Booking Through Thursday

If you read series, do you ever find a series “jumping the shark?” How do you feel about that?

And, do you keep reading anyway?

The way my brain works if I don't like a book I tend to repress the memory of that book. So my mind is drawing a blank with this question. However I have read some books in a series that I suspect the author may have had an “off” period. Usually the next book more than makes up for it. My favorite series of books is currently anything by Laurell K Hamilton. All of her books have kept me interested.

Sunday Salon

I have missed two Sudays Salons. Real life caught up with me. I have went back north and it seems that my moving had disrupted everything. I had been in a little bit of a reading and writing slump. It is amazing how not having your desk and stuff set up can disrupt everything. I finally am getting my bearings back but I will be glad to get my desk and stuff set back up.

I have been trying to convince the boyfriend to get one more bookshelf. I am serious just one more. The problem is that we live in an itty bitty apartment and one more bookshelf would really crowd things. I dislike not having my books organized though so I am pushing really hard to get my bookshelf.

Speaking of books, the boyfriend is a grad student and has an ID to the local university. He probably felt sorry that I have no friends here yet so he loaned me his ID and I discovered that with all the libraries that I am virtually unlimited in my selection of books. Which is good cause I am on a tight budget which dose not leave room for a lot of book buying. I went crazy with checking out books. I am just waiting for all the books to be ready then I will go pick them up.

In the interest of organizing and peace I have decided to put all my recipes that I have collected in magazines and stuff on Springpad. My stuff is everywhere and it is distracting. Springpad seems to be good for recipe collection. I hope it is anyway. I rounded up all my magazines and would hate to find out halfway in there is a better alternative.

Booking Through Thursday

What are you reading right now? What made you choose it? Are you enjoying it? Would you recommend it? (And, by all means, discuss everything, if you’re reading more than one thing!)

At the moment I am reading No Pity by Joseph P Shapiro. It was actually recommend by a friend. I love it so far. It discusses the disability movement and how disabled people are starting to take control of their own lives.

I hate to ay I am disabled but I have both bipolar and I am Deaf. The Deaf part  I feel is not  a disability, but the Bipolar part is a different story. My friend thought that it would be good for me to see how people are taking control of their lives no matter what disabilities or issues they are facing.

I feel that this is a very important book for people to read. For so long the issue of disabilities tend to get swept under the proverbial rug. There is also some gross misconceptions the non-disabled people have. This book does an excellent job of showing how the disability rights movement is gaining ground.

What are your rituals before writing?

A friend of mine who also loves to write and I were talking about how we couldn't just sit down and write. We each have our own routine that we go through to get our minds ready to write. I for one cant just sit down and write well. A professor once told me that it is akin to a marathoner. A runner cant wake up and run 10 miles. They have to warm up first. So it is with writing.

As for me I have to be properly caffeinated first. My brain simply wont work without obscene amounts of caffeine. I have tried giving up caffeine before but I would rather go through the seventh circle of hell then have to function without it, After all there is a reason it is called the nectar of the Gods. I prefer to think of caffeine in all of its varieties as a buffet table to pick and choose as a sort of a gift from the powers that be to help us through the more mundane things in life.

To get my brain in shape to write coherently I will often write in my journal first. I currently use Penzu. Once the words start flowing then I will switch to whatever writing project I am working on. That could be a poem or a short story that has popped in my head or anything in between.

If it’s a good writing day then I can write for hours. However if my brain for whatever reason is not cooperating that day then I tend to “rest’ and go read. It is funny how when you thinks the words have ran out then you start reading and another idea will come to you.

My friend said he goes through something similar. However he has no use for massive amounts of stimulants. I know I cant be the only one who needs caffeine to function.

I am now interested in what other people go through to get ready to pen that days masterpiece. I will have to go to the library and see if there are any books on what famous authors through the ages have engaged in.

I am now curious what do you my readers do to get ready for writing? Tell me in the comments below.

Armageddon In Retrospect

This is the last of Kurt Vonnegut’s work.This book was published after his death by his son.

For readers who have read Slaughter House Five, this book will strike a familiar chord.  The majority of this book is short stories takes place during world War Two. It provides detailed snapshots of various scenes. Sometimes the same scene will be repeated but with different viewpoints. He combines his  humor with dark subject matter skillfully.

There are some stories in there that makes me sad that there were only published after he died. There is one story. Wailing Shall be in All Streets” that in its short form is on par with his life’s masterpiece “Slaughter House Five”

This not to say the rest of the stories are not good, they are, but some are simply some of the best writing he has done. I felt that these stories should have received more praise than what they had.

One story was written in a fantasy mode and it blew my breath away after I read it. I am not sure why they did not publish these earlier but I for one am glad we got one last finial look at some of his best writings.

Booking Through Thursday

Today's question is suggested by Mae.

"I couldn't sleep a wink, so I just read and read, day and night ... it was there I began to divide books into day books and night books," she went on. "Really, there are books meant for daytime reading and books that can be read only at night."
- 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera, p. 103.

Do you divide your books into day and night reads? How do you decide?

I might be in the minority here but when I read that book and that passage my first thought was how strange. I am in the camp of where if I am reading a book I want to finish that book before going on to something else.

You’ve just dropped your favorite, out-of-print book into a bathtub, ruining it completely … What do you do now?

First I would say a few choice swear words. Then I would drag the book out and let it air dry. If it is too damaged then I would start looking anywhere I could think of to get another copy. If it comes to that beg the publisher to let me buy one more book.