Note to those who are interested in this sort of thing: In order to prepare for my second round interview tomorrow I spent the night with my Jeff Buckley: Live in Chicago DVD playing in the background. Yes, I am that serious about my preparation for this one. I listened to this DVD before every exam in B-School. When I need to place myself in the right mental framework this is what I utilize. If anyone wants to send positive vibes my way on Tuesday afternoon I would really appreciate it. For those wishing to send negative vibes I would like to suggest that schadenfreude is not the best use of one’s time. But wish me luck all the same.
Time to talk about books. Those of you who have admitted to being my friend on Facebook (not entirely an easy thing to do, at times I wish that there was a way to categorize someone as “a person whose existence I acknowledge”) will notice that I am now utilizing the Virtual Bookshelf app. It should come as no surprise that I have kept track of every book that I have read since 1998 so I am going to try to add all of those to my bookshelf. I’d try to account for everything in my apartment as well but I have way too many books. I even gave up on keeping track of them in a spreadsheet and I enjoy spreadsheets. Still, if you want to get a sense of my tastes that is a good place to start.
Thanks for all the great recommendations on books to read. Thought that I should share some of my thoughts on them.
Books suggested that I have actually read:
“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee: I’m still upset by the complete lack of hunting advice in this novel. How can you have the words “kill” and “bird” in the title and not talk about proper technique? I read this book last year, which is kind of sad when I say that I am well read.
“The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck: Read as part of my goal to read the top 10 novels of the 20th century.
“The Road” by Cormac McCarthy: Read while on vacation last summer. Suggestion to everyone else: do not read this on vacation. It’s a bit of a bummer. Great book just unbelievably depressing.
Anything by Neil Gaiman: I’ve read everything by Neil Gaiman. I own a comic book signed by Neil Gaiman. I have collections of academic essays on the works of Neil Gaiman. I’m really impressed that someone would suggest this just because I like the fact that other people recognize his genius.
“A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” by Dave Eggers: Read on a plane flying home from Dublin. A plane that had two screaming infants, a small child kicking my backseat across all of Canada, and a bad Jim Carrey film as my entertainment options. Good book, especially in those circumstances.
Suggestions that I want to read / embarrassed that I haven’t:
John Irving: I’ve never read any John Irving. I’ve had a copy of Garp that has not been opened past page ten (despite being with me on a few transatlantic flights) and for some reason I just have not been able to get into it. Really need to read some of his work.
Steve Martin Autobiography: I asked for this for Christmas but apparently Santa and I have different definitions of “good”. Actually, I got the Charles Schultz biography instead and I’m working my way through that at a rather slow pace. Really want to read this because I dig Steve Martin’s writing. The Pleasure of my Company is a favorite of mine in part because it is so simple.
Bill Bryson stuff: A few years ago I started to read a lot of travel books possibly in a subconscious effort to deal with the fact that I don’t do much travelling. It’s strange then that I never bothered to pick up anything by Bill Bryson. Seems like a simple and fun read and I could use more of those.
Jane Austen: Now that I think of it, I don’t believe that I have read any Jane Austen. The only thing in that entire genre that I have ever read is Wuthering Heights, which is really odd given how much I dig British authors. Women discussing potential suitors in parlors never seemed to be my cup of tea though that might explain all of the other issues that I have in my life. Again, someone I need to read to at least give a better impression of being well read. Plus, Jane Austen is always a trivia question.
I’ll read more of these suggestions as well as I get around to them. The others I’ve heard of or have no idea what they are about, which is even more interesting. My favorite part of reading is finding a new author who opens my eyes to another part of life. I know people say that novels are a dying art but I’m not getting rid of my library anytime soon. There is just something so satisfying about holding a book in your hands, looking at the bookmark and seeing how far there is to go, and losing yourself in another’s words. I’ll take it over watching a bad sitcom any day.
Though when How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory return in two weeks the books will definitely be put to the side for an hour.
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