Macrolog
So Many Books…
[I had intended to post this comment on Markham’s new blog but he seems to be having some technical problems. So it’s going here instead. (I mean, what’s my weblog for if I don’t post on it every now and again?)]
So apparently bloggers like books, eh? What with all the reading and the writing and all, who woulda thunk it?
But enough of my sarcasm. I also share the bookish addiction. It’s not so bad that I can’t walk past a bookshop without being drawn inside by some mysterious magnetic force. But when I do pop into Waterstone’s or Hodges Figgis now and again, more often than not I can’t leave without having bought something. Damn those three for two offers!
As for reading the bloody things? I do tend to go through periods of not reading anything substantial, bar newspapers and magazines (and websites, natch), so the book pile has been growing steadily for some time. But I have been on a bit of a reading buzz lately.
Since my recent jaunt abroad I’ve read and enjoyed The State of Africa by Martin Meredith (highly recommended Markham, if you haven’t read it already); The Quarry by Damon Galgut; The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem; and am trying to make Peter Biskind’s Down and Dirty Pictures last as long as possible…
I also breezed through Haruki Murakami’s A Wild Sheep Chase, which had been sitting in my bag one-quarter read for the last six months, and I’ve just started A Crack in the Edge of the World by Simon Winchester, on the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, which I picked up for virtually nothing over Christmas downstairs at Eason’s.
And there are at least ten other books on the shelf just waiting to be delved into. Provided my current reading buzz lasts, that is. If not, they’ll just have to wait, and make room for the others I’ll undoubtedly add to the pile in the coming months.
(And by the way Markham, The Winding Stair is still open. Or at least it was when I was crossing the Ha’penny Bridge on Monday morning.)
Wed 15 Mar 2006 at 22:30 ·
Comments (7 responses so far)
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Interesting. I’ve had Wild Sheep Chase sitting on a bookshelf for months and months now, possibly a year or more, and for some reason I just can’t bring myself to open it and read it. I think it’s the cover.
I’ve been wanting to pick up a copy of A Crack in the Edge of the World, let me know how you like it.
I just finished No Country for Old Men, which was really excellent and I highly recommend.
Got the comment problem licked.
Yep, ‘The state of Africa’ is now on the to-read list. Thanks for the heads up on that and the glitch.
How’s work going?
Mat: I’ll keep you posted on Winchester’s book. From what little I’ve read so far it’s a tad overwritten, but very informative. And on your other point, what’s the cover of the American edition of A Wild Sheep Chase like? The British ones are pretty austere, monochrome with a hint of red, and a naked lady every once in a while.
Markham: Glad you got the comments sorted. I was too damn lazy to send you an e-mail! Work at the moment is the same as it ever was. But I’ve finally gotten around to updating my CV. And I’m updating the design of this site at the moment too, to impress any prospective employers. For which reason things will be looking a little weird around here for a week or two.
I’m liking the transition - that heavy black was a serious depressant.
Saw the South Park episode - it was a cracker. Those Scienticianologists need to calm their alien-hugging selves down a tad.
Ohhh great. Just what I need… MORE book recommendations!! (I touched on the whole 3 for 2 thing last week… it’s an addiction I tells ya!).
Liking the new site design tweaks.. but is there a sense to the colours or just randomness? (and if there is a sense how ‘bout a wee “legend” somewhere.. gosh.. remember them!)
You’re gonna hate me now Gordon, ‘cause I got a parcel today from Amazon with three more books! (Namely, the Oxford Style Manual, the Penguin Book of Facts and Mind Hacks, which I’ve been meaning to get for ages.)
As for the colours and randomness? Well, there is a rhyme and a reason to them, but it’s all part of the mystery! A legend would just take all the fun out of it. (But seriously, I’ll explain in full when I’ve uploaded some more tweaks over the weekend.)
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This is the personal website of MacDara Conroy, a twenty-something production editor living in Dublin, Ireland. Read more »
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You are reading So Many Books…, a Macrolog entry by MacDara Conroy. It is filed under Arts & Culture, and was published in March 2006.
Tags: books reading
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