nomadreader

 In two novels I've read this month ( So Much for That by Lionel Shriver and Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier), the main characters have mentioned their lack of desire to read novels. It may not be uncommon to encounter people who are dismissive of novels, but I am fascinated by fictional characters in novels dismissing the genre. There's a certain amount of irony at play, to be sure, but my recent encounters are quite different and both interesting. (I'll do my best to avoid plot spoilers.) In So Much for That , Shep mentions a few times how much his retired father enjoys reading mystery novels. As he ponders what life will be like once he stops working, he muses what he might like to read, but he concludes, "maybe he wasn't cut out for novels. He's rather live a good story than read one." My first thought (full disclosure) was the famous line from You've Got Mail when Meg Ryan's character, a small bookshop owner, muses via email th...

It's finally here, fellow bibliophiles: the end of my semester. Bring on endless time to read, catch up on my DVR, see more movies and play board games! This week I'll catch up on reviews of books and fall television, prepare my Best of 2009 list and, of course, read. It looks like I will make my goal of reading 100 books this year, even though many of them were children's and young adult. Next year, I'm shifting my focus to quality over quantity. Several book bloggers have coined 2010 The Year of Deliberate Reading . I first heard it from the Literate Housewife on Twitter, and I'm using it too. I'll be focusing on reading the finalists in the awards I enjoy the most: the Newbery Award, the Booker Prize, the Orange Prize, the National Book Award (fiction), the Pulitzer (fiction), and a few of the "best of the year" lists from publications I trust the most. I also hope to read more classics and more of the books I've been meaning to read forever. ...