I've been a book whore since I was a little kid. I am the only child of Korean immigrants and thankfully we weren't poor, so they could afford to indulge me in the area of their choice. My parents were no different from the stereotypical Asian parents in that they wanted me to succeed academically (especially since it was clear from an early age that I had the motor skills of a tranquilized elephant) so that area was always books. I could ask for any book I wanted and my parents would buy it for me, which, combined with their lack of knowledge of American popular fiction, led to my trying to read Stephen King's Carrie in fifth grade and being so scared I had to throw the book away.
Tales of telekinetic horror aside, I have always loved having books. In the bookstore, I'll dig through the stacks of books to get at the copy two or three layers back which I assure myself that fewer people have touched and whose cover is usually in better condition than the topmost, heavily molested copy. New books give me a mild contact high, but I have old much-loved books that have been re-read again and again. I am just plain easy when it comes to books.
I go through phases of being good and steering clear of bookstores and Amazon.com. Usually books are cheaper at Amazon so I'll just order what I need from there. However, I love being in a bookstore so much that I'll sometimes give in and buy from there, especially when they tempt me with the occasional 3-for-2 sale.
I justified today's Borders excursion with the fact that I'm facing abdominal surgery next month with a 4-6 week recovery period, so I'ma get me some books. (Meanwhile I had to beat the crap out of the Voice of Reason within that reminded me that I have a pile of unread books still waiting for me.)
Laura was kind enough to lend me these two (oops, three!):
Lamb, the Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
The Stupidest Angel, A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror
Lakota Woman
And at Borders I picked up these at the 3-for-2 sale:
Reading Lolita in Tehran
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Saturday
I went looking for cillic's recommendations but didn't find most of them. I did already have A History of God in my unread books pile so hopefully that will get read soon. I also want to finish Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope, which I'm about halfway through.
And I'm looking forward to these when they come out in paperback:
It's Not News, It's Fark: How Mass Media Tries to Pass Off Crap As News
A Thousand Splendid Suns
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3 comments:
I'd actually like to borrow Reading Lolita and Saturday from you when you're done with them... I've heard a lot about both and never got around to getting them... No rush though, since I'll be busy with school stuff for the next 9 months.
Also in the bag was Lakota Woman, I thought that one might interest you as well. Just in case you looked and went "Buh?". That one is a really quick autobiographical read.
I just edited my post this morning b/c I didn't see the Lakota Woman till late last night - that one looks interesting as well. You can borrow the others any time!
Hi my name is Heathen and I'm a book whore too. I'm not sure which is worse- my piles of books to read (these are books that I have purchased and not gotten around to reading- they take up a 4' x 2' x 2' box AND a bookshelf stacked 2 deep) or that I still ong to buy more books. I usually read more during the summer, but I've had a lot of other things going on so I haven't been reading as much. Hopefully I will pick up the reading pace soon. I occasionally tell people that I think that I missed my calling as a librarian. I love books and I'm great at organizing.
PS_ I will try to finish my book list for you tonight.
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