Sunday Salon: Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading!

On a whim, I cracked open Maureen Corrigan's Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books this morning. It was one among many books I have sitting on my desk waiting to know its fate: be relegated to the TBR room or remain on my desk for immediate or near immediate reading (my personal definition of immediate being relative at this point in time). I have only gotten to the introduction so far, forcing myself to stop reading, in order that I may visit awhile with you (and to play with my dog who is craving a little morning attention).

Maureen Corrigan is a book critic on the National Public Radio's (NPR) Fresh Air show. She is also a college professor at Georgetown University and writes for The Washington Post. She is a lover of mysteries and serial fiction, which made me stand up and take notice immediately.

The author's father sounds very much like my own: a war veteran who spends hours lost in books. Similar to the author, I grew up around books about World War II, the American Civil War, and westerns, just to name a few. The author and I differ, however, in that my mother has always been a reader, whereas, Maureen's mother was not. Speculation about how we became readers is nothing new to the blogging community. I have discussed the topic here on my blog before as have many of you out there--either on blogs or in other forums. Some readers seem born into it while others come upon their love for reading completely on their own. Regardless of the origin, we all enjoy reading and could probably relate on many levels to the author's own bookish experiences.

I love the idea of Maureen Corrigan's book. She has been a reader all of her life and she is lucky enough to work in professions that encourage and support her reading habit. She explains in the introduction that she wants not only to talk about books, but to share her experiences in how books have molded and impacted her life as well as how her life experiences have influenced her reading.

It is my intent to stretch out the reading of this book, reading snippets here and there in between my other reading. I want to share with you my experience of reading Maureen Corrigan's book, piece by piece. It will give me fodder to talk about on Sundays at the very least. At the most, it will stir up some interesting discussion. I hope so, anyway.

Here are a few random quotes that caught my attention (It was hard not to want to copy the entire introduction for you here):

I think, consciously or not, what we readers do each time we open a book is to set off on a search for authenticity. We want to get closer to the heart of things, and sometimes even a few good sentences contained in an otherwise unexceptional book can crystallize vague feelings, fleeting physical sensations, or, sometimes, profound epiphanies. [pg xvi]

Good writing is writing that's on target; that captures, say, the smell of sizing on a just-sewn garment the way no other known grammatical scramble of words has before. [pg xvi]

In our daily lives, we're bombarded by the fake and the trivial, reading serves as a way to stop, shut out the noise of the world, and try to grab hold of something real, no matter how small. [pg xvii]

Books are wayward. You can begin a book assuming that you're entering one kind of world, getting one kind of message, only to find out that beneath that cover story lurks another kind of tale - or two, or three - altogether. Books can turn us readers around, mess with our directional signals, deposit us, drained and bewildered, on completely foreign shores. [pg xxvi]

In regards to the semicolon (a punctuation mark the author and I both seem to have a special affection for):

It's the punctuation mark that qualifies, hesitates, and ties together ideas and parts of a life that shoot off in different directions. I think my reliance on the semicolon signifies that I want to hold on to my background - honestly, without sentimentality or embarrassment - and yet, also transcend it. [pg xxxi]

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I did not get nearly as much reading done as I would have liked this past week (likely story, I know). I attended an out of town conference and was looking forward to a quiet evening of nothing but reading. Instead, I decided to be sociable and joined a group of people for dinner and a movie. By the time I got back to the hotel, I was too tired to do anything but fall into sleep. The conference itself was interesting enough not to entice escapes to a quiet alcove to read, although the very idea was tempting enough in itself. I was good though and attended all my workshops.

I plan to spend much of today in Far World, along side Marcus and Kyja who are trying desperately to save not only the world but themselves as well in Far World: Water Keep. My goal is to finish the book today and start on my review. I am one stop among many on the author, J. Scott Savage's summer book tour, and I am happy to say that I am enjoying the book (there is always a little fear that I will hate a particular book and then be put in an awkward position).


Week in Review:
Review of Aberrations by Penelope Przekop
Booking Through Thursday: If I could live in a fictional world, which one would I choose?
Off Topic Chatter: Friday is Finally Here


New Addition to the TBR Collection:
The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff

How has your reading been this past week? Did you come away satisfied or wishing you had made different choices? Any new books added to your shelves?

Wishing you all a great week and happy reading!