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Bibliophiles Anonymous

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Hello, my name is Beth and I am a bibliophile.

I have been a bibliophile for most of my life, from the days when my parents would stack cardboard books by my crib, from the days where I memorized Madeliene and convinced my father I could read (little did he realize that I held the book upside down), to the days when I read my first real chapter book, Ann Rinaldi’s A Break With Charity, when I was 8.

My room is filled with books. Stacks of them. Old books, new books, books that have been thumbed through a thousand times and books that I have yet to read. Not to mention all of the books I have floating about in my head, waiting to be written.

My recent book loves are varied. Histories of spy organizations, children’s books of the Dahl variety and epic French literature (I finished Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame and will be reading Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo soon). My time to enjoy these works is slim. But still I read.

Books…oh how to praise them without resorting to the usual cliches? They are entertaining and enlightening. We can travel to new worlds and learn about ourselves through characters in books.

But, why do I love books so? Why do I love reading? Writing?

Honestly, I don’t know. My mom bribed me when I was little so I wouldn’t watch TV. $1 a week bonus to allowence if I watched less than 2  hours of TV. It worked pretty well–I didn’t watch any TV show until Lost premiered in 2004 (and I’ve been a pretty loyal fan; am finally watching season 6). But I digress.

My love of books began long before those days and has continued even after I belatedly discovered the awesome stories that can air on TV (24, Lost, The Prisoner) and how great movies are. If anything, I’ve become more of a bibliophile, being drawn to new authors, and to more classic works. If it hadn’t been for The Prisoner, I doubt I would have read Kafka’s The Trial or anything by John Le Carre (I love research. Have I said that before? I LOVE RESEARCH).

Books, unlike television, aren’t dependent on a schedule or pricey cable package. I can always go to the library and get something new to read.

Life as a NaNo Rebel

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters, Thesis Updates

So, November is upon us. And with the falling leaves, brisk wind and blue skies here in Boston comes the season of flying papers, dead highlighters and balding college students. Why balding? We rip our hair out trying to stay sane.

Two years ago I participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time and won. I wrote a rather disappointing novel, but I wrote one. The experience showed me that I can write a novel, that it is possible to finish one if I have the proper motivation.

Last year, I knew I wouldn’t have the time to truly participate, so I wrote a short story and called it a day.

This year, it happened to fall that I have three major papers to work on over the month of November. They aren’t due until December, but I figured, why not use NaNo to rebel?

I’m doubling rebelling, as I started writing these early.

And will I reach a total of 50,000 words? I don’t know. Probably not. All I care is that these essays get completed well. And if I’m writing them, might as well take advantage of the little word count chart, eh?

Best of luck to all NaNo-ers, Traditional or Rebels!