Bookgirl's Nightstand | When I'm not reading books, I'm making them.

Bag of Books

iliana Nightstand February 7, 2008

I grabbed one of my larger book totes today as I headed out hoping that I’d have lots of books to fill it up with. You see, I went to a book sale! One of the suburbs nearby was having a book sale with the purpose of raising money for a scholarship fund and my small contribution of $11 got me this bag full.

bookbag

I can’t just show you books without titles right? Here’s what’s in the bag:

Into Temptation by Penny Vincenzi
Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen
The Ruined Map by Kobo Abe
The Widow’s War by Sally Gunning
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family by Mary S. Lovell
Invisible Girl by Tess Hudson
When the Day of Evil Comes by Melanie Wells
Little Children by Tom Perrotta
The Widow Ginger by Pip Granger
The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue

I think I got some good ones.

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Library Love

iliana Nightstand February 6, 2008

I found this meme over at Melissa’s who got it from Becky. This meme is to celebrate Library Lovers Month and how can I not participate as I love my local library. Here it goes:

How do you plan on celebrating Library Lovers month? Lately my visits haven’t lasted very long but in honor of this I promise to make my next visit a nice and relaxing one. I’m going to read magazines, wander over various sections and check out some new books.

How often do you accidentally spell library as ‘libary’ when you’re in a hurry? I really haven’t paid attention.

What is the most amount of books you’ve ever had checked out at one time? My library has a limit of 40 books but I typically stay well under that range – probably around 15 max.

What is the longest you’ve ever gone without visiting the library? When I went to college I never visited the public library. I wasn’t very impressed by their collection or the library itself.

What is the biggest fine you’ve ever had? Around $10.

When you go to the library, do you plan ahead and make a list? Or do you browse? Mainly I browse. Sometimes I do have a list of DVDs or books my mom wants.

Have you ever been shushed or hushed by a librarian? Nope.

What is the worst (against-the-rules) thing you’ve ever done in the library? I can’t think of anything.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done to a library book? Nothing to a book but I do remember losing a CD I had borrowed. I was a good patron though and bought a replacement CD for the library.

Have you ever had a “favorite” librarian? There are two librarians who I love chatting with at my library. They also lead one of the book groups the library hosts and I used to attend it until I realized I had too many book groups going on. I haven’t run into my favorite librarians in a while but I do enjoy stopping by and catching up on book talk.

If you could change one thing about your library it would be… My library is wonderful. Actually I’m very spoiled because there are two branches near my house and they both have cafes, comfy chairs, free internet, and a great selection of new books. So there’s not much more they could improve aside from maybe subscribing to more magazines or literary journals.

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Book Group Night

iliana Nightstand February 5, 2008

I went to my other book group tonight and really enjoyed spending time with the group and Christine. I was looking forward to the meeting because we discussed Zeno’s Conscience by Italo Svevo and I wanted to hear what everyone thought. I did manage to finish it but feel like I missed a lot.

The novel is supposed to be Zeno’s journal. He is undergoing psychoanalysis and his therapist encourages him to write this as part of his treatment. The journal is divided into sections on Zeno’s attempt to quit smoking, the story of his marrige, his mistress, his father’s death, and a business partnership.

While I didn’t love the book there were certain aspects I enjoyed, the touches of humor and Zeno, who was hard to dislike even if he was a liar, delusional, self-involved, etc. He seemed very real actually. I guess my problem was that I go more for a narrative and the fact that I read most of the book over the course of a couple of days. Perhaps my reading would have benefited greatly from some breaks in between.

Overall though this novel reminds me of why I enjoy book groups so much. If it hadn’t been for the group I probably would have never read this book. I admit I admire the cover art but one quick read of the blurbs and I may have put it back on the shelf after reading that Svevo was dubbed “the Italian Proust”. So, yay for exploring a new author and a work of literature deemed by some critics as a masterpiece of Italian literature.

I am looking forward to our March selection as it’s Half of a Yellow Sun – a book I’ve had on my TBR list for some time. For now though I’m most looking forward to reading something a bit lighter.

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