Lori’s Book Nook

Tagged by the lovely alejna, also lifted from the rather literate casa az, who happened to have a copy of the fabulous Mr. Davies on her bedside table. (Go and read their posts — lovely and literary!)

Because I’ve not updated my blog recently, and because I have a copy of Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame on my desk, here we go:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages)
2. Open the book to page 123
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the next three sentences
5. Tag 5 people

So, from the architecturally-inclined Monsieur Hugo:

“Those thousand thickset angular roofs, clinging together, nearly all composed of the same geographical elements, when seen from above, looked almost like the crystallization of a single substance. The capricious fissures formed by the streets did not cut this conglomeration of houses into slices too disproportionate. The forty-two colleges were distributed among them very equally, and were to be seen in every quarter.”

And as to tagging? I, too, will make this self-tagging — you know you want to do this!! Go ahead — make my comments delightful to read!

Ripped directly from Mattheous, who’s just started hanging around here at the Nook, who found it here.

Daniel Pennac’s

The Reader’s Bill of Rights

1. The right to not read

2. The right to skip pages

3. The right to not finish

4. The right to reread

5. The right to read anything

6. The right to escapism

7. The right to read anywhere

8. The right to browse

9. The right to read out loud

10. The right to not defend your tastes

As the New Year approaches, some people like to think of ways to better their lives, and to some, that means reducing clutter.

But to declutter books — is that really something a book lover wants to do? No, I don’t think so…but the reality is that sometimes we may have to do it.

Over at 43Folders is a post about this very topic, with a link to the original source, a question and long series of rather good answers at Ask Metafilter on “Advice for clearing literary clutter” — although, for me, the asker loses some credibility for even thinking of the phrase “literary clutter”!

What do you think, O Loyal Reader? Is there such a thing as ‘literary clutter’? What does it look like to you? What do you do about it?

Or, as is the point, what are you planning on doing in the New Year to clear some space on your bookshelves (to make room for new books in 2008)?

I’m not a hit hound by any means, but I do check them, just to see. And the most popular page on this blog is the space where we were discussing The Fifth Business.

Okay, so it’s not popular by some standards, but on my little blog, it continuously tops my hit chart with between 3 & 29 hits per day. And search terms like:

• essay on the women in fifth business
• fifth business ezboard
• women in fifth business
• fifth business mrs.dempster, paul
• fifth business robertson davies reborn
• Fifth Business devil Liesl
• robertson davies fifth business
• Fifth Business name meanings
• sex love in fifth business essay
• psychology in fifth business
• ramsay guilt fifth business

And those are only today and yesterday.

The frequency started once school started. With all this traffic, I’ve only had 2 of these students stay and comment. (Am I wrong in assuming they’re students?) In my day, I would have been searching card catalogues, and journals, hoping for a tidbit. Now, they comb the Internet for their research. I wonder if any of our comments here have been cited in a paper somewhere?

The mind boggles.

But I was thinking of you all on Friday, when I found a delightful treasure in my local secondhand bookstore: Robertson Davies: An Appreciation, edited by Elspeth Cameron. A book of essays collected and published in 1991.

For your delectation then, are some of the ideas thrown out by different commentators as Davies’ books were coming out:

• Dunstan is the Hero
• Dunstan in the Saint, not Mrs. Dempster
• Father Blazon is the Fifth Business

So, reading these essays has been quite fun, and now I have to go back and read the damn books again! Ideas that I want to look into myself.

Okay, so you’re writing an essay and you Google your way to this post. I won’t leave you empty-handed, so here are some things to explore further:

• Pay close attention to the audience in all three books.
• Do some research on St. Dunstan.
• All 3 books begin and end in the same places, geographically. (And one of Davies’ next books is called What’s Bred in the Bone.)

And do some research in a good library, not looking for the quick answer on the Internet.

It is an unusual day over at Raincoaster’s blog that I get all nostalgic. Today, she was off on one of her normal rants, and she mentions Il Palio.

No, I’ve never been to Italy (although I want to go). I’ve never dreamed of attending any horse races. Nor am I really the least bit horsey. But, I was a girl who grew up devouring the Marguerite Henry books.  They were good books. And there was always another one to read.

One of my favourites, the plot points still dancing around in my head, was Gaudenzia, Pride of the Palio.

What were your favourite kid’s books? And how have they stood the test of time?

Wow. A quiet little email from my favourite cousin this morning has sent me over into a bookish heaven.

I’m actually not going to say anything about it right yet. First, I want you to go check it out: this listing of rare book titles, brought to you by Octavo Digital Rare Books.

Go. I’ll wait.

……

Terribly cool, wasn’t it? An early Old Richard’s Almanac? Or Songs of Innocence and Experience?

This is something I like about the digital age, books I’ll never get my grubby hooks into available for us to peruse at our leisure (and up close — don’t forget to try the zoom feature!). The British Library has a collection too — of beautifully illuminated manuscripts at Turning the Pages. (I blogged about that one a while ago.)

Taking part in engtech’s promising 5 things contest…But also, if any book-minded people want to add their own books to the list, please do.

Here I go:

1. Anything by Dan Brown. Any person who had read a book before they picked up the DaVinci Code has claimed that it is badly written. Plus, from what I hear, it’s utterly derivative. Umberto Eco already wrote that story line, in Foucault’s Pendulum.
2. Anything with “Oprah Book Club” on the cover. Pretentious of me, I know. She’s done wonderful things for reading in the United States, and yes, if she ran for President, I would make moves to get a green card to be able to vote for her. But I try not to let famous people choose my reading material
3. LOTR, post-movies. Love the books*, love the movies, but I’m in the class of geeks that 1) refer to them as “LOTR”, 2) read the books every year since I was 13, and thus hate the idea of anyone thinking I’d just discovered them. [*I use the plural -s only because of the convention, started by Allen & Unwin, to divide the story into 3 physical volumes.]
4. Ulysses. While I intend to read this book one day, I would try to read it privately. I’ve seen too many pretentious asses, or people I’ve assumed to be pretentious asses, read this book in cafes and on buses. I’m already plagued enough by my own pretentiousness, I don’t need to add to it.
5. Any self-help book. Need I explain?

So, who’s next?

Ah, yet another meme. Many are silly, but this one lets me talk about books. And more importantly, books I like! So, tagged by Archie, here I go:

Hardback or paperback? I’ve never had much of a thing for hardbacks, I’ve more of a passion for tradepaper. Although, I do have a weakness for a really beautiful hardbound book — like the Folio books, when I can afford them (definitely not often!).

Amazon or brick and mortar? While Amazon is a great resource, I’d much prefer to buy a book in a real bookstore.

Barnes & Noble or Borders? Being Canadian, the question is what? Chapters/Coles or some locally-owned bookstore. In Vancouver, I’d say Duthies, every time.

Bookmark or dog-ear? I bookmark most books with random slips of paper. Now that I think about it, I haven’t dogeared in ages. Very last resort. My husband always lays them flat, open. Drives me crazy.

Alphabetize by author, alphabetize by title or random? Lightly categorized for the non-fiction, grouped by author, but no effort at alphabetical order.

Keep, throw away, or sell? If I must part with a book, I give it away or sell it. I have to be careful, because I have found myself re-buying the books I’ve sold — no, I mean the exact same copies! “Oh, I used to have this book!” And I did.

Keep dust jacket or toss it? Don’t buy too many hardcovers, but of course keep it.

Read with dust jacket or remove it? The flaps make good impromptu bookmarks (NO, I don’t rip them off!)

Short story or novel? Novels, mostly. But, as I’ve noted at this blog, I do like short stories, when done well.

Collection (by same author) or anthology (by different authors)? Oh, both. For different reasons of course — one to learn of new writers, the other to get more deeply into one author.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Neither, really. I’ve not read Lemony Snicket books (but the movie was amusing), and I’ve read the HP books just to be up on pop culture. Fun, but not meaningful in any way.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? At chapter breaks if convenient, but usually it’s not important (or I can’t keep my eyes open any longer).

‘It was a dark and stormy night’ or ‘Once upon a time’? Silly question. Why limit the openers?

Buy or Borrow? Buy…mostly. Depends on the book. Nowadays, if it’s fiction, I’ll get it from the library. But non-fiction I like to own, for future reference.
New or used? Used, as much as possible.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? Oh, tough one. Sometimes by book review, mostly by recommendation…but my best surprises have been through a good browse. I would never have realized I loved reading about architecture and urban planning if not for a good 2ndhand browse. Nor would I have discovered a passion for cultural histories.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Define cliffhanger. A la Anne Rice in The Witching Hour — spare me. 800 pages and you leave me with a cliffhanger?!? No resolution at all? Get stuffed. Never read any more of her books after that. But give me the original movie The Matrix, with its partial resolution and grand, wonderful ending premise? Perfection. (Do not waste my time defending the 2 add-ons. Money-making garbage.) I like a slice o’ life kind of story, without all of the little threads tidied up.

Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? I’ll just quote Archie: “yes”

Standalone or series? Either, but save me from the series that never ends, with little resolution in any given book in the series. I gave up reading the Robert Jordan books when I realized I was reading 800 pages for nothing to happen.

Favourite series? Anything by Lois McMaster Bujold. Robertson Davies‘ trilogies. Need I mention LOTR? Leslie Charteris’ Saint books. (Archie, let’s talk Saint. I’ve got a huge collection….)

Who wants a tag? Az has already done it. How about David?

What is the quote I’m looking for? I’m looking for the one about the definition of knowledge is knowing where to find the information you need.

Just this morning, I bookmarked the International Music Score Library Project. Why? I’m not a musician, nor a musicologist, nor… I’m just fascinated that if I wanted a classical score, it’s available.

I also bookmarked Luminarium, an anthology of English literature, from Medieval times to the 18th Century. Again, why? It’s not like I’m ever going to read all of them (or any, even!).

My enormous bookmark list is a testament to my desire to be able to access the information I need, when I need it. [For those with the same mania, you might want to add Refdesk.com to your bookmarks, if you haven't already. Good for the mundane stuff of life, like currency exchange, etc.]

My husband asked me the other day, “How far are you into your 5-foot shelf?” I didn’t answer, because he wouldn’t understand. I’m glad I have them, because who knows when I’ll feel the urge to browse through Darwin or Plutarch, or pick up Cervantes (I think I have that one)…Okay, I’ll admit, I’m reading the Dante right now (For those of you who are interested in reading Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, I found a brilliant website completely devoted to it — the Princeton Dante Project.) — at least it’s sharing space on my bedside table with a couple others, and gets picked up every 3rd night or so.

Deep down, this is my need to own books. It’s not a competition thing (”The person with the most books wins!”), it’s not a possession thing — it’s a stored knowledge thing. I like being able to refer to a book in my library for (almost any) answers.

I’m assuming I’m not alone in this?

Two pieces of library news (well, one piece of not-news) came my way this morning, so I thought I’d share them with you.

First off, the news that a  man returned a book to the library after 47 years and paid his $171 in fines. Wow.

Secondly, via Nag’s book blog, is a story about librarians’ job to remove books from circulation…and how they’re using computer programs to weed out books not taken out in 24 months or more: Hello, Grisham — So Long, Hemingway?

This, unfortunately, is not a new story. When you stop to think about it, a librarian’s job is difficult. Librarians love books, and it is probably very distressing to delete classics to make shelf space for the latest bit of fluff.

If it makes you angry that Hemingway is making way for Grisham, then do something about it. Go to your local library today, and take out a couple of classics. Next week, borrow a couple more. If they’re circulated, they’ll stay. (The main character in the novel Bellwether by Connie Willis does this as part of her weekly errands…a great idea.)