Book Review

I am a book junkie.  I have an account on Goodreads.com.  I am organized by nature.  But although I love the idea of it,  I have had a hard time keeping track of my books on Goodreads.  I entered a whole slew of them in the beginning but haven’t been interested in keeping track after that.  I like to see what other people read but that’s about as far as it goes.

Instead, I find that I like keeping track of my books in composition journals instead.  I’m a margin-writer and underliner.  I love to mark up my books – whether they are novels or works of non-fiction – I appreciate a good turn-of-phrase or a particular line that speaks to me.  Maybe I find similarities in the author’s words to my own life.  Maybe what they write just makes me laugh or helps me remember a distant memory.  Whatever the reason, I keep a pencil handy when I read so I can underline a paragraph or phrase or write a note to myself in the margin.  Then I take each part I have marked and rewrite it in my current composition book called “Book Quotes.”

This series of journals probably tells more about me and what I think about, who I am and what I want to become than any other one thing in my space.  I find great joy in going back through the quotes I have listed or copied and pasted from my favorite books.  Even when I reread a book I find new insights and words that I hadn’t noticed before so I’ll list them in my journal and label it as a second or third reading of that book.  True, this handwritten accounting of my books is rudimentary at best.  Certainly not as efficient as cataloging everything on Goodreads.com.  But I like it.  It brings me joy to recopy each phrase in my own hand.  My book journals are a trusted and dear friend to me so I think I’ll just stick with them.

I bring this up because I just finished another book by Sandra Dallas, The Chile Queen, and was transferring my marked-up quotes from the book to my journal this morning.  I’ll share one with you:

He was not an unhappy man.  Far from it.  He was a man of strong emotions, and he enjoyed life hugely.  (pg. 275)

Those are the kinds of things I underline.  I love the phrase “he enjoyed life hugely” and I want to be known as a person like that.  One of my favorite books written by Sandra Dallas is The Persian Pickle Club because of its witty, southern style with a flair for drama that heads the story in directions you don’t expect.  The Chile Queen had the same vibe for me and a great summer read.  That is, if you’re not opposed to quirky novels set in a whorehouse during the 1800s.  Take a look at Sandra Dallas and fall in love with her down-home way with words.  Then let me know what you think.  I love sharing a good read with friends!

And while we’re talking books, consider reading Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper before you see the movie.  It could be one of the most thought-provoking books I have read because of her amazing writing style as well as the topic she addresses.  I kept thinking, “What would I do if I were their mother?”

Enjoy!