Book Miscellany

July 24, 2007

1. Curious about how many of the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die" that you've read? I was. I've read 121 of them, or 12.09%. I'll have to read 29 of these books each year in order to read them all before I die. What this chart doesn't tell me is exactly how and when I'll die, although it apparently knows. Also, I'm not sure who Peter Boxall is or why he is the Master of All Books, but it is fun to download this chart and see what an uneducated loser you are.

2. Paperback Swap is fun. See my little linky box on my sidebar? If you click on that, it'll take you to Paperback Swap. What you do is find 10 books in your house that you are ready to give away, and you list them here. Then you get to pick out 3 books for free. It really is fun! Of course, you have to be ready to send your book(s) when requested. Paperback Swap makes this very easy by automatically generating the mailing label for you. You pay the postage, which currently is $2.13 media rate. Every time someone receives one of your books, you get to pick out another book. Is this a good deal for a book? Not necessarily. You can go to a thrift store and buy a book for a quarter. But I've been able to find a bunch of books on my reading list this way, and I so enjoy getting packages in the mail.

3. People often ask me where I find book titles to read. My new favorite place is through Sherry at Semicolon. (This is Judy D's sister, for all you Local Yokels.) Not only does she have interesting book reviews of her own several times each week, but she has a great weekly column called the Saturday Review of Books. You can check her blog every Saturday to see new reviews by 75 or so bloggers, or you can just go to her running list of Saturday Reviews. My reading list has greatly expanded since I've been a regular reader there. And if that isn't enough for you, she has a big list of Book Blogs on her sidebar.
* Another way I like to get books is by perusing Listmania at amazon.com. Just do a search for one of your favorite books, and look at the sidebars or at the bottom to see what the Listmania selections are.
* I've gotten great ideas from the Bibliovores forum at the Sonlight boards. This might be one of the private access forums, but if you spend a lot of money at Sonlight, you can read the "What Did You Read" each month reviews, which are always enlightening.
* And finally, my friends give me great book ideas! We are always saying, "GIve me a good book for my trip!" or "You've got to read this!"

4. And speaking of trips, here is what I am taking to read on my upcoming trip to New York (assuming I'll finish Harry Potter withing the next few days before I leave) (and assuming we'll have a rental van within the next three days so that I DO NOT MISS MY BROTHER'S WEDDING):
The Other Side of the River by Alex Kotlowitz; Alice's Tulips by Sandra Dallas; Man and Boy by Tony Parsons; The Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani; Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman; and The Scarlet Letter.

And that's what I have to say about books today. Now go read. It's good for your soul.