happy to have you as part of this group.

Terri wrote: "Leslie, I'd really like that! It's on my list of tbrs, and I can read it any time..."

I have submitted a hold as it has been checked out every time I have been to the library since January!! I don't know how long the wait will be but there are several people ahead of me waiting for a copy. I will let you know when my copy arrives.

Sorry to hear that things have been difficult lately - I did wonder since you hadn't been posting for a few days. I send you best wishes that things sort themselves out soon.

Terri ,
I've just taken a few moments to read about your journey . Thank you so much for sharing this very personal story . From what I know of you through GR , you are not only an avid reader , but a person of strength and courage it seems at times .

The Great Gatsby is my personal favorite as well and the only book that I reread every couple of years .

Thanks again and hope that you are feeling better .

Terri, thank you so much for sharing your reading journey. Some of the authors or books your are talking about I haven't yet heard of or read, but we definitely share a favourite: 'All Quiet on the Western Front'. Have you read other books by Erich Maria Remarque after that?
I've just recently discovered the ear-plug trick for myself as well, and I laughed when I realized that our 'composition book piles' are probably equally high, I keep those since I am 13 I think and though it get's harder and harder to find a quote or passage I am looking for, I love picking them up and flicking through them at random. Do you use the same type of notebook or do they vary?

If you and Leslie decide to have a readalong for All Things Fall Apart count me in! It's on my list for this year as well.

Jenny, thanks for the feedback. I do use the same type of notebook every time, and I also like looking back over them. I haven't read anything else by Remarque--have you? I'd love it if the 3 of us (and anyone else who likes) could read Things Fall Apart. I'm not sure what time frame would work for everyone, but I'm totally flexible.

Terri wrote: "Jenny, thanks for the feedback. I do use the same type of notebook every time, and I also like looking back over them. I haven't read anything else by Remarque--have you? I'd love it if the 3 of us..."

I could come along!

I don't know but I missed this one, really enjoyed reading this Terri. I loved spotting some familiar books as well as some books that I haven't read but I look forward to.