Saturday 14 February 2009

Happy Valentine's Day and book lust

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I have a party for married couples to go to, tonight! A 'just because' party :-) to which our children are also invited. I'm making my ginger cookies for the party - the same as on my Christmas Advent Tour post, as the party will have all our friends and they love these cookies too.

And just because we love books, I found a post about bookshelves, at Stephanie at Stephanie's Written Word, here. I went to the link she provided, and found these ones also, which I fell in love with: this one:
not only are there green leaves on trees, which my soul is starting to feel starved for, but the books look old and loved, and the corner has lovely natural light for reading by. And it looks quiet. (As I write this my children are leaping around on the floor. Shouting out loud. Excited because we have the party to go tonight, so they get to stay up late again and have lots of cookies and finger foods there.) What a lovely quiet corner for reading.

and this one - I really like these ones. I'd make it my library, not hidden away in a bedroom, though it would also be fun to have a spare room with bookshelves for visitors to pull out books and read! Gorgeous bookshelves! as always, whenever I see a bookshelf filled with books, I have to go see what the books are. So I'd end up moving the beds away from the shelves - and I have to admit that I have done this, in real life! and see if I've read any, and are there any I can read that night......Untold treasures.....

Nymeth and I are reading Lewis Buzbee's The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop together. I'm still on the first chapter, and we'll be reviewing each chapter on our blogs on Mondays, or possibly Sundays if the chapter doesn't lend itself to a long post. I did find this one little paragraph though, that I though perfectly describes most of us and our piles of books to be read, lists of to be bought, and the books lining our already crowded shelves in our homes:

"For the last several days I've had the sudden and general urge to buy a new book. I've stopped off at a few bookstores around the city, and while I've looked at hundreds and hundreds of books in that time, I have not found the one book that will satisfy my urge. It's not as if I don't have anything to read; there's a tower of perfectly good unread books next to my bed, not to mention the shelves of books in the living room I've been meaning to reread. I find myself, maddeningly, hungry for the next one, as yet unknown. I no longer try to analyze this hunger; I capitulated long ago to the book lust that's afflicted me most of my life. I know the course of my disease enough to know I'll discover something soon."

The best thing about the book blogging community is discovering that I am not alone in my book lust. And the book is the perfect partner because it never ever talks back, hurts, it's always there, never leaves.......soothes, comforts, makes me laugh, and lets me journey all over the world, universe and time, with a cup of tea and a cookie by my side.

Is there a book sweeping you off your feet today?

17 comments:

mariel said...

What a fabulous little corner to read in...I want one!

zetor said...

Those bookshelves are wonderful, wish I had a room capable of holding so many. Happy Valentine's Day to you.
My book at the moment is http://zetor-mogsblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/teaser-tuesday_10.html

raidergirl3 said...

Why yes, there is a book that sucked me in today. I planned to read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell as my living room book - about 25 pages a day, around supper or when waiting for sites on the computer, but instead I couldn't put it down and raced through half of it. It's not often a nonfiction book will do that for me.

Molly said...

Looking at these wonderful pictures of bookshelves and cozy book-nooks reminded me of a travel episode with Samantha Brown. She did a segment on the Library Hotel in New York City that sounds just divine:
http://www.libraryhotel.com/

Hope you have a wonderful valentine's day celebration with friends and family.

bloglily said...

Oh, Susan, that is one incredibly enticing window seat!
The funny thing is, though, that once you're inside that book, you don't even remember you're IN the window seat. (Of course, how great is that -- to be able to look out that lovely window when you come up for air?)

Thanks for the photos. And Happy Valentine's day to you too.

chrisa511 said...

I want those shelves! My dream is to one day have a house that I can make my own library in. And it'll be beautiful! With a writing desk and all kinds of bookish things...ah, we can dream...

Julia Phillips Smith said...

Book lust. What an awesome term.

My husband and I will never be cured of it.

Book I'm swept up by today? It's an ebook by Amy Ruttan, a short Dark Ages erotic romance. The main female character is partly Fey. I'm really enjoying it.

Ana S. said...

I absolutely love those shelves! And I know all about book lust...sometimes I just NEED to get a new book, to matter how many unread ones I already own.

As for a book that sucked me in this weekend: Peeps by Scott Westerfeld! I'm in love.

Susan said...

mariel: isn't it great? every time I see it, I want to try and build one in my house!

zetor: I'm currently changing our living room to have shelves like that. I need to get my books organized and all on the shelves :-D so part of my dream is coming true!

raidergirl3: I have his The Tipping Point, not read yet of course. You make Blink sound fascinating, which I've heard before. I think I might have to get it!! thanks! and isn't it fun when we get sucked in unexpectedly by a book :-D

Molly: ooh, the Library Hotel! I'll go look at that site, thanks for the link. I wonder what a library world would look like? :-D

bloglily: isn't it though? It just makes me want to sit on it and start reading. Or look out the window and daydream. It's a perfect corner nook. I think that's why I want one in my house, to remind me to daydream and read.....

Chris: one day you will have a house like that! the fun is deciding on your shelves, and where to put them....I think the only rooms without a bookshelf in our house is the bathrooms (ruins the covers and pages!) and funnily enough, our bedroom. Everywhere else, though!!! but still, there's room for some more :-D

Julia: isn't that a perfect term? Book lust. I mentioned it at the party we were at last night, and someone said, what a great term.

Nymeth: I think we all suffer from book lust! As soon as I saw that passage, I knew it was all of us he was describing! lol I suffer from it very much too :-D

I haven't read any Scott Westerfield, so between you and Chris and Stephanie and Kailana, I think I might have to try one!!

I daydream of one day having that book nook. :-D Perfect for reading and dreaming. I'm thrilled so many of us love them too!

Jodie Robson said...

Love that first set of bookshelves, a very tempting place to read and there's that dear little boat on the window. I'm trying to avoid reading anything too gripping this week because I've got so much work to do. I don't need distracting (but, on the other hand, I need destressing, so I'll probably go for some re-reads).

Qugrainne said...

It is so much fun to peek into the library of someone else. These reading spots are at opposite ends of the spectrum, and both are just lovely.
I am starting a new book tonight, and I haven't decided quite yet what it will be. Such delicious anticipation!

Gilion at Rose City Reader said...

I'm happy to stumble across your blog -- it is great!

The bedroom wall of books looks like heaven to me! I'd love to fall asleep knowing all those books were right there. I could count titles instead of sheep!

Like you, I love lists. That's why the tag line for my blog is "book notes from a compulsive 'list reader.'"

Unfortunately, nothing is sucking me in right now. I am struggling to finish a legal history book by a professor friend of mine. Interesting stuff, but a little dry! I can't wait to jump into something absolutely wonderful tomorrow, after I finish.

I'll come back to visit. Glad I found you.

Melissa O. said...

I love those bookshelves... I have always wanted a library like the one in Disney's Beauty & the Beast. But I will settle for a few bookshelves scattered throughout our house for now... Love your blog--it's on my blogroll! :-)

Emily Barton said...

Well, I'm still being swept off my feet by The Faerie Queene, and I'll be posting on Dorothy Sayers's Gaudy Nights, which has also swept me off my feet. Meanwhile, I am completely lusting after your two bookshelves pictures. You're right. That second one should be a library, not a bedroom.

P.S. Come visit me. We have bookshelves in every single room for you to browse, and even a spare guest room with shelves of your own.

Anonymous said...

Hi Susan! I’ve been a silent reader of your blog for a little while. I’ve recently started up a blog of my own, where I intend to also write book reviews, though not exclusively. I also plan to blog about book-world news. I’ve added you to my blogroll list of favorite bloggers — if you get a chance, please check it out!
http://nightreader.wordpress.com

Liz said...

I want those shelves, I want those books! At least I want to look through the books. I'm being sucked in today by a long-ago series favorites, the Beany Malone and Katie Rose books by Lenora Mattingly Weber. My brother is on a quest to buy me good copies of all of them -- such a nice brother, don't you think. I read them as a kid and still love them today. For modern fiction, I'm on "Resonance," by AJ Scudiere. Try listening to her free to audio movie tracks -- simply amazing. (I'd say the audio movie is way better than the more typical audiobook -- and I listen to a lot of them while I exercise.) Audiobooks are kind of flat. The AudioMovie brings back the days of the old-time radio drama in a fresh, modern thriller. Great end-of-the-world stuff that will appeal to science fiction fans, naturally, plus fans of well-written fiction.

Susan said...

Geraniumcat: it's a few weeks later now as I reply, if you check back here, what did you end up reading? I read to destress also. I might have to do a post about that, too!

Qugrainne: isn't it fun, that moment just before you pick a book? Delicious anticipation is right! well-put!

Rose city reader: what did you end up reading after you finished your friend's legal book? something fun and delightful, I hope!! and thank you, welcome to my blog, I'll come find you now :-)

Melissa: thank you! and I envied Belle, that library she has is fabulous. I do believe I am trying to recreate it now, though, in my own home!! Why not live a fantasy life full of books!! lol I'll come visit you again also :-)

Emily: I would so dearly love to come visit you. You could delight me with all the strange people/stories you keep getting in your kitchen, and I'll let you read my horror story (it's short), and then I'll peruse your bookshelves....'sigh, my own guest-room with my own shelves!! I'm going to tell my husband there is someone else with bookshelves in every room, he won't think I'm quite so mad/obsessed then (we have shelves in almost every room and he's wondering where we can put the books that still aren't shelved yet...)!!! you know if you're ever up here, you'd better come visit me too!!

Naomi: Hi! I'll come visit you!! thanks so much for leaving a comment here, and visiting.

Liz: thanks for coming by! the link you gave me about audio movies link sounds really interesting, I'll give it a try. And your brother does sound very thoughtful, he's buying you books! :-D

i know what you mean, I see a shelf of books and I naturally gravitate towards it to read the titles. I can't seem to help myself. Seems to be a common book-person theme!!!