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Bookish (And Not So Bookish) Thoughts

Bookish (And Not So Bookish) Thoughts is hosted over at Bookishly Boisterous!

1. I'm reading The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon and I love it, but I'm not sure how to break down how I feel about it. I'm definitely one of those people who has more difficulty describing why they loved a book than why they hated it. So glad I gave him a second chance after Wonder Boys, which I was not a big fan of.

2. I'm listening to the audiobook of Empress of the Night by Eva Stachniak, which I had been looking forward to. I loved the first book, The Winter Palace. However, I really want to DNF it and can't figure out entirely why. Maybe Stachniak's writing seems better in print than audio? Or maybe it's the change of character and also a plot device I find annoying that the first book didn't have. The first book is from a fictional character's perspective and this book is from the perspective of Catherine the Great. Also, it's supposed to be told as memories from her present as a dying old lady so the timeline is jumbled and "the present" keeps interrupting. I think I find that especially annoying in audiobooks, anyone else?

3. I realized that, although I've acquired a number of books recently, none were bought. I've gotten all my new books in the past few months from Bookmooch, review copies, the library, and one from a used bookstore when I traded in some books.

4. I do feel a little guilty for acquiring books, since I've spent so much effort lately getting rid of them. However, I've gotten rid of far more than I've acquired lately and have focused more on getting quality books that I want to keep (and I also know that I will be passing on those I don't want to keep).

5. When I reorganized my bookshelves recently during my Konmari book purge, I created a TBR shelf. It's too soon to tell whether it's a success or not, but anecdotally, I like knowing where to go to find all the books I haven't read yet, and it also creates some incentive to read those books so that I can move them to their "proper" shelves (or get rid of them) and cut down on the number of TBR shelves. I noticed Jamie at the Perpetual Page Turner is deciding whether or not to do that, and I bet others out there are too. Has this idea worked for you (or not) or would you consider it?

Comments

Christine said…
Interesting; I loved Wonder Boys and have yet to borrow my husband's copy of the Yiddish Policeman's Union. It didn't really spark my interest when I first read about it, but I'll have to reconsider.

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