not this one...
not this one...
LONG BOOKS
I don't know whether to start Game of Thrones, which I bought ages ago. I'm thinking if I want to read about medieval intrigue and murder, in sprawling epic form, with a million characters, I can just read Penman's The Sunne in Splendour about the war of the roses. That is, read about the real thing. It's 800 trade sized pages, but at least it finishes, unlike Martin's still ongoing saga. I've written to ask the friend who recommended Penman, and is also reading Martin.
I hadn't considered bringing Penman because of the hugeosity, but I could bring it as my traveling day book.
SHORT STORIES
I don't read them enough, but when I do I enjoy them. Sci Fi is the best genre for short stories. Mysteries and romances need time to develop; but unlike SF movies that are just action flicks, SF books are about exploring ideas, and an interesting idea can be expressed quite economically in short story form.
When I was discovering sci fi I bought an unprepossessing book of short stories by an author I hadn't heard of, but who was lauded by all the big names. Avram Davidson became my fave ss writer--such weird little stories, and I never know how they're going to end.
You can read or download his story The Golem here. It's barely 5 pages and perfect.
“When you learn who—or, rather, what—I am, the flesh will melt from your bones in terror.” He bared porcelain teeth.
“Never mind about my bones!” the old woman cried. “You’ve got a lot of nerve talking about my bones!”
BOOKMARKS
Most of the bookmarks I've come across are bus transfers, napkins, bits of paper. But here are the more substantial ones, including a bookmark from Hatchard's in London (where the Georgette Heyer ladies would get their books!)
BOOK SMELL
When I come across old books, or ones that were my grandfather's, I smell them. (There's a second hand store in Nanaimo that should bottle their smell. I highly suspect they've got Eau de Second Hand Books diffusers hidden about.) I came across a set of Dumas that I couldn't remember getting from my Francophone pal Banane. Then I remembered my grandfather was in a French club in university, and sure enough the books smell like his old home. Startlingly so! Mmmmmm...
Tuckered out now, and the dust finally got to me today. But SFF is done. Tomorrow is plays, poetry, fave authors, and cleaning up a Miscellaneous Crap shelf. I would loooove some spring weather so I could throw open winders, but 55 F / 13C doesn't really cut it.
Happy Passover or Easter or belated Equinox or Merry Atheist Spring!
3 comments:
Oooo, I like the Kate Bush bookmark. And I would have picked the first cover until I read your comment for the cover you like. Fun!
I remember reading somewhere about different covers for books that have the longevity that Ursula's do, that the covers reflect not only the peculiar peccadilloes of the cover art editor who created/ordered them, but also the cultural memes of the time.
No matter what the cover is like though, this book's a good read!
I read the Le Guin with the third cover down, but, then, I was pregnant at the time. I think perhaps pregnant ladies might be less inclined to choose the one you prefer. A friend loved the trilogy so much she named her second son Ged, after the protagonist. [Her boys were Jasper and Ged, really cool names, I think.]
Just reading what you wrote brought back memories of 'old book smell'. We need some second hand book stores in my neighborhood. ANY book stores would be nice.
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