Here's my mom, AKA Mema ... Some people even call her MaryAnn. This picture was taken on the train coming home from BEA 09. She is happy to be sitting after a long day of walking and book collecting. She is also happy with the surprise mini bottle of wine I brought for her.As a writer I am always eager to learn more about the craft and about how other writers find and refresh their creativity. This desire led me to a semi regular series on my own blog called Memoir Mondays. Once or twice a month I choose an author's writing memoir to read and then talk about it. Thankfully my mother is a closet book addict. You laugh, but she has books lining almost every wall and piles a lawn gnome could climb and claim Kingship on. Her passion is cook books, so I get a steady flow of all of the rest of the bound treasures she finds in her day to day journeys. Many of these are memoirs and books about writing.
At first these bag filled with various books were overwhelming. How could I possibly find the time to read all of these? Between trying to nurture a new writing career and maintain a home and life with my husband and four children, I couldn't fathom squeezing another minute out of my days. Not to mention that my mother's taste is... well, eclectic to say the least. She gives me books I would never have picked out for myself.
At first these bag filled with various books were overwhelming. How could I possibly find the time to read all of these? Between trying to nurture a new writing career and maintain a home and life with my husband and four children, I couldn't fathom squeezing another minute out of my days. Not to mention that my mother's taste is... well, eclectic to say the least. She gives me books I would never have picked out for myself.
But, I started flipping through them anyway. Next thing I know I'm reading them with honest interest. Now I can't wait for the next delivery from her. She opened my eyes and my mind to new subjects and authors that would have fallen through my previous reading radar. So, THANKS MOM :) and keep them coming please.
For Christmas my mother gave me another bag of books. Some new, some old...all great gifts. One of these was Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing.
Since it wasn't a memoir I decided to bring it with me onto Twitter to discuss. We had fun with his rules and I was invited to be a guest on Indie Times to blog about it more. It became a two part post. Stop by and take a look.
As for my next Memoir Monday. On January 11, 2010 I will be discussing Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing.
If you have read it, please stop by to discuss it with me. If you haven't, you should. Why not, you never know what new and exciting things you'll find in a book.
A question for you. Do you have a book addict in your life, or someone who has helped you expand your reading range? Tell me about them.
Thanks for stopping by.
Kristin : )
I'd say I was the book addict!I have 2 bookshelves in my bedroom and a huge one in the garage (I know, I know...NOT good for the books but where else can they go til I get my personal library?!) My husband hates it when I go to mom's because she ALWAYS buying knew books, reading them, and passing them along to me. Drives him INSANE!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteI consider myself a book addict and I'd say my husband has expanded my reading interests. I've mostly been one to read fiction and recently went through a phase of classic novels like Grapes of Wrath and I, Claudius but my husband has started me on some non-fiction reading.
ReplyDeleteWe are both runners and have gotten a good collection of books about running and particularly about ultra runners which are a whole different breed. I just finished Born to Run by Christopher MacDougall and enjoyed it immensely.
Thanks Farrah for your comment. So your mom is your book pusher too. ;) It's great to have someone who reads and shares their books. I would have missed out on so many good reads if my mother wasn't a book addict. And yes, I have to admit that I am quickly becoming one myself.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you also Kimberly. I went through the classic phase myself. I've read Grapes of Wrath and a lot of Hemingway and Hawthorne. Great writers, each of them.
Lately my nonfiction has been focused on memoirs, mostly by authors. But I am always open to finding new books.
I am a reformed book addict. I had books everywhere: stacks under the bed, stacks up against the wall, overflowing the bookshelves etc. My hubby wanted to sell them at a yard sell-until I threatened him with bodily harm-so we compromised and I boxed everything up into containers and they are in my garage....and in my storage unit. Now I purchase them through ereader...for my laptop and phone...so there is no 'evidence' of my madness! ;-) I enjoy the easier portability but I LIKE having books everywhere. I guess I come by it honestly. Like the responders, my mom was my first book pusher!
ReplyDeleteHi Colin
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and for your comment. You're not really reformed, you just switched to digital. I have not gone to that format yet. I do love the feel of the book in my hands when I read, but can see the convenience of going digital.