This meme comes to you by way of The Sheila Variations. Consider yourself tagged if such things interest you.

What are you reading right now?

Blindness - Jose Saramago
Paris After The Liberation - Antony Beevor & Artemis Cooper
The Terror - Dan Simmons
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susana Clarke

That’s a lot of books at once, even for me, Captain Obsessive. This is probably due to my recent inability to get in a good reading groove - too much goings on ’round here - which in turn causes me to restlessly jump from book to book. This should change when the move is done and I am properly nested.

Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?

I think I’m going to jump into The Religion by Tim Willocks. He wrote a book, Green River Rising, about ten or so years ago that absolutely blew me away. I’m looking forward to The Religion, a historical novel about the Siege of Malta in 1565. Yes, I am a huge dork for historical fiction.

What magazines do you have in your bathroom right now?

Nary a one.

What’s the worst thing you were ever forced to read?

Oh dear, that’s a tough one to answer. The Scarlet Letter was agony, and Catcher in the Rye was like getting kicked in the jimmies repeatedly, but Anna Karenina was akin to bare-assing a pile of hot coals.

I’ll go with Anna Karenina on this one.

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?

Allright, it’s confession time: I am the world’s worst gift giver. I suspect I’m too plodding and unimaginative to come up with that super-cool yet completely unexpected gift that totally matches the occasion. However - I take great pride in my ability to match people to books.

So books recommendations depend on the person asking, although I’ve been known to try and convince people to read The Lord of the Rings, even if they’re not a fan of fantasy in general.

Admit it, the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don’t they?

Well, they certainly recognize me. I’ve found borrowing titles from the library to be the methadone to the heroin of my book-buying habit. It’s not the same rush, but it does quell the urge for a while.

Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don’t like it at all?

I’ve yet to meet anyone else who’s read Dorothy Dunnett’s historical novels. I don’t think I know anyone who’s even interested in them.

Do you read books while you eat? While you bathe? While you watch movies or TV? While you listen to music? While you’re on the computer? While you’re having sex? While you’re driving?

The Girl recently noted that while getting ready to go to breakfast one morning, I paused after putting on one shoe to read a little bit before continuing on to the other foot. So yes to all of the above, except for the sex and driving part.

When you were little, did other children tease you about your reading habits?

Nope. I think there are one or two I might have converted to readers.


What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?

Julius Winsome - Gerard Donovan. The best book I’ve read so far this year.