I just found a cool website I had been utterly unaware of. I was looking for links to list the last couple books I have finished to my list of Books I've read in 2007 Doing a Google search for Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England led me to Largehearted Boy. The description says: "Largehearted Boy is a music blog featuring daily free and legal music downloads as well as news from the worlds of music, literature, and pop culture." The piece on my book had the author describing the music he was listening to while writing the novel. Interesting .
I'll definitely explore this find some more.
Some of the book links on my list are simple - leading to purchase info at Powell's bookstore or Amazon.com. But usually I like to look for something that offers more, a review or notes about the author. It helps me remember more of the details about the book. I read a lot and then on top of that listen to a good many tales on CD in my car as I commute back and forth to work. After a while they all sort of run together in my head. By looking back at my list and bringing up the links I can bring them back as individual stories that had some impact on me.
Then of course, in addition to all the books I really did read to the end I COULD have a whole other list...the ones I started but never finished. Maybe next year.
2 comments:
If you never finish them are they worth listing?
Good question, Matthew!
I think so - with this caveat - that I say WHY I never finished them.
Sometimes I start a REALLY GOOD BOOK but don't finish because I am too distracted, too busy, too involved in other things. Having it on the list with that explanation would serve as a prompt for me to get back to it.
Sometimes I start a book I don't finish because it's just boring and dull and I don't give a hoot about any of the characters.
Sometimes I don't finish a book because I find it offensive (too much profanity, etc).
I think the WHY of not finishing certain books really does matter...
Besides, one of the things I like about blogging is that it is sort of a marker record of what I was interested in or what my opinions were at any given time when I wrote the stuff I wrote. Over time, it is all together possible some of those values or views may shift a bit.
So by keeping a list of what I DIDN'T like and why, I learn as much about myself as by saying what I did.
Also it's a starting point for discussion - some who loved a book I discard may tell me why they liked it and get me to give it a second chance. Or, we could talk some about why XYZ approach in a book appeals to me or doesn't.
Does that make sense?
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