Please accept cheesy sunset as a token of my affection
Somehow it's easier to talk about the books I've read in the past year than to talk about the year itself. Maybe because I lost touch of blogging about myself, probably because it takes less effort, of the mind and of the heart. Right now, it's simpler to focus on the present.
But anyway, the last book I read was really juicy. It was set on Canada and I usually have good experiences with books if their action happens there (The Blind Assassin was one of the finest books I read last year). The author wasn't Canadian but lived in Canada for most of her life. I wasn't familiar with Carol Shields but I'll be reading more from her. This book was called The Republic of Love and I was intrigued at to what the title referred to, until I reached this explanation (it won't ruin the book for you, rest assured):
Almost everyone gets a chance to say it - I love you. And to hear it said to them. Love is, after all, a republic, not a kingdom.
Now, isn't that neat? How do we never run out of clever metaphors? I promise the book isn't mushy, it's really good.
I was thinking that I could never not love books, as they rarely disappoint me. I do research their subject and the author before I buy them, so it's not down to lucky guesses, but about 95% of the time I am not disappointed. In those 5% unhappy cases I sometimes want to throw the book away from me. I'm reading them and shaking my head in disbelief - it's either: I could write better than this, or, plainly, this is shit...and I want to stretch my arm and throw the book far far away, but I never do and always obediently read the book until the last word, perhaps in hope that something good can come out of it in the end, even if it is 'never buy this author again'. I did leave a book unfinished earlier this year, you can guess it was pretty bad for me to just give up. Or maybe I just wasn't in the mood for sacrifices at that point.
Also, would you like to gender analyse your blog (or someone else's)? Go here http://genderanalyzer.com/ - it uses artificial intelligence having studied a ton of blogs.
We think http://devilmood.blogspot.com is written by a woman (62%).
And for some reason I was suddenly reminded of the smell of soap bubbles.
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7 comments:
I am so happy you are back to your blog :) Like I said... I love photos, and was missing it for sometime now... Now lemme go and do the gender analysis ;)
I leave books unfinished all the time, but then I don't buy many books anymore - I've become a biblioteca fiend. Searching through a pile of books on my dresser until I settle into two or three - I realize now that I was surfing long before the internet showed up.
It's official: I am 52% woman.
And thank you for the pôr do sol queijo.
Aathira, thank you. Glad you enjoyed the test.
Murat: hahaha that queijo reference really made me laugh, since we don't use that expression so I was thinking of real cheese, which isn't a bad idea at all. Wow, indeed, you really have been a surfer for a long time. I guess buying books makes you feel more responsible about reading them...
I leave more books unfinished than finished. Like Paschal. I write like a woman apparently. Like Paschal. Well, Paschal and Ms. Mood, if we’ve not yet been published, this could explain it. There was a great hoo-ha after PW announced their top 10 picks for 2009, all men. Not one woman on the list. We either need to learn to write like men or start a library club. No wait. Make that a library nightclub. Now that’s more masculine. Heh.
Oh! Three more things: Richard Godwin’s got an interview with a Canadian author up over at his new site (can you guess: male or female?); I loved the cheesy sunset, dahling; and this was a fun post :-D
you're so good. i have left way too many books unfinished. i just feel like there are so many books out there that if a book isn't working for me, i just need to move on to the next one. i can't wait to genderize my blog.
MissAlister: that is outrageous. What's so good about writing like a man? :P
Lissa: I understand that but I feel like I owe it to the book. Unless I lose respect for the book, I'll keep reading.
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