Know and Repeat

The good news about having a slow Internet connection is that I have ample time to think. I have renewed interest in The World is Flat due to a conversation with a fellow yogi yesterday. I am pursuing on.

I have also decided to add a few more history books to my spreadsheet of items to read. The inspiration? This morning I was fortunate to attend a Western Civilization lecture at my undergraduate campus. (I don't think I stood out too much, but I do think at least one or two students noticed the slight resemblance that I have to the teacher.) It was nice to sit in class, listen, learn and not worry about what might be on an exam. College is still the same cross-section it was when I attended with a variety of dress and the ever present pony-tail for the “early morning” class at ten. It is nice to see how things change and how things still remain the same.

Differences of Opinion

I finished The Time Traveler's Wife Thursday afternoon and had the opportunity to discuss it with five other women later that evening. It was interesting to see who had read the book and who had instead seen the movie and then compare the likes/dislikes of either media (in relatively general terms since all present had not seen or read). The conversation reminded me that a portion of the joy of reading is the later discussion regarding thoughts and feelings that we each experience when exposed to a work. (Thank you book club.)

I enjoyed the book and think I read it at just the right place in my life. When exploring something new, the "when" is as important as the "what", but of course, you already know that.

The Find in the Garage Box

“I’ve never read a Nancy Drew book”. I gasped when I saw this morning’s email from GBC Paige and then smiled while reading Meg Daly’s review of Confessions of a Teen Sleuth by Chelsea Cain.

Of course I wondered how a child from the ‘70s missed reading Nancy Drew, but then quickly realized if not for my Aunt C, I too would likely have not read the mystery stories. My Aunt is a librarian and loved books. She introduced both my sister and I to numerous worlds beyond our small town. Some of my fondest memories of a child were my Aunt and Uncle driving to our house with boxes of books that were intended to have been destroyed but were rescued and delivered to two eager girls. These days were as good as Christmas, and we never knew what we were going to find for reading material. There were books about states, books about science, Reader’s Digest bound collections, Seasame Street books of cooking, Shakespeare (if you can believe it), Little House on the Prairie, and of course, Nancy Drew. I am certain my mom loved these visits as well, as the house became quiet for a few weeks again as my sister and I devoured the books.

I have a box in the garage of some of these childhood delights; my parents are storing the remainder (thank you) that my sister does not have. This morning I found five Nancy Drew Mystery Stories of four titles; for some reason, I have two copies of The Clue in the Jewel Box. The library markings are still evident though fading and each book has its mark for storage in the “Y” section of the library under “Kee”. Four of them also have their library cards with the signatures of those souls who read these from 1972 to 1981.

I do love reading and I am eternally grateful to my Auntie who helped fuel this habit.

Traveler for Travel

My airport selection left me with The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Highlights for me thus far (about 1/4 read) include the setting in Chicago and the fact that the author teaches letterpress printing, which I adore. A visit to her website gave me links to libraries and a cemetery; I regard both of these as a plus.

This is also another example of book to film this summer. I am certain this is yet another reason that the book caught my eye: effective airport marketing combined with small selection. I typically like to have a gap between reading and viewing so that I am not too critical in a film review. Timing is everything.

Tudor Tunes

Change in scenery for some of us this weekend and a change in the weather is certain to arrive soon. Many are already deep into "back to school" mode and some of us have never left. We have several selections of books for the upcoming months to keep us in our reading habits:

September: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

October: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

November: Arthur and George by Julian Barnes

This weekend has left me with an inspiration to revisit the history of Henry VIII as 2009 marks the 500th anniversary of the beginning of his reign. (Obviously, I was a little delayed in this observation).

Two Shall Become One

The BBC reported yesterday that the London Paper has been proposed for closure. This is a free daily evening publication which targeted the commuter audience and provided competition to the AP's London Lite edition. The London Paper reported the general news of the day, sports, celebrity info, and other just weird stuff in addition to the numerous advertisements. Their website proports interesting statistics in the growth of their unique users doubling from January to May of this year and currently holding at just under 600,000. Physical distribution has been about 500,000 copies each month this year.

The paper has been run by News International a UK subsidiary of News Corporation (think Rupert Murdoch). Mr. Murdoch has been in the media of late for his statements related to charging for the news. The London Paper has a 30 day window for discussion during which time the paper will still be published.

What will happen with the printed newspaper? It's such a large question, yet unanswered, muddled with the development of products like the Kindle and our desire for free news quickly contrasted with our nostalgia for the familiarity of the daily paper and the practicality of reading on the trains. For those in smaller markets accustomed to the daily purchased paper, this closure might not be be of interest, but I think these types of events could be an open window to the changes to come in the way we receive our news.

Striking a Balance

I have no doubts that all had a tremendous time at Book Club last night. I am sorry to have missed the event. I am certain that you enjoyed some delightful vegan creations by GBC Kate as well as had lively conversation paired with our familiar reading beverage. I do look forward to hearing the summary of the book discussion, after of course, I finish the book (film).

Last week I learned that a friend had recently acquired a NY Knights jacket. This week, while perusing another friend's library for that next paperback to be devoured these last two days, I discovered The Natural by Bernard Malamud. I believe in signs. For a few hours I lost myself to the joys of baseball and one man's quest "to be the best there ever was in the game." I have long been a fan of the Robert Redford film of the same name and was happy to discover the subtle differences between print and the screen.

So this morning I am left with a couple of thoughts: are we each a "natural" at something and do career/life/non-sport coaches use signs?

How Tweet it is

updated August 21 (formatting only)

For those of you who have pondered writing a book but did not think you had the time, perhaps you should consider publishing through Twitter. As some of you NPR fans no doubt already have heard, Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books in Twenty Tweets or Less by Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin will hit our stores in January. (It is likely to be a quick read.) The books included range from the classic read (The Odyssey) to the closet read (Twilight). My guess is that Aciman's and Rensin's work will also be light enough to be included in your carry-on luggage...and perhaps your wallet.

For anyone who doesn't want to wait until January to get a dose of Twitterature, you can try following @epicretold as Professor Sreedharan tweets Mahabharata. You will need to take a long term view with this one.

Untitled (apparently)

Yesterday morning I finished reading Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and their Journey by Isabel Fonseca. This was a title that was again a reminder that there is so much in the world I have yet to learn. I am glad to have stumbled across this "Recommended by Staff" book.

I have not made much progress with The World is Flat or North and South. (Seems as though I am on a bit of a geographical bent currently.) Perhaps I will still manage these by the end of the month. I have a feeling there are a couple of other yet to be determined paperbacks in my future as well...the last guilty pleasures of summer reading.

A Man and his Guitar

Today, I would like to give a nod to Les Paul. If you have never held and strummed a guitar, I think you should. The guitar is really a lot of fun to play, even if you don’t get the notes quite right, and you will learn very quickly that it is more difficult to master than you may have first gauged. Perhaps I hold this opinion because I love music, or maybe it is just because (like most of the people here) I once dated a musician who taught (or tried to teach) me a thing or two about guitars. Regardless, we have more than a bit of Les Paul history in our town and our music has been the richer for it. The NY Times has the Last Word.

LD's August of Miscellany

GBC Tim's email alerting us of the 2009 Hugo Award winners and the controversy surrounding our upcoming book Little Brother left me with the thought that as a group, we read some really interesting material. (But you already knew that.)

In the event you like to keep up with the annual book award winners, Amazon has a decent list available which makes it oh so easy to purchase these titles.

I also discovered Sunday evening that I do own a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Perhaps I am overdue to try a dish or two since I have now had a couple of years practice to attempt to master the art of cooking.

Oh, and you have one week before we discuss North and South, so keep reading and/or make arrangements to rent the film.

[sic] or Tired

There are at least two things I think each of us should revisit at several points during our lives: a driving manual and a grammar book. We are exposed to both of these useful gems at points in our lives where hormones are raging and our brains are not yet fully developed. We use them in order to pass an exam or a class, and then the books are likely to be tossed, recycled, or stored on a shelf (in a box) not to be used again. (For those fortunate PhD students, you have approximately a six to ten year delay relative to the normal population before you abandon your writing references.)

Why should we revisit grammar? Instinctively, we tend to notice the obvious misuse: “it’s” instead of “its”, “are” instead of “our”, and the random spelling “errers”. What about those perhaps more complex rules concerning the comma or the apostrophe? Yes, most of us still have retained the memory of those “School House Rock” episodes (“Interjection!”), but have you ever wondered if the colloquialisms of our region have crept into our professional writing? Do we occasionally slip in an abbreviation in formal communication due to our tendency to express ourselves in < 140 characters? Are we content if our Word document has no green squiggly lines?

For those of you who answered “Yes, Yes or No, No” to the above questions, you might be interested in these books to refresh and perhaps entertain your brains:

• Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
• The Chicago Manual of Style by University of Chicago Press Staff
• Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences by Kitty Burns Florey
• The Elements of Style by William Strunk
• Sin & Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose by Constance Hale

Master an Art in August

I think it is only apt that I give a nod to "Julia and Julia" which opens today. I admire anyone who would, in one year, use 524 recipes to make a variety of meals. (I could only imagine the state of my cookbook after such a feat.) Perhaps the blog, the book or the film might give you the inspiration you have been waiting for to:

• do something you love
• cook (whilst adhering to a recipe) and use butter
• go to France
• live the life that would make you happy

Cheers and bon appétit!

Extra! Extra!

I am remiss in composing an even-numbered post so I will take that as a sign that perhaps the odd day is my better day....at least for a little while.

I have developed a habit for online news. Paired with my morning coffee or tea, this is one of my favorite ways to start the day. It began as an occasional visit to CNN to catch the headlines, but has now developed into a full-fledged morning routine. Computer booted, tea kettle on (or coffee pot started), log-in, make beverage, start browser and off I go. My usual sites, in this usual order for weekdays: CNN, Tennessean, WSJ, NYT, BBC, then miscellaneous blogs and Twitter feeds. My weekend routine will pick up a few more newspaper sites for gentle perusing.

The length of time that I will spend on the sites each morning tends to vary depending on the day's events, financial markets, and the quality of the news (you know which site you are). As the day unfolds, I incorporate a few other news sites more relevant to business. Feeling current (in the news) can be electrifying.

Page 30 and Page 11

I don’t use bookmarks when I read. I started this habit in an effort to try to keep my mind stimulated, somewhat akin to working a crossword puzzle but without the newspaper and pen or a laptop/PDA. (Yes, I do use a pen rather than a pencil). I try to commit to memory the page number of my last page read. I am not particularly bound to a routine of stopping at a chapter’s end, especially when reading just before sleep. Occasionally, this practice will create a small problem if I cannot remember my stopping point, and I may re-read a page (or several) to find my spot. I think this makes reading more of an adventure and if I am not able to recall the page, perhaps I need a refresher on the plot?

It is true that if you borrow a book from me, you are likely to find airline check-in stubs at various points, but these were not placeholders. The book merely provided a convenient filing spot at the time of reading. I do like the non-traditional bookmarks such as a receipt, a ribbon or a string, but I would rather not be tied to using one.