Pages

Friday, January 20, 2017

What Kind of Reader Am I?

I would describe myself as an eclectic reader.  I read a LOT of young adult/teen fiction and non-fiction since I'm a teen librarian, and I usually really love it.  I also get into non-fiction - a variety of topics from Amy Stewart's "Wicked Bugs" to "Freakonomics" by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner to Charles Mann's "1491", "We Band of Angels" (a WWII book) by Elizabeth Norman, and anything by Suze Orman or Mary Roach (she doesn't know it, but she's my best friend!).  When I'm in the mood for something lighthearted, I go for quirky fun mysteries like the Mrs. Pollifax series by Dorothy Gilman and the Southern Sisters mysteries by Anne George. I grew up an avid fan of Madeleine L'Engle, Anne McCaffrey, Piers Anthony, and my current and forever-all-time favorite fantasy writer is now Robert Jordan (R.I.P) with his Eye of the World series.  Ooh, I love David Eddings too - I could read the Belgariad series at least 6 more times!  I can't stand many classics (hated "Anna Karenina" and "Little Carrie"), but I love "Little Women", "Eight Cousins", "The Secret Garden", "The Little Princess", "Stuart Little", "The Trumpet of the Swan"....  too many awesome books - this lovefest could go on and on...

I've also recently gotten into audio books.  I'm finding the reader is CRITICAL and the book needs to be engaging, but not terribly complex since it's hard to go back and re-read in this format.  Young Adult books are super in this format.  I just finished "Looking for Alaska" by John Green and my favorite so far is "Kissing in America" by Margo Rabb.

This was extremely rambling, but I hope it conveys the enthusiasm and fun I have when thinking about, and sharing with you, my favorite books and authors.  I've left out so many others (how many favorites can we have?), but I think you get the idea that I have a variety of interests and moods which are
reflected in my reading.  I've read, and enjoyed, books from nearly every genre through my life and will try reading almost anything.

Some of the few book types I dislike/don't connect with are books in verse, very gritty urban realism, most graphic novels, and Star Trek spinoffs.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Welcome (updated)

Welcome to my Book Bag! I'm going to be doing some readin' and some thinkin' and some writin'.... brace yourselves, my friends.


Right now I'm trying out a book called Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond


Very scholarly and highbrow so far. It'll take me some time to get through this one, so sit tight and check back in a week or so...


While you're waiting, go to your local library and check out Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson. It's kind of slow paced (think documentary) but many parts are pretty creepy and it's a true story (which makes it even creepier).


UPDATE 3/26/2017:  Oh my gosh, I'm STILL trying to get through this.  It's fairly interesting, but super-duper detailed and slow-going.  There's a lot of bouncing around between times and locations so I've have to keep going back and checking stuff.  I will say it's good to read this on a Kindle because I have to look up a lot of terms, lol, and that's much easier to do on an ereader.  If you try this in the regular book, keep your laptop handy to look stuff up.  Or keep a dictionary and a globe nearby, lol!

I'm not giving up - I will finish!  eventually....   (if you suffer from insomnia, try this book...  it's non-addictive...)