A Latter-day Bluestocking

For the love of reading

Tag: Book

April 26, 2013

Hello, my name is Marilynn… and I am a Bookaholic.

bookaholicsbannernew2012I have come to the realization that I have a problem.  It’s one I’ve lived with my entire reading life. From the moment I could read those silly Dick and Jane and Spot books I was addicted. The Oxford English Dictionary defines addiction as follows: The state or condition of being dedicated or devoted to a thing, esp. an activity or occupation; adherence or attachment, esp. of an immoderate or compulsive kind. I cannot stop reading. I cannot stop myself from buying or borrowing books.  I cannot stop thinking of books.  I have two shelves full of books that I have not yet read and yet the compulsion to acquire more is constant.  Like an alcoholic at a bar I cannot safely enter a bookstore or library; I do not leave empty-handed.  The urge is a strong one and I always convince myself that it’s just one book and I can stop at any time.  The Urban Dictionary defines a bookaholic as someone who keeps buying books to add to a stack of unread books or someone who has a strong passion for and desire to read all the time, or someone who has a strange fetish for books.  The diagnosis?  I am a bookaholic.

If there is any possibility of gaining a book I will jump at the chance.  I live in Brooklyn and occasionally people put out books they have eradicated from their shelves, deposited in a box with a note saying “Free.  Please Take”.  I cannot pass these up and have gained many books this way.  One time I actually saw the person put the box out on their front step and I practically ran, dragging my young son half a block, to make sure I had first dibs.  In this instance, I hit the jackpot:  about ten almost new hardback copies of Terry Pratchett Discworld books! I stuffed as many as I could in my bag and carried the rest under my arms. Those books are still under my desk at work! [I’ve read some of them but I insist on reading them in order of publication.]

I constantly buy books, borrow books, sniff books (yeah, I know, it’s weird), I like to feel the texture of the paper, I always have a book and a spare in my bag (because you never know). If I do not have reading material I suffer from excruciating withdrawal, call it biblio-DTs. I take a book with me when I am on a date or out with friends, to lunch, to coffee break, to meetings, to a bar, and to the movies. People who know me well know that this is not a reflection upon them. They are my enablers. Anyone who isn’t just doesn’t understand me.

My sister says, “At least it’s a harmless addiction” but is it really? I would rather go without food than not buy yet another edition of Pride and Prejudice!  Earlier today I stepped into a bookstore (I know I shouldn’t have but I had a gift card [see enabled; thanks Eva]) and purchased six new books.  Six!!  The cashier (hi Eric!) told me I always buy interesting books so you know I buy A LOT.  And you know what?  I’m not in the least remorseful.  Nope, not at all.  After all, it’s an innate biological need and I don’t really want a cure.

My name is Marilynn and I am a totally un-penitent bookaholic.  It’s nice to meet you.

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Status | September 19, 2011

Quote of the Day: Louisa May Alcott

Headshot of Louisa May Alcott (November 29, 18...

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“She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.” 
Louisa May Alcott, 1832-1888 (from Work: A Story of Experience)
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September 6, 2011

Books Should Never be Banned, EVER!

1933 May 10 Berlin book burning -- taken from ...

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I just read an article at Care2.com entitled “Student Runs Secret Banned Books Library from Locker” which needs no explanation.  I, for one, could go hours ranting about this one.  Once in high school I had an English teacher who passed out a list of past and present books that had been banned.  This list included The Wizard of Oz, The Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, and The Great Gatsby!  I remember being horrified and asked myself what could possibly have been in these books so subversive that we, the American reading public had to be protected.  My horror turned to anger and abhorrence when I discovered that my school library had banned all Judy Blume books which recount tastefully and poignantly the concerns of adolescent girls.  I decided right then and there to embark on my own personal crusade to read every book on that list.

That was the extent of my militancy and I have to say my interest flagged after a while because many of the books didn’t pique my interest enough.  So when I read this article describing a Catholic school student’s subversive library I was thrilled.  Here is a kid who is doing something about banned books that makes a difference!  In the article the reasons for the school’s banning such books as Paradise Lost and The Canterbury Tales are based in religion, a premise I find disconcerting as it suggests aggressive control and apparently so does Nekochan (the student’s preferred avatar name).

Nekochan states that she now has a locker filled with 62 banned books which she loans out to fellow interested students and realizes that she is at risk for getting into trouble.  But her belief that she is right in her stance encourages her to continue her rebellious activity despite the danger of getting caught.

Continue, Nekochan, to “Fight the Power!!  Knowledge is a gift and we should be allowed to make our own choices about what we should and should not read.

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August 9, 2011

Currently Reading: Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Cover of "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand: A...

Cover of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand: A Novel

I started reading Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand on Friday and because I’ve been so busy with, well…  life, I have been unable to read like I normally do.  Despite not having enough time over the weekend to curl up with this book, it has grabbed me right from the start and I have been reading voraciously on the subway and even, clandestinely, at work.  I absolutely love the character of Major Ernest Pettigrew.  Helen Simonson has wonderfully evoked an old-fashioned British military gentleman in the most traditional sense.  I imagine him with mutton-chop sideburns, chest pumped up, walking with a swagger, using his cane just so, a man used to a vast Empire, unchanging and staid.  But he is devoid of annoying pomposity exhibiting, instead, charm and gallantry.  He is a widower and is coping with the loss of his brother and an ingrate of a son.  He is lonely.

He begins an unlikely friendship with a Pakistani widow, Jasmina Ali, who runs the local grocery.  She is independent, clever, and well-read.  She is quietly struggling to find her own place within a culture that expects certain behaviors from women, especially widowed women without children, and get by in a Britain that does not easily accept her as one of them. 

The Major and Mrs. Ali come together and bond through their common loss of a spouse and a love of literature.    They meet for the first time at his home for afternoon tea to discuss, of all things, Rudyard Kipling!

Their story is attractive and sweet but not mawkish and I look forward to finishing the journey with them.

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Link | August 6, 2011

Always wanted to be a librarian?

Image representing LibraryThing as depicted in...

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When I was a child I liked order.  This need for the well-ordered extended to my books, especially my books.  I always harbored the need to catalog and organize my books.  I used to put “library” cards in my books and assign them numbers.  I had stamps with dates and would play library for hours.  And now, even as an adult, I secretly long to organize and catalog.  Lucky for me that I have located a site that will allow me to do just that!

I discovered LibraryThing by accident and found it to be exactly what I require to indulge my inner librarian.  I even have a librarian’s endorsement for the site!!  So go ahead and catalog and organize all those books cluttering up your shelves (and your closets, floors, bathroom, tables, hallways), I know I will.

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