a real book nut

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Inspired by the Book Tour on A Work in Progress, I decided to share some photos of my own. This bedside shelf holds books waiting to be read and given a status: keep forever or give away (the cat likes to mark every one as his own, even though he doesn't know how to read):


This is where my permanent books usually live:

Nonfiction is on the small white shelf (on the right). My husband's books are on the little brown shelf atop it. Oversize nature and art books are sandwiched atop the white shelf between husb's shelf and the tall shelf. Of the two full-size bookcases, the top two left shelves are fantasy, the rest is all fiction. The two boxes (lower right bookcase and in front of white shelf on the floor) now hold books destined for PaperbackSwap or giveaways, which I'll begin doing about once a week (keep your eye on tuesdays!) after we're settled from our move.

Which is coming up in a few weeks. So I began preparing and took all the books out to box up. Here's what they look like all on the floor! Quite a heap. The last counting total (thanks to LibraryThing) is 489.

The crazy thing? A few friends we haven't seen in two years are coming to visit from the opposite coast. And I take so much pleasure in having friends peruse my shelves. Even if they just stand a while with that sideways head-tilt, and don't exclaim on or start a conversation over a title. So I took all the books out of boxes and put them back on the shelves to be admired. After the visitors are gone, I'll box them up again. My husb is going to make fun of me for it, I know. I think he doesn't like seeing my books. He asked if I would throw away the more unstable of my bookcases once its contents are boxed up, with the words "finally! good riddance!" and wants to grant a small room in the new house just for my library, so the books aren't out cluttering the common living space. Grumble grumble.

So you see why I had to put them up again, in case visitors turn out to be book-admirers. I love looking at my books almost as much as reading them. Someday I'll show you a picture of my three-year-old's collection (over 100), two-thirds of which she's inherited from me.

winner!

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The winner of my first book giveaway is

Verbivore of Incurable Logophilia.

Congratulations, Verbivore!
Send me an email with your address and I'll mail your book presently. I'd love to hear what you think of it when you're done reading!

I Went to the Woods

The Adventures of a Bird Photographer
by Ronald Austing

This short autobiographical book relates some experiences of famous bird photographer, Ron Austing. From a young age Austing was interested in raptors and climbed trees with friends to capture and identify owls and hawks. Then he began taking pictures of them. Before long he was consumed with a desire to capture images of birds in flight. It was a long tedious search for the right cameras and equipment. Eventually he began selling his photos, and made a goal of photographing some 200 local bird species. Much of the book describes Austing's methods of catching and releasing birds, and how he set up to get his pictures. Besides the photography aspect, I Went to the Woods describes the behavior of owls, hummingbirds, kingfishers, red-tailed hawks and peregrine falcons. Austing also briefly tells how a variety of injured or orphaned wildlife lived in his home (as he was also a park ranger), and advocates wildlife protection.

I found most interesting the chapter that described how he caught wild falcons. One method involved fitting a pigeon with a harness to which were tied (by hand!) forty or so small slip nooses, then throwing it out the window of a moving car upon driving past a falcon. The pigeon was on a long line, like a leash. When the falcon grabbed the pigeon, its talons would get stuck in the nooses, and it was caught. That's what I love about this book: curious facts about falconry, bird behavior, nature photography, that I never would have dreamed of.

This book was really interesting, and of a very straightforward writing style. I missed many of the references involving photography (having never developed my own film) but enjoyed all the aspects of wildlife observation and avian beauty.

Rating: 3/5                 143 pages, 1963

Old Yeller

by Fred Gipson

Old Yeller is about a boy's coming of age on the Texas frontier in the late 1860's. When his father leaves on a trip, Travis has to take up the man's work and protect his mother and little brother. At first it's routine: plow the field, chop the wood, shoot something for dinner. But then several accidents occur, and Travis starts to feel he can't handle it all. Luckily a big ugly stray dog shows up. At first Travis hates him for stealing the family's meat, but then he comes to depend on the dog for protection and assistance with the half-wild livestock. Old Yeller becomes his closest companion, and invaluable to the homestead. Unfortunately, the dog isn't immune to accidents himself, and when he gets bitten by a rabid wolf, Travis has to face shooting the dog he loves in order to save his family. (Revealed on page one.)

This is a really enjoyable book, in spite of its more serious elements. Told from young Travis' perspective, it's full of frank, humorous descriptions and funny moments. His little brother's antics are pretty hilarious too. And I loved the scene where the bull fell over backwards in a cart and rolled down a hill. My edition happens to be an ex-school-textbook, and includes a short, interesting appendix in the back that describes wildlife from the Texas hill country, and the longhorn cattle. Old Yeller has very similar themes to The Yearling (about a boy in Florida with a pet deer) and Where the Red Fern Grows (a boy in the Ozarks with 'coon dogs). All of these books show families living on small farms in isolated areas, the main character being a teenage boy who learns some harsh life lessons from nature.

Rating: 3/5                         200 pages, 1956

Meme: Cover-up

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I really wasn't going to make three posts today; but I didn't realize it was thursday until I saw some other blog posts about Booking Through Thursday. I haven't been there in a while and really wanted to participate, so maybe I'll just take a break tomorrow since I've overdone it today!

Today's question comes from Julie:

While acknowledging that we can’t judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardcover vs. softcover? Trade paperback vs. mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.?

If I already have plans to read a certain book, designs won't make much of a difference to me. But the quality of cover art definitely influences my shelf browsing. I'm much more likely to pick up a book that has attractive art or jacket designs. Great interior illustrations can sometimes be a plus, as well. Good paper quality and easily readable type makes the reading experience a real pleasure. I've already discussed the issue with choosing hardbound books over paperbacks or trade sizes here.

When it comes to my personal library collection, I'm much pickier about how the book looks or feels. If I find cover designs absent, uninteresting or distasteful, I'll even create my own out of scrap magazine clippings. If I own a book, I like it to have an interesting or beautiful face!

The Artist

by Norman Garbo

This is one book I discovered because the title caught my eye on a free shelf. When I began reading it, I looked up the names involved and found that this novel appears to be pretty obscure. Is it an awful book? Not at all. Disturbing, certainly. Violence, s-x and racism all move in huge continuous waves through the pages.

It is about an artist called Duvid Karlinsky, of an immigrant family, who grows up in a New York slum. I really enjoyed reading the parts about how he studied painting, worked in the studio, struggled to get his art seen. He refused to paint pretty pictures that people liked- instead depicting the ugliness of the slums around him, raising public awareness of oppression and poverty. Eventually this landed him as a correspondence artist for the newspapers in WWI, where he witnessed more horrors, and participated in his own share of violence. After some thirty years back home, he went overseas again to paint and fight during WWII. There's a lot of heavy material in The Artist about hate and intolerance between ethnic and religious groups. These scenes of racial strife alternate with passages of love- describing Duvid's relationships with the three women of his life: an actress, a prostitute, and a girl he met on the beach near his studio. I was surprised to find that certain scenes for once did not offend me, but were just a natural part of the story, not overly detailed or exaggerated.

The Artist is a compelling story about one man's lifelong striving to turn the ugliness around him into something permanent on canvas. Sadly, it never seems to absolve his inner unrest, but just reflects the inhumanity of life around him. As much as I enjoyed reading about a painter, overall this story did not sit well with me. The passion, violence and hatred all rush together to a terrible final scene that hits like a dead weight. With the rape, murder and destruction it ended up being more of a thriller/horror story at the end, which I ought to have seen coming, but didn't. Left me with a bad taste in mind, and I had to quickly turn to lighter reading.

Rating: 3/5                     477 pages, 1978

BOOK GIVEAWAY

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Participate in my first giveaway and Win a Free Book: The Artist, by Norman Garbo. Not pristine, but a very decent hardback. If you'd like to have a copy, I'll be happy to send it to you! Just leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered. I'll use random.org to pick the winner on sunday 3/30/08.

Zoo Vet

Adventures of a Wild Animal Doctor
by David Taylor

I've read many books featuring veterinarians which were hailed on the jacket blurbs as being comparable to James Herriot (the latest being Creature Comforts) but they were never quite as good as promised. In David Taylor, I finally found a writer who stands up to the comparison. Taylor was the first veterinarian to specialize in exotic species. He worked for a number of zoos and wrote eight books about his experiences as a wildlife veterinarian. I've only read four of them, but want to get my hands on them all; they're great! Similar to Herriot, Taylor describes working before anesthetic dart guns and other modern conveniences for veterinary medicine were developed; he often had to think up ingenious ways to work with or treat dangerous animals. The writing is very informative about what goes on behind the scenes in a zoo regarding wildlife heath and treatment. It is thrilling at times with many narrow escapes, very humorous and quite engaging. I read Zoo Vet two years ago so I cannot recall any specific incidents to relate, or which wildlife species are described therein. But I know I enjoyed the book very much, and if I ever find it, will add it to my private library permanently.

Rating: 4/5                      Published: 1977 pp 255

Meme: Library Love

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I just don't feel like writing about a book today. And I liked this meme I saw on Superfast Reader a few weeks ago. So I'll answer it now, even though I'm rather late. (You can trace the meme all the way back to Becky's Book Reviews, where it began).

How do you plan on celebrating Library Lovers month?

Well, I missed it. I didn't even know there was a library lover's month until I read about it on the blogs! Although I read every day; isn't that a celebration of sorts? And I'm a very faithful patron of my local library.

How often do you accidentally spell library as ‘libary’ when you’re in a hurry?

I don't know, but I'm sure it has happened. My toddler's pronunciation of the word is pretty close to that.

What is the most amount of books you’ve ever had checked out at one time?

Recently within memory? Thirty-eight; but it wasn't all for my reading pleasure. A dozen of the stack were for my toddler, another twenty for my husband's project fixing up the house. Books checked out just for me? I'd say the largest pile was around fifteen. When I was a kid I used to bring home more at once, I probably hit the twenties or thirties then regularly. Once I visited a public library and asked what the checkout limit was; the woman at the desk said fifty! I said how could anyone carry fifty books out of the library? She said with a shopping cart. I wondered if that every really happened.

What is the longest you’ve ever gone without visiting the library?

A month or two. When I was in college I visited the library very seldom; being busy with schoolwork and most of my reading was for classes. And after my daughter was born I didn't go for a month, but my husband brought home reading material for me. There have also been times when my piles of second-hand books at home have stacked up so I didn't have a need to go to the library for a while. But I don't think it's ever been more than three months, max. Usually I go once a week, or at least twice a month.

What is the biggest fine you’ve ever had?

Five dollars. For a book I thought was lost but found before I had to pay for the copy.

When you go to the library, do you plan ahead and make a list? Or do you browse?

It depends. I used to browse a lot, but with a three-year-old who just wants to dig in the puzzle bin it's hard to meander through the stacks quietly. My TBR has grown too big to ignore, too. Now I usually look stuff up at home and bring a list. But I still manage to pick a few strangers off the shelves that catch my eye while collecting what I've come for!

Have you ever been shushed by a librarian?

Never. Not even when my kid gets too noisy, though I've received my share of stern looks (on her behalf). They are quite effective.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done to a library book?

Lost it. I left one in a rental car once. And my husband's accidentally left one on the commuter train. (Luckily, someone found and returned it!) My daughter has torn a few pages. (We had to quit reading pop-up books for a while). I am guilty of occasionally dog-earing a page, though I always unfold them before returning! I'm somewhat concerned about dropping one in the bath, but so far that hasn't happened (though I did drop a cordless phone, once. It dried out okay). A board across the tub to rest your hand on is helpful, and also not reading thick hardbound books there (like the latest Harry Potter).

Have you ever had a “favorite” librarian?

Yes. The children's librarian at the Burien Public Library where I grew up. My mother took us to so many library activities. We participated in reading challenges, summer reading programs, all kinds of things. She used to have a desk in the children's section, always decorated and with cool stuff on it (like a huge jar full of gumballs. Guess how many gumballs, and you win the jar. I think my sister won it once. That sort of thing). She has the most wonderful, expressive voice and was always helpful, talked to the kids very friendly. We got lots of book recommendations from her.

If you could change one thing about your library it would be…

No charges for loans! My public library charges fees for requesting a book from another branch in the system, or for checking out videos. I don't like it at all.

Emergence: Labeled Autistic

by Temple Grandin and Margaret M. Scariano

I first read about Temple Grandin in her book Thinking in Pictures. Years later I stumbled across this one, and was eager to read more. Here Grandin describes parts of her childhood and how she made her way through school. Emergence is not as detailed or involved as Thinking in Pictures, being more of a summary of her youth. She describes memories of being teased by other children, confused by their actions, and the reasons and feelings behind her own unusual behavior. She talks about teachers who mentored her, and how her own internal symbolism enabled her to make goals and finish high school and college (a rare achievement for an autistic person). Included in this short book are letters by Grandin's psychiatrists and teachers (written to her mother), which give a different point of view; facts and data about autism, and the original checklist Grandin's mother filled out about her behavior when she was diagnosed. As it stands alone, this book can feel rather incomplete and brief. But read in conjunction with Thinking in Pictures, it completes the story, adding many new insights and details of this extraordinary woman's life.

Rating: 3/5                 Published:1986, pp 180

How To Steal A Dog

by Barbara O'Connor

My curiosity was perked when I saw this book mentioned online somewhere. Spotted it at the public library, brought it home and read it one night in the bathtub (the best reading spot in my apartment. Hot water must be included). How To Steal A Dog is about Georgina's issues with her family's homelessness, and her determination to change their situation. Her father's abandoned them, they've been evicted and are living out of a car while their mother struggles with two low-paying jobs, trying to save enough to get a new place to live. Georgiana is highly embarrassed and frustrated by their situation. One day she sees a lost-dog sign and makes up a plan to steal someone's dog, then collect the reward money. But her plan doesn't unfold smoothly, and she continually runs up against her conscience. Faced with the question: is it okay to do something wrong in dire circumstances? Georgina learns some powerful lessons about honesty, friendship, and that money isn't everything.

Rating: 3/5            Published: 2007, pp 170

Winter's Tale

by Mark Helprin

I don't know how this book ended up on my TBR list. It is a vast, sprawling fantasy of New York City. The main character is Peter Lake, an ignorant yokel who stumbles into the City in the 1800s and quickly falls into an organized group of thieves and petty criminals. One day while breaking into a house he falls in love with a rich girl (one of the most preposterous scenes in the book), who has a terminal illness.

Winter's Tale is full of surreal incidents and picturesque language to the point of ridiculousness. I was enjoying it for the sheer fun and astonishment of the word play until I reached page 200 where Peter Lake dropped out of sight and the already meandering plot took off in a direction I couldn't recognize. Then I did something I've never done before. I skipped about 150 pages and began reading again, when Peter Lake (like Rip Van Winkle) reappears after half a century has gone by. Having seriously lost interest in the storyline, I skimmed the last fourth of the book, reading only those parts that dealt with Peter Lake's search for his legendary white horse that could leap four city blocks and aspired to fly in the sky. Something about the style of this book reminded me a lot of The Tin Drum, or even One Hundred Years of Solitude. If anyone's managed to read and like Winter's Tale, I'd love to hear why!

Abandoned                      Published: 1983, pp 688

All the Wild Horses

Preserving the Spirit and Beauty of the World's Wild Horses
by Dayton O. Hyde

Essays on various groups of wild horses around the world- the familiar (to me) Western mustangs, ponies of Chincoteague and Dartmoor, and less familiar horses of the Namib Desert, French Carmargue, and the Sorraia, Pryor Mountain and Kiger mustangs. There are chapters on the history of wild horses and the controversy surrounding wild horse protection, conservation and management. Most interesting I found was a comparison of the behavior of wild horses and their zebra cousins. And a wonderful, lyric account of how the horses experience a year at Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, which was founded by the author.

All the Wild Horses is a beautiful book with absolutely stunning photographs. One I definitely want adorning my coffee table someday.

Rating: 4/5             Published: 2006, pp 208

Madame Bovary

by Gustave Flaubert

A few days ago I was looking through my shelves for unwanted books in too poor condition to swap to drop at the Book Thing next week, when I noticed a tattered copy of Madame Bovary sitting among the TBR clutter. It came from the same box at my mother's house that coughed up The Gulag Archipalego. I picked it up and thought: I really ought to read this. It's a classic.

So I tried. I made it through 120 pages about a pretty young wife who finds herself married to a country doctor. He's quite content with life, she's bored silly. He loves her very much, she finds him dull and repugnant. She longs to experience romance and emotional thrills. For a while she resists her feelings, because of society's strict moral code; then gives in and has several secret affairs.

One night when my husband couldn't sleep I said "let me tell you what I'm reading" and began to relate the story to him. He was snoring within minutes. Yesterday I made another attempt to read a dozen more pages, and found my attention seriously wandering. So I skimmed through the rest, of Emma Bovary's second affair, her husband's failure, her ultimate tragic end. (Reminded me very much of Anna Karenina, which I read in high school). Maybe it was a poor translation (Lowell Bair)? maybe the subject just isn't shocking to modern readers anymore? I know this is great literature, meticulously constructed by the author, full of symbolism, details and profound portrayals of human nature. But I just couldn't sympathize with or like any of the characters, and I got bored. I seem to be in the minority here, so if you want to read great reviews about this book, check out A Guy's Moleskine Notebook or A Reader's Journal. They give Madame Bovary its due, where I cannot.

Abandoned ...0/5... 303 pages, 1857

More opinions at:
Books 'n Border Collies
Ardent Reader

A Leg to Stand On

by Oliver Sacks

This book is about a doctor who must adjust to being the patient. As the result of a freak accidental encounter with a bull on a mountain, Oliver Sacks suffered a horrendous injury to his leg causing severe nerve damage and shock. After which he had the strange sensation that the leg was not part of his own body. During his long convalescence the neurologist strove to understand his own physical identity crisis, the psychological nature of illness, and the doctor-patient relationship. Although at times the writing got a bit tedious and lost me in its complex analysis, I still found A Leg to Stand On a really engrossing book. And the role of music in his survival down the mountainside and subsequent healing process is utterly fascinating.

Other books I've read by this author:
An Anthropologist on Mars
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

Rating: 3/5                  Published: 1984, pp 224

Nobody's Horses

The Dramatic Rescue of the Wild Herd of White Sands
by Don Hoglund

In the 1940's the US Government appropriated land from ranchers in New Mexico surrounding the White Sands Missile Range, a top-secret testing site where the first atomic bomb was detonated. Most of the ranchers left their horses on the range, believing their land would be returned to them. But it never was. Eventually the horses became enclosed by the Missile Range security fences. They thrived in the severe desert, their numbers swelling until a drought pushed them towards starvation. In 1994, dozens were discovered dead near a dried-up water hole. Don Hoglund, an equine veterinarian experienced in working with wild horses, was called in to manage the complex and dangerous task of removing over 2,000 wild horses from the Range.

Nobody's Horses tells the story of that rescue operation. In addition to describing harrowing roundups and careful handling techniques, the book also tells of all the conflicts between military personnel and animal rights activists, fears of anthrax contamination, reactions to the Oklahoma City bombing. Hoglund traces the ancestry of the wild bands back to the original homesteaders who lived on the land, recounting a lot of Western history. That part of the book became rather dry reading for me, and my interest began to flag near the end. But it is a notable book, full of appreciation and respect for the magnificent wild horses.

Rating: 3/5 ........ Published: 2006, pp 251

One Day on Beetle Rock

by Sally Carrighar

Based on several summers' observations of wildlife in Sequoia National Park, One Day on Beetle Rock describes the lives of nine different animals, crossing paths and spanning twenty-four hours on a singular location. Each chapter outlines events of the same day through the experience of a different animal: weasel, Sierra grouse, chickadee, black bear, lizard, coyote, deer mouse, stellar jay and mule deer. Written like a novel and full of detailed information on each species, this is one of my favorite pieces of nature writing. If you've ever wondered what the business of day-to-day life is like for another species, this book is an excellent read. It gives a strong picture of what each creature's sensations, concerns and consciousness might be like, without over-anthropomorphizing them.

I would like to quote from the forward by Robert C. Miller:

These are stories of the adventures of animals, but with a difference- the stories are of actual animals in an actual place, as the author has observed them. She has watched carefully and recorded truthfully, always with sensitive understanding and a keen awareness of beauty. The tales are fiction, yes, but fiction closely parallel with face. This is real natural history.

A companion to this book is One Day at Teton Marsh, by the same author.

Rating: 4/5                  Published: 1943, pp 196

Girl with a Pearl Earring

by Tracy Chevalier

This is a fictional account of Johannes Vermeer's household, told through the eyes of a young maid, Griet. New to the place, Griet has to learn her trade while facing Vermeer's acerbic mother-in-law, tight-lipped wife and spoiled children who taunt and harass her. In addition to her regular duties, Vermeer puts her to work in his private studio, cleaning and doing rudimentary preparations for his paintings (like grinding pigments). The continual mundane labor of Griet's days is described in a slow, poetic fashion against building emotional friction in the household, for Vermeer's wife is uptight over a many things, the least of which is her jealously. Jealous because Griet alone is privledged to enter the master's sacrosanct studio, and jealous because she is also pretty enough that one day Vermeer asks her to pose for him. The Girl with a Pearl Earring becomes a tense household drama and scandal, over the painting of this picture.

Griet is something of an anomaly. She is very quiet, observant, and hardworking, but also (for an uneducated maid) surprisingly outspoken and forward-thinking. Much of the book is about the slow awakening of her intellect and spirit. She stands a quiet observer in an eddy surrounded by the swirl of larger events, which are only half-perceived. Overall the book is so lovely I was able to overlook her unlikely character and enjoy its beauty and prose.

My only complaint is the lack of illustrations; I would have liked to see the paintings as I read about them. If you visit the author's website, you will find images of the art, alongside quotes of the text where they are mentioned. It's great! I just wish I'd visited it while I was reading the book. I'm eager to read another of Chevalier's books I've seen mentioned lately, The Lady and the Unicorn, which has as much to do with tapestries as this one had to do with oil painting.

Rating: 4/5 ........ Published: 1999, pp 233

More opinions at:
Ardent Reader
The World Inside My Head

Becoming Anna

by Anna Michener

This memoir was written when the author was sixteen. In it, she describes her life up until the point when she was adopted by the Michener family and changed her name from Tiffany to Anna. She describes a childhood of being emotionally and physically abused by her family, then spending most of her teenage years in two separate mental institutions. Most of the book is a horrendous account of inside the mental hospitals- relating all kinds of atrocities (over-medication, incessant verbal abuse, unwarranted and severe punishments) and describing in detail the other teenage patients. All the patients are portrayed as being misunderstood and wrongly placed there; while the adults- doctors, parents and teachers are painted in a negative light. I questioned whether it could have really been so black and white. At the same time, this book resonates with so much pain, anger and bitterness that I have no doubt the author is describing things as she saw and felt.

The ending seemed to wrap up a little too quickly. There were some gaps in the story. Perhaps it was just things she didn't feel comfortable sharing, but I felt there must have been a way to fill in the holes and make it more complete. Full of detailed descriptions, colorful language and sardonic commentary, Becoming Anna is a painful yet very compelling book.

Rating: 3/5                     Published: 1999, pp 264

Midwives

by Chris Bohjalian

Connie, the daughter of a midwife, tells the story of her mother's murder trial. During a difficult delivery on a freezing winter night in an isolated farmhouse, Sibyl made a desperate decision to save the baby's life, when she thought the mother had died of a sudden stroke. But what if she'd been wrong? Through Connie's eyes we see Sibyl struggle to keep her life from unraveling under the ensuing onslaught of hostility from traditional doctors, men of the law, neighbors and friends alike. Supported by other midwives and her family, Sibyl stands by her decision and defends her occupation, even as she is plagued with disapproval and her own doubt and guilt. Like many Jodi Picoult novels, Midwives deals with a very controversial issue and winds up in a courtroom. It seemed a bit sensationalized and the characters were rather flat, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. However, I felt quite dubious about the daughter's final role.

This book has some themes in common with The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, on the subject of traditional versus alternative medicine. It's not as good a book, but interesting to think about in the same context.

Rating: 3/5 ........ Published: 1997, pp 372

Read more reviews at:
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SMS Book Reviews
Hooser's Blook
Ardent Reader