Rule of 50 and other Pearls of wisdom.

I had to write a biographical sketch for school on a figure in the library world, and I chose Nancy Pearl. What a cool woman. Nancy was the director of the Seattle Public Library and has written books on reader's advisory. She calls herself a promiscuous reader and I think that is a noble form of promiscuity. Her rule of 50 is such: Give a book 50 pages and if you don't like it, don't continue. If you are over the age of 50, subtract your age from 100 and that is how many pages you should read before deciding to continue. I like this idea. I also think that if you've had a library book out for months and months and haven't been reading it, it's obviously not engaging you, so return it. I have many books begun but they're jut sitting there with their bookmarks in them. I'm in school, but I've had these books out since waaaaay before then, so I can't use that as an excuse. Even reading a page a day is doable, but I'm just not. So I will be reading more promiscuously from now on.

Also, Nancy is the model for novelty store Archie McPhee's librarian action figure. I myself own the deluxe model.

More about Nancy Pearl.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Bibliomania.

I sit here basking in the aftereffects of The House of Paper by Carlos Maria Dominguez. My friend Ketti recommended this one to me, and I'm thrilled that she did. Here is a book-- a small book of only about one hundred pages-- that explores the lengths of bibliomania and how books can be destructive to one's self. That is a boring sentence I just wrote and does not do the book any sort of justice whatsoever, but I am so taken by the book that I can't even write about it. Here is a review from Fine Books & Collections magazine that gives a better summary than I could. Clearly there is a reason why I am not a book reviewer by profession. :)

"To build up a library is to create a life. It's never just a random collection of books." from The House of Paper by Carlos Maria Domiguez, page 35.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Books about books.

Just this morning, I finished Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman. It is an excellent book about books. Sometimes b-a-b can be very dry. I imagine the whole genre only appeals to bibliophiles like myself. Fadiman's book, however, is lively and engaging. I found myself laughing aloud (at the hairdresser, no less, so I got weird looks).

I picked up the book while I was shelving at work. I was initially taken by the title because ex libris is a favorite phrase of mine. It's Latin for "from the library (of)". I find it curious that the books about books come right after computer manuals in Dewey, but that's a different story. Anyway, I checked the book out to add to my HUGE stack of library books. I like to mix up fiction and nonfiction so I always have an option of what to read.

A favorite part:

on shopping in secondhand bookstores:
"'Alas,' wrote Henry Ward Beecher. 'Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore!'...In secondhand bookstores, each volume is one-of-a-kind, neither replaceable from a publisher's warehouse nor visually identical to its original siblings, which have accreted individuality with every change of ownership. If I don't buy the book now, I may never have another chance. And therefore, like Beecher, who believed the temptations of drink were paltry compared with the temptations of books, I am weak."

I am extraordinarily weak when it comes to secondhand bookstores. I also relate to Fadiman in the way that she is a compulsive proofreader/officer of the grammar police, she has a particular pen she likes to write with, and she treats her books roughly as a sign of intimacy. It was a great read!

Check it out.

Ex libris,

Marissa