Wonderland Burlesque

Tuesday, February 02, 2021

Wonderland Burlesque's Whatcha Reading? Quiz

Wonderland Burlesque's

Whatcha Reading? Quiz

Books. I can't imagine life without them. The older I get, the more I enjoy curling up with and losing myself in a good book. Hell, it doesn't even have to be that good. I simply enjoy reading.

Over the years, my relationship to books has changed. I used to view them as something that, simply by owning them, granted one wisdom of a sort.

But now, I view them as living things. And temporary - in my life, out my life. The experience of reading them has become way more important than owning and collecting them.

How about you? What's on your shelves these days?

1/ Do you collect books? About how many books are currently in your home (cook books count!)?

I used to. And I stopped. Moving to L.A. meant letting go of all of that. And... I don't miss them. I liked having them. I love libraries and the printed page, but I don't need to own a library nor do I need that amount of stuff in my life.

Now, I do one of four things with books after I've read them: I keep, but only if I adore or are part of something I am collecting, donate to a used-a-bit charity, drop off at the little libraries that dot the neighborhood (if appropriate), or give to a specific person, if I think they will enjoy it. I don't keep very many, although I do have quite a backlog of things to read.

Guesstimate? Only 150.

And they're fairly diverse. I actually have a number of very old books... odd things that catch my attention: weird children's books, those old 3-D nature books from the 1930's, that sort of thing. Otherwise, they run the gamut of fiction and non-fiction.

2/ Do you prefer hard covers or paperbacks? Why?

I have both, but prefer hard cover books. They feel more substantial and the print is generally larger. I rather like large print print books. I'm a very slow reader.

Also, paperbacks get damaged easily and I avoid those really thick ones; too difficult to hold.

3/ Do you read suspense novels? Favorite authors / titles?

Not really. I have read some. Stephen King, of course. But I find his books to be rather adolescent and in serious need of editing. Tried reading Dean Koontz, and I became nauseated - not because of the subject material, but because the way puts words on the page literally, not figuratively, made me want to throw up. I'm not sure what that is called. James Patterson quickly became a joke. Agatha Christie... I do have several of hers and I adore them. But Cornell, Brown, Follet, Roberts, et. al? Not for me.

Daphne Du Maurier, however...

4/ Romance novels? Favorite authors / titles?

No. Bosom-heavers are not for me.

However... I have recently gotten into reading gay pulp fiction from the golden era, 1955-1975. And I do believe they qualify as romance novels. They do have sex in them, but their stories seem to be more about longing for a relationship.

When I was in L.A., a woman I worked with kept insisting I read E. Lynn Harris books. I got into them, although I couldn't figure out whose reality they actually represented. Lots of downlow action. I suspect, as with all romance authors, there is a lot of wish-fulfillment involved? But sexy? Oh, yeah. They that.

5/ Modern, character-driven dramas/comedies? Favorite authors / titles?

My weakness.

Authors: Anne Tyler, Sue Miller, Fay Weldon.

I love everything they've written. It's weird. There was a period when I was a bit obsessed with them.

Suggested titles: The Hearts and Lives of Men - Fay Weldon, While I Was Gone - Sue Miller, Family Pictures - Sue Miller, The Clock Winder - Anne Tyler, The Ladder of Years - Anne Tyler.

There's something about capturing small moments in life... those miniscule pivots of the mind that shape our destinies.

That said... these authors have a tendency to write exclusively about very privileged white people (although Fay loves a good underdog story) and that is something that I have little patience for these days.

Amy Tan also does a lovely job of this.

6/ The classics? Favorite authors / titles?

Another weakness. For years, I would collect them, but never read them.

Now, I'm reading them. I challenge myself. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf? Yes. Challenge accepted and met - just recently.

I love Dickens. Bronte, Wharton, Carroll, Albee, Steinbeck, Hemingway, Hawthorne, James... I am probably leaving someone out... but am too lazy to get up and look at my book shelves.

I really need to branch out. I'm very Caucasian-centric. Is that because that's what we were taught in school?

7/ Biographies/Auto-Biographies? Favorite subjects / titles?

Oh, yes. Adore.

I prefer biographies to auto-biographies. Auto-biographies frequently strike me as self-serving and terribly biased. People have a need to be liked and viewed as a good person. Also, people tend to have blind spots about themselves.

Biographies have a better chance at giving you the whole picture. A favorite? Lee Israel's Miss Tallulah Bankhead. I want the good, the bad and the ugly. I want to know what made them tick.

Most people are too un-self aware to write about themselves. Their egos prevent them from showing you their flaws.

8/ A type of book not mentioned? Favorite authors / titles?

I don't read fantasy stuff or science fiction. When I was younger, yes. But no, I have no interest in Harry Potter, or classic sci-fi, now.

Non-fiction. I have a lot of non-fiction. I like books about album covers and how they were designed. Well, design, in general, I guess. And history. Music history. And Greek and Roman mythology.

I also collect a few cartoonists. Berkley Breathed and Bill Watterson, primarily.

I love children's books. The big ones for young ones. Ian Falconer's Olivia is a favorite. I also read young-adult fiction... Judy Blume, is an example. Judy. Hit and miss. Her adult novels are rather terrible, her children's stuff - dreadful, but her young-adult stuff? Very likable.

One thing that has happened during the pandemic? I take Hercules - the dog, for walks. We pass by these little libraries people have out in front of their houses. I drop stuff off, I pick something up. It has exposed me to black female writers and I have been getting into them. Toni Morrison, of course - she reads like poetry. But April Sinclair, for example, offers a different perspective, and I appreciate her honesty.

9/ Do you own a Kindle or similar device and download books? Do you like it?

My sister gave me one of her old ones this holiday season. I had been reluctant to embrace the technology because I love books... the paper, the smell, the weight.

However, I accepted her offer because it was one of the ways that I could download classic gay pulp fiction. And I have been... and I love it. It's so easy. To read. Pages fly by. And, I am getting to read something that I'm currently writing about, so... that's amazing, as it feels of the moment.

So, thumbs up. I look forward to taking it to the prairie this summer, since I hate taking books with me, as I hate risking damaging them.

10/ Have you ever 'permanently borrowed' a book (from a friend, library, or other)?

I am on record, on this site, as a book thief, but from institutions... never individuals.

I once lent a woman my Stephen Sondheim collection - over a dozen albums - some were, at that time, out of print, and never saw them again. It taught be about the importance of returning things others entrust you with.

Also, I haven't stolen a book since I was in my twenties. The karma? The guilt? Not worth it. Also, I found that I tended to never actually read any book I stole.

Ironic karma.

Live. Learn.

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Okay, that's enough about me. I'm sure I left something out, but... good enough.

Your turn. Share your answers in the comments section. I love getting to know you.

Thanks for reading.