Cleaning off the nightstand

For many readers, the nightstand becomes a 'bookshelf' of sorts, allowing them to store, stack, sort and keep track of books on the reading list. My bookshelf, since I read most everything on my kindle, is imaginary. This is both good and bad. It's good because I can read anytime, anywhere. But, it's bad because it doesn't allow for the same kind of satisfaction as seeing the stack of books next to the bed. Also, I've been thinking a lot lately about how reading books on the kindle is going to affect my future reputation. No longer will I be important because "I have many leather bound books, and my house smells of rich mahogany."

Anyhow, I've been cleaning off my proverbial nightstand before I begin my 1000 books. I read A Visit from the Goon Squad, which was the Pulitzer Prize winner this year. The book was really interesting. Told in a series of vignettes, it traces-sort of- the lives of the goon squad, a group of friends that grow up in LA together during the late 70s and early 80s. The book makes a sneaky, hidden, barely there statement about how the advent of technology that is supposed to make us better connected is actually breaking apart the connections of society. What draws the reader into the book is the multiple pop-culture references to punk bands of the late 70s, early 80s. For a music aficionado, the incorporation of bands, lyrics and events is icing on a rather strange shaped cake. The sprinkles on said cake is the fact that the novel ends with the rise of music bringing people back together. A live show that connects the people in the same way, I presume, that Woodstock did before we were divided by the closeness of electronic communication.  This novel tells not of "the day the music died," but, rather, "the day the music brought the people back to life."

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Recently, all of my friends have become enamored with Pinterest, a website that allows you to digitally 'pin' things that you simply can not live without. Apparently, the general population of females in my age group have spent numerous years, binders, and magazines constructing collections of things that they like, organizing future homes, weddings, birthday parties, and outfits. I missed this boat. However, in the interest of staying up on what's happening in the digital world, I do occasionally find myself checking out Pinterest. It's quite addicting, which is one of the reasons why I refuse to sign up. That is another story.

In a bout of Pinterest creeping, I happened to come across a 'pin' linking to a book, which lists 1001 books that you must read in your lifetime. As an avid reader, I was instantly hooked. So, I've decided to spend some time reading these books. I started this blog as a way to chronicle my reading. I have no false pretenses about my own memory and fully admit that I will probably not be able to remember how I feel about book one once I have read book 800--hence the blog.

Here is the link to a NYTimes article about the book about the books :)

Thus, I wish myself happy reading. The first book I'm going to read is 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die by Peter Boxall. Luckily, it's available for kindle :)

Oh, and rest assured, I will save my bank account serious pain by making use of my local library which, I am in love with since it added ebooks!