Do you keep a reading log?

A few weeks ago,  a friend who is a fellow writer and reader asked me if I kept a log of the books I read. I do, but unlike her, I’ve only been keeping mine since 2002. She began hers when she was in seventh grade, and said she started it because she learned her grandmother kept a log of the books she read and thought it was a neat idea.

At the time I started my reading log, I was working in a library, and I noticed a few different library patrons, usually older women, who kept notebooks of the books they had read, in some cases so they didn’t mistakenly read the same book more than once. Since, I don’t usually consult my reading log to see if I’ve read a book or not (I usually rely on my memory), I’m not sure what the purpose of my reading log is, but I still dutifully keep it.

What about you? Do you keep a reading log? Why do you keep it? When and why did you start it?

Thank you, audio book inventors

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time behind the wheel of my car, both for work (My job involves driving around visiting libraries, how cool is that?) and for family obligations (there was a round trip to Maine which included a traffic-filled ride up to Vacationland). I actually kind of enjoy driving with the exception of that trip up to Maine. The problem with spending so much time on the road is that it cuts into my reading time. Audio books are my salvation.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve “read” Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows, The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington and I am in the midst of Looking for Alaska by John Green. Of course, I’ve “read” all of these books without cracking open a single book. While listening to books will never take the place of actually reading a book (and there are some books that I must read the old fashioned way) having a book to keep me company on my driving is a blessing. I can’t imagine what traveling salesmen did before audio books.

I started wondering, just who this wonderful genius was who came up with the audio book. As it turns out, I cannot track down the name of a lone genius behind the audio book. It’s a collaborative effort that has built over time. There were early poetry recordings that predated radio and television entertainment. In the 1930s the Books for the Blind program came into being, and while this is similar to the commercial audio books of today, the program was limited to those unable to read physical books and recording quality lacked a lot of the production values that make commercial audio books such a pleasure to listen to. Caedmon, who continues to publish audio books, began the first true audio book line in 1952. Not until the cassette tape and later the CD came along would audio books become the friends of  road warriors of every stripe.

Of course, these days entire books can be easily downloaded to an MP3 player. I still can’t completely grasp the fascination with digital versions of print books, but digital audio books make perfect sense to me. Technology can be pretty cool sometimes.

By the way, behind the wheel isn’t the only thing audio books are good for. There are whole household projects that I might never have made it through were it not for audio books. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig helped me to redo a kitchen floor. Frost on My Moustache by Tim Moore was my companion through a bathroom makeover, and thanks to listening to Tearing Down the Wall of Sound by Mick Brown while painting a bedroom I will always associate Phil Spector with a certain shade of blue paint.

And as for that whole debate about whether listening to an audio book counts as reading, Stephen King weighs in here. He also lists his top 10 favorite audios, which probably wouldn’t be a bad place to start if you were thinking about trying out an audio book yourself.

What about you? Are you an audio book listener? Why or why not?

Eonverye taht can raed tihs rsaie yuor hnad.

I tend to think faster than I type, and while I haven’t seen a manuscript that looks quite this messed up, I’ve certainly managed to creatively type a word or two. I think that’s the only reason I can actually read the text below.

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh?

Better than Twilight

I went down to the local book shop to pick up a copy of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater last weekend. I was glad to see that only did they have the book, but they had it displayed in their front window. Their “Stephenie Who?” display suggested it might be appropriate for Twilight fans looking for their next fix. Cool as the display was, it did concern me. I’m one of those oddballs, that didn’t really like Twilight.

While I can see how Twilight fans might also like Shiver, I have to point out that even folks who loathed Twilight, might still enjoy Shiver, which is a completely different book. Yes, both books have legendary fantastic creatures presented in a new and different way. Yes, both novels feature an ordinary human girl who falls in love with one of these creatures. That’s about where the similarities end.

Shiver is a wonderfully delicious book that makes you want to curl up in a comfy chair and shut out the world for awhile while you escape into its pages. It’s beautiful and haunting, and best of all it is a well-told story.

Candy Obsessions

When I was in college, I had to have my wisdom teeth removed. Besides the fact that this seemed somewhat ironic, I mean here I was paying all this money to go to school and get smart, and then at the same time they were ripping my wisdom teeth right out . . . what I recall about my oral surgery is how I prepared for the event.

I had been told that I wasn’t allowed to have anything to eat for a set amount of hours before the surgery. Since my surgery was in the morning, this meant going without breakfast, which is not something I am normally capable of. I can skip any other meal of the day, but don’t make me skip breakfast. Knowing that I was going to have to go without breakfast, and that the next week or so would be spent eating things like apple sauce, I stayed up late the night before my surgery and ate a strawberry Charleston Chew bar.

I am telling you this because it was this memory that rose unbidden to my consciousness as I was reading Candyfreak: A journey into the chocolate underbelly of America by Steve Almond. I enjoy candy bars and probably have a bit of candyfreakdom in me, but Steve Almond has me beat. His candy bar consumption far surpasses mine and his obsession is something far beyond my own cravings, aroused by reading his hilarious and surprisingly informative book about America’s candy bar industry. That said I am more than a bit tempted to learn that I can buy an entire box of strawberry Charleston Chew bars at Amazon.

Armchair (or Couch) travels in books

I haven’t not done any recreational traveling this summer unless a one day whirwind trip to Maine for my sister’s 30th birthday counts, but I made up for it last week with a couple of literary trips courtesy of two cool books.

Benjamin Parzybok’s novel Couch is about three slacker-type roommates who take an unplanned trip all thanks to the couch in their apartment. When a clairvoyant, a con-man and a down on his luck computer programmer attempt to remove a couch from their flood-damaged apartment, they realize that this is no ordinary couch. In fact, it seems to have a mind of its own. Following the couch’s lead, they set off on a journey that will change all of their lives and perhaps even the world as well. It proved to be a wonderfully different book full of excitement and adventure.

Jordan Crane’s graphic novel The Clouds Above took me on an equally unusual journey. When a boy and his cat take some time off from school they find a mysterious staircase and climb straight up into the clouds. Here they meet a waterautumn (more commonly known as a waterfall) and try to help reunite him with his old friends. Filled with beautiful illustrations and plenty of funny bits, The Clouds Above made for a pleasant little excursion.