The Saga of the Bedside Books 02/24/08

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The Saga of the Bedside Books

February 24, 2008

First, let me assure those BiblioBuffet readers who wrote to ask if I was okay after last week’s minimal letter, yes, I am. I apologize for worrying a few of you, but it was far better I say nothing than that I ramble on for the sake of having mindless content on the site. There’s enough of that elsewhere.

It’s been a cold week here—though it would be warm to some of you—making it easy to settle in and read, read, read. And that is precisely what I have been doing. My bedside table is piled with books. Some coffee table ones are for late night browsing when my eyes and brain are too tired to focus on words. Others I have finished but not yet returned to the shelves. And then there are the ones that I currently reading. Two of those, which I just finished last night, are The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mount Everest and High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed. Though neither one would get five stars, they were exciting reading for someone who finds the Everest fascination, well, fascinating.

Another one is Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West, a fascinating, rich, historical travel journal through Yugoslavia in the pre-WWII days. I am in the beginning chapters of it, and realize it is going to be a slow, languorous read because of that richness. West is not an author to be rushed; her paragraphs have more substance to them than many books have in their entirety.

In addition, I have just begun a memoir/history of American advertising in the second half of the twentieth century titled Marching Up Madison Avenue, which should, because of my interest in all aspects American culture and history, prove interesting. At least I hope it will.

What books are on your bedside table? Got any good recommendations for me?

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Henry Carrigan, in Readings, continues his series on Great Books From Different Traditions. This week, he offers the second of three parts in his look at French novels focusing on two books that share a relationship unknown to most readers of one, the most influential French novel of the nineteenth century.

A beloved book read at an impressionable age then reread in adulthood can produce uncertain results. Will it be as good as it was originally or will it disappoint? Paul Clark takes a look at two collections of essays by Evan Connell that for him are as good now as they were then in A Walk Through My Bookshelves.

New to BiblioBuffet she may be, but not new to controversy as Andi Miller shares in her review of Naomi Wolf’s book, The End of America, in this week’s The Finicky Reader.

Bookmarks can be extraordinary works of art in themselves as seen in the images cut by laser or engraved onto gold or silver-plated pieces or woven into silk. In this week’s On Marking Books, I interview Robert Ely, founder of Papilionaceous, to find out how he creates his luxurious silk bookmarks, some of which now mark my place in my books and my collection.

What is Australian writing? While it could be argued that it is writing set in or by an Australian author, it is actually more as Amanda Joseph shares in this week’s Rants & Raves From Down Under with her description of the recent Perth Writers Festival.

Writing is a solitary activity, but Lisa Guidarini finds that in two ways it can also be surprisingly social, an illuminating light that shines on writer and reader alike, this week in Reviews & Reflections.

Keeping her brain revved up, Anne Michael finds, is as easy as enjoying an online subscription when it provides the inspiration to seek out the new, the old or the unusual. This week, in Seasoned Lightly, she shares her joy in her expanding horizons.

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A delightful book blog I just discovered is Book Trout. Its tag line—Books, Book Selling, Book, Reading, Book Loving—is a near-perfect line for all booklovers. It also seems to particularly suit Rachel Jagareski who, along with her husband, Dan, owns Old Saratoga Books in New York state, especially well. The posts are invariably hilarious, delightful, charming and fascinating. Since it only began late last year, it is easy—and worth it—to go back to the beginning and read it all.

Until next week, read well, read often and read on!

Lauren

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