Bookworm

Is anyone interested in going to hear John Banville speak at the Free Library on 13 March? I had to read one of his books for an Anglo-Irish fiction course I took at UCC, Copernicus, I think it was (I didn't care a lot for it, but I'm not as interested in historical fiction as others are), and I've been very interested in reading more of his work since he was first nominated for and then won the Booker prize last year. I'm not sure why, but it's the only book prize that holds any real weight for me. Anyhow, let me know if you'd be interested in attending.

We've decided not to move this year, but I'd like to continue with the paring down of our possessions. There are a great many books on our shelves right now, but aside from those that are yet to be read, I feel like I've really managed to rid myself of all but the most important books in my collection. What books or authors do you collect? I find that my 'can't-part-withs' fall into four categories: Neil Gaiman, Jeanette Winterson, contemporary Irish lit, and favorites. The first three are the ones I've decided that I want to collect (I love Gaiman and Winterson, and I want to be well-versed in Irish C.Lit), and the favorites is probably the most telling. Some of them overlap Sarah's collections, but I'll list them here anyway because even if she stopped collecting them, I would snarl and bite anyone who tried to take them away.

• All Good Things... by Michael Jan Friedman
  Wow, if a book ever changed my life, this one was it. I saw it at Meijer, and I thought, How sad that this huge thing is ending, and I've never known any of it... Well, I managed to convince my mom to buy it for me, and I read it, and then I started obsessively watching the show. I taped reruns and poured over books devouring every minute detail about Star Trek that I encountered. Then when my friends got into Trek and we found more friends, we formed clubs and wrote nerdy fan letters to the likes of Terry Farrell and Marina Sirtis (both of whom have provided me with autographed photos). We attended conventions and ruled our lives by the whims of the shows' producers. And I fell out of love with Trekdom for a while. Then, before I flew to Ireland--literally, on the car ride to Chicago-O'Hare--I reread this book because it was the most comfortable, stablest thing I could think of connecting with before my whole world dropped away from me. And I found reruns on Sky-One (I even skipped history lectures when my favorite episode of season seven aired), so my flatmates were converted. Now, Sarah has been converted, too, and we went to a convention together this past year (though it was dismal and unlike the ones I'd attended in their heyday). I love this book and everything it represents.


• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
  I honestly can't tell you why this book holds such a special place in my heart. I read it on a whim in high school, then I read it in French so I could have an excuse to not pay attention in my dreary French classes. I have two copies of it--the original copy I got from a used bookstore in the Homeland, and a beautiful, hardback, illustrated copy in French that Viviane's parents gave me when they came to collect her after our year in Cork. I think it's an important book, and I need to reread it soon.


• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
  This is unquestionably my favorite book of all time. And it's not for everyone, I know, but never before or since has a book made such a tremendous, profound emotional impression on me. I started rereading it as I was reading it because I just couldn't absorb enough of its magic and I didn't want it to end. It's been a while since I last read it, but I think I'd feel off not having it near.


• On the Beach by Nevil Shute
  Here is the book that's technically part of Sarah's collection as it falls into the category of post-apocalyptic fiction that she so adores. I read it last summer when I needed a 'beach book' to take my mind off of the screaming-children job, and it ended up leaving a very strong impression on me. I think often of its implications, and I have to admit that when I see a map of Australia with the names of cities that were visited in the book, a part of me cringes in sadness. It left me feeling this profound sense of loss, and unlike most of the books on this list, I think it's accessible to everyone.


• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
  Isn't this every angsty, teen author's favorite book? I wasn't actually as angsty as most, but I truly appreciated the frank portrait of depression that Plath created. I thought she was amazing, and I'm glad that I discovered her when I did because she opened up my entire creative world in a way I didn't know was possible.

Right now, I'm waffling back and forth between deep books (The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers and Weight by Jeanette Winterson) and fluff (Bill Bryson and nothin' else but), and honestly, I'm just glad to be reading. I have a tendency to fall into and out of reading spurts as my hobbies have problems getting along together. Tell me what you're reading or what your favorite books are.