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15 things about me and reading
1. I don't remember not knowing how to read, although my mother says that she tried to teach me before I was ready (my mother thought I was a genius; I am not) and then had to stop and finally taught me later, probably when I was 5.
2. In second grade I was the elf who read the Christmas story aloud in the class play, because I was the best reader. I was beginning to think I was a genius by this point, which was not particularly healthy.
3. I was allowed to read in class in elementary school if I was finished with whatever I was doing. It was fine with my teachers, and I don't remember caring what anyone else thought.
4. As a bored child and youth, I didn't read as much as you might expect. I wasted time moping. I did read a lot of Enid Blyton's boarding school books and, starting at about age 12, classic British mystery novels. I have found that Agatha Christie doesn't hold up that well.
5. Books that have affected me deeply include Walker Percy's The Moviegoer, Garcia Marques' 100 Years of Solitude, and Crime and Punishment. I read these all for pleasure, while in college, and then made a conscious decision not to read serious fiction any more because I felt it might cause me to kill myself.
I still read light fiction (mystery, romance, comedy) and nonfiction almost exclusively.
6. If I walk into a room and there is a magazine or newspaper there, and there is any way I can manage to read it, I will. I am almost unable to resist its siren call. I frequently ignore the humans I am supposed to be visiting. This caused mockery and ostracism in high school, and mockery with love in college, which means I picked the correct college to attend.
7. I like to read out loud, but I do not like to be read out loud to. I think I am a good reader-out-loud. I read the entire LOTR trilogy out loud to mr. flea, and Connie Willis and Jennifer Crusie have also done well. I used to read New Yorker articles to him on long car trips. Now, of course, I spend a lot of time reading out loud to Casper.
8. I don't particularly need to own books. I choose to own books that I plan to read or look at again, or that I have a sentimental attachment to. I do most of my reading from the library. I do most of my book purchasing for 50 cents each or less.
9. When I am having trouble getting through a book, I will sometimes turn to the last page and see what the last word of the book is in an attempt to motivate myself. It usually doesn't work. I do finish most books, though sometimes it's skimming.
10. I don't care who done it in a mystery novel - in general plots are just a convenient structure to hang a story with charming charaters and witty dialogue on. On the other hand, I do notice and get annoyed by plot holes in books I like and re-read.
11. I read the New Yorker cover to cover every week, except for the short stories and poetry, which I almost never read. I occasionally skip the more esoteric dance or music pieces due to lack of understanding of the subject.
12. I read fewer books than I used to, as a result of the internet. I don't think that having a child has significantly reduced my reading at this point, although it certainly did when she was younger.
13. I was once fluent enough in French that I could read modern French novels (say, Camus) with relative ease. I regret having lost this ability, although there are not currently any French novels I am dying to read.
14. I currently have 7 books out from the library, and am 14 pages into Prep, by Curtis Sittonfield, which is due on Thursday and can't be remewed because it's a new book. Whoops. I may just give it back; I lived the experience of a socially awkward teenager at an elite New England prep school, and am either to young or too old to enjoy coming-of-age novels, especially those by women inexplicably named Curtis.
15. I have never belonged to a book club and don't think I would like to.
2. In second grade I was the elf who read the Christmas story aloud in the class play, because I was the best reader. I was beginning to think I was a genius by this point, which was not particularly healthy.
3. I was allowed to read in class in elementary school if I was finished with whatever I was doing. It was fine with my teachers, and I don't remember caring what anyone else thought.
4. As a bored child and youth, I didn't read as much as you might expect. I wasted time moping. I did read a lot of Enid Blyton's boarding school books and, starting at about age 12, classic British mystery novels. I have found that Agatha Christie doesn't hold up that well.
5. Books that have affected me deeply include Walker Percy's The Moviegoer, Garcia Marques' 100 Years of Solitude, and Crime and Punishment. I read these all for pleasure, while in college, and then made a conscious decision not to read serious fiction any more because I felt it might cause me to kill myself.
I still read light fiction (mystery, romance, comedy) and nonfiction almost exclusively.
6. If I walk into a room and there is a magazine or newspaper there, and there is any way I can manage to read it, I will. I am almost unable to resist its siren call. I frequently ignore the humans I am supposed to be visiting. This caused mockery and ostracism in high school, and mockery with love in college, which means I picked the correct college to attend.
7. I like to read out loud, but I do not like to be read out loud to. I think I am a good reader-out-loud. I read the entire LOTR trilogy out loud to mr. flea, and Connie Willis and Jennifer Crusie have also done well. I used to read New Yorker articles to him on long car trips. Now, of course, I spend a lot of time reading out loud to Casper.
8. I don't particularly need to own books. I choose to own books that I plan to read or look at again, or that I have a sentimental attachment to. I do most of my reading from the library. I do most of my book purchasing for 50 cents each or less.
9. When I am having trouble getting through a book, I will sometimes turn to the last page and see what the last word of the book is in an attempt to motivate myself. It usually doesn't work. I do finish most books, though sometimes it's skimming.
10. I don't care who done it in a mystery novel - in general plots are just a convenient structure to hang a story with charming charaters and witty dialogue on. On the other hand, I do notice and get annoyed by plot holes in books I like and re-read.
11. I read the New Yorker cover to cover every week, except for the short stories and poetry, which I almost never read. I occasionally skip the more esoteric dance or music pieces due to lack of understanding of the subject.
12. I read fewer books than I used to, as a result of the internet. I don't think that having a child has significantly reduced my reading at this point, although it certainly did when she was younger.
13. I was once fluent enough in French that I could read modern French novels (say, Camus) with relative ease. I regret having lost this ability, although there are not currently any French novels I am dying to read.
14. I currently have 7 books out from the library, and am 14 pages into Prep, by Curtis Sittonfield, which is due on Thursday and can't be remewed because it's a new book. Whoops. I may just give it back; I lived the experience of a socially awkward teenager at an elite New England prep school, and am either to young or too old to enjoy coming-of-age novels, especially those by women inexplicably named Curtis.
15. I have never belonged to a book club and don't think I would like to.