BOOK-A-HOLICS discussion

i don t buy that many books and the ones i do buy i buy used..for very low prices. i am a readaholic. after 41 yrs teaching in the public schools, the last 20 teaching reading, all i want to do is read and write about my reading here and in journals. after 66 yrs of living , i want to spend my time quietly reading. see my profile for more info about my reading. i see no other human activity as important as reading. why do i feel this way ? does anyone else feel this way ? do i need help..lol ? i have a wonderful wife, 2 great kids, 3 great grandaughters. thanks joe

I totally agree with you Joe, I read a wide variety of things and enjoy the journey each book provides. I try not to buy new because I know I will pass them on or trade them for others. Wishing you many great reads.

I feel like that all the time! If you are like that then make sure your friends don't tell you to stop, because I've had that problem before.lol. No you don't need help.lol just more reading time. But I'm different from you two. I buy books used or not. Usually not. I'm bad at that, but I just can't help it. I have to go to the store and look through every single book!

Joe-

There is no such thing as reading too much. I love to read a lot as well. I read a good 2-3 books per month. I am always carrying a book with me every where I go. Books are sort of like a security blanket to me. They keep me calm and relaxed. There is nothing wrong with you..lol. You are just simply a man who is passionate about the written word and literature. We need more people like yourself and me. More people need to read. I hope your passion for reading rubs off on your daughters and granddaughters. :)

I totally agree with you, Ashley! There is no such thing as reading too much! In fact, I wish I could read more than I do. My dream is to win lotto and read full-time! Now that would be cool! :)

That would definitely be cool to be able to read full time. That would be a book lover's dream :)

if you would have know me when i was young, you would never believe that i would dedicate my retirement to reading. i wasn t that wild but i didn t read much. i started this reading passion while teaching reading to inner city jr high kids about reading. they hated to read and i tried to get them to like it. instead, i taught myself to love it. for the past 20 yrs i have been reading about 2 books a month, and recently i have been taking 2 or 3 days to finish a book. see my profile and my books read. today i am reading for the 2nd time RUNNING WITH SCISSORS. I have started to enjoy memoirs lately. THE GLASS CASTLE by j walls etc

If you like memoirs Joe, check out my "memoir" shelf. I've read quite a few and I think you'd be interested in reading some of the ones I've read.

thank you for the tip ashely. entertainment WEEKLY has a couple of pages this week of memoirs listed by subject..homelessness,homicide,suicide, etc. when i taught in the inner city i had to teach kids who were raised like the burroughs in SCISSORS and the walls in GLASS CASTLE. no wonder i couldn t teach them and i have dreams of teaching every other night after 2 full years of retirement. i will definitely check out your 'memoir shelf'. i haven t read frey s A MILLION PIECES but i have a copy of it. norman mailer gave him confidence in his writing by telling him that there is on such thing as non fiction. thanks again..joe

is it going to rain again ? my hands are sticky on these keys. what are we going to have for supper ? i am not supposed to ask this question cause my wife says i am reminding her she needs to get it ready when i ask. i am so bored that i wanted to tell someone. i put down THE COVE today after 200pages and a book called FINE, a farce comedy about psychiatry which i read years ago cause it had too much sex in it and that would merely depress me. i listened to EMPIRE FALLS on tape,part of it which i have been doing for months, a little at a time when i get bored. i have read the book 3 times. it was my favorite book until richard russo put out his THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS,which i have read 2 times. i will start lisa unger s A SLIVER OF TRUTH tonight or tomorrow. she has written 3 books and i have read the first one. she is one of my friends if you want to write to a money making writer.

my library book club is reading THE GIRLS by lori lansens. it is about girls joined at the head, siamese twins. i read a page and was hooked. i was in a dull place trying to figure out what to read and then i remembered that our book club forces me to read different books. it is written as an auto bio by one of the girls with the other participating reluctantly. wow, i am intensely interested in and fascinated by this book. it reminds me why i like to read in the first place..read this book.

if i update this post, will others respond ? hope so. i feel my reading hobby,work, is just as important as my wife s 10 flower gardens. to have something to show for my reading, i keep written journals in cheap spiral notebooks where i write the title,autho,date, length of work, and a short comment of each book i read. i have been doing this through 3 notebooks over 3 years. i read 65 books while subbing, 102 books last year and have read 46 books so far this year. i want to slow down and appreciate each book more rather than concentrate on quantity of books. that 2 books a week goal sounds good but i could get more out of each book if i took my time. i spend about 3 days on 300 page books and read around 100 plus pages a day. i read many of my books twice after time passes and get more from my books that way. i have starte to listen to books on tapes in the pm cause i start to fall asleep after so many hours of read, 4 hours a day. i am loving faulkner s THE REIVERS for the 3rd time and i feel i should read the beginning again cause it takes me awhile to get used to his style. thanks..

Is your question a paraphrase from the movie Field of Dreams? "If you build it, they will come." :)

I'm relatively new to goodreads. I started the end of last month. I'm so grateful to find a website to discuss my passion for books and reading, I could just cry. Seriously. I've been reading as long as I can remember. When I was in grade school I used to read my dad's books because I was so desparate to read. It didn't matter what it was about either, so I've read Steinbeck, Updike, Hemingway, Wouk etc all before 7th grade. It sometimes would rub my mom the wrong way because I would never finish my chores or go to bed on time. I always felt a bit of an outsider. Oh, hell, I still do.

Now that I'm older I'm learning to slow down and savor a book. I'm really impressed you've been keeping track of what you've read and are taking the time to reread your books. I tell myself I should keep a list. It would keep me from buying so many duplicates.

Now you made a comment about having something to show for all your reading and that's why you're keeping track. While reading doesn't directly produce flowers in a garden, there are so many other fringe benefits even if a book isn't quite "literary". I strongly believe I am a much more "rounded" individual than if I never read a book. I believe reading has taught me to me more generous and patient. And to be more understanding of people different from me. I could go on and on, but I've done that already! :)

I've recently learned to appreciate audio books, too. I frequently travel and love to challenge myself by listening to a book I wouldn't normally read. You know, because I'm trapped in the car with no where else to hide! :) I wish I'd gotten into them sooner.

I am so excited to hear how much you've come to love reading, probably as much or more so than I. I say more so, because it sounds like you really are taking time to appreciate, and reappreciate, every word and nuance of your books.

Please keep telling us what you are reading and what you are getting out of it! I like hearing about what you are reading that you wouldn't normally read, but are enjoying, too. If you know what I mean. :) Keep sharing your enthusiam! Yea, readers! Unite!

bluedazy..what a strange name. i loved your response and hope to keep hearing from you. i just finished LUSH LIFE by richard price. i especially appreciated that this is a murder mystery involving only one murder. i boycott reading books about serial killers cause i think they are too easy to write. just put a murder in each chapter and off you go. once i got used to the urban slang and the police slang, and im not sure i ever got used to it. i did enjoy and learn from LUSH LIFE although i never did find out where the title came from. maybe one of the brilliant readers on this site will tell me. . i have 2 retired policeman friends and i thought of them as i read. it reminded me a bit of this years pp winner THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by denis johnson which after i got into it, i enjoyed a lot. i am reading fannie flagg s WELCOME TO THE WORLD BABYGIRL inorder to put something lite into my reading. although, i will learn much about human nature while reading fannie. i can never learn enough about human nature being so complicated neurotic self. fannie wrote FRIED GREEN TOMATOES which my wife and i loved as well as the movie which reminds me we have lent to my sister in law and she needs to return it..lol. i intend to read susan sontag s IN AMERICA the national book award winner of 99. i have the practice of trying to frequently read award winners to upgrade my reading. hope to hear from you. take care..joe

Hey Joe! Bluedaizy is my cats (yes plural) names. My sister dumped them on me, so now I have four cats, and squeakybaby didn't have any appeal for me. :) I'm shy (snort snort) so I avoid using my real name.

I just finished Water for Elephants which was really excellent. I actually love reading about murder and mayhem, so I was very skeptical about reading Water. But it was funny and was very realistic in a gentle yet brutal sort of way. I'm not expressing myself well...but it was a damn fine book. I read it in about two days over a week or so ago and the main character is still in my head making me smile. I'm going to give it to my mom this weekend. I think she will enjoy it, too, as she's not a fan of the thriller genre either.

I totally agree with you, Joe. I love the quote for this book group about spending money on books first then food (my husband would wholeheartedly agree with that!). I am a total bookaholic - I love nothing better than spending a few wonderful hours wondering blissfully round a bookshop browsing through all these beautiful books - I'm like a kid in a sweetshop. I can spend equally as long online searching too and I love seeing what other books people with similar tastes to me have read to give me inspiration.
So glad to have found a place where there are others who are as addicted as me!

Hi Bluedaizy, my name on here (Boof) is the name of my cat too! And I also have 4 cats (3 big ones and a mental kitten).
I read Water for Elephants last year and I loved it!!!! I hope you enjoy.

hey boof and bluedaizy.. do you guys read those cat mysteries by lillian braun ? i have one in my collection as a conversation piece. it was cute as mysteries go. just finished LUSH LIFE by richard price and still don t know what the title meant. i guess i good look up lush. am now reading fannie flaggs WELCOME TO THE WORLD BABY GIRL. It is lots of fun and she is telling about the faults of the tv news industry while we laugh at her characters and situations. loved her FRIED GREEN TOMATOES. Will read other of her books. here comes our pm storm so must uplug my primitive modem.. c ya..joe

Yes, I have a few of her books. I really enjoy how she writes about her cat characters. My cats will sometimes do the same things. Which will make me smile. I think my cats sometimes inspire me as much as my books do. I've certainly learned a lot of life lessons from them.

I'm gonna have to read Lush Life and Fried Green Tomatoes. I didn't watch the movie, FGT, because I was sure it would make me cry and that's so embarrassing to do in the theatre and crying really aggravates my allergies. But maybe I can handle it in a novel. But if not at least I'll be in the privacy of my own home. :)

I did love Water for Elephants, Boof, and I just gave it to my mom to read. Once she's done with it, I gonna make her promise to return it as I'm sure I will want to reread it in the future.

I haven't checked your profile yet, boof. what are you reading?

i agree that FGT is a tear jerker but also very funny as all of flagg s books must be. i was surprised at how hard she worked at weaving a mystery out of her BABY GIRL book. she also had important things to say about tv news and tabloid journalism. that s why i love novelists they not only entertain you and keep you company but they usually make the reader think. i am listening to my former fav book CIDER HOUSE RULES on tape and was very surprised about how much i forgot after reading it 2 times years ago. i had to go to the book and look up a section which i didn t believe was in the book. it was there. i won t tell you what i doubted cause i don t want to spoil anybody s reading. take care.. joe

where are my commentors ? if i post- they will comment,so we said last week. i haven t read anything yet today. i am about to read lisa unger s BLACKOUT. i have read two of her books,see under her name, cause she is one of my gr s friends. her books are a little like j kellerman being psycholocal thrillers and she adds modern high tech devices to her stories and this allows me to keep up with the high tech world which i don t like too much. i want to join the amish church and turn back the clock but not really..lol. i enjoy learning about and even communicating with living writers. wish i could communicate with pat conroy or richard russo but i have to settle for lisa unger. if any of you know a writer who posts on this site and is interesting to know, tell me his,her name. thanks..joe

the mail just arrived so i will get my NEWSWEEK and browse through it. i have yet to read last week s cover story on churchill which i want to read. i don t know why it s so hard for me to read NEWSWEEK or even our daily paper and yet i read 100 plus pages of novels each day. i think it s cause the novels are much better written. i will listen to CIDER HOUSE RULES today as i begin to take my pm nap. i can t read when i start to fall asleep each pm. take care..joe

Hey Joe! I've been on the road and just got home. I finally finished the newest "Prey" novel by John Sandford. I forget what it's called, but I know I really liked it. Oh yes, Phantom Prey. It was a little different from the others in the series. The main character thought about choices and fate. I'm wondering what the author's choices were when he wrote it.

What's the scoop on Churchill? I rarely read Newsweek anymore. And I would have thought they wrote pretty much all they could about Churchill at this point.

I think I don't enjoy news magazines or papers anymore because they are mired in facts, or alleged facts. I'm sure you've noticed how it's the same thing day in and day out. At least in fiction I can learn more about human nature and life than in the newspaper. Why is that? You'd think it would be the other way around. But I find the news depressing.

Hope you are well...it's time for my nap, too! Being on the road just zaps all my energy.

should i read-hitchcock short stories,faulkner s SANCTUARY,james ellroy,james frey, susan sontag s IN AMERICA ? my most difficult thing in life is choosing my next book. i also must pay my real estate taxes which arrived today. my tax now for a year is more than what i paid as a renter years ago. i can still sell this prop to get some money back or can i ?

blue..how interesting. i agree that i much enjoy and learn more from fiction than the news. i used to be a news junkie but i am reading and watching less and less news. i watch the bbc at 6 on pbs to get an english twist on our news.

If you want my vote, it's anything by Faulkner. "Sanctuary" was a commercial success for him. His "Absolom Absolom" is phenomenal. Tom

i have become an ellen gilchrist fan after read 200 pages of her COURT OF LOVE short story book. i should read the first 40 pages again cause it took me that long to get used to her style. i have ordered her 84 national book award winner VICTORY OVER JAPAN, another book of short stories. she is more like alice munro, canadian short story writer, than fannie flagg,another southern writer. one new problem in my life is that i haven t been waiting till after lunch to take my daily walk. it is now 10 and i have to wait till at least 12. this is an example of how full retirement can cause it s own set of weird problems. happy reading..joe

i just finished SANCTUARY by william faulkner for the 2nd time. i was enchanted by his brilliant poetic like sentences and moving picture like descriptions. i will read SOUND AND THE FURY again someday. i listen to audio books in the pm s when im too tired to read. i am now listening to THE DAVINCI CODE. i like to listen to books which i have already read so i can take my time and not worry about finishing. i am now reading for the 2nd time OF HUMAN BONDAGE by w s maughn. i love his writings. i read a book of his short stories and they were a great combination of humor and murder. BONDAGE was written in 1915 and is very relavent in today s world. people and human emotions don t change very much over the years despite all the claims of progress the technologists give us. i am listening to novels on cassette tape instead of computer downloads and i pods. i like to stay one or more clicks behind so called advances in technology,,cheaper,too.

If I stayed in grad school (I ran out of money and had t come home!) I would have done my thesis on Faulkner. I was set to write it on the second part of "The Sound and the Fury."

"Sanctuary" was a commercial success, but, as with all Faulkner's works, it takes time to "digest" all the emotions he invokes.

I recommend "Absolom, Absolom" too. Good luck! Tom

hehehe, Joe! I remember when I bought my first cell phone a few months ago. I felt like I had moved into the 21st century. I think I've used about 20 times. It's one invention I can live without.

Despite all the toys we have now, I don't think people have changed much since the beginning of time. I don't believe we're all that smarter either. We just build upon what's already been created.

I like how you and Tom write about Faulkner. I'm going to have to give him a try. I'm still working on Richard Price's book, Clockers. It is veeeeery slow going. This weekend is it, though. I'm moving on after Sunday. If it doesn't get done, it's moving to the shelf anyway.

i have become a strong ellen gilchrist fan. i just finished her nba 84 VICTORY OVER JAPAN book of short stories. her characters are deep and different. unlike many on this site, i don t buy new books. i buy used books at amazon.com and at used book stories. i also read public library books. i have ordered from the public lib ohio inter exchange A WRITER S LIFE by ellen gilchrist and have ordered at amazon THE JOURNALS OF ELLEN GILCHRIST. i like to read about writer s writing. i have a steinbeck journal which he wrote while writing EAST OF EDEN,JOURNAL OF A NOVEL . autobios of writers are hard to find cause many american writers died before they had time to write one. i have arthur miller s auto but it is a bit dull, like him i guess. i have abook about tennessee williams written by his brother. happy reading..joe

I'm a readaholic too! I've loved to read ever since I was little, started reading at an early age and especially recently have been going through books like crazy. I spend so much time either reading, or else on this site looking for recommendations for something new LOL :)

i have started august burrough s 2nd memoir which name i forget and it s downstairs. maybe some one will read this post and tell me the title. i hope there are no homosexual descriptions in it . im not a homophob just a healthy hetreo who enjoys love making with my wife too much to read homo stuff. i hope someone doesn t report me for the above paragraph. i think it was written with sensitivity.

hehehe... :) is it the book Dry? I think it's about alcoholism.

at savers , i bought ANGELA S ASHES read by frank mccourt on tape for $5. i hope i can understand frank s reading cause i know he has a thick irish accent. i read this years ago and have read all 3 of his books. i look forward to hearing it. i am building up my listening stock to help me get through another ohio winter which i dread thinking about. i have coming from amazon.com,james michener s THE NOVEL also on cassette tapes,,$4. my friend told me he is sending me THE FOUNTAIN HEAD by ayn rand,his goddess hero, on cassette tapes which he bought for $3. i have read all of these novels but i enjoy hearing books i have read. i still read books 4 hours a day but listen when too tired to read. i think i am repeating myself here at times but i have seniority,being a senior..lol. i just finished THE PASSION OF ARTEMISIA by susan vreeland which review will appear at my home site. happy reading..post here people..lol. joe

Joe, you have some very good books there - Fountain Head is wonderful - Angela's Ashes is great too and anything by Michener is the best!

Enjoy your reading....

Mindy

mindy.. i have already read all of those books. i listen to books which i have already read so i can take my time and not care how they end. i try to read books i really like over and over again. i tried to read ANGELA S ASHES over but after the first chapter, i knew it was going to be so sad that i couldn t read it. maybe, ill be able to listen to it..hope so.

ANGELA"S ASHES is also a movie.

Hello Joe,
Well, keep listening, nothing better to me than reading, reading and more reading....and listening! :-) LOL

Thanks for your message....I love hearing about all the good books out there! and the warnings of the not-so-good ones!

Mindy

BANGKOK TATTOO by john burdett- i can t believe what a good writer he is and am confused as to why he chooses to write about such sex and violence and the orient. i know he spent 12 years in hong kong but it baffles me. i enjoyed this book despite the sex and violence. he had so much knowledge in there about human nature,the people of the east, the confusion americans have of the east. great writer..

i guess if i keep posting here they won t take this section away. would someone else post here once in awhile to keep me company. i know there are many of you out there like me who buy used items,tapes,books and not brand new books. i am listening to ANGELA S ASHES,read it years ago and i began to think,'i wonder if i could get the tape of UNTO THE SONS ?, a book like the italian roots,since i am full blooded italian. i found it for $4.00 used at amazon.com. will enjoy listening to it.

Joe, I love to buy used books, too. My town library has a monthly book sale and my mom and I always go and load up on boxes full. I keep saying that I'm going to stop going until I've caught up on the ones I've bought, but the next month, I'm right back there, buying more. It's an addiction.

am reading THE BEAUTY OF THE LILIES by updike and i just ordered his autobio from 89 SELF CONSCIOUS MEMOIR..used from amazon. i am trying to collect auto bios of famous authors but they are hard to find since so many american writers have died young. i have steinbeck s JOURNAL OF A NOVEL, arthur miller s TIMEBENDS and ellen gilchrist s journals are in the mail to me. is she famous ? i don t care cause i like her..lol.i have a book of margaret mitchell s letters which are very revelatory of her personality. i have had great luck with amazon s used books and have only had 2 problems. they sent me a tattered version of STUDS LONIGAN but i didn t say anything about it. they sent the abridged version of james jones SOME CAME RUNNING. i complained and they gave it to me for free. the best part was that the unabridged version which i read a public lib copy of was one of the most boring books i have ever read. jones was over his head with this effort but his ww 2 trilogy of FROM HERE TO ETERNITY,THE THIN RED LINE, AND WHISTLE are great books.

i don t buy books in box loads but i have a collector friend who does that. why is it that books for sale seem more interesting than the unread books i have in my own library ?

Joe, I love Ellen Gilchrist. RHODA was my introduction to her - about 10 years ago in a Southern Lit class in college. Fell in love and ran out and bought everything of hers I could find. She's a definite favorite of mine.

where oh where have my posters gone ? i just finished FALLING THROUGH SPACE..the journals of ellen gilchrist. i love the way she writes short very clear sentences. her dedication to the art of writing,her work habits,her lifetime of books are inspirations. her characters have real feelings and emotions and they have flaws like read people.

i just finished THE SHADOW OF THE WIND and i loved it. those spanish writers have great imaginations,,love,suspense,murder,lust,crime,great interesting characters,scenes,castles,tunnels,cobwebs. stephen king loved it. how does he have time to read ? all he ever does is read and write. come to think of it. that s all i ever do,too. lol

rick bragg s IT S ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTIN is a great memoir. memoirs are much better when written by real writers. he won the pulitzer prize for a feature in 96. i would like to look that story up and read it. he has a fascinating life traveling the u.s. with a notebook,and a pencil,laptop, and writing about america especially the south.

suan cheever has written an honest bio of her father,john. it must have been hard to write about a bysexual father but she did it well. i looked up her books and she has written quite a few books in her career as an author. i wonder if her brothers wrote ? i have started ken follet s CODE TO ZERO. the reason i started it is i am at my son s house and we are staying longer than we suspected and i ran out of books. i picked this book off his shelf. i am 100 pages in and i like it. i would never tackle his oprah recommended PILLARS book. while reading CODE i am reminded of when i used to read this kind of spy stuff regularly. he writes clear easy to understand prose which is hard to find when reading so called important literature.

WHY DOESN T IT EVER SAY,NEW,BY THIS SITE ? just finished ANIL S GHOST by michael ondaatje. i read his DIVISIDERO recently an was impressed with his style. i enjoyed ghost but i complain it has no ending as many modern writings do not,also. do the publishers require this in case the public would want a sequel ? i think so. i have THE ENGLISH PATIENT in my collection. should i read it ?