Very few things excite me more then a trip to the book store. (Yeah I know I am getting old but hey I figure I have already had my chest shaved by a midget so it is probably someone else's turn to ride the excitement train.)
I could spend hours upon hours walking and looking through shelves, reading exerts, and filling up a basket of goodies.
I usually read one book a week and it I usually something like this.
1 - Popular modern fiction book. I pick these for a few reasons one lots of people read them so they are good for conversation. I also love feeling the pulse of what people enjoy. Same reason also applies for why I watch Chick Flicks. Plus they are usually light, fun, easy and a nice break from reality.
1 - Classic fiction. I love reading good old books. There is universal truth in them it is the reason they have been in print for hundreds of years. Sometimes I get saddened as if TV and movies killed the golden age of the literate. Don't get me wrong I am all for the evolution of mediums as they go to new heights, but I can't help but hate the feeling of auto-pilot as I watch a movie. My mind shuts down as I am blasted at a 1000 frames a second with someone else imagination. It is why I really try hard to limit the amount of TV and movies I watch.
1 - Popular based Non-Fiction book. No Autobiographies under any circumstance.
1 - One contextual Non-Fiction book - Back ground, history, ancient texts, Aristotle etc. Classic works of Non-Fiction. I love doing this for two reasons one it helps explain the way we think and act today. Two it shows me to be humble just as 2000 years ago we thought we had it all figured out, 2000 years from now we will realize we had no idea. Knowledge and understanding is elastic and ever expanding and I love reading the minds of those who went before me. Those who tested and guessed at the networking's of the universe and occasionally prospected something worth while.
1 - Trade Journal - something new to me. Whether it is technology, bee keeping, quilting, hog farming, robotics, chemistry, high times, bridal showers, etc. The point is just to be exposed to something I have never known in depth before. I love thinking about how something in one industry might apply to something in another and at the very least it gives you something to talk about with people you might never talk to and there is something beautiful in that.
I am also always open to expanding my horizons through recommendations so feel free to pass any along that fit into these categories.
11 comments:
The first time I walked into an antique book store, I got tears in my eyes (I then berated myself for being so stupid). There is just something tangible about books and even more so when you can envison someone reading the same volume 50 or 75 years ago. I always try to buy something with an inscription (to someone else) in the front.
Random midget chest shaver? I thought midgets only waxed chests.
Oh-I love the bookstore too! Just walking into one makes me smile-the smells, the sounds, the crack of the spine when you open the new book...ah...love it!
Oh, and also-please tell me a story about the midget. :)
Recommendation:
Dick for a Day: What Would You Do If You Had One?
http://www.amazon.com/Dick-Day-What-Would-You/dp/0679773533
I read nearly all fiction and not nearly as often as I used to before starting to write, but I still get through about fifty novels a year.
Amazon and Half.com have significantly reduced the amount I go to bookstores. But Cummings Books in Uptown on SE 14th Ave and St. Croix Antiquarian Booksellers in Stillwater.
I prefer used to new, since you can find lots of books in older versions, lots of academic books that have never been reprinted, and there's a sort-of seasonedness to the clientale in comparison to, say Barnes and Noble. The employees also know a lot about books and can make excellent recommendations. I can while away an entire day, especially in Stillwater. Highly suggest it. :)
And I don't care what anyone says, half-price books stores are quality establishments.
I love buying books! One of my favourite things to do in fact.
I would recommend Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier, I've not long finished it.
weird! i had a post about books this morning too..psychic a little bit?! :)
weird! i had a post about books this morning too..psychic a little bit?! :)
Snap your eyes open with anything by Wade Davis. My new fav. There are a couple of clips of him on TED. I have three bookshelves, all of which are overflowing. I am always telling myself I'm not allowed any new books until I read all the ones I have, but that never sticks.
I love the book store and often take my daughter as well. Besides my true crime, I like SOME self help type books but it depends on my mood. I just read a Stephen King book recently which was a nice change of pace. I used to read his stuff a long time ago. Anyway, I'm babbling now...
Check out my Goodreads link below. I am an avid reader as well.
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