it's book time

3 days ago, a friend sent a link to shelfari, and on a whim, i joined.

a day later, i came across this challenge post in a travel forum: "read 50 books this year". which is just too tempting.

yesterday, i finished book #1 for 2009.

today, i received this interesting feedback from a friend. and yes, it's funny to think of it that way, but it is true: "50 books seems like a lot to me. But it is your passion and your profession! You have a genuine hunger for what can be found in books, and each one is more than a story. It is also an example of editing and structure and rhythm and storytelling. There is a lot more in a book for you than there is for most people! Funny to think of it that way, but it is true."

and just now, while browsing new webpages, i came across this 2009 resolution in Rumpus.beta, The Rumpus Resolutions:

3. Read books I hate
I had a funny experience a couple of years ago. I met a woman taking an MFA at Antioch, who worked with the writer Rob Roberge. Evidently Rob had them keep a book journal, not the usual ‘book report’–what they liked and didn’t like about the novel in question–but entries called ‘annotations,’ which were evaluations of how the book in question affected the student’s own writing.
I thought that was just brilliant, and tried it out. Funny enough, the books that affected my writing in the most interesting ways were often books I didn’t like at all. The books I liked didn’t have nearly the stimulating effect. But the books I didn’t like! What a treasury of passionate reactions, possibilities and resonances. What wonderful arguments I had with the author! What inspiration.
Happy 2009! Make it new.