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I love books and reading. I taught myself to read when I was 2 and a bit, and I've been chomping my way through the printed word ever since. I was one of those kids who would read the back of the cornflakes box for lack of anything else. (My mother banned me from reading at the table.) I would read in bed by the little bit of light that came in from the hall. I would hide books under the edge of my desk and read instead of paying attention in school. In high school English, I'd spend the period reading other parts of the textbook.
It's not just reading, though, it's actual books. I love the experience of print and paper. The Internet will never really do it for me. And as great as Amazon is for finding unusual titles, I much prefer the experience of physically browsing books. Borders and Barnes & Noble will do, but I prefer more individualistic stores. I like the esoteric. The Strand is fantastic (except in summer as it doesn't have air conditioning) and Foyles in London is ideal, especially now that books are organized in a rational manner. I also like big academic libraries; they always have fantastically obscure books and lots of journals. Most bookstores tend to have fairly generalist nonfiction books, often written in a journalistic style. That's got its uses, but sometimes, nothing but hardcore academic prose will do. The only trouble (and one of the main reasons I've never considered library science as a career) is that every library I've ever been in has a stale-air problem that invariably makes me feel queasy within 90 minutes.
Right now, I've got a book jones. I've been so good lately. I haven't bought any new ones in months, I think. And I keep seeing so many good ones I could just snap up in a flash. I could use some fiction, but I'm also feeling a real need for some good, obscure nonfiction. More history of sub-saharan Africa, for instance. I've also got a book on prion diseases on my wishlist that looks good, and recently someone posted a link in![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
linguaphiles to a book on the world's writing systems that is, sadly, $200 ($170 if ordered directly through the OUP). I love books on language, but it's hard to find good ones--there's a small selection of ones written for a general audience, and then lots of specialist ones (which can verge on the incomprehensible, especially once you get into things like syntax) which you never see at regular bookstores anyway. :(
It's not just reading, though, it's actual books. I love the experience of print and paper. The Internet will never really do it for me. And as great as Amazon is for finding unusual titles, I much prefer the experience of physically browsing books. Borders and Barnes & Noble will do, but I prefer more individualistic stores. I like the esoteric. The Strand is fantastic (except in summer as it doesn't have air conditioning) and Foyles in London is ideal, especially now that books are organized in a rational manner. I also like big academic libraries; they always have fantastically obscure books and lots of journals. Most bookstores tend to have fairly generalist nonfiction books, often written in a journalistic style. That's got its uses, but sometimes, nothing but hardcore academic prose will do. The only trouble (and one of the main reasons I've never considered library science as a career) is that every library I've ever been in has a stale-air problem that invariably makes me feel queasy within 90 minutes.
Right now, I've got a book jones. I've been so good lately. I haven't bought any new ones in months, I think. And I keep seeing so many good ones I could just snap up in a flash. I could use some fiction, but I'm also feeling a real need for some good, obscure nonfiction. More history of sub-saharan Africa, for instance. I've also got a book on prion diseases on my wishlist that looks good, and recently someone posted a link in
linguaphiles to a book on the world's writing systems that is, sadly, $200 ($170 if ordered directly through the OUP). I love books on language, but it's hard to find good ones--there's a small selection of ones written for a general audience, and then lots of specialist ones (which can verge on the incomprehensible, especially once you get into things like syntax) which you never see at regular bookstores anyway. :(
bored