The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think.
I tend to go through phases where I read one author or one subject for a few weeks. I thought about that last night, because I am finishing up Shake Hands with the Devil and starting We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families. And since I keep a book journal, I can one day go back and say, “Oh, I remember how in August of 2005 I started reading about Rwanda.” Some of the ladies in my book club organize their book journals alphabetically, but I organize mine chronologically. I note whether it’s a reread (which often indicates comfort reading) and if it’s for my book club. Their organization makes more sense if you want to be able to figure out whether you’ve read a book or not, but I like that I can look back and see what I read on vacation one year, and when it was that I read up on the Kennedy assassination, and when I read all those Margaret Maron books in a week, and when I was escaping by reading the fluffiest of chick lit. I don’t keep a written journal (other than this one), but I can look back at my book journal and see what I was reading at different points in my life.
Here are some books I’m on hold for at the library:
Rituals of the Season by Margaret Maron (Should be out in a few weeks and is the cheerful book I’m looking forward to as a reward for all the heavy stuff I’ve been reading lately)
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (I feel like I’ve been on hold for this one forever.)
Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich (I don’t read this series, but a friend of mine does and the list at her library was hugely long, and she just had a baby, so I figured that checking it out for her is the least I could do. I’m number 16 on the list. She was number 300 or something like that.)
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith (The latest in the Sunday Philosophy Club series.)
Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs (I heard her on NPR’s The State of Things, and I decided I’d like to check this book out. This is breaking one of my usual rules, because I don’t normally like to read a series out of order.)
Eldest by Christopher Paolini (This is for Mike. It’s just easier if I put his holds on my card.)
The Baby Name Wizard by Laura Wattenberg (The website was so fun, I decided to check out the book.)
August 11th, 2005 at
I think a book journal sounds like a really great idea – do you just jot down a paragraph or so of your thoughts about the books you’ve read, or do you give a summary?
August 11th, 2005 at
I write thoughts if the book is worth it, but for a lot of them I just write the title and the author. I used to write something about each one of them, but I decided that wasn’t always necessary. When I do write something, it’s more my response/thoughts than a summary.
August 11th, 2005 at
I have a question, Kari
Why are book clubs a predominantly female thing?
I mean, I enjoy discussing books that I’ve read, and hearing thoughts by other people. But i am discouraged from getting in to any kind of book club because of this reason. (maybe women like having low male involvement in reading-I don’t know)
Any thoughts?
August 11th, 2005 at
I think that men and women often read different kinds of books, and men and women approach books very differently even when they are reading the same thing (I have noticed this with the Harry Potter books – Mike and I notice such different things about the story). That’s a very broad generalization, but I think it’s true overall, even if there are individual cases in which it’s not true. Of course, I don’t have the same opinion and approach as every lady in my book club, either. But I wouldn’t say that women like low male involvement in reading. If a guy started regularly coming to the group here at the library, we’d welcome him with open arms. And we’d probably adjust our reading a little bit to make the books slightly less woman-focused (although he’d have to accept that he’s in the minority). I just think men and women communicate differently, and therefore they communicate differently about books.
I think about how I get together with my friends and we drink coffee and we talk about how we are doing, and I think about how Mike gets together with his friends and plays video games and doesn’t communicate nearly as much about his emotions. I think women generally (again, a generalization, but I think a fairly true one) talk more with their friends about what is going on in their lives and about how they are feeling than men do, which leads to different kinds of discussions about books. But the women are already hanging out talking about what’s important to them, which makes it easier for them to FORM a book club, if that makes sense.
Mike and Brian have both come to my book club, and one time Brian came and he was the only guy. But nobody seemed offended or put off by the fact that they were there.
What do YOU think?
August 11th, 2005 at
I think you should have made that its own post.
August 12th, 2005 at
I’m on the list for Shake Hands with the Devil (on order) and Freakonomics (checked out) at the Elon library. If you haven’t read “Escape from Slavery” by Francis Bok I recommend it as well. He’s Sudanese and was kidnapped into slavery at age 7 then escaped 10 years later. It’s Elon’s common reading this year, and Bok is speaking on campus Sept. 20.
August 12th, 2005 at
Cool, thanks for the information. I’ll look into it.
August 12th, 2005 at
I’m off to the library this afternoon.. maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to find something interesting! (no guarantee with our ancient, tiny library – I mean, they don’t even have P.G. Wodehouse books! Sacriligeous!)
August 12th, 2005 at
Good point about the different approaches. I totally see that. I guess that the reading list (subject matter) would determine male involvement, as I myself, tend to stick to 1-2 genres.
August 12th, 2005 at
Good point, Andy, the other thing I forgot to mention is that books that are character-driven instead of plot-driven make completely different kinds of discussions. And non-fiction is a whole ‘nother deal.
Hannah – we don’t have a lot of PG Wodehouse here, but I’ve been trying to fill in the holes. What are the MUST HAVES, anyway?
August 12th, 2005 at
Hmmm… tough question..
My favorites are The Code of the Woosters and The Mating Season. (One of my all-time favorite characters is Roderick Spode – Hail the Black Shorts!)In general, I like the novels more than the short stories. I also enjoy the Blandings Castle stories.
August 12th, 2005 at
I have to check on the others, but I recently ordered Code of the Woosters because we didn’t have it. I couldn’t believe it.
August 12th, 2005 at
I totally need to get Freakonomics for my trip next week, so we can talk about it. [Is it crazy that I'm happy to have a book to talk with you about for once?]
I should log the books I read… good thought.
August 12th, 2005 at
Book Logging
I think Kari has guilted inspired me to start logging my books.
But then I’m loggin’ everythin’ in an effort to know myself…
…