Bedazzled

The other day I was talking to a friend about what we were reading. We talked about the subject for five minutes until I remembered I had just proposed writing an essay on that very topic for a few blogs.  I didn’t mention the guest blog posts to my friend because it seemed presumptuous to cite myself in the middle of a conversation. 


Every October I go out and buy myself three or four books.  I consider the spree my annual birthday present to myself and to support the book industry. Usually I don’t know anything about the reading material, which in part makes it so much fun because it exposes me to work that, is completely unexpected and is occasionally disagreeable.  However, most of the time when I sit down with a book, I’ve carefully chosen something I think I’m going to like. I believe it’s important, especially for a writer, to expose myself to new voices.

It’s the only time I’ll buy a hardcover.  A book itself has a surprising physical heft to it. The cover is smooth and heavy and the pages thick, the type gorgeous. It makes me realize how beautiful a book can be—even leaving outside the words that are in it.  A tactile, visual and sensory experience not to be had on a Kindle.

The first book I plan on reading is, The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.  At the moment, I’m inclined to be reading something personal with social mobility in a woman’s voice. I also picked up Michael Chabon’s Telegraph Avenue since it is a street I am familiar with and walk on my family visits to Berkeley.  I bought Metropole by Ferenc Karinthy and Rules of Civility by Amor Towles.  The last title has female protagonists, but the truth is, I was swayed by the cover—I’m a pushover for anything black and white from the 1930’s. I find the decade simply irresistible and wistful with the tone of the times—the golden age of jazz, the glamour, the robust city life.     

I love a good story where the characters are flawed, but good-hearted and ends with hope of redemption.

How about you? What are you reading now?