One of the things about reviewing (and blogging, and developing literature) is that it determines your reading. At any given time I can have a dozen or more books being read in one professional context or another. And while many of the books are wonderful, its always a joy when you get the opportunity to read for genuine pleasure. This weekend I went to the second hand bookshops around Queen’s Road and spent hours browsing, the result being battered paperback copies of Lanark by Alasdair Gray and The Drowned World by J G Ballard. Began reading both with a huge pot of Earl Grey tea. Really, I am becoming a cliche of myself.
(I never read just one book at a time. Some people find this odd. Straw Poll: How many of you out there are poly in the book department?)
Elsewhere…
Rachel Parker lets her internal editor loose, which in turn inspired some of us to share choice quotes from our own internal editors on Twitter around hashtag #myinternaleditor
A bunch of people including Cat Valente and Hal Duncan are talking about fanfic. Truly, the people who think of it as illegal, while they may have the law on their side, are really doing nothing more than demonstrating an absolute ignorance of their own readers. Those are your fans! Just thank them for paying you the highest form of flattery and move along.
Damien Walter 
Damn straight I am. I’m seeing too many books for my own good.
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When it comes to reading I’m no multi-tasker. One at a time thanks. On the other hand, a Gray/Ballard mash-up sounds altogether delicious (I discovered Lanark last year and was, in the words of Han Solo, totally blown away).
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Yes, I’ve found that Gray / Ballard go together very well. Many thematic similarities, but a good contrast between their prose and narrative styles.
Hmmm…I sense a whole field of mash-up possibilities out there.
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I can’t read more than one book at a time, but I love reading a couple of books in quick succession that resonate off each other.
Hmm. I have both Lanark and Drowned World in my ‘to be read’ pile. I may have to bump them up the list.
(And thanks for the link!)
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I usually have at least three books I am actively reading although it’s easier if one is dominant. :)
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