reading

the NBCC returns with its third seasonal list, assembled by polling the 825 members of the National Book Critics Circle as well as former finalists and winners of NBCC book awards. I think of it as is a freeze frame on book culture today, what critics and authors have been impressed by at this point in the year.

We’re always interested in what people are reading: We’re the ones on buses craning our necks to get a look at book titles and authors. Perhaps, like us, you also notice what others are reading.

The Seattle Public Library lists a number of books their staffers spotted on buses. What do you see people reading on public transport? (Seattle doesn't have a train or subway yet...)

What books do you have that sit unread? That you've started but gave up on? Here's the list of the top books tagged "unread" on librarything.com.

I've recently become obsessed with the book choosing rituals of those around me. Are you the type to buy a book recommended by the cashier at your local bookstore? Or maybe you're like my friend Lisa, who falls down the Amazon rabbit hole, one recommendation begetting another. My friend Allison decides on books based on their last word.

Would you rather read a new book or re-read an old favorite? If the latter, which title(s) would you revisit?

The serial novel is a form whose time has come again. But where traditionally the episodes were penned on the fly, in its latest incarnation in the New York Times the works are pre-written in their entirely before the first installment hits the page. The question is, is this break with tradition a form of cheating, “depriving both writer and reader of a unique experience?”

There’s no denying that reading is good for the mind, and now reading groups are becoming the new therapy, “an experiment in healing , or, to put it less grandiosely, an attempt to see whether reading can alleviate pain or mental distress.” Though the scientific evidence is inconclusive, many patients are touting the health benefits of Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Dante, et al.

A tongue-in-cheek lament over this literary Casanova’s growing inability to finish any book he starts leads to a serious enough point---youth literacy.

“The punishment for being such a bibliophile satyr has been an embarrassing form of literary dysfunction that no small, blue pill can correct. I am, sadly, almost unable to read more than a few pages from any one book.”

For those of us cursed with literary interests — and no small amount of intellectual snobbery — taste in books can have a limiting effect on our romantic lives. It’s hard enough to find someone compatible based on the basics — looks, brains, interests, morals — without upping the ante with taste in books. Therein lies madness. Or maybe clarity.

What are your literary dealbreakers?

Ok, reading in the tub is nice, but three hours worth of it? I suspect you’d come out looking like a sharpie pup. And never mind a blast of hot water to keep things warm. Where I live, it would require a constant flow of hot water to prevent getting stuck in the ice. Anyway, if you’re into it, here are some tips on the correct reading for soaking…as opposed to toilet lit, of course.