Bookishness
When I was younger, from when I learned to read into my mid twenties, I read a lot. Science Fiction and fantasy mostly, but I read a fair bit of history, some science fact, and other fiction, too. I noticed last week that I don't read much prose anymore. I read a lot of the stuff that comes into the store, of course, and unlike 
omnia_mutantur I consider comics to be real reading, but I just don't consume books the way I once did. In part, as I have aged, I have become pickier, and I just don't enjoy what I used to enjoy. (I notice this trend in movies, too. I probably would have liked XMen 3 more when I was 20 than I do now at 36, though I don't think I would have loved it.)
Also, I have more going on in my life, and I spend more time with people I love, especially
millari . And, I find that I am increasingly more interested in my own stories than in other peoples'.
That said, though, I do want to be someone who keeps reading, who keeps engaging with someone else's ideas and perspectives, so I'm making a point of reading at least ten prose books this year. So far, I can only think of one such book that I have read, The Translator, which I discussed in a post last week. So...
1) The Translator, by John Crowley.
I'm working on/about to start:
2) Historical Understanding, a collection of essays by Louis Mink. He's a tremendous thinker, though I still have read little by him, and I don't think many people know who he is.
3) Gormenghast, by Mervyn Peake, though it seems that I should actually have gotten out Titus Groan, since the jacket blurb says that Gormenghast is a sequel. (Albeit the main character is only 7 years old when book two starts, so what the hell happens in book 1?)
4) Mother Night, by Kurt Vonnegut. Actually, Millari will be reading this to me. I look forward to it.
Eventually, I shall start 5) The Dark Tower by Stephen King. I enjoyed the first six, so I look forward to the finale.
I welcome suggestions, too.
On the graphic front, I just got around to reading Craig Thompson's haunting reminiscence about teenage alienation and romance, Blankets. It's really good, though full of unresolved pain (the character's, if not the author's.)
omnia_mutantur I consider comics to be real reading, but I just don't consume books the way I once did. In part, as I have aged, I have become pickier, and I just don't enjoy what I used to enjoy. (I notice this trend in movies, too. I probably would have liked XMen 3 more when I was 20 than I do now at 36, though I don't think I would have loved it.)
Also, I have more going on in my life, and I spend more time with people I love, especially
millari . And, I find that I am increasingly more interested in my own stories than in other peoples'.
That said, though, I do want to be someone who keeps reading, who keeps engaging with someone else's ideas and perspectives, so I'm making a point of reading at least ten prose books this year. So far, I can only think of one such book that I have read, The Translator, which I discussed in a post last week. So...
1) The Translator, by John Crowley.
I'm working on/about to start:
2) Historical Understanding, a collection of essays by Louis Mink. He's a tremendous thinker, though I still have read little by him, and I don't think many people know who he is.
3) Gormenghast, by Mervyn Peake, though it seems that I should actually have gotten out Titus Groan, since the jacket blurb says that Gormenghast is a sequel. (Albeit the main character is only 7 years old when book two starts, so what the hell happens in book 1?)
4) Mother Night, by Kurt Vonnegut. Actually, Millari will be reading this to me. I look forward to it.
Eventually, I shall start 5) The Dark Tower by Stephen King. I enjoyed the first six, so I look forward to the finale.
I welcome suggestions, too.
On the graphic front, I just got around to reading Craig Thompson's haunting reminiscence about teenage alienation and romance, Blankets. It's really good, though full of unresolved pain (the character's, if not the author's.)